🎓A Letter to the Class of '26
The generation that booed AI
My daughter Danielle graduated from the University of Wisconsin last week. This afternoon we’re hosting her graduation party, along with her brother Grant, who just finished high school.
This letter is for her, the class of ‘26, and the parents who watched them walk.
Danielle,
Four years ago when we dropped you off in Madison, the plan was set. You’d have the time of your life and learn the ins and outs of fashion design. Before long, models would be walking the Fashion Week runway wearing your looks.
That November, ChatGPT launched. Today, AI can create runway-ready looks in seconds.
At last week’s commencement, when the speaker talked about AI, the audience booed. So did your friends, and graduates across America.
It’s strange to be booing a technology; nobody booed the Internet or the iPhone. But it’s also completely fair. This summer was supposed to be filled with road trips, weddings, and apartment hunting in Manhattan. Instead you’re wondering if you’ll spend your career working at our neighborhood Applebee’s.
It’s not just you. New college graduate employment is at its lowest level in decades. Analysts are arguing over whether this is because of AI, tariffs or remote work. Those debates are interesting, but you still need a job.
And getting a job is broken.
The old process was clear: build a resume, do the interviews, pick the best offer. Today’s graduates apply to hundreds of openings without even landing an interview. Some job seekers are embedding hidden text in their resumes to trick AIs into picking them.
This year’s commencement speakers have all the answers:
Embrace AI. So…Give it a hug?
Get on the rocket ship. Wait, I’m an astronaut now?
Get used to change. Done. But I still need a job.
Start your own company. Cool. Will that pay next month’s rent?
This advice sucks.
As a dad, I’m biologically compelled to give advice. Here it is:
Instead of sending out a hundred resumes, talk to a hundred people. Teachers, alumni, friends, Uber drivers. DON’T ASK THEM FOR A JOB. Ask them for advice and the names of other people to talk to. Most of it won’t be as good as your dad’s, 🤔 but people love being listened to. And one of those hundred people will know somebody who’s hiring.
Build something real. Recruiters spend an average of seven seconds scanning a resume. Give them something different: a portfolio, a lookbook, a custom collection. This stands out and spares the poor souls still slogging through a thousand resumes.
Get a shitty job. Applebee’s wasn’t the plan, but it’s a good start. It gets you out of the house, makes a few friends, and earns some money. You’ll quit that job when you find a better one.
One final thing: make your boss like you. We older folks complain that today’s grads are entitled. Show them you’re not. Do the grunt work. Be easy to manage. Smile.
Permit me one more bit of dadsplaining.
This is part of a bigger trend. In fields most exposed to AI, jobs for workers 22-25 are down 13 percent while older workers are up 9 percent. AI agents need to be managed by humans with experience, so companies are cutting college hiring. But that will leave them short-handed when older workers retire.
Entry-level hires need the same things AIs do; companies just call them by other names. Instead of context, it’s new hire orientation. Instead of guardrails, it’s defined roles and responsibilities. Instead of reward signals, it’s quarterly goals. The irony is that we’re learning to onboard AIs at the same moment we’re forgetting how to onboard people.
Most executives reached the top because they knew how to develop people. Giving someone their first job, showing them the ropes, helping them grow into a leader. The best moments of my career have been promoting someone who deserved it.
Your AI agent isn’t going to say thanks, invite you to its wedding or bring its new baby into the office.
Okay Danielle. You have a graduation party to get to.
We don’t get to choose the time we live in. When I was in college, the hot new technology was pay-at-the-pump. I saw the internet, the iPhone, and now AI, and was lucky enough to work at Google before big tech turned into the hunger games.
People say AI will be the biggest disruption to society since the Industrial Revolution. And your graduation landed smack dab in the middle of it.
Analysts love to predict the future, but the honest answer is nobody knows.
We won’t know everything by the time Grant gets his degree, but we’ll know more. I hope I won’t have to write a version of this letter to him.
You’ll be fine. I’m here to help. One of those hundred people you talk to will land you a job.
I’m proud of you. Now go enjoy your party.
Dad Joke: What do you call a university dedicated to lettuce? The college of cabbage 🤣🥱
Beautiful daughter. Beautiful message. Oh-so-wise, too!