Shark Tank Experience

Dennis Stearns was a guest Shark at an Elon University Shark Tank event in November. Dennis, who previously participated as a Shark at similar events, provided copies of his book Ninja Entrepreneurs to the students and faculty advisors. After the primary Shark Tank competition, the students asked the Sharks what the keys were to thriving in a job market with 9% unemployment for new grads, and projections that it could increase to 15-25% unemployment as A.I. becomes more broadly used. Here are the Sharks main pieces of advice:

Jump the Curve: Find more experience directly pertaining to your future career during school years or for summer internships so a potential employer considers you in a different category than the average graduate.

1. Jump the Curve: Become a power user of A.I. tools and techniques. Every university is trying to do this instruction well, but seek out other learning opportunities if you feel you’re not being challenged enough so an employer will consider you a “power user.”
2. Sharpen your Communication and Leadership skills: Employers tell us these skills are still highly prized in new hires. Opportunities are no longer limited to special summer camps – online tools are now available from a variety of providers.
3. Sharpen your Curiosity skills: One Shark bluntly said “I wouldn’t even consider hiring someone these days if they didn’t ask intelligent questions in an interview, listen closely to the answers and know how to ask the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th intelligent question.” All the Sharks stressed this trait as critical in an A.I. accelerated future world. In conversations, at work, or while learning, ask questions to deepen your understanding. Try phrases like “Tell me more” or “I’m curious to know.”

⮚Seek out novelty: Engage with new ideas by reading widely, trying new activities, or taking courses outside your usual area of expertise. Novelty is a consistent predictor of curiosity.

⮚Get comfortable with uncertainty: Be willing to explore new territories without having all the answers upfront. Learning from mistakes is a part of the process.

⮚Explore diverse experiences: Seek out new experiences, read different types of books, or watch movies on subjects you don’t typically consider.

⮚Engage with different viewpoints: Have conversations with people who have different opinions from your own to break out of your “filter bubble.”

⮚Understand both sides of an argument: Practice by taking a strong belief you hold and arguing for the opposing side. This can build empathy (a key leadership skill in Fortune 500 CEOs!) and a deeper understanding of your own beliefs.

⮚Be humble about what you don’t know. Recognizing there is always more to learn can reignite natural curiosity.

⮚And finally, take networking to a new level. Connecting with people you already know, especially asking for help rather than a job, remains one of the best ways to get the job you want. 

Why are young people failing to find work? From 2020-2023, the COVID-19 pandemic locked millions of young people out of classrooms and first jobs, delaying their entry into the labor market and widening skill gaps. Today, trade wars have caused further economic disruption: countries like Canada and China report layoffs and hiring freezes of young people due to high US tariffs and accompanying economic uncertainty.

But the top reason is AI, which is gobbling up clerical, customer-service and entry-level jobs that used to absorb first-time workers, particularly university graduates.

Some popular disciplines, like computer science, have cratered. A report by the United Kingdom’s National Foundation for Education Research found a 50% decline in job advertisements for software development and IT between 2020 and 2025, with four times as many postings for senior than junior programming roles. Another report by the British Standards Institution surveyed 850 business leaders across the UK, US, France, Germany, Australia, China and Japan: 39% said they had cut entry-level roles and replaced them with AI.