When what you want is just out of reach

We are constantly drawn to the elusive and exclusive. 

It shows up everywhere in our culture. The Rolling Stones sang "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Pick any romantic comedy where the main character yearns for a love interest outside their social strata. Groucho Marx said he didn’t want to belong to any club that would accept him as a member. And when we could still gather at those clubs or concerts, we likely wanted to be on the other side of a velvet rope. 

Limiting access makes things more desirable. We can't seem to help it. Two authors came to LinkedIn this week to explore how that phenomenon plays out in different, but related, arenas — higher education and employment. 

In an essay based on his book “Who Gets in and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions,” higher education expert Jeff Selingo drills into how the pandemic is forcing changes in the admissions process and why that’s a good thing. Selingo discusses the power a degree from an elite university can carry throughout a person’s life, opening doors and swaying hiring managers. That promise of pedigree can draw tens of thousands of applicants to a university for only a thousand available seats. But he calls out the admissions process as “imprecise, ambiguous, and unfair,” writing that acceptance decisions are a reflection of a college’s agenda (more science majors?) and needs (more students paying full tuition?), not a merit-based culling. 

The pandemic has pushed schools to drop their testing requirements this year, and many are trying to entice students on virtual tours. Some seeking enrollment are questioning the value of an online college experience. Given this unique moment, Selingo asks why we “continue to rely on higher education to frame everything else that follows after college graduation?” Weigh in with your thoughts on his post here.

What follows after graduation? Finding a livelihood — the next marker of status, success and identity. Anne Helen Petersen, author of “Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation,” recalls a moment when a college student of hers burst into tears after Petersen suggested she take time to find her professional passion in life after graduation. The student couldn’t imagine that path, given the pressure she felt to secure a “cool” job her parents could be proud of. 

Petersen points out that the scarcity and desirability of such “cool” jobs (however you define them, you know them when you see them) often hides the fact that these jobs can be “unsustainable burnout traps.”

“For many companies, it’s a perfect scenario,” Petersen writes. “A position that costs them little to nothing to fill, with a seemingly endless number of overqualified, motivated applicants.” 

Petersen says that many entry level workers may stay in these jobs because of their prestige, even if the work ends up being grueling and unfulfilling — “the challenge of being the one in a thousand who ‘makes it work’ renders the ‘cool’ job more desirable,” she writes. 

Do you think “cool” jobs are worth it? Have you traded fair compensation or treatment to “do what you love” or to boast about having a certain role or company on your resume? Weigh in on Petersen’s post here.

If you are looking for a job, and I hope it’s one that you both want and can have, LinkedIn released its annual Top Startups List this week. All 50 companies featured are currently hiring. 

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