An issue that has plagued me in the past few years is Talent. When we are young, we hear stories of natural talent. Gymnasts who made it to The Olympics. Writers who have twenty books by 40. Finance traders who made it off the likes of recognizing the new Microsoft. The lists go on. A narrative of talent being rewarded by the masses is built in our heads. As we age in the careerist systems of America, the last thing I have seen rewarded is talent. So, we must ask the question, do HR, and stiff systems of the perfect resumes, really foster talent? Or are we just working bees to feed the machine?
Recently I listened to Anirudh Krishna speak about what he calls, “talent ladders,” and his thoughts on how the world fails natural talent. Anirudh told a story of a young boy he encountered on a research trip, who was a natural math talent. The kind of mind anyone would want to become an engineer or greater. He spoke about meeting the child’s father, praising his math skills, and to his surprise the father being overt on how his son was talented, but nothing would come of it. Anirudh was clearly shocked at this thought process, as with many of us, he believes talent should be rewarded.
As Anirudh discussed the concept of “talent ladders,” a system he has devised to foster education and placement within careers due to talent, I thought about how insane it is this is a controversial notion. Similarly, why are we just now discussing this? How many great minds have been lost to generations of thankless jobs simply to pay bills?
I can speak from personal experience in the American job market, talent is the last thing HR departments and AI resume scanners look for. In the past few years, I have sat through countless meetings and conversations about how exceptional my writing and ideas are, but I do not have a 20-year background on a piece of paper. I hold a well-regarded journalism & media degree, to match my talent, but why don’t I have experience since the age of 18? I can personally attest that HR is no measure of talent.
Recently, I saw a thought written, “Capitalism will make the most brilliant, creative, and insightful people question where they fit.”
I wonder if HR reads insightful writing.
As we have fallen prey to the systems of working for our survival, our talent pools continue to flounder. We work for shelter, food, and goods. We do not often work for ourselves. For our natural talent. For our interests.
Capitalism is about filtering money to a top earner. Being a CEO is not about talent, nor is it talent recognition. It is often a luck of the draw, or someone knows the right someone in the room. I can confidently say, I have not worked for many people Id view as talented.
We ask artists to make coffee to pay their bills. We ask musicians to work in insurance so they can afford to send their kids to college. We ask writers to work in brands or copy to make someone else’s vision seem shinier.
We sacrifice our own talent for the dollar. It is not survival of the fittest; it is survival by death of talent.
As the world grapples with how to embrace talent, I would argue we have to value talent over profit first. As long as we are beholden to a handful of people making a profit, talent will continue to die in the daylight.