How are we going to create and protect jobs going forward?

The issue of job creation and protection is pressing as I embark on my internship search for this summer. The New York Times Magazine published an article last month about the glut of recent law school graduates in this country. According to this article (and from my first hand knowledge of my friends’ experiences), we are educating more lawyers than there are lawyer jobs, leaving many with crushing debt and few job prospects. What about the MBA job market, then? Is the 21^st century American goal of becoming as highly educated as possible just about obtaining a coveted commodity (an advanced degree), instead of helping us actually get better, more satisfying, and higher paying jobs?

I had all of these issues on my mind as our panel team planned the Creating and Protecting Jobs panel at the Business and Society Conference. Our team sought to bring together representatives from big business (Reid Jackson T’96, President and CEO of Compusearch, and Barry Doggett, Sr. VP of Public and Community Affairs at Eaton Corporation), government (Steven Greenfield T’71, Chief Operating Officer at the Vermont Economic Development Authority), and experts from research and academia (Brink Lindsey, Senior Fellow at the Kauffman Foundation, and Professor Robert Hansen, Senior Associate Dean at Tuck). This diverse group provided valuable insights on the jobs outlook on both the local and national level.

Uncertainty was an issue discussed at length. For both small and large businesses, uncertainty about the economic outlook is a key roadblock to job creation—businesses don’t want to expand staff if they are uncertain about whether cash flows will be constant in the future. Perhaps, then, the role of the government is to offer predictability in regulatory standards and fair tax policies. The panelists all discussed a need for government to establish clarity in procedure and implementation.

International exchange, in both goods and services, was another topic discussed. One very interesting point from Brink Lindsey was about high-skill foreign workers coming to the US. Lindsey mentioned that we attract the best talent from around the world through our prestigious universities, but then chase them away with our restrictive visa policy. Furthermore, immigrants (high or low skill) are more likely to start businesses that create jobs. Thus, one way that our government can drive jobs and innovation would be to relax immigration policy for high-skill foreigners.

The issue of entrepreneurship is also important when thinking about job creation. I have always heard that my generation will not have the benefit of job security and we will float around to several different jobs over our working lifetime. My take on that is that we have a more entrepreneurial approach to our careers: instead of waiting for a company to provide us with our next opportunity, we take our destiny in our own hands. Furthermore, some of the most exciting opportunities may not be with established companies—some of the most important innovation happens at small startups.

To circle back to the New York Times article on the oversupply of lawyers, I think that the most important skill that newly minted professionals can have is the ability to be entrepreneurial. We are entering the workforce in a climate of uncertainty, and to have the flexibility and creativity to seek out new opportunities will be invaluable as we progress in our careers. For the US to continue to lead in innovation and ingenuity, our professional sector must have the courage and resourcefulness to create. Thus, perhaps my internship search Plan B to start my own business should be moved forward to Plan A!