It’s a common paradox in today’s graduate recruitment market. Employers want to hire graduates who fit into their culture and, at the same time, to stand out. Yet, the job and career advice industry spoon feeds formulaic advice to young careerists about how to write a CV and LinkedIn profile, tells them to play safe, and apply for ‘dream jobs’. Then graduates discover recruiters didn’t find them to be unique enough! So says Mark Babbitt, my latest Learning to Leap podcast guest. He calls this phenomenon the Clone Wars.

cloneMark is a leadership and career mentor in the United States, a prolific blogger on many well-known sites (check out The Savvy Intern, one of my fave’s), in Inc magazine’s top 100 leadership speakers (he has just returned from a gig with 500 students at Hong Kong University), co-author of worldwide hit, A World Gone Social, and mentor to many college students, young careerists and military veterans. He is CEO of YouTern, a leading voice on experiential education, and is President of Switch & Shift, the second most socially shared leadership site on the Internet.

Listen to the podcast here

People are treating their corporate careers like a freelance career…and it’s not working for them. Mark Babbitt

A taste of our conversation

  • Mark’s journey from an engineer with the US Air Force via Silicon Valley before he switched and shifted to being a serial entrepreneur.
  • The perfect storm that is leading to graduates leaving their corporate jobs on average every 2.3 years.
  • Why he hates the ‘follow your passion’ mantra with a passion.
  • How some employers hype their brand to potential recruits and then don’t live up to the hype once recruited.
  • Why college students are playing it too safe and not standing out in the Clone Wars.
  • The absence of great role models in public life today and the disconnect between the behaviour of politicians and what employers are seeking from young careerists.
  • The dark side of social media when it creates false confidence and bad behaviour.
  • The most important soft skill and mindset for young people that would improve their confidence.
  • A tantalising glimpse of Mark’s next book.

You won’t want to miss this rich and insightful conversation with one of the career space’s most influential and straight-talking thought leaders. You can contact him on Twitter @MarkSBabbitt.

Until next time!