Hundreds of applications. Not a single interview.

Letter to the editor

Dear Editor,

While most of us "Boomers" struggled for many months to find that first full time job after graduation, whether it be college or high school, the situation today is even more grim for young people who are ready, willing and able to do just about any job just to get started.

As someone who has experienced the "American Dream" starting out in the south Bronx, I am wondering if it is any longer achievable for much of today's youth from virtually any background. While I find the abhorrent slide towards socialism among wide swaths of today's youth is borne generally out of lack of life experience and an understanding of the collective misery it bestows upon a society, I can see how they are enticed by its false promises of a better future for them, given the current employment environment for freshly minted graduates.

I've come to this realization after my own experience as the parent of a son who despite outstanding academic achievement at a top university and graduating with a bachelor's degree in a practical scientific field of study after just 3-1/2 years, he has been completely shut out of the job market for eight months of aggressive job hunting along multiple channels and with some good "connections" and literally hundreds of applications.

Not even a single interview!

Something is seriously gone wrong with this as a scenario, which is apparently being experienced by a huge percentage of our best and brightest youth. I have come to realize this from similar stories shared by so many friends and associates. They are ready and eager to do the hard work, but are not even given the chance to demonstrate their value and to contribute to a business.

I don't claim to have the solution, but something needs to change for our children and grandchildren to have faith in the American dream that so many of us experienced over our lifetimes. Could there be some private sector led collaboration with the support of government tax policy to bring about sustainable change that works? Maybe it is some form of business/investment tax credit that is directly linked to hiring and training entry level employees that ultimately benefit both economically sustainable business growth, jobs for our young graduates and our communities. Something needs to change, and soon.

-Ellis Cousens, Bedford