An Open Letter to Everyone Who Loves a Graduate in the Class of 2026 | Giant Steps with Leilani Brown

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Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Last week, I spent a few hours with members of Middlebury's Class of 2026.

They are genuinely excited about what comes next — four years of hard work behind them, and in many ways ready to launch. And they are understandably nervous about the future, with loud headlines and social media underscoring their fears.

But the headlines are louder than the data. Hiring projections for the Class of 2026 are up 5.6% over last year. The market is moving in their direction.

The average job search still runs three to five months. Most graduates send out dozens of applications and hear almost nothing back. If the graduate in your life has applied to twenty places and heard back from two, they are not failing — they are average in an abnormal market.

I shared five things with the Class of 2026 last week. They are the same five things every adult who loves them needs to know.

1. Experience, accomplishments, relationships. In that order.

The relationships a new graduate starts at twenty-two will pay them fifteen years from now in ways they cannot imagine today.

2. Patience and persistence go together.

The silence in your inbox is a data point about the market. It is not a verdict on you. You only need one yes.

3. Stop spraying and praying. Start surrounding.

Referrals convert at roughly seven times the rate of cold applications. Find the alum. Find the leader of the function. Ask for fifteen minutes — not a favor, a conversation.

4. You are not competing against AI. You are competing against people who don't use it well.

What makes a new graduate irreplaceable is sound judgment, real relationships, and the ability to navigate ambiguity. That is the liberal arts education.

5. Build your board before you need it.

One peer. One mentor. One sponsor. One friend. Four people. Start now — in the cap and gown.

I wrote a full open letter this week — to every career counselor, parent, aunt, uncle, godparent, mentor, and family friend who loves a graduate this spring. The full letter includes a one-page playbook for the graduate in your life: the three-sentence graduation referral script, the framework for using AI without losing yourself in it, and the reframe for the silence when you don't hear back.

Read the full open letter on Substack →

And congratulations to the Class of 2026 — be encouraged.

— Leilani

Leilani M. Brown is the founder and CEO of Giant Steps, LLC, a strategy, culture, and governance advisory firm. She is the author of Your Next Giant Steps, From Campus to Career, and Your Next Giant Reset, and hosts Giant Steps with Leilani Brown, a podcast featuring some of the world's most talented and accomplished people. Learn more atgiantstepsllc.com.