A few weeks ago I published Dear Class of 2020, an open letter to college seniors expressing my sadness for the pandemic’s terrible impact on the their final semester and sharing some potential long term benefits from this nightmare situation.  The engagement and feedback with the piece were tremendous, beyond anything I expected.

It got me thinking about other ways to help a very talented group of young people who have been dealt a bad hand.  Many of them are understandably anxious about the job market.  The economic toll of the pandemic is frightening for all of us.  It’s been more than a decade since our last recession so these young people have no experience navigating the professional world in tough times.

Without access to campus career centers when they most need it and with many potential employers understandably distracted, college seniors can easily feel left to their own devices as they start their careers.

With that in mind I decided to launch Careers in 20/20 a new video interview series for my blog.  I’ve asked a number of friends and colleagues who have built successful careers to share their early job experiences and their best career advice.  They say hindsight is 20/20, so I think the historical perspective this group of professionals can provide the Class of 2020 will be invaluable.  The videos will be relatively brief, approximately 10 minutes, to make them easy to consume.

Most importantly, I hope in a small way it helps to fill a gap left by the shuttered campuses and provides these kids encouragement and hope in troubled times.  And my guess is that the advice and insights offered by these accomplished leaders will be instructive for all of us, regardless of where we are in our careers.

I’ll publish the first one this week and will release new ones as they become available.  Many of you generously shared my Dear Class of 2020 post with your social networks.  I ask if you’re so inclined to do so again with this video series so as many people as possible can benefit.  There’s no commercial interest in this for me, I’m doing this for fun and to help a great group of young people.

Thanks and stay safe everyone.