I had the opportunity to speak to the students at International Technological University about their job search strategies, there were a few points that I thought I would share  with you in case you are looking or a structred and fun way to approach your job search.  You see, t

Deliver a clear message

What does this business do? That’s often the first question customers ask when selecting a service provider. Hiring managers ask themselves a similar question when evaluating job candidates. They want to know your story — what skills and experience you have, what your areas of expertise are and what can you bring to the table. Ask a friend or colleague to review your résumé, then without looking at the document, briefly summarize the key points. If he or she struggles to articulate the main themes, you may need to make some revisions. Many job candidates put too much information in their résumés, whether it’s a laundry list of routine duties performed in past positions or after-work interests. Take an objective look at your résumé and remove items that don’t relate either to your professional abilities or the needs of the company.

Highlight your selling points

In order to stand out, a company needs to play up what makes it better than its competitors. In this job market, you’re in competition with numerous other applicants. Therefore, you need to describe for hiring managers what makes you unique. Do you have in-demand expertise? Years of experience? A proven ability to cut costs or drive revenue? Look closely at the job ad, as well as the company’s website and other materials, to see if you can get a sense of its mission, both for the open job and for the business overall. The better you can explain how your skills will help the firm achieve its mission, the better your chances of being asked to interview there. for more information creating a compeling resume you can checkout my blog on Creating a Compelling Resume here.

Exude professionalism

If you walked into a law firm and saw employees playing video games and foosball in the lobby instead of tending to their clients, you’d probably have doubts about hiring them to represent you. The bottom line: Customers want to deal with a business that behaves professionally. The same is true of hiring managers. Use your application materials to demonstrate your professionalism. One of the easiest ways to do so: Submit documents that are free of grammatical or spelling errors. It’s also important to arrive early and dress appropriately for your interview, and to treat every employee you encounter at the interview with the same level of respect.

Protect your reputation

A company that doesn’t properly respond to criticism risks damage to its brand, possibly resulting in lost business. That’s why more and more organizations are using social media to respond directly to consumers, correct service issues and protect the company’s reputation. You can use social media to influence your reputation, as well. But be careful. Depending upon how you use it, you might actually harm your reputation. That’s why you should always think twice before posting controversial comments to Facebook, blogs or any other public website. Many hiring managers search for information about job candidates online, and you don’t want them to find anything that will make them think twice about hiring you. Of course, social media and other online tools allow you to strengthen your reputation if used correctly. Adding insightful comments to blog posts, following industry experts on Facebook and Twitter, and actively participating in LinkedIn groups are all good ways to distinguish yourself among your peers.

Rely on multiple resources

If a company wants to introduce a new product, it won’t rely on a single person to do it. People from several departments throughout the organization need to collaborate to develop the product so it has the best chance to succeed in the marketplace. Similarly, you shouldn’t limit yourself to just one or two resources when job hunting. In addition to relying on job boards, also spread the word about your search within your professional network. In fact, tell everyone you know, unless your job search is confidential. You can also have someone conduct your job search for you. By registering with a staffing firm, an expert recruiter can look for opportunities that match your skill set and ensure your résumé is seen by hiring managers.

I”ve also uploaded the presentation material from the event if you are curious. You can find it here.

Have fun being the CEO of you!

What? Most job seekers have this one down cold; what you did at that job. To address the “what,” read the job description carefully and identify the most important attributes and skills the hiring company is looking for. If they list management experience #1, don’t list it as the 8th bullet under your most recent job. Also think about what not to include. If your title is customer service representative, there’s no need to list a bullet that talks about customer service unless it involves a specific situation or outcome above and beyond what could be implied from your title.

So what? Once you’ve established the “what,” you must address the “so what?” For each bullet, what were the results? What was the impact? If you presented a recommendation to upper management, was it adopted? If you developed a new process for doing business, did it save time and/or money?

Before applying to another job, read over your resume bullet by bullet to make sure you’ve answered both the “what” and “so what.” When you do, you’ll be well on your way to having a resume that gets results.

Penelope Trunk shares three ideas that guide professional resume writers and should guide you as well:

1. Don’t focus on your responsibilities, focus on what you achieved.
A resume is not your life story. No one cares. If your life story were so interesting, you’d have a book deal. The only things that should be on your resume are achievements. Anyone can do their job, but only a small percentage of the population can do their job well, wherever they go.

The best way to show that you did your job well is from achievements. The best achievement is a promotion. It is an objective way to show that you impressed the people you work for. The next best way to show objective measures is to present quantified achievements.

Most people do not think in terms of quantified achievements when they are in the job, but on the resume, that’s the only part of the job that matters. No one can see that you were a “good team player” on your resume unless you can say “established a team to solve problem x and increased sales x%” or “joined under-performing team and helped that team beat production delivery dates by three weeks.”

If you are only putting achievements on your resume, you are going to be hard-pressed to fill a whole page. That’s okay. Anything on your resume that is not an achievement is wasting space. Because you don’t know what a hiring manager will look at first—and if you have ten good achievements and three mediocre lines about your life story, the hiring manager may only read those three lines—so remove them.

2. Don’t make your resume a moral statement; it’s a marketing document.
Think about when a company announced the launch of their product. First of all, the product is not done. Second of all, it has bugs. And third, the company is probably showing photos of prototypes and the real thing will look different. All this stuff is fine. It’s accepted practice for marketing. The company will tell you that they are doing their best to get you the information you want in the way they think is best for letting you know what your consumer options are.You need to take the same approach with your resume, because a resume is a marketing document. The best marketing documents show the product in the very best light, which means using whatever most outrageous tactics possible to make you look good. As long as you are not lying, you will be fine.

Here’s an example: You join a software company that just launched a product and the product had so many problems that they had to hire someone to handle the calls. You start doing the tech support, and you work tons of overtime because the calls are so backed up. You clean up the phone queue and then you start taking long lunches because there’s not a lot to do, and then you start job hunting because the job is boring.

Here’s how you summarize this job on your resume: Assumed management responsibility for tech support and decreased call volume 20%.

How do you know 20%? Who knows? It was probably more. But you can’t quantify exactly, so err on the safe side. But if you just say “Did tech support for a software company” no one knows you did a good job.

3. Don’t give everything away in the resume.
The idea of a resume is to get someone to call you. Talk with you on the phone. Offer you an interview. So a resume is like a first date. You only show your best stuff and you don’t show it all. Some people dump everything they can think of onto their resume, but a resume is not the only chance you’ll have to sell yourself. In fact the interview is where the hard-core selling takes place. So you only put your very best achievements on the resume. Sure, there will be other questions people will want answers to, but that will make them call you. And that’s good, right?

For those of you who can’t bear to take off the twenty extra lines on your resume because you think the interviewer has to see every single thing about you right away, consider it from your audience’s point of view. Do you really want to see a movie after the preview has already given away the entire plot?

Here is a link to some resume templates that you can use now: http://www.resume-resource.com/examples.html

More Tips for Using Resume Templates or Examples

Make sure that you don’t copy statements word for word, use the statements as an idea, but a small adjustment will always help. At the same time, don’t be afraid to use the introductory phrases (example — Developed and managed team to….).

If the resume templates include blanket statements such as “solid communications skills” don’t be afraid to add your own twist. For example, you can say “solid communications skills from experience as sales representative and bank teller.”

It’s always a good idea to add a few statements under your previous work history providing statements of responsibility and highlighting achievements.

Don’t be afraid to change font size, especially if you are trying to keep it to one page. Don’t go below 11 point font for the main text and at least make the headings one size larger in bold.

You can always change margins if you start running out of room. In most word processing documents you can find margins in the page setup section.

If you do choose to modify the format of resume templates, be careful not to go too extreme. The ideal font is times new roman, but you are generally safe to go to a MS Sans serif or arial. It’s usually not a good idea to use fancy fonts, especially if you plan to distribute the document electronically.

Also, don’t use colors.. make sure to keep everything black and white. If you want to view the presentation from this event you can view it here.

I speak from the front line living this reality day in and day out. Straddling the line between a lack of experience in the people leader arena and knowing that there is a better way to do things.  I think it is safe to say that my generation’s access to the world  has given us an intellectual boost in absorbing and applying newly generated information. While being a Generation Y manager has been an uphill battle, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways to keep us engaged as we inherit the baton of ushering in the new world of work.

Warning: I’m going to bounce from first to third person which will drive all you copy editors out there absolutely bananas. But hey, it’s my blog – so read at your own discretion. Just try not to wince too much that you miss the point. =) Consider yourself warned.

Here are five strategies employers  may find useful in retaining Generation Y managers and cultivating our growth in the organization.

Get Involved

It’s not just about making small talk in the hallway about how the weekend went or walking In a study done by Dr. Alison MacLeod, she sought to determine the behavior of Generation Y managers: our work-life balance, internet habits, career goals and more. Only 41% of Generation Y managers in this study reported regular reviews with line managers. Not bad right? It leads me to believe that this is a symptom of a much larger problem and is directly related to the fact that younger managers don’t have the same organizational loyalty to traditional corporate views as those that are more senior.

While part of this can be attributed to additional time invested by a senior manager; the disconnect between upper management and Generation Y managers needs to be remedied if organizations want to retain Generation Y managers in the long term.

Getting involved does not necessarily need to translate to increased supervision or micromanagement. In fact, evidence suggests that Generation Y managers are very proactive and independent. However, we require consistent feedback that helps us identify strengths and weaknesses and points out avenues toward increased education and eventual responsibility.

Give Us Room to Grow

Generation Y managers are incredibly driven regarding learning new skills and progressing up the corporate structure as quickly as possible, sometimes to our own detriment. As an employer, it is in your best interest to offer us as much career development as possible, because we typically aren’t afraid to walk away and join another organization where the career development is perceived to be greater. Generation Y managers get the most satisfaction from professional courses and qualifications, so an organization that provides a constant path upward toward ever more certifications will retain a Generation Y manager longer than one that does not. Blended learning, the practice of utilizing professional online networks to encourage more personal contact between younger managers and our mentors has been found to be an effective supplement to professional learning.

If the organization has no career development in the manager’s current sector, job rotation is another way of keeping  managers engaged and retaining them within the organization.

Emphasize Positive Organizational Effects

90% of Generation Y managers surveyed said they wanted to work for an organization they can believe in. This was the point that was common to the greatest number of study responses. With such agreement, organizations would do well to bear this in mind when constructing a workplace culture. This culture doesn’t need to be heavy handed and attempt to drum up corporate pride through traditional motivational methods; it can be as simple as pointing out the ways in which the organization is positively contributing to society and encouraging employees to take part in volunteer efforts and other programs that highlight social responsibility. As managers grow older, it becomes increasingly important that our organization have strong values, and a constant commitment to corporate social responsibility will go a long way toward satisfying our need to believe in the positive effect of our organization on society.

Maintain Flexibility

One of our greatest frustrations is the inability of organizations to change to reflect new realities, whether technological, organizational or otherwise. We want our organization to be as flexible as we are, able to alter its approach to best take advantage of new technologies or respond to changing market conditions. Upper management needs to respond more positively when we identify policies or procedures that are ineffective or counterproductive. If items are necessary for reasons unknown to the manager, explaining them will help further our education while instilling the feeling that our input is valued nonetheless.

Don’t Lose Sight of Traditional Benefits

Although Generation Y certainly appreciates the more exotic benefits that have popped up in companies over the last several years, they are no substitute for traditional perks such as financial incentives and healthcare. Other lifestyle benefits did not enter into a manager’s decision of whether to remain with a particular organization or look elsewhere. The only exception to this rule lies in wellness and fitness benefits, which were appreciated more than any other such benefit.

Overall, the number one item we seek as Generation Y managers is transferable skills. If your organization meets this need while at the same time providing constructive, regular feedback, embracing new technology, acknowledging and considering recommendations and reinforcing the positive actions of your organization on society, it will be in the best possible position to recruit and retain Generation Y managers as we continue to make our way up the organizational chart.

So, was that an exhaustive list or what? In all candor, my experience as a Generation Y manager has been a positive experience. While its had its pot holes and waterfalls, at the end of the day, if you are really passionate about what you do it’s not going to matter what generation you come from anyway. It’s going to matter how you handle the evolution of the new world of work.

Before we continue investing our valuable time crafting, manicuring, and fine-tuning our online personae, we should ask ourselves: What personal brand should I portray to help me accomplish my short and long-term goals? If we don’t know the personal brand we are building, then we might as well be asking ourselves  a different question: “What if the crafting, manicuring and fine-tuning is all bullsh*t?”

If you are still defining your personal brand, here’s something to get the wheels turning and help you at least nail down a draft of your personal branding statement. If you are confident about your personal brand, here’s a simple exercise to double-check your efforts.

An Exercise in Deciding Your Personal Brand

I was reading Another 20 Something, and I found a personal branding statement that really resonated with me.

I thought, ‘Wow, most people would have been stumped at combining those two professions– photography and public relations– in a single branding statement. Instead of getting caught up on what she wanted to do, Sheena answered a larger question: Why do I enjoy doing what I do? What is at the heart of the work I am doing? For Sheena, that appears to be helping organizations tell powerful stories and connect with their audiences.

I broke down Sheena’s branding statement to reveal the different parts and how they work together to create a balanced personal branding statement.

After doing this, I grabbed a pen and a notepad, (I’ll go for the typewriter next time), and I started crafting my personal branding statement. Ask yourself these questions, just as I did:

-  Who are my customers? (What target group am I providing a product or service for?)
-  What goal can I help my customers accomplish? (For Sheena, it is connecting her customers with their key audiences.)
-  What action will I take to help my customers accomplish their goal? (For Sheena, it is helping them tell powerful stories through words and photos.)

Now, attempt to piece it all together. It should look something like this:

Danielle [verb] [customer] [customer action] [customer payoff] [my role].

Danielle helps creative professionals grow their brand impact and earning power by landing key brand collaborations as their Business Development and Marketing Manager.

This is certainly not the end-all be-all for branding statements, but it’s a good start for beginners and a good test for the advanced. I’ll continue posting personal branding exercises in the future because this is just the beginning. If you know of other individuals who have successfully branded themselves and have a clear branding statement, please post in the comments! In the meantime, I have to untag myself in some unflattering Facebook photos and craft a witty Twitter status.

Education Nation or Education Stagnation?

The opportunity of a lifetime to inspire kids and teach children the ways of this world can never start too early. NBC got it right to put teachers on the platform to discuss in a round-table setting about how we can proactively take some steps to fix the divide in education between charter schools and public schools. Take a look at the wonderful work of the director of An Inconvenient Truth, David Guggenheim to see the masterpiece awareness campaign that shows the attention our community needs to desperately pay to the institute of education.

Where does the majority think the problem lies? The teachers. Yes, I said it, the teachers.

In a post recently John Nolte, he notes that Guggenheim doesn’t slam teachers, though. In fact, he has an enormous amount of respect for what they do and believes the good ones need to be paid better. The problem is that the unions see it as “a teacher, is a teacher, is a teacher,” and they fight tooth-and-nail against any proposal involving pay based on merit and make it impossible to get rid of the 6-10% of bad teachers who are shuffled from school to school and literally destroy lives by allowing their students to fall so far behind they eventually lose hope and drop out. If you’re looking for context, the national average of doctors and lawyers who lose their license is somewhere around 1 in 75, for teachers it’s a jaw-dropping 1 in 2500.

The institute of education needs to move into a Pay for Performance culture. We need to be able to hold the institution accountable to a national standard of evaluation to ensure that we are comparing apples to apples.

From a holistic overview, unions don’t help or protect. It does not help the students, it does not help the teacher develop. One thing that unions do protect people from is the opportunity to write out success. Success cannot be found in a grievance or due process. Nor can it be found in the bylaws of a few hundred pages of jargon in a union contract. The teaching profession was largely dominated by women when it came about and thus needed the union to protect them from unfair wages and working extended hours. But do we really still need this structure now? It doesn’t apply to the way society, learning and teaching has evolved. Some can choose to agree to disagree. I stand firmly on this.

And In Come The Lies

Now what about funding? A lack of funding is most certainly not the problem. As the film informs us, prior to the 1970s the American public education system was the envy of the world. But over the past 40 years as per student spending has risen (allowing for inflation) from $4,000 to $9,000, student performance rates have hit bottom when compared to other industrial nations. Does it seem like we are pointing the finger at a revolving carousel? We all need to take accountability for educating our children and ensuring they are equipped to learn and grow not only physically but most importantly, intellectually.

Schools are failing due to lack of funding? That’s a lie.

Kids from troubled homes and poor socio-economic backgrounds can’t learn? Another provable lie. And what proves it best is the devastated look on the faces of those parents who don’t win the lottery – who believe their child might now be, as one parent so memorably puts it, “doomed.”

People! Kids are hungry to learn.

Let’s not leave them a legacy of an institution we know is broken with no recommendations or action to fix it. It’s only right. As a product of Generation Y, I say we should start a movement to increase mentorship and challenged based education in our schools. Start with communities close to your home. Give back. We want this principle to be ongoing. Think about it. How can you give back to a community that failed to prepare you and invest in you when you were young. Let’s set our mindsets in focus to help solve this issue rather than point the finger and blame everyone around us. We need to demand more out of ourselves and our children. Their future is at stake and it starts with what they learn in school.

It’s been a while since our last post. We’ve got mighty big things cooking in the kitchen. Summer took off without a hitch and kept me busy speaking at conferences and attending conferences and meeting with more people who can offer us a better paradigm into out generation. Lately, this Gen Y blogger has been hard at work interviewing  leaders of other organizations that we can certainly synergize with and partner with in the future. Some of the people I have spoken to are also fantastic advocates of gearing up Gen Y with the tools to succeed. So, without further ado I give to you someone from our Gen Y’er of the week format. He’s not Gen Y but has some great advice for us young aspiring entrepreneurs, corporate mavens and world-changers.

The Advocate

Mark Babbitt is the founder and CEO of a company you might have heard of (or applied to) called YouTern. In this post he tells us all about passion and gives us some advice on how we may be able to scale and grow our businesses. Did I mention he’s also a Gen Y Advocate?

Full Name: Mark Babbitt | Nickname: None | Age: 50

Location: Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Passion: My five children, mentor relationships, YouTern, San Francisco Giants

Tell us why: Since I was 12, I always knew I’d have six kids and live on a mountain somewhere (so close). The Giants? I can only attribute that passion to a love of baseball (I’ve coached baseball my entire adult life, it seems), and perhaps a significant character flaw (since they never seem to reward the time invested in them).

Mentor relationships and YouTern are virtually the same thought process: the way to accelerate confidence, which I strongly believe is a key to any success, is to learn. We learn from books, the internet, and mostly, we learn from mistakes. A mentor – one of the most satisfying relationships one can have – greatly reduces our learning curve when it comes to mistakes. A mentor, someone you trust and are willing to bare your soul to, is a “mistake counselor”. Through dialogue, the mentor not only helps you mentally process the mistakes you’ve made, but maybe prevents them from happening again.

Bio & Background:

Mark Babbitt is helping to drive evolution in the online recruiting industry with YouTern, an online community that aligns emerging talent with start-up and entrepreneurial-minded companies through internships.

A Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Mark founded YouTern after a distinguished track record with two online recruiting start-ups and a decade of experience as founder and CEO of a Silicon Valley marketing firm.

At YouTern, Mark dedicates much of his time to product development and strategy, investor inquiries, presales and strategic relationships with industry experts, career centers, students and employers. His vision for the company includes the national rollout of YouTern.

Prior to YouTern, Mark was Director of Sales at WorkMetro, a network of local recruitment websites.  While at WorkMetro, Mark led the company’s growth from $1.6 million in sales in 2004 to $4.9 million in 2007. His career in the online recruiting industry began at then start-up RegionalHelpWanted.com. During Mark’s tenure at Regional, he helped lead the company to 415% growth from 1999 to 2003. RegionalHelpWanted.com eventually sold for $105M.

Earlier in his career, Mark honed his entrepreneurial skills as founder and CEO of a marketing firm. Undaunted by challenges from larger competitors, Mark led his company’s growth with a roster of blue chip clients, including IBM, HP, Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems, Toshiba, City of San Jose, and Lexmark.

Mark’s introduction to Silicon Valley was with Teradyne, Inc. as an Engineer/Engineering Manager from 1982 to 1990. He was trained as an Avionics Engineer while proudly serving in the US Air Force from 1978 to 1982.

What’s your venture:

YouTern facilitates the mentoring process by connecting emerging talent to leaders of dynamic start-ups, change-oriented non-profits, and passionate entrepreneurs. As we say when we’re introducing YouTern to employers and candidates… we’re like eHarmony.com for young talent and mentors.

What are the most important decisions you make as someone armed with an idea?

Wow, good question…

Everyone has ideas; we dream of creating the next “must have” product, or the next Facebook.

First step, it seems, is to consider scale and ambition. Is the concept worthy of a cottage industry, perhaps a lifestyle business? Can we scale this idea into what most people think of as a fundable start-up? Or is it not worthy at all and maybe we should go back to the drawing board?

An idea remains just an idea until you build the right team to turn the concept into something more. The trouble is being able to articulate – “sell” – your idea to team members, early adopters, customers, and eventually investors. Since no one person can do all that himself, maybe your most important decision involves building the right team; a diverse group that can take that idea and turn it into an entrepreneurial venture with the best possible chance to succeed.

Which is most important to you – mission, core values or vision? Why?

At YouTern, we’re grateful we can say: “all of the above”… our mission/vision includes high standards of core values. At YouTern, we’re fortunate that our business model is focused on helping students/candidates find mentors through internships – greatly improving career strategies and promoting innovation and creativity in the process.

What is one characteristic that you believe every leader/entrepreneur/world-changer should possess? Why?

As a leader, the one trait an effective leader must have: the ability to teach, coach, motivate and mentor others – effectively.

I’m all about reducing learning curve, and getting more done in one week then we used to do in a month (or three months). Friends, family and team members often point out that this “passion” can make me a bit anal and impatient. It is when I step back – and realize that motivating through teaching is the most important aspect of leadership – that we excel.

From a purely CEO point of view I wrote a blog about this subject: Top 5 Tips From a Start-up CEO (After One Year of On-the-Job Training)

What are a few resources you would recommend to someone looking to gain insight into becoming a future world changer or entrepreneur?

Focused social media (the productive variety vs. those who destroy your creativity with whining and blabbing); researching game-changing organizations like Tom’s Shoes and Kickstarter, blogs relevant to your venture/future, amazing chats on twitter like #genychat and #u30pro, websites like Under30CEO and Entrepreneur, and books from authors such as Geoffrey Moore, Stephen Covey and Jim Collins.

Who inspires you?
I am inspired by little things… the laugh of my children (and grandchildren), a calming rub of my shoulder from the woman who tolerates me, the process of survival (even the smallest animals have an incredible will to survive), the athlete who finds something inside him he didn’t know was there, and stupid movies like “Rocky” and “Field of Dreams”.

From a humanist “who” point of view, especially considering today’s false pundits, preachers and politicians, Abraham Lincoln is always an inspiration. The struggles he endured must have been extraordinarily intense; yet he kept his vision simply because it was the right thing to do.

YouTern

Mark’s organization has helped hundreds of young talent find well-qualified mentors and dynamic internships.  Not only does he continue to pursue this avenue but he is also one of the few gen Y advocates that actually “get” social media and how our generation uses this platform to connect, collaborate and create. Checkout these links below to connect and learn more about Mark and YouTern.

Social Media Links
Twitter: @YouTernMark

LinkedIn: http://www.facebook.com/YouTern

Blog: TheSavvyIntern.com

I cannot even begin to tell you how much this burns inside me with every word Erica notes in her speech. So let us ask ourselves, as mothers teachers, fathers, mentors and coaches… how long will we sit idly by as our future pangs and writhes with disdain on this institution we call education? Let’s do something about it.  I have been quite a fan of Sir Ken Robinson on his view of how our educational system continues to delimit and suppress creativity and originality. I have also included this video on my post for those of you who dare to venture to rearchitecht our internal educational landscape. I am there, this is my mission. I am sick and tired of speaking to Gen Y’ers who pursued a degree only to attain a piece of paper that would eventually define their mission in this world. YOU ARE FAR GREATER THAN A PIECE OF PAPER! I am sick and tired of a corporate work place that condemns brilliant minds in pursuit to make education better who want to prolong their studies in pursuit and demand of a challenging path to conquer. Shame on you for your elitist and uninnovative approach on how you want to make your company a diverse and better place to work. What a joke.

Shame on you people who look down upon brilliant minds because they have no paper or pedigree attached to their resumes. You fail to look at the experience and rather focus on the piece of paper that will produce the very same results of mediocrity. We need to do a better job at this and for young folks just graduating college, THIS STARTS NOW! You have the opportunity to change this and become an architect of change for a better educational system.

Erica originally posted her full speech on Sign of the Times, and without need for editing or cutting, here’s the speech in its entirety:

Here I Stand

There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master, “If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, “Ten years . .” The student then said, “But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast — How long then?” Replied the Master, “Well, twenty years.” “But, if I really, really work at it, how long then?” asked the student. “Thirty years,” replied the Master. “But, I do not understand,” said the disappointed student. “At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?” Replied the Master, “When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path.”

This is the dilemma I’ve faced within the American education system. We are so focused on a goal, whether it be passing a test, or graduating as first in the class. However, in this way, we do not really learn. We do whatever it takes to achieve our original objective.

Some of you may be thinking, “Well, if you pass a test, or become valedictorian, didn’t you learn something? Well, yes, you learned something, but not all that you could have. Perhaps, you only learned how to memorize names, places, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your mind for the next test. School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.

I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer – not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition – a slave of the system set up before him.But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I’m scared.

John Taylor Gatto, a retired school teacher and activist critical of compulsory schooling, asserts, “We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness – curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight simply by being more flexible about time, texts, and tests, by introducing kids into truly competent adults, and by giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in order to take a risk every now and then. But we don’t do that.” Between these cinderblock walls, we are all expected to be the same. We are trained to ace every standardized test, and those who deviate and see light through a different lens are worthless to the scheme of public education, and therefore viewed with contempt.

H. L. Mencken wrote in The American Mercury for April 1924 that the aim of public education is not “to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence. … Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim … is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States.”

To illustrate this idea, doesn’t it perturb you to learn about the idea of “critical thinking.” Is there really such a thing as “uncritically thinking?” To think is to process information in order to form an opinion. But if we are not critical when processing this information, are we really thinking? Or are we mindlessly accepting other opinions as truth?

This was happening to me, and if it wasn’t for the rare occurrence of an avant-garde tenth grade English teacher, Donna Bryan, who allowed me to open my mind and ask questions before accepting textbook doctrine, I would have been doomed. I am now enlightened, but my mind still feels disabled. I must retrain myself and constantly remember how insane this ostensibly sane place really is.

And now here I am in a world guided by fear, a world suppressing the uniqueness that lies inside each of us, a world where we can either acquiesce to the inhuman nonsense of corporatism and materialism or insist on change. We are not enlivened by an educational system that clandestinely sets us up for jobs that could be automated, for work that need not be done, for enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement. We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force. Our motivational force ought to be passion, but this is lost from the moment we step into a system that trains us, rather than inspires us.

We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special, every human on this planet is so special, so aren’t we all deserving of something better, of using our minds for innovation, rather than memorization, for creativity, rather than futile activity, for rumination rather than stagnation? We are not here to get a degree, to then get a job, so we can consume industry-approved placation after placation. There is more, and more still.

The saddest part is that the majority of students don’t have the opportunity to reflect as I did. The majority of students are put through the same brainwashing techniques in order to create a complacent labor force working in the interests of large corporations and secretive government, and worst of all, they are completely unaware of it. I will never be able to turn back these 18 years. I can’t run away to another country with an education system meant to enlighten rather than condition. This part of my life is over, and I want to make sure that no other child will have his or her potential suppressed by powers meant to exploit and control. We are human beings. We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be – but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.

For those of you out there that must continue to sit in desks and yield to the authoritarian ideologies of instructors, do not be disheartened. You still have the opportunity to stand up, ask questions, be critical, and create your own perspective. Demand a setting that will provide you with intellectual capabilities that allow you to expand your mind instead of directing it. Demand that you be interested in class. Demand that the excuse, “You have to learn this for the test” is not good enough for you.Education is an excellent tool, if used properly, but focus more on learning rather than getting good grades.

For those of you that work within the system that I am condemning, I do not mean to insult; I intend to motivate. You have the power to change the incompetencies of this system. I know that you did not become a teacher or administrator to see your students bored. You cannot accept the authority of the governing bodies that tell you what to teach, how to teach it, and that you will be punished if you do not comply. Our potential is at stake.

For those of you that are now leaving this establishment, I say, do not forget what went on in these classrooms. Do not abandon those that come after you. We are the new future and we are not going to let tradition stand. We will break down the walls of corruption to let a garden of knowledge grow throughout America. Once educated properly, we will have the power to do anything, and best of all, we will only use that power for good, for we will be cultivated and wise. We will not accept anything at face value. We will ask questions, and we will demand truth.

So, here I stand. I am not standing here as valedictorian by myself. I was molded by my environment, by all of my peers who are sitting here watching me. I couldn’t have accomplished this without all of you. It was all of you who truly made me the person I am today. It was all of you who were my competition, yet my backbone. In that way, we are all valedictorians.

I am now supposed to say farewell to this institution, those who maintain it, and those who stand with me and behind me, but I hope this farewell is more of a “see you later” when we are all working together to rear a pedagogic movement. But first, let’s go get those pieces of paper that tell us that we’re smart enough to do so!

Napkin Labs, a web-based social innovation platform and is currently seeking all fields of Generation Y innovators to join its online community. Napkin Labs is a global community that enables talented people to engage in dynamic, collaborative, real-time conversations with companies to innovate products and services. Work together with engineers, graphic designers, software developers, consultants, and simply smart people from across the globe! Earn money for the ideas you contribute while interacting with other  Gen Y leaders in their fields. Speaking with Warren Ng, Co-Founder of Napkin Labs, left me absolutely fascinated at the wonderful work this team is currently doing in the innovation space. Recently, the team has launched an innovation platform (in beta) that allows for community-driven contributions to complex issues that major brands and organizations may face in today’s world.

The platform is easy to navigate and has a very user-friendly UI. Their concept of taking the collaboration of ideas and pumping community as the gasoline to the vehicle of innovation has certainly caught the attention of some major brands and organizations the SIP is currently working with. The founders were former employees of Sterling & Rice, an Advertising agency which focuses on brand building, management, and consulting as well as integrated marketing strategy and communications.

How did this all get started?

“When we presented this idea to the group the idea wasn’t warmly received since they actually thought it would do more harm than good to the organization by actually taking away from their strategy and essentially cannibalizing the organization. We took this as a compliment and decided to take the leap of faith and create a business around this initiative.”

Calling on their friends and family the founders, Warren Ng and Riley Gibson raised over $200,000 in initial funding for their venture. The company has grown to over seven employees, (all of whom are Gen Y), and has plans to add more in their dev house as the platform evolves.

Tell us more about Napkin Labs

We essentially ran projects with lots of clients in the 2^nd Gen platform. The projects were geared towards consumer electronics industry.

Why Gen Y? “Gen Y Understands Social Media and it exists because of Gen Y.”

Our ideal clients are those that want to see how quick the general marketplace wants the next iteration of the product.

On the platform, innovation is driven by the community members who are all hand-selected to participate on the boards.

What is the core value add of Napkin Labs to consumers and brands alike?

“At the end of it, the platform provides radical transparency – companies have to adapt to the information age. Companies need to react to what the consumer wants. The opportunity for companies (product life-cycle decreases.) Tapping into real-time consumer information.it allows brands to be more proactive and not reactive. Through using our platform, companies keep the fingers on the pulse of generation Y and folks who utilize Social Media. So they can capture as much of the product life-cycle opportunity.”

Employee base: 100% Gen Y, Community Membership is the arm of the employee base. Everyone that is a community member is Gen Y or Gen Y minded.

What does the future hold for Napkin Labs?

“We will primarily look to evolve into a Saas based enterprise solution.”

Currently they run projects for a number of folks internally. Synthesizes data as an actionable deliverable that is quantified by their internal algorithm.

Enterprise solutions: “We plan on selling to design agencies and advertising and marketing groups. Even large corporations! We see the future build out as a white label software for large organizations and helping them through internal implementation.”

Napkin Labs will provide brand realignment for various enterprise solutions. With their robust analytics tools the innovation platform will be able to quantify ideas and build upon crowd sourcing innovation.

“We are a web application that lives on a Cloud. Think of it as an Enterprise 2.0 coupled with a Web 2.0 model.”

Business model for growth:

Napkin Labs plans to expand in the next year and is currently seeking a technical lead/CTO level to help refine the beta platform.

“We have a lot of features we can build it out, we would need this team member to  Help us to refine the technology and elevate it to the next level.”

Community: “We are really looking for folks who have opinions about products, services, etc., a diverse population of Gen Y Community members. The ethos of Napkin Labs is built upon the power of diverse thinking. Diverse backgrounds that have breakthrough ideas.”

How do you keep the community from being over saturated?

We’ve put out an open call to anyone who wants to participate. We want lead users and lead innovators in the product space as we continue to develop our beta platform and on board new clients and brands.

Here’s a glimpse of the HQ in Boulder, CO and what they are all about:

What about competition?

What they are seeing with tools providers work differently with their communities. Current communities like theirs are more “winner takes all” models.

“…and that is horribly unsustainable. If there are a thousand people participating and only one person wins that one person will be happy, but the other 99.9% would be unhappy.  A byproduct  of our platform are evangelists themselves and they are rewarded fairly. Our robust algorithm measures community member’s level of participation and quality of contributions and rewards them equally for it.”

There is more to come from this innovative group, they have already been featured in the New York Times for the innovative ways their firm taps into the wisdom of the crowd. Talk about getting our voices heard. Napkin Labs continues to foster their environment and beta platform with leading product mavens and Gen Y innovators a like. If you are interested in contributing and seeing what the buzz is all about you can reach them directly at:

theparty@napkinlabs.com

Another great thing was Luna, the company dog, who kept running in and out of the office during my conversation with Warren. I did forget to ask him if Luna was contributing to the platform as well. Would make for interesting discussions I am sure!

Sophia Bush at the Art of Elysium Charity event in Los Angeles, Ca

You all know her as the driven, bubbly, beautiful fashionista/mogul Brooke Davis on the CW’s One Tree Hill. She’s gorgeous, popular, the ultimate dreamsicle of a high school boy’s fantasy and grazes red carpet events in old Hollywood style.  But did you know that behind all of the wonderful regalia of Hollywood stardom that Sophia Bush is a wonderful beacon for Gen Y, a self-proclaimed “greeny” and spreader of the do-gooder virus? She’s an activist, supports various green causes and charities and is a passionate player in the BP tragedy in the gulf. This Gen Y’er has recently taken on huge brands like Urban Outfitter’s to call out their so-called “snarky and witty ” t-shirt campaigns. She is not afraid and is ready to roll with the audacity to challenge those promoting the (pardon my French) “bullshit” that young men and women in our generation glorify today.

I had the chance to speak to Sophia this past Monday about what motivated her to pursue the causes she continually fights, her the stigma of being a young actress in Hollywood and her dreams and goals. For those of you who don’t know her or already follow her on Twitter, this young lady is making great waves in representing our generation the right way. And may I say that her tenacity has kept her at the top of my role model wheel. I know she will continue to spread the do-gooder virus out there. A prime example of how Gen Y Hollywood is making waves.

Who is Sophia Bush?

“I am a Hopeless Optimist. I see the good in people always and sometimes that gets me into trouble but I really see no other way in living life. I believe in people over and over again, even if they have let me down, and I continue to believe that they will change for the better.”

Born and raised in Pasadena, California, Sophia developed a passion for performing while in high school. When she is not in front of the camera, Sophia is a passionate philanthropist whose causes focus on the celebration of arts as well as the environment.

Describe yourself in a one-word adjective.

“Enthusiastic!”

Indeed she is! Her raspy voice is her trademark in the industry, and hearing her speak so passionately and enthusiastically about her causes kept me smiling and engaged through our whole conversation.

What causes are you fighting for?

Sophia and beau Austin Nichols at the Art of Elysium event in Los Angeles, Ca.

“I have always been a supporter of  The Art of Elysium, a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization founded in 1997, that encourages working actors, artists and musicians to voluntarily dedicate their time and talent to children who are battling serious medical conditions.” Art of Elysium provides artistic workshops in the following disciplines: acting, art, comedy, fashion, music, radio, songwriting and creative writing.

*Since childhood Sophia has been enthralled with Africa and the wilderness, and has translated her interest in pushing forth advocacy towards the causes in Kenya. She is an advocate of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, a foundation she was introduced to by Edward Norton, which is committed to the preservation of biodiversity within the Maasai tribal lands of East Africa. Funds support conservation, education and health services within the Maasai community as well as a host of programs designed to conserve Africa’s legendary wildlife.

“Ever since I was little I remember just being so intrigued about Africa. There was just something so magical about the place. I was completely bawling after the time I spent with them at this dinner. It was then that I really felt at home around these inspiring and passionate people who wanted so much to move mountains with the causes they were supporting. I had planned on teaching English there last summer, and I was so looking forward to it. Unfortunately I had to put the trip on hold because I had emergency surgery on my throat. But I do have plans to go back, early next year, with Edward and a group of other supporters.”

The cause that encouraged me to reach out to Sophia was her passionate tweets about the current state of the BP oil spill crisis. She has partnered with Global Green Founder Matt Petersen to raise funds and awareness for the victims of the oil spill in the gulf. Here’s the amazing part. I saw her create her inaugural account on Twitter and in a little less than five days raise over $10,000 through tweeting links, photos and inspirational motivation while crowd-sourcing her friends and followers on Social Media Fundraising site Crowdrise who has an API integrated with Twitter to post live feeds on what causes fans, followers and friends are responding to.

“I attended a Massai Wilderness Conservation Trust benefit event in New York years ago where I met the inspiring duo of Edward Norton and Shauna Robertson. When Ed decided to run the NYC marathon to raise money for the MWCT, he came up with Crowdrise. After my trip to the gulf, I decided to check out the site and fell in love!  Austin and I made the trip out to the gulf with Global Green, to really see what was going on and I was appalled at how little we all knew about the severity of the situation out there. When we got back, we knew we had a perfect cause for Crowdrise.”

Sophia and Social Media

Sophia has been pretty outspoken about her role in social media, or lack thereof, but has since changed her outlook on the usage of such tools. You can now see her tweeting live about her causes on Twitter @SophiaBush and motivating all the young people about joining together to fight for making a difference.

Discussing the crisis in the gulf with Global Green Founder Matt Petersen.

” I have never been an fan of social media. That’s why for the longest time I never had a Twitter account or a Facebook or anything like that. It’s hard enough trying to protect my personal life from the public, and I’ve never been a person that’s wanted to open up any facet of my personal life to any kind of social media. Austin and I started the accounts because we were so angry about the spill. We started tweeting pictures about what was really going on in the gulf and were shocked that our followers on Twitter and the general public didn’t know half of what was going on!”

Since their membership  on Twitter and Crowdrise, both Sophia and Austin have raised well over $20,000 to help the gulf.

Sophia has since harnessed the power of social media by grasping upon the power of her influence to fans, friends and followers. She mentioned how accounts like Twitter and Crowdrise can be utilized for far more than just tweeting about what kind of omelette you have for breakfast in the morning. It would be in our best interest to start movements with our influence just as she has. #LittleVoices is the hash tag she uses to trend all of her tweets regarding the movement she is making within the Twitterverse. Sophia believes that a thousand little voices can turn into a noticeable roar if we all speak up for ourselves together. Her recommended formula goes farther than just social media. She advises that in order to see change it takes more than just signing a petition to agree on a cause.

“We need to write our congressmen and call their offices. Imagine what 4 million petition signatures could do in the form of letters and phone calls? Imagine getting a letter everyday about a cause that needs some attention?”

On the Hollywood Bubble and Role Models.

Speaking about Social Media brought me to ask about the Hollywood bubble on Twitter and needless to say, Sophia’s passion and spark came out in such great fashion.

“The bubble is bullshit, how can we set a good example to young men and women out there about who we are and what we are all about if we are Tweeting about the latest party or the last thing we had for breakfast? Who cares? It sickens me that some people can make a living out of showing up at parties and getting drunk and telling the whole world about how insane their night was out on the town. Give me a break! WHERE IS THE MOTIVATION? WHERE IS THE INSPIRATION!?”

Advice for Gen Y.

Follow @SophiaBush and @AUS10NICHOLS to see the latest on their causes.

We came to the very end of our conversation understanding that there is a need to inform people that in order to see change we must put forth the effort to help facilitate change. She had wonderful words for Gen Y when I asked her about advice for her generation.

“Never let the fact that you are young get in the way of what people think you can do. That fire BURNING inside of you is not silly, it’s passion. You are far more powerful than you think. If you are working on a cause to fight cancer or eating disorders, find local organizations who you can join with to help you with your cause. See how you can help each other. Maybe one person has had a hard time changing the world, so imagine a million! There’s nothing wrong with reaching out and seeing who you can partner with to bring light to your cause.”

Thank you Sophia for being a beacon out there for us to look up to. There aren’t many like you in young Hollywood who are willing to take a leap of faith into voicing what they care about. We can’t wait to speak to more folks like you who are using their influence for good causes. See below for more information on her trip to Grand Isle, LA. You can also donate to Crowdrise at: www.crowdrise.com/sophiabush

For more information on Sophia Bush you can check out her website here: www.SophiaBush.com

*This post was edited by Sophia Bush on 08/01/2010.

Sophia’s Letter to Urban Outfitter’s regarding their “Eat Less” t-shirt. Read her blog here.

Ladies! This is OUTRAGEOUS. I hope none of you will stand for being told such a thing, in such a way. Being healthy, eating right, and staying active is one thing. Being told to starve yourselves by a fashion company? Not cool.

UO,

I have been a supporter of your store for many years, but now I’m through.

I am fortunate enough to star on a wonderful TV show called One Tree Hill. I play a fashion designer named Brooke Davis, who started a campaign on the show called “Zero Is Not A Size” and the outpouring of love and gratitude that came my way from girls and women ALL OVER THE WORLD who have body image issues brought me to tears.

To promote starvation? To promote anorexia, which leads to heart disease, bone density loss, and a slew of other health problems, not least of all psychological issues that NEVER go away? Shame on you. I will no longer be shopping at your stores. And I will encourage the tens of thousands of female supporters I have to do the same. I have fought to boycott BP. I never imagined I would also be boycotting affordable fashion.

You should issue a public apology, and make a hefty donation to a women’s organization that supports those stricken with eating disorders. I am sickened that anyone, on any board, in your gigantic company would have voted ‘yes’ on such a thing, let alone enough of you to manufacture an item with such a hurtful message. It’s like handing a suicidal person a loaded gun. You should know better.

I sincerely hope that next time you decide that making fun of serious issues is comedic, or ’snarky in a cool way,’ that you rethink your decision.

With Sincerity but NO respect,

Sophia Bush

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