Talent Doesn't Wait

As 2022 draws to a close, I’ve been thinking about what the new year will bring. Rumblings of recession. Uncertainty across Europe. Politics that polarize. Those seem to be the headlines. Then I put on my Ignited hat and wondered what it might mean for the work we’re doing to develop talent. Since my 2023 New Year’s resolution will be “overshare regularly,” here are three thoughts for all of us LinkedInners to consider.

Thought #1: Talent doesn’t wait

Radmila and I have three teenage boys. And yes, that’s why I always look tired. This weekend the freshman, our youngest, was standing with me by the kitchen table. I noticed for the first time that he (sneakers on) was almost as tall as I am (thankfully in my socks). We were talking about volunteering with a local lawmaker for the coming summer and he seemed excited. I don’t think he noticed me looking down at his feet to see if he was standing on some sort of a stool.

Thinking about it later, I realized that if we didn’t talk about careers now, what he was excited about, how to prepare, and available experiences, he’d still have to figure it out soon. It was a 10-minute chat, but sometimes that’s all it takes. I talk about careers and students every day for work, but it was a good reminder that this is more than just a job.

Thought #2: We can’t skip awareness

Here’s a story I like to tell. This year our fantastic partner Ying-Tsu Loh at BABEC invited the Ignited team to three different Biotech conferences. At all three, I heard the same thing. Leaders from industry, associations, high schools, community colleges, universities, and government all said, “We’re in the world’s most important biotech region and we’ve been building our programs for 20 years, but students still don’t know our industry is all around them.”

While Boston and Basel Switzerland might argue which region is the most important to Biotech, I’m in Silicon Valley and those comments floored me. They transformed my thinking about Ignited’s mission. Career awareness comes first. Students can’t build understanding or feel the relevance of a career if they’re not aware that it exists in the first place. Our StepUP Network and national partners embrace this mindset. We’re building an amazing career awareness platform for 10 advanced technology and science careers not being taught in high schools today – and that’s a critical path all our kids need right now.

Thought #3: Teachers matter

Yes, that’s a popular thing to say. It always gets lots of heads nodding in agreement. But as a parent, I might have one conversation every two months with my kids about their careers. They don’t want the pressure of being asked about it. So, who are they listening to? Who will they listen to? Teachers.

Most teachers aren’t talking about careers. There’s no nationwide movement underway to ensure teachers explain to our kids that “if you want to build the next Mars rover, you can become a data scientist. But first you have to understand these linear equations.” Today, there are lots of reasons why this is the case. My “overshare regularly” articles in 2023 will dive in to see if we can dissect it a little bit.

But I should be clear… this isn’t something to blame teachers for or solutions that require millions of dollars. It’s a few flaws in the system. Ones we have to fix now. Because talent doesn’t wait.