Colleges: Are You Building a Career Community?

21 Oct 09 · Posted by Jonathan Hilley · Topics: Colleges,Insights,TAG · 4 Comments

Sheila Curran has a radical idea.

Idea

The timing of this idea, coupled with the credibility of its protagonist, could finally be the catalyst for positive change within career services departments everywhere. Side note: I am not the first to believe that change is desperately needed…

Our situation is not unlike General Motors in that our profession has been operating on an outdated model which doesn’t necessarily speak to what consumers are looking for. Or how jobs get filled. The one size fits all approach definitely has seen its day.

~ Skip Sturman, Director, Dartmouth Career Services

So, what is this “radical idea?” Put simply,

Colleges should be building career communities.

Let me repeat…

Colleges should be building career communities.

What does this mean? I’ll let Sheila tell you herself:

“Most colleges and universities have alumni, parents and friends who are devoted to the school and would enjoy advising students about the career field in which they’re involved. Many times, schools have a formal alumni network, but what I advocate is a much more comprehensive initiative that is actively managed by the Careers office. Members of the Career Community would be tapped to give presentations on specific career fields; advise students one-on-one in their area of expertise; promote students to their companies; and source employment opportunities.”

The implications of this idea are enormous. Sheila is calling for schools everywhere to tap into their enormous alumni networks and unlock their hidden value. She is championing the idea that colleges and universities should leverage their vast alumni networks to build Career Communities – a bridge linking students and successful alumni.

Guess what? …

Continue reading "Colleges: Are You Building a Career Community?"
College is a Bubble

31 Aug 09 · Posted by Jonathan Hilley · Topics: Colleges · 4 Comments

Bubble

In 2006, just before leaving Goldman Sachs for my hedge fund job, I bought this shirt.  I loved that shirt so much, not only because it was hilarious to me, but also because I was so convinced that my view – of a housing market debacle like the world had never seen – was dead on.  I even shorted the hell out of Pulte Homes, Beazer Homes and a basket of other housing-related companies.  As 2007 rolled into 2008, the story played out just as I had envisioned – and those trades made me a small fortune.

The reason I bring this up is not to brag about a few great trades.  I bring this up because I read a post today that perfectly synthesized my thoughts about college:

COLLEGE IS A BUBBLE.

You see, yet another bubble is brewing on the horizon.  One that will cause massive disruption to the providers of higher education.  Much like the now infamous housing bubble, I am so convinced that this view is right that I LEFT A HIGH-PAYING HEDGE FUND JOB AND BET MY FUTURE ON IT.  In poker parlance, I went “all in”. …

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