Marksonland

I also see the negative results in my job. Specifically, I handle all of the law school recruiting for my law firm's office in Pittsburgh. As a result, I often attend recruiting conferences and receive newsletters whose main topic is what to expect from "this year's class." Lately, the message has been that graduates these days will require more hand holding and the development of people skills than any class before them. Why? Because they are the first class whose lives have been entirely shaped by technology and the Internet....

What's worse is that these 20-somethings have no ability to engage in what I call "bar conversation." You know, the kind of spontaneous conversation that occurs during an interview that has absolutely nothing to do with the job, your educational background, etc. Just adult conversation like you would have at a bar with your buddies or even a complete stranger. It concerns me. We clearly have a generation that is incredibly bright and technologically savvy, but has no real life people skills.

Now, Dave is a master of bar conversations, so he may hold folks to a higher standard than the rest of us. :) An interesting anecdote nonetheless.