ILLUSTRATION BY MACY SINREICH FOR FORBES; IMAGES BY A_NAMENKO, PIXTURAL, FATCAMERA, LUIS ALVAREZ, AND WENDY TOWNROW VIA GETTY IMAGESFor decades, the playbook to success for young professionals was pretty straightforward: Go to college, land an entry-level position, gain experience and climb the corporate ladder. But in today’s sluggish labor market where artificial intelligence is reshaping many entry-level roles, that playbook is quickly being rewritten.Whether you’ve been fortunate to land your first full-time role or you’re still looking for one, success in the first year of your career requires more than just a degree nowadays. With overall hiring down 20% from pre-pandemic levels, hiring managers and experts have told me time and time again that young professionals today need to be resilient, adaptable and open to opportunities that may not initially feel like the traditional first step of their career path.From going into the office in order to strengthen workplace relationships, to building up your network and being open to contract work if needed, young workers must be receptive to stepping outside the box in order to thrive in today’s economy. Read here to learn more about the seven new rules workplace leaders say young professionals should follow to get their career off to a strong start.This is a published version of Forbes’ Careers newsletter. Click here to subscribe and get it in your inbox every Tuesday. WORK SMARTER Practical insights and advice from Forbes staff and contributors to help you succeed in your job, accelerate your career and lead smarter.Ever think of taking a “workation”? Mixing work with travel is an alluring option, but be sure to check your company policy and consider other critical factors before taking a trip, executive coach Caroline Castrillon says. The new button to report AI slop on LinkedIn changes the rules on the platform, writes career expert William Arruda. He shares five steps you can take to boost your visibility and engagement.Have you had an AI job interview? Learn why many candidates walk out and what to consider when deciding whether an AI job interview is worth it, with tips from career expert Colleen Batchelder.A psychologically safe workplace lets employees thrive. These are six signs you work in an environment where you can feel comfortable speaking up, from leadership expert Kate Wieczorek.GettyDeep Dive: America’s Best Employers For WomenLong gone are the days when men outnumbered women in the U.S. labor market. While men held nearly 7 million more jobs than women in the early 1990s, today that workforce gender gap has closed completely, according to research from the Indeed Hiring Lab. One factor driving this trend has been the growth of industries like healthcare, where women represent nearly 80% of the workforce and where hiring has been consistent despite a slow labor market. But aside from these labor force gains, the gender wage gap has not improved much, with data from the Pew Research Center showing that in 2024 women earned an average 85% of what men did, up slightly from 81% in 2003. Despite this slow progress around the gender wage gap, there are some companies doing their part to make improvements not only when it comes to pay equity, but also women’s advancement at work. To recognize these organizations Forbes has compiled its 2026 list of America’s Best Employers For Women.This ninth-annual ranking, produced in partnership with market research firm Statista, is based on survey responses from more than 146,000 women working for companies that employ at least 1,000 people in the U.S. Survey participants were asked how likely they were to recommend their current—and previous—employers, and if they’d recommend any employers they knew through their industry or through family and friends who work there. Participants were also asked to rate their current employers in areas such as pay equity, career development, parental leave, work-life balance, benefits for childcare or eldercare, and the company’s handling of incidents related to sexual misconduct and discrimination. To calculate each company’s ranking, the survey responses and data analysis were combined into a scoring system, with the more recent data from current employees weighted more heavily than information gathered in previous years or from employees with secondhand knowledge of the companies.Below are the companies that rounded out the top five of the 700 companies ranked:Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E)Johnson & JohnsonGoogleBlue Cross and Blue Shield of MinnesotaNavy Federal Credit Union Click here to see all the companies that made the list and which industries seem to be doing the best when it comes to women’s equity in the workplace. NUMBER TO NOTE45%That’s the number of employers actively seeking AI-native talent, meaning individuals who are highly skilled and comfortable with AI tools, according to a recent survey by Indeed and YouGov. Yet just 19% of employees overall feel fluent in AI, with Gen Z being the most fluent of any generation. VIDEO