The easiest way to succeed is to have very small dreams. And as I watch so many of my friends competing for interviews at blankety-blank Consulting or whosie-whatsie Banking, or flimity-flam Advertising, I wonder how big these dreams are. I admit a small part of this is my cynicism that Investment Bankers just help rich people make more money, that Consultants are professional BS-artists, and that Advertisers just convince people to buy crap they don't need. But my real concern is that my classmates aren't dreaming boldly enough.
There's all this hype and insecurity about how difficult it is to find a job. And I suppose it might seem that way when you've run out of fingers to count the cover letters and resumes you've sent out, but are having no trouble keeping track of the interviews you've been invited for. The competition here is fierce. It seems to me though, that the competition for these jobs is more compelling than the jobs themselves. It is like Greek rush all over again. It is one thing to wander from house to house to "keep your options open." But once it becomes an issue of a certain house (or certain firm) declaring that YOU are cool, and that others are not . . . well then the question of whether or not you even want to be in a house, or be a Consultant or an Investment Banker is muted by this feeling of prestige that rides on the heels of being accepted when others are excluded.
But its not about finding just any job. With a Dartmouth education, there are so many things we could do, and do very well. But I want to suggest that, as Dartmouth students, we have both the privilege, and the responsibility to ask of ourselves, not merely, "What can I do?" but, "What do I want to do? ... Where is my heart leading me?"
Of all the possibilities in this wide, wide world, there is this tiny handful of companies that show up on our campus to recruit us to work for them. But there is so much more out there.
And I do know that many people are choosing the corporate track, not because its their life dream, but because they haven't really figured out their dreams yet. And corporate recruiting is something to do along the road to figuring them out. I don't have a problem with this at all, so long as the corporate ladder, and all that comes with it, doesn't shove our dreams into the background for so long they become a catalogue of "If only I ... when I had the chance."
Four years ago, the class of '97 had just finished applying to Dartmouth. And it may have changed since, but one of the essay questions on our application was: "What is your definition of success?" I think its an appropriate time to weigh that question again. What is success all about? And is our next step taking you closer to it? Or are we stepping only because we're afraid to stand still long enough to realize we ought to be leaping?
I have so much faith in this class, in all Dartmouth students, faith that we are uncommon people, set apart to achieve wonderful, uncommon things. At our 5,10, 15, or 20-year reunions, what are we going to be most proud of? All the toys we've collected? Our personalized version of the American dream? Or will we share the excitement with our classmates about how we have shaken the world?
Let's dream.
