Faith in the Future

Posted on April 26, 2010. Filed under: Latest News Leave a Comment

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Last week, I was delighted to participate at the Murrow Symposium – the signature annual event of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. Dozens of professionals from all over the country land in the wheat fields of the Palouse, with the goal of helping students who are about to embark on careers in the broad communications industry. There are seminars and workshops of all kinds, and they are always well-attended.

I co-presented a session on “How to land a great gig!”, and then resume critiques and mock job interviews.  It is interesting to me that all of the students who came to the “great gig” session were young women.  No guys at all. It actually made it easier, because we could talk openly about details that are relevant to women-only (hair and make-up, skirt-length, etc).  But we had plenty to say to the guys, too. Ah well.  A lot of young men brought their resumes in for a tune-up, and participated in the mock-interviews.

But who showed up for which workshops is not important. What IS important is the calibre of young people overall. Simply stellar. You know, we hear so much about the problems with Gen X: They are lazy; they feel entitled. They are disrespectful; they don’t have much to offer.  If this is your impression of the incoming workforce, you may be missing some serious evidence to the contrary.  At the Murrow Symposium, I met nothing but outstanding men and women. They are hungry for information, and hungrier for help.  They are fresh-faced go-getters. They are respectful. They are worried that the doors to the job market are closing around them, and they are sharpening their own competitive edges. 

I have faith that the future is still in good hands.

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