đ Itâs graduation season. I just returned home from my alma mater, Ithaca College, where we had a board meeting before commencement last weekend.
- Thirty years after we graduated, my college roommate, ABCâs David Muir, made a surprise (really!) introduction of another Ithaca grad, Disney CEO, Bob Iger, who received an honorary doctorate on Sunday.
- It was just a fantastic moment (relived in this Instagram reel).
- I remember Iger speaking to us when we were undergraduates and he was programming chief at ABC. At that time he provided similar advice as he did in this recent interview with the New York City ABC affiliate: we all have dreams coming out of college but many times we have to pivot. Iger's dream was to be a television anchor. A career on the air didn't work out for him (or me), so he pivoted. It's ok to follow other dreams, other paths. Two tours as Disney's CEO ain't bad.
Since itâs commencement time for both college and high school seniors, I asked Philip A. Glotzbach, the president emeritus of Skidmore College, and author of Embrace Your Freedom: Winning Strategies to Succeed in College and In Life to give some advice to them from his book.
Here are excerpts from our Q&A (and more on all of this is in his excellent book):
Q. How can new graduates apply your idea of self-directed freedom from college as they transition into the next phase of their lives?
A. Typically, doing anything worth pursuing requires discipline and structure: a detailed plan leading to a goal, and the continuing commitment to follow the steps of that path. Making this kind of commitment means saying ânoâ to a lot of other options. But itâs the basis for any significant accomplishment.
The same is true in oneâs post-college life. Itâs crucial to start from your basic values: to know yourself. Then look at the situation youâre inâwhether itâs a new job or the search for oneâand decide on both your long-term and more immediate objectives. Then commit to following through on what it takes to accomplish those objectives. The notion of self-directed freedom encompasses all these elements.
Q. You discuss the importance of taking intellectual risks and learning from failure. What advice would you give to new graduates who are entering a world where the fear of making mistakes can be overwhelming?
A. Of course, itâs simply not possible to live a risk-free lifeâŚor a failure-free life. We human beings are imperfect, finite creatures who often get things wrong, donât fully execute our plans, or encounter obstacles that foil our best intentions. But whatâs the most useful response to all this?
Itâs certainly not to withdraw from the game, placing safety above everything else, or deciding that you are a victim of circumstances. If we let it, failure can be a powerful teacherâalbeit sometimes a strict one. It also helps us develop the virtue of intellectual humility, which is significantly under-appreciated these days.
And hereâs a secondary value to adopting this welcoming attitude toward failure: When we recognize it as a learning opportunity, we direct our attention outwardâtoward the situationâas opposed to directing it inwardâtoward our feelings of disappointment, fear, or whatever.
Q. In Embrace Your Freedom, you highlight the value of pursuing one's passions over choosing a path solely for job security. How can graduates balance their interests with the practicalities of the job market?
A. It helps to realize that choosing a line of workâor a college majorâsolely because it appears to promise job security often turns out to be a losing bet. In a professional world that is changing so rapidly, yesterdayâs surefire road to career success can become todayâs off-ramp to unemployment.
Here are four keys to leveraging these elements to land a first job:
- Create an effective elevator speech relating what youâve learned to the requirements of the job youâre seeking. In a recent national survey of employers, almost two-thirds reported using âskills-based hiring.â What do they say they are looking for? The ability to solve problems; strong teamwork skills; strength in written and oral communication; initiative; a strong work ethic; flexibility and adaptability; and technical skills, among others â basically, the liberal arts core of a solid college education. So, figure out how to summarize the general intellectual skills youâve acquired.
- Engage your creativity to encapsulate what youâve gained from your major. For example, if you concentrated in English, you might talk about how your facility in analyzing texts gives you the ability to process complex documents (e.g., a strategic plan, a marketing study, etc.), which you might well encounter in business.
- Consider the out-of-class experiences I trust youâve pursued as an undergrad: e.g., internships; volunteer service; student clubs or organizations; service-learning classes that took you out into the community; any large research project(s) you completed, etc. What specific skills did you gain from these experiences?
- Be open to pursuing additional studies or degrees leading to more detailed knowledge, which is important to the particular professional field thatâs captured your interest.
Q. The book also addresses the evolving role of parents as their children gain independence. What guidance do you offer to families to support their graduates without overstepping, especially during this significant life transition?
A. First, over your childâs undergraduate years, you will have become much smarter than you were when they were a teen-ager. So, relish your new status! It increases the odds that your college grad will come to you for some life/career-advice.
Second, and most important of all, continue to give your graduate the space to make their own decisionsâand, yes, their own mistakes.
Just as in the undergraduate years, your most important role is still to be an encouraging cheerleader. You might ask yourself this question: What could this young person accomplish if they know they have my absolute and unconditional love and support? Itâs OK to tell them, from time to time, that they still enjoy this level of backing from you.
Finally, as youâve no doubt already learned, you never really stop being a parent. But things now have evolved to your being more of a co-equal partner, as opposed to a manager or boss.
