2010
Meaning at work
A whopping 19 percent of Harvard’s 2010 class applied to Teach for America (up from 14 percent in 2009). Overall, the teacher service corps has enjoyed three consecutive years of 30 percent growth in its applicant pool.
Without a doubt, the state of the labor market accounts for a portion of this growth. Turns out that hedge funds and investment banks (which have traditionally attracted the lion’s share of Harvard grads) aren’t hiring like they used to. But most Harvard grads still have plenty of options—they certainly aren’t forced to choose a demanding, low-paying job.
This is a choice. And it’s a harbinger of things to come. When (not “if”) the war for talent begins to re-emerge as a major concern for corporate employers, they will be well-served to take note of the increasing number of applicants seeking meaning as a primary element of their jobs.
Tagged company philosophy, Teach for America