New Work Foundation launches dearCC, a free AI-powered career navigation and mentorship platform to help Gen Z break through the entry-level hiring freeze

dearCC combines human mentorship, community and peer networks with real-time labor-market intelligence and AI-powered career tools to help young people navigate a rapidly changing world of work

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- New Work Foundation, the nonprofit co-founded by former Meta and Salesforce AI executive Clara Shih and technology industry veteran Nick Mehta, today launched dearCC, a free platform designed to inspire confidence and restore personal agency for Gen Z jobseekers in an economy reshaped by artificial intelligence.

Amidst one of the toughest job markets for new grads in recent years, dearCC replaces job-search isolation with a clear roadmap forward. The platform combines human mentorship and peer cohorts with real-time labor-market intelligence and practical AI-skilling tools, giving young workers actionable insight on where opportunity exists, the capabilities to pursue it, and a community to back them.

"The bottom rung of the career ladder is disappearing," said Clara Shih, co-founder of New Work Foundation. "I spent years building business AI systems and saw firsthand how they automate tasks that used to be entry-level jobs. AI is both driving this dislocation and an important part of the solution, but AI alone won't solve the challenge of helping young people break through. dearCC gives young professionals the mindset, skillset, and community to succeed in the new work economy."

The launch is supported by a multi-year grant and anchor partnership with the Schultz Family Foundation, which supports innovative efforts to increase economic mobility for America's next generation. Through this collaboration, New Work Foundation will integrate labor-market insights from the Schultz Family Foundation and Burning Glass Institute's Where You Work Matters data into dearCC, equipping young jobseekers with actionable guidance on employer quality and economic mobility.

"Young people are entering one of the most consequential transitions in the labor market in generations. They need more than another job board: They need trusted guidance, better information and tools that help them understand where real opportunity exists," said Howard Schultz, co-founder of the Schultz Family Foundation. "New Work Foundation shares our belief that AI should expand opportunity rather than make an already difficult transition into the workforce even harder. We are excited to invest in this work and enhance the new platform with the labor-market intelligence and career-navigation work we have developed through Where You Work Matters."

"In this market, graduates need more than a degree. They need the skills to contribute from day one, including the ability to use AI as a tool to make themselves more capable and more valuable. Our analysis of tens of millions of career histories shows how much those first few years matter. The jobs graduates land, the skills they build, and the companies in which they build them can shape their trajectory for years to come," said Matt Sigelman, President of the Burning Glass Institute.

dearCC: A Career Platform Built for Gen Z Jobseekers

Designed to replace the isolation and guesswork of the modern job hunt, dearCC equips entry-level jobseekers with the AI-powered tools, peer community, and mentor feedback needed to develop their mindset, skillset, and network for the AI economy:

• dearCC Field Report: An AI-powered jobs explorer that shows which roles are growing, flatlining or changing. Jobseekers can search by their college degree and compare AI exposure, wage trends, high-growth adjacent occupations, and geographic opportunities, helping people make more informed decisions about where to focus their search.
• dearCC Game Plan: A step-by-step assessment of a jobseeker's LinkedIn profile, resume, and current job-search strategy, paired with hands-on opportunities to build AI capabilities relevant to their target role. Users receive a personalized gap analysis, outreach recommendations, interview preparation and portfolio-project ideas designed to help them stand out.
• dearCC Community : An online community designed to counter the isolation of today's increasingly automated hiring process with role-specific learning modules, guidance, and peer support. Jobseekers are invited to monthly master classes led by expert mentors across various fields, including Will Sentance (Founder, Codesmith), April Underwood (Former Chief Product Officer, Slack), Katie Stanton (Former Chief Marketing Officer, Color Health), Michael Matlock (Chief Accounting Officer, Benchling), and more. Users can also sign up to get matched to a Crew: six jobseekers who meet weekly with a field mentor to provide support, structure, and accountability. 
• dearCC Weekly Brief: A weekly newsletter personalized to each jobseeker's role, level, and experience to help them understand how AI is being used in and reshaping the occupations and industries they hope to enter.

"dearCC has given me the community, inspiration, and AI skills to finally get a job after 12 months of searching," said Jesus Garnica, a first-generation college graduate of San Mateo Community College and San Francisco State.

"When you're staring down 500 unanswered job applications, you don't need theoretical advice and platitudes," said Samantha Wen, UC Berkeley class of 2023 and Gen Z co-founder of New Work Foundation. "You need a plan for a specific job and a group of people who will give you straight talk and empathy."

Ryon Baldwin-Williams, a 2025 Michigan State graduate and Gen Z advisory board member, added: "dearCC unstuck my search process and has given me a lifelong community."

All products are free and available beginning today at http://dearcc.org.

Strategic Partnership, Founding Supporters, and Leadership Team

In addition to support from the Schultz Family Foundation, New Work Foundation has secured generous founding support from Morfit Family Foundation, Brian Halligan, Sheryl Sandberg and Tom Bernthal, Chirantan "CJ" Desai and Meera Desai, Joe Lonsdale, Nikki Pechet, April Underwood, and Aaron Levie, as well as financial and technology grants from Salesforce (including Slack), Anthropic, Google, OpenAI and Vercel.

New Work Foundation also welcomes five seasoned industry leaders to its all-volunteer leadership team with experience from companies including AT&T, BEA Systems, Informix, Salesforce, Smartsheet, Vera Therapeutics, and VMware:

• Eric Loeb joins as Chief External Affairs Officer.
• Jody Kohner joins as Chief Learning Officer.
• Pete Godbole joins as Chief Financial Officer.
• Eric Stahl joins as Chief Marketing Officer.
• Julien Capers joins as General Counsel.

About New Work Foundation

New Work Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to equipping young American workers with the AI tools, labor-market intelligence, and community to thrive in the new work economy. Founded by former Meta and Salesforce AI executive Clara Shih and technology industry veteran Nick Mehta, the foundation operates with an explicit commitment to provide free tools for the broad-based public interest.

Learn more at http://newworkfoundation.com.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE New Work Foundation