We quickly realized that we needed something stronger than words to communicate our message. We needed a killer video, and we needed it fast.

So we approached a number of different film companies with an incredibly difficult challenge: explain TAG’s service in a way that will make people say, “Ah ha! I get it.”

Note: I write “incredibly difficult” because nothing like TAG’s service exists today. We’re creating an entirely new industry within ‘Educational Services’. Explaining an entirely new concept in a clear, concise way is, as I have discovered, incredibly difficult.

After a fair number of interviews and much deliberation, 1/29 Films was chosen to execute our vision. And execute they did! They delivered our project on time, on budget, and with fantastic client support. And most importantly, they delivered a bodacious video! Take a look for yourself and let us know what you think…

A special thanks to the guys at 1/29 Films. Well done.

P.S. What do you think? Z5P3FUGYP6FX

Date: November 2008

Design Company: Explosive Image

TAG Remarks: Really bad experience with these guys!

Date: January 2009

Design Company: Webraven

TAG Remarks: Yet another disappointing experience!

Date: April 2009

Design Company: Logic by Design

TAG Remarks: Third time was not a charm!

Date: July 2009

Design Company: Obox Design

TAG Remarks: Finally! These guys are absolutely amazing. I highly recommend them and will continue to do so.

Date: February 2010

Design Company: Artvolens

TAG Remarks: Like Obox, Serge at Artvolens was equally wonderful!

________________________________________________________________________

One thing that strikes me as I reminisce about TAG’s design and development: to be successful, you must find partners that you trust to work hard and execute your vision. If you stumble out of the blocks as I did (my first 3 attempts were utter failures!), it makes your road to success much more challenging.

Lessons I’ve learned: Due diligence on design / development partners is difficult! No matter how many questions you ask or which past clients you speak with, executing a great project can still be a shot in the dark.

P.S. As a good friend once said, “Don’t be afraid to take a shot in the dark…for you never know when you’ll hit bullseye.”

In fact, these “success skills” are so different that it actually makes you angry to think about what else you could have done with that $100,000 you spent on college – like taking that 12 month world tour you’ve always dreamed about.

Think about it…was Advanced English useful? No, not if you’re a copywriter. In fact, many writers have to be re-trained to write at an 8^th grade level. That’s right…write dumber so people can understand your message! How about Finance…was that useful? Maybe a bit, but it’s nothing you couldn’t have picked up after reading a few decent books. Computer classes? Hell no. You can learn much more from surfing the net and educating yourself than going to class. The truth is, knowledge you acquired in school is not very useful in the real world, at least not on a day-to-day basis.

I became acutely aware of this during my first job at Goldman Sachs. Nothing I studied for the prior 4 years was even remotely useful in that job. It made me wonder what the point of college was. But I digress…

You see, it wasn’t until after I started working that my real education began. As I looked around me, I started to see a knowledge gap – there was a big difference between what it took to be successful in school and what it took to be successful in the real world.

And as my career progressed from Goldman Sachs to a hedge fund, I became more and more convinced about the presence of this knowledge gap. It was inescapable – those who deleted their mental hard drives and forgot all about “getting an A” and instead focused on acquiring “real world” skills were promoted faster, got higher pay, and were happier at work.

As I transitioned from hedge fund analyst to entrepreneur I thought to myself, “How can students benefit from this insight? How can we fill this knowledge gap so that recent graduates can become more successful, earlier in their career?”

And so began the construction of TAG’s Mentorship Program …

TAG’s Mentorship Program is a course in Real World Insight (notice the similarity with the name of this blog?). Not only do students get matched with a professional in their dream company (yes, whatever company they are interested in working for), but they are meeting and discussing topics that are essential to career success. It’s basically an entire relationship designed to help students conquer the “Knowledge Gap” and become more successful professionals.

So, what is this “Knowledge Gap” that students conquer with TAG? Glad you asked…

There are twelve categories of knowledge that students aren’t acquiring in most institutions of higher education (each of these topics is part of TAG’s renowned Mentorship Program curriculum). Without further adieu, here is the “Knowledge Gap” that separates academic success from professional success:

How to network intelligently

Your network is the key to success, in business and in life. Networking the right way – TAG’s way – can mean the difference between achieving your career dreams or working in a dreadful 9 to 5, counting each miserable second until retirement.

How to become more productive and efficient

We all have 24 hours in a day. So why do some people achieve so much, while others seemingly so little? Much of it has to do with productivity and efficiency. If you can learn to master these skills, you’ll gain a competitive edge.

How to sell

You are a product. Companies “shop” for you. If they like you, they’ll “buy” you through a job offer. Knowing how to sell – even if you don’t want a job in sales – is a critical skill that will pay dividends throughout your career.

How to set actionable goals and achieve them

You wouldn’t think this is a skill, but it is. How many of your past five New Year’s Resolutions have you stuck with? Can you name the last goal you achieved? There’s a reason a lot of us have trouble achieving our goals, and TAG’s Program helps answer why.

How to make a great first impression

Think about the power of a great first impression…it can alter the course of an entire relationship. Unfortunately, too many people are not confident when meeting someone new because they never know what to say. If you had the firepower to make an amazing first impression, how different would your life be?

How to market yourself

Personal branding is all the rage. But do you know how to boost your credibility – both on- and off-line? Self-promotion, if done the right way, can lead to fantastic and unexpected opportunities.

How to perform masterfully in an interview

It takes something special to stand out from the 30 other interviewees vying for the job. So how do you do it? TAG’s Program teaches you what your University never did – the skills you need to ace every interview from now until the end of your career.

How to deliver a power presentation

In tests to determine what is most feared among adults, speaking in public ranks first, outstripping the fear of height, snakes and even death. But what if I told you there really is nothing to fear? If you were armed with the right knowledge – the knowledge gained in TAG’s Program – you’d have the clarity of mind you need to deliver a power presentation.

How to conduct primary research

What if you could utilize the same research methods as those used by analysts in the hedge fund world – do you think you would have an advantage when it comes time to interview? These methods – the methods practiced by TAG students – are the key to gaining insight that will blow away your competition.

How to make critical assessments

In school, you’re taught to accept what’s written as fact. But in the real world, these “facts” are sometimes built on ridiculous assumptions (remember the housing bubble?). Recognizing the difference and being able to make critical assessments will put you on the road to becoming an expert in your field.

How to read financial statements

Understanding financial statements is more than just knowing how to read numbers. The most important element is understanding the interplay between a person’s job and a company’s financial results. This uncommon knowledge is the Holy Grail for those looking to rise through the ranks and lead an organization.

How to be successful in life

What is success to you? While some people have devoted a lifetime to understanding what makes people happy and successful, others have never even considered the question. In the final session of TAG’s Mentorship Program, students take a closer look at what it means to be successful and learn how to reach their maximum professional potential.

If you can conquer these twelve knowledge areas – just as TAG students have – you will be in control of your own career. And that’s the greatest position one can ever hope to be in.

What do you think? Are there any “Knowledge Gap” areas I missed? Let me know!

BHAG stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goal. As opposed to the traditional “I’m going to exercise more next year” goal, a BHAG is meant to be a visionary goal…a clear and compelling statement about what you want to accomplish in your personal life or in business. For example, Twitter’s BHAG is to become the “pulse of the planet.”

With that as a backdrop, it’s high time TAG put its stake in the ground and defined its 2010 goal and “the BHAG.”

TAG’s 2010 goal: to manage 1,000 student relationships.

TAG’s BHAG: to become the content provider for every mentorship program in the United States.

What do you think? What’s your BHAG for 2010 and beyond? Let me know!

P.S. Have a happy and healthy New Year!

Chris Brogan recently asked a brilliant question. Actually, he asked 5 brilliant questions:

1. How could new ideas change education?
2. How can younger generations learn from the body of work of their successors?
3. How can we marry up all the great resources of people who know something great to those of us who could stand to learn more?
4. How can I help those of us who lived in the cubicle farms, and what can I do to share that information in a way that will empower others?
5. How can we equip our youth and/or our students and/or our business professionals?

Each of these questions dances around a singular issue: Today’s learning models are inadequate.

This message is similar to one Charlie O’Donnell has been spreading: “Structures for industry specific learning, particularly when it comes from learning from the accumulated wisdom of successful and experienced professionals, is horribly inefficient.”

So, we’ve got two really smart guys highlighting the exact same issue. Could this spell business opportunity? Methinks so…

Note: What you are about to read is a radically different idea. This idea serves as the backbone for my company, a provider of real world education services.

You see, a new model for education is quietly emerging. One fully endorsed – and championed – by my company. This new model definitively solves Chris Brogan’s riddles and answers Charlie O’Donnell’s call by establishing an efficient structure for industry specific learning.

A new idea that will change education

Before unveiling this new education model, we must first review its foundational principles. If these assumptions were to prove false, then the model would fall apart:

• Individual, customized learning is better than a generic, one size fits all approach.
• Adults learn best when they are involved in the diagnosing, planning, implementing, and evaluating of their own learning.
• Life’s reservoir of “experience” is a primary learning resource; the life experiences of others enrich the learning process.
• Distributed learning (learning which occurs over time) is a more efficient learning method than massed learning because it allows for absorption and understanding (note: massed learning is also known as cramming).
• If provided the right tools, anyone can be an educator.
  Note: This is the most critical principle of this new education model. The current model has built invisible barriers of entry around the teaching profession – barriers like certification and credential requirements. This new model assumes no barriers to becoming an educator. This assumption is borne from Malcolm Gladwell’s mismatch hypothesis. He explains:

There is no difference between the performance of credentialed teachers and non-credentialed teachers when it comes to increasing student performance. Whether you have a Master’s Degree or not, whether you scored 1400 on your SAT or 1200 on your SAT, it makes absolutely no difference in how you perform at the task of relating to and teaching kids.

…

In the name of trying to make a better decision, we’re spending all this money and spending all this time and none of it is having any effect. In fact, we are doing the very thing that actually defeats the cause of finding better teachers. We’re narrowing – what we should be doing is broadening the pool as much as possible – to find as many of these people with this ineffable, elusive gift called “being a good teacher” but instead what we do is narrow the pool.

Founded on the above tenants, the centerpiece for this new education model is the idea of mentorship. Not traditional Boys & Girls Club mentorship, but a radically new kind of mentorship. One that requires accountability, elicits insightful knowledge sharing and helps build deep relationships.

This new education model re-envisions mentorship and calls for real world professionals to become the new class of educators.

How does this model work?

This new model is brilliant in its simplicity. Professionals are given a curriculum – one that facilitates real conversation and real-world knowledge transfer. Students are matched to a professional in their chosen career field (each professional is screened on multiple levels). The pair meets (either in person or via phone) and builds a relationship around the given curriculum. Each side records his / her thoughts following every meeting, and reports relationship progress intermittently. In the event of negative feedback, Mentors are replaced, ensuring only the best “teachers” remain.

Now, for this model to work, an incentive structure must exist. Why? To ensure engagement from both the student and the professional. In this model, students pay the curriculum provider and the curriculum provider pays its Mentors (Professionals) for their time.

Over time, the curriculum provider becomes much smarter about each professional on its platform. And it tests and molds its curriculum based on community feedback. As time passes, the system gets better!

What is required to make this model successful?

For this model to be successful, three things are required:

1. A renowned curriculum that guides each relationship.
2. Students that understand the importance of professional relationships in the context of their career (and are willing to pay for these relationships).
3. Industry professionals that are willing to offer insight and perspective in exchange for monetary compensation.

Why will this model work so well?

This model recognizes the biggest flaw of our current resource constrained model: the number of educators for each student (the student:teacher ratio is one of the keys to delivering quality education). This new education model leverages industry professionals as its force multiplier to dramatically increase the effectiveness and delivery of education. This market-based approach is unlike anything that exists today.

Will this new model work? It already does.

P.S. Thoughts? Please join the conversation!

After seeing it, I felt compelled to reply for two key reasons:

1. I enjoy making new connections: You never really know where friendships or opportunities will come from in life. So why not take the “more is more” approach and connect with as many people as you can?
2. I care deeply about TAG: I want to make sure that people fully understand the company I’ve been building. “Paid mentorship” is an entirely new concept within the Educational Services sector. It’s important that I communicate exactly what TAG is, and exactly what TAG isn’t.

So here’s my reply…

Hi Jason,

Saw your tweet to @johnnemz and wanted to drop you a line. The idea behind TAG stems from my own personal experience in sourcing a job, as well as the recognition that students simply aren’t being served properly by their colleges. To give you an example, the University of Texas at Austin was ranked the #1 Career Placement Program in the United States in 2008. Do you know what their ratio of students to career counselors was? 2,671:1.

My view – which is very different from how institutions think – is that students pay tens of thousands of dollars to attend college for one simple reason: to get a great job once they graduate.  As you can tell by this post, I’m pretty passionate about this issue.

TAG is not “access to my rolodex.” In fact, I truly wish I knew that many people.

The service TAG provides is pretty straightforward: we match students with professionals – we are responsible for screening quality professionals and ensuring student happiness – and we help structure the relationship so there is real knowledge transfer happening [I've written about problems with the broken mentorship model that exists today]. We add value through our network of professionals, as well as through our content – which is outlined on our site.

Hope that helps answer your question / concerns. If you want to chat over the phone about this, I’m available anytime at 888.WHO.U.KNO.

Kind Regards,

Jonathan Hilley

Founder, TAG

http://www.theascendancegroup.org/

A: Because the existing mentorship model is broken.

And I am not the only one to recognize its flaws. In the words of Charlie O’Donnell, entrepreneur turned venture capitalist, “Structures for industry specific learning, particularly when it comes from learning from the accumulated wisdom of successful and experienced professionals, is horribly inefficient.”

TAG is my attempt at building a new structure to make experiential learning more efficient. TAG is my attempt at fixing the traditional – and broken – mentorship model. Let me explain…

A year ago, as I was researching the idea of TAG, I spoke to a number of students that used university career centers and alumni offices to find willing professionals / mentors. These students went through an application process, were selected to participate, and were given a “great” mentor in their chosen career field. That’s when the problems began…

1. The match: some students wanted to be mentored by an investment banker and were given a private wealth management professional. This flawed matching process ensured a swift end to the students’ mentorship experience.
2. The structure: most students – and their mentors / professionals – never truly understood how to properly cultivate their relationship. The lack of learning structure ensured very little knowledge transfer and led to a fairly rapid deterioration in their relationship.
3. The system: there was no reporting, no accountability and – almost as important – no incentives to sustain the relationship. Without such engagement, the long-term fate of each relationship was sealed: FAILURE WAS VIRTUALLY ASSURED.

If you ask most students to describe their university mentorship experience, you will begin to notice a consistent trend: most think that their mentorship program was a giant waste of time. One student went so far as to say, “Because of my poor experience with [school withheld]‘s mentorship program, I will never donate a dime to my alma mater.” Those are powerful words that lead to a powerful conclusion: traditional mentorship is broken.

The structural flaws I mentioned above are patently obvious in 99% of today’s mentorship programs. So why do they persist?

Because no one has put a business model around mentorship. No one, that is, until TAG.

At TAG, we’re turning the archaic idea of mentorship upside down. We’re doing this because we believe the current mentorship model is in a state of disrepair. We’re doing this because we want to bridge the gap between students and the working world. We’re doing this because we want to help students fulfill their career dreams.

P.S. If you work in in the career services office or in alumni relations (wherever your schools’ mentorship program is housed) and want to unlock the huge potential of your alumni network and resoundingly answer the ROI problem for your university, please give me a call at 888.946.8566.

• 70% dissatisfied — 70% of the external customers (applicants) and 28% of the internal customers (hiring managers) indicate they are dissatisfied with the hiring process (Source: Staffing.org).
• 50% customer regret — 50% of the processes users (both managers and new hires) later regret their “buying” decision (Source: The Recruiting Roundtable). In addition, 25% of new hires later regret taking their new job within one year (Source: Challenger, Gray)
• 46% turnover — 46% of new hires leave their jobs within the first year(Source: eBullpen, LLC) and 50% of current employees are actively seeking or are planning to seek a new job (Source: Deloitte).
• 46% failure rate — 46% of U.S. new hires must be classified as failures within their first 18 months (fired, pressured to quit, required disciplinary action, etc.) (Source: Leadership IQ). In addition, 58% of the highest-priority hires, new executives hired from the outside, fail in their new position within 18 months (Source: Michael Watkins).
• Only a 19% success rate — only one out of five of the process output can be classified as unequivocal successes (Source: Leadership IQ).

• 66% regret hiring decisions — Nearly two-thirds of hiring managers come to regret their interview-based hiring decisions (Source: DDI)

With my hedge fund background, if these statistics represented a publicly traded entity, I’d short the be-jesus out of it. As it stands today, it’s fair to say that the time has come to rethink most talent management processes.

How? What’s the new model? First a bit of background…

My first job was at Goldman Sachs. They are arguably one of the best in the industry in terms of hiring processes. And still their way of doing things is flawed. The hiring process at Goldman goes like this: 1 “super day” of interviews, 10 different people interview you for an hour each = 10 hours of interviews. After that, the employees collectively come together and make a hiring decision that costs the firm $500k over 3 years [that's training, resources, benefits, salary and more]. To me, that process is not the best approach to learn if a candidate is worthy of a job offer.

What if it were like this?

Goldman turns its fast-track employees into mentors. They get matched with a student interested in their line of work and establish relationships with him / her over the course of 6 months or more. Not only will they build a great relationship, but the student will gain industry insight [beneficial to the student] and the company will become really smart about who they are hiring [beneficial to the company].

This new model requires employees to become the primary talent filter [with HR managing the process].

What value does this add to the company?

1. Cheaper sourcing of candidates [employees mentor during off hours]
2. Better employee engagement / knowledge transfer [students, if hired, could immediately "hit the ground running"]
3. Less frequent hiring mistakes [mis-hiring is costly]

This is TAG’s approach. My friend Ted at Groupereye also has a unique approach. Are there other companies that are trying to solve the talent management conundrum? Let me know!

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,

“Hi, my name is Jon and I let the numbers do the talking.  What’s yours?”

Terrible, I know.

But it gives you insight into how I think: I apply an analytical framework to everything I do.  This mindset applies double to my startup.  So when I was asked recently about why I decided to leave a high-paying hedge fund job to bootstrap a startup, I was taken by surprise.

To the uninformed, this decision seems like lunacy.  But to me, the decision was a no brainer.  How can there be such an amazing contrast in viewpoints?  How can one see lunacy while another sees conviction?

The answer lies in logic…

CONVICTION COMES FROM RESEARCH.

The truth is, you can only have strong conviction about something if you have done a tremendous amount of research.  This “deep dive” approach allows you to frame your thoughts, carefully develop your ideas and create a roadmap for success.  This is what gave me the conviction to leave the cush-cush hedge fund world I was in and launch TAG.

The truth is…

TAG’S BUSINESS MODEL HAS BEEN BUILT ATOP MOUNTAINS OF RESEARCH.

Not only Mark Granovetter’s, but many others’.  To offer up a slice of insight…

1.  Why is networking so valuable?

• People that actively network earn more money.
• They also perform better.

2.  What are the benefits of mentorship – to both students and professionals?

• Mentored individuals reported having more satisfaction, career mobility/opportunity, recognition and a higher promotion rate than non-mentored individuals.
• Mentored individuals achieve higher levels of career success.
• Mentors – and proteges alike – earn more money, have higher retention rates, and are 6 times more likely to get promoted.

3.  What are the benefits to employers – why partner with TAG?

• For most entry-level positions, employers don’t really know who they’re hiring. The cost of a mis-hire can be astronomical.  TAG relationships offer insight into candidates that the typical interview screening process could never match. Finally you will know who you are hiring!
• Mentorship provides better performance management, and helps organizations develop critical skills and behaviors. It is also a great tool for leadership development.

4.  What are the benefits to universities?  The compelling case for colleges…

• While tuition costs continue to skyrocket, students are beginning to measure the return on their education.  Can the case be made against your school?
• Alumni that make more money donate more to their alma mater.  Helping students land great jobs will increase alumni donations.

5.  Why is the timing of TAG’s venture so perfect?

• The cyclical [short-term] trends highlight the need for TAG’s services.  The numbers speak for themselves.
• The secular [long-term] trends also point to one irrefutable conclusion: TAG’s services will be in high demand as we continue to transition to a knowledge-based economy.

After all this research, I became convinced of the viability of TAG’s business model.  I felt that if TAG could add value across the constituent chain – from Students to Professionals and from Employers to Colleges – just as the above research suggests, then it could be a really valuable idea.  And it was only then – after this small mountain of research was combed through – that I graduated from lunacy to conviction.

So, what’s the real point here?  The point is this:

IF YOU WANT TO CROSS THE CHASM FROM LUNACY TO CONVICTION – JUST AS I DID – DO YOUR RESEARCH.  EVERYTHING ELSE WILL FLOW NATURALLY FROM THERE.

You could say Zack was the opposite of me – he had a ton of amazing professional connections within his chosen industry [starting out, I had none].  However, his lack of knowledge led others to believe he was not qualified for the job he wanted.  And he struggled to leverage his connections to get a great job.

So Zack came to TAG looking for the right knowledge.  What he got was an education spanning 5 major categories:

• Career strategy: Through TAG’s program, Zack was able to assess his targeted job position and begin to formulate a path to reach his career goal.  I’m talking about strategic career planning with specific, time-bound, measurable goals.

• Industry insight: Zack achieved a level of insight that cannot be learned from books or career guides.  From a company insider, he learned the keys to his dream company’s competitive advantage.  He learned how he could add value to the bottom line of that company.  Imagine if you too could articulate to your dream company that hiring you is a “no brainer”.  This is the key to an unfair career advantage.

• Personal branding: Zack learned the power of a strong personal brand.  In just a few TAG sessions, he molded his personal brand – both on- and off-line – and saw an immediate increase in his professional marketability.  In addition to having one cohesive image on the web, he now also has a Memory Hook that can be repeated to anyone he meets.  He is now memorable for all the right reasons.

• Talent acquisition: Zack also learned how to develop his professional skill circuits.  From financial modeling to public speaking, he learned some simple systems that led to quantum leaps in his professional performance.

• Social circle mastery: With TAG, Zack mastered the inner and outer game of social circles.  He learned how to demonstrate higher value and immediately “win” vested-interest connections – these are the strongest types of connections you can have.  He also learned how to become an interesting and captivating storyteller.

This knowledge, combined with his powerful professional network, allowed Zack to cross the chasm, safely avoiding cosmic career doom.

It’s fair to say that he is now “living the dream” – he’s currently perched up in a sweet executive office as one of the youngest Vice Presidents in a prestigious investment house.  It seems that having right knowledge helped alter the lens through which others viewed Zack.  And this was his key to commanding respect and getting a great job.

The right knowledge – the knowledge acquired in TAG’s program – was the key to his unfair career advantage.  Why not make it yours?

Note: for further details about the knowledge acquired in TAG’s mentorship program, click here.

My dream was to work on Wall Street.  But I didn’t want to work at some bucket shop – no, no.  I wanted to work at the most prestigious, white-shoe firm on the street – I wanted a job at Goldman Sachs.

3 years into my college experience I realized that there was a giant, elephant-sized problem:

I was attending the #1 party-school in the nation.

This was hardly a hotbed for financial talent, at least in Goldman’s eyes.

There was also another problem – I come from a family of real estate attorneys and real estate agents.

So, I faced an enormous battle:  How would I get past the resume screening eating software with zero connections while attending a school better known for football championships than its academic horsepower?

Well, I did have one thing going for me…a simple insight that I carried with me since childhood…

LIFE IS ALL ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW.

With that nugget, I thought to myself, “well, now’s the time to get to know some people.”  And so I began the journey of building my own professional network.

I started with my personal rolodex – some of my parents’ friends happened to know some people that worked at CitiGroup.  Well, that reached a dead-end pretty quick – not because they weren’t nice people.  But because no one I was connected with was in a position to help me.

So I tried Professors – well, 1 professor to be precise.  There was exactly 1 professor that actually had real-world experience and real world connections.  Unfortunately for his students, he had a “no referral” policy.

STRIKE 2.

5 days after my networking journey began, I was stuck.  There was only 1 option left: the dreaded cold call strategy.  So, that’s what I did.  Over the next six months, I got sent directly to voicemail.  I got hung up on.  I got yelled at.  I shook more hands and manufactured more fake smiles than I ever thought possible.  I even paid thousands of dollars in flights and hotel rooms just to meet people for 20 minutes and some coffee.  But – thanks to the law of large numbers and a little bit of luck – it worked.

Over those six months, I built relationships with professionals throughout the finance world.   Armed with their invaluable career guidance, I was able to land my dream job: an analyst position at Goldman Sachs.

5 years later, as I was reflecting on that experience, it hit me: Why not create an entire platform that connects students with professionals?  Why not turn that exhausting process into an easy one?  Why not allow others to take control of their career just as I did?

AND SO THE IDEA FOR TAG WAS BORN.

Shortly after my epiphany, I left my high-paying hedge fund job and began the next step in fulfilling career dream #2…I became an entrepreneur.

So, why should you care about me, my company and this blog?

If you’re working in the career you’ve always wanted, earning a salary that pays for the lifestyle you so ardently desire, than you will not find much value in this community.  You can choose to “not give a damn.”

But if you – like so many others – are still struggling to land your dream job or desperately trying to claw your way out of the vicious cycle, then listen up:

YOU SHOULD CARE BECAUSE YOUR CAREER DREAMS ARE AT STAKE.

What do I mean by that?  Well, we are all witness to two Herculean forces that are permanently changing the employment landscape:

1.  Increasing Competition

• From 1985 to 2008 the number of workers with undergraduate degrees has increased nearly 50%.

2.  Decreasing Employment Opportunities

• Outsourcing / Offshoring of jobs
• Dreadful hiring environment; unemployment in the double digits

THESE TWO FORCES ARE THE THIEVES OF YOUR CAREER DREAMS.

You see, never before has there been so much competition for the job you want.  And never before have there been so few opportunities available.  It’s as if two giant walls are moving in on you, crushing you from both sides.

So, how do you escape?  How do you fight back?  Well, that’s why I’m here – to help you solve the career success equation and fulfill your career dreams.

So, come along.  Take a look around and if you like what you see, please join the conversation.