It’s frustrating to emerge from college with your hard earned degree in hand – eager to put it to good use – only to have door after corporate door slammed in your face. But that’s the reality today’s recent graduates are facing, and some are handling it better than others.
Trina Thompson, a recent graduate of Monroe College in the Bronx, is attempting to sue her Alma Mater for what she deemed as failure to live up to their end of the bargain by not securing her a job in the IT industry promptly upon graduation. She told CNN, “They’re supposed to say, ‘I got this student, her attendance is good, her GPA is all right — can you interview this person?’ They’re not doing that.”
Monroe College, Bronx NY
Thompson also accuses the school of giving special treatment to certain types of students. White students? Rich students? Minority students? Uh…no. ”They favor more toward students that got a 4.0. They help them more out with the job placement,” she said.
It isn’t the school that tells the companies which students to hire Miss Thompson. Companies have an obligation to their stakeholders – not to mention the employees who work for them – an obligation not to place people in positions who are unable to cope with reality. While you feel discriminated against based on your grades, I am willing to bet it was your attitude that repelled recruiters more effectively than a bad case of B.O.
In fact, many companies look for students who are well-rounded and who have adequate GPA’s – not GPA superstars. Several students’ GPA’s suffer while they work part and full-time jobs to get experience in their chosen fields.
Recruiters want students with drive, a can-do attitude, and tenacity. Three months out of school and your solution to unemployment during one of the worst recessions in U.S. history is to sue your school? You have almost guaranteed yourself a permanent place in the unemployment line.
A better alternative would’ve been to start working with the Career Center about six-months before graduation. You would have been able to research the companies most likely to hire someone with your newly acquired IT skills. Then you could have set up informational interviews, met people currently working at the companies you found most appealing, and networked your way to an appropriate entry-level job.
Her mother, who apparently supports her daughters decision to sue the school for approximately $70,000 in tuition costs, is quoted in the New York Post as saying, “This is not the way we want to live our life. This is not what we planned.”
Hmm…it rained a few days ago when I had planned to take my daughter to the beach. The weather app on my iPhone didn’t show any rain…can I sue Steve Jobs?
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I agree wholeheartedly (and laid out why in my column last week)! Not only has Miss Thompson alienated every potential employer she may have ever hoped to work for, but she will also not be getting any assistance from anyone remotely related to her alma mater, most importantly alumni…potentially one of the most valuable networks a new grad can utilize. It’s time for her and her mother to start working on that Plan B (or maybe Plan C, if they thought they could count on a settlement).
The “Entitlement” generation personified. They all got gold medals for doing nothing, they didn’t have to compete because that might ‘damage” their fragile egos, and they were constantly told they were special, they were exceptional and they were the best when in fact far too many were no such thing. Instead of instilling in them a sense of healthy competition, personal responsibility and accountability bathed in a strong dose of reality, no one held them accountable. Behold the result.
JD
I agree with everything written in the article. I do take issue with the comment posted by Jim Dixey regarding ‘the “Entitlement” generation.’ Being a member of the so-called generation myself, I graduated with honors a little of a year ago with a 4 year degree from the top communications school in my state. It is only one of three accredited programs in the southeast. I was promised a job, that I did not receive because of the downfall in the economy. Rather than complain and sue my school, like Miss Thompson has done; I started a part-time job and then another. As of now, I have four part-time jobs and working over 50 hours a week. I am not writing this to say, ‘Oh look at me. I’m working hard.’ I’m writing because I’m not in the minority, plenty of my fellow grads are working multiple jobs, or going back to further their education. Miss Thompson is a sad demonstration of the work ethic of my generation. Hopefully, in the future Mr. Dixey you will not be so quick to judge an entire generation based off poor decisions made by a small percentage of its members.
I agree wholeheartedly with Rachel and the statements she makes above. Once again, some lazy person has managed to make a mockery out of our generation. Needless to say, there are indeed very hardworking members of our generation and we are making a significant contribution to the workforce. Miss Thompson here is not the rule…she is just the exception.
Great article. Bottom line: what this girl did is doing is embarrassing.
Nicely put. Even in this economy, people who really wanted and who tried really hard did find interns/full time. Read an article somewhere which said, if you can’t find a job, add value to yourself so that jobs find you.
Great post! I agree with everything you said in your blog post. College Centers are finding new ways to reach out to students to help them find jobs and internships. Jobs are now being posted through social networking Web sites like Twitter and LinkedIn. There should be no excuse that job openings are not being provided for her…. it is all around her and it is up to her to make the first step into looking for them.
[...] light on the fact that the sense of entitlement can begin before a first job is even secured. The posting shares the story of Trina Thompson, a woman who is suing her alma mater of Monroe College in the Bronx because the [...]
Great blog post. The only positive thing that is coming out of this story is tons of PR for Monroe College. I think poor Trina Thompson is in store for a life full of disappointment. It is too bad that her mother supports her in her effort to sue her alma mater. How sad!