Geeks, Geezers, and Googlization Show

The University of Michigan just dropped a bombshell: incoming freshmen will see their grades disappear from public transcripts for their entire first semester, replaced by a mandatory pass/fail. Is this a leap toward student well-being and future-ready adaptability, or are we cushioning kids into a culture of comfort they'll regret? This episode explores traditional grading and asks if college is a sandbox for thinking, learning, or ideas, or therapy. Who should listen? If you're a higher ed leader, a parent of a rising college student, or just someone bugged by constant change, this episode is your wake-up call. Expect a no-holds-barred debate about the future of learning, the real world's demands, and whether resilience is being built—or bulldozed—on campus.

Picture this: It's 2038, and your grandkid finds your old smartphone buried in a junk drawer. She stares at it like it's a caveman's club and asks, "Wait, you had to use your hands to use this all day?" In this episode, we unpack why everything you think is "normal" has an expiration date and why clinging to your old workflows, resumes, and even college degrees could be a dangerous trap. We'll bust open the illusion of permanence and show how our brains—and our organizations—are hardwired to fiercely defend even the most doomed habits. From the death of the resume to the rise of anticipatory AI and the coming extinction of rigid jobs and static credentials, Futurist Ira Wolfe is here to challenge your assumptions. Adapting to the future isn't about predicting what's next. It's about letting go of what used to be.  While listening, ask yourself: What are you fiercely defending right now that your grandkids will find laughable?

Think your job is safe for the next decade? Think again. In this mind-bending episode of Geeks Geezers Googlization, Ira S. Wolfe unpacks why the skills and instincts that built your career are going obsolete faster than you can reboot your laptop. Forget coasting through 40 years. Today's workplace "half-life" means Gen Z and Gen Alpha barely get a decade before everything changes (again).

Welcome to Geeks Geezers Googlization, where the future of work gets real—fast. In "Is Expertise Now a Liability?" the conversation dives headfirst into the dizzying acceleration of societal and technological change. Is relentless adaptability the only true job security, or are we burning ourselves out on a never-ending upgrade cycle? Join as perspectives clash on the impact of generative and agentic AI, the collapse of traditional career timelines, and whether deep expertise still matters when workflows flip every 12 days. Packed with provocative stats, Iron Man metaphors, and brain-bending research, this episode challenges you to rethink what it means to thrive at work. Ready to ride the waves of change—or are you searching for a stable anchor? Hit play and decide for yourself.

Remember five-year plans? Yeah, so do I. It turns out that quite a few people made careers out of writing them! Unfortunately, they are about as useful as a paper map in the age of Waze and Google Maps. Planning "far ahead" feels kind of quaint, especially when half the time we can't even guess what next quarter's going to look like. Whether you're a leader expected to deliver certainty, a manager juggling rapid change, or an employee anxious about keeping up, this episode is your roadmap through chaos. We dive deep into the rise and fall of planning frameworks, so you'll know exactly why the ground keeps shifting beneath your feet.

On this episode of Geeks, Geezers, and Googlization, you'll learn about the misguided madness about college admissions and hear about the real crisis no one's talking about: higher education is spiraling toward a cliff. Elite universities parade their record-low acceptance rates, while regional colleges shutter at a record pace. The reality? The system designed for yesterday's world isn't just outdated. It's actively setting us up for failure in an AI-driven future. If you're a student, parent, educator, hiring manager, or anyone trying to future-proof a career, this episode is your wake-up call. This podcast deep dive unpacks what's REALLY at stake for students, families, leaders, and communities. Here are 3 key takeaways: A Tale of Two Systems: Elite colleges are overwhelmed with applications, but most regional schools face demographic decline, closures, and economic fallout for entire communities. Degree ≠ Adaptability: Major workforce studies show that in-demand skills needed in an AI-driven world don't correlate with formal education levels. Credentials and pedigree alone will not be enough. Mindset is Everything: Thriving in the future demands we teach and practice tolerance for ambiguity, productive failure, and unlearning, not just technical know-how. Get ready for a discussion that challenges what you thought you knew about college and what it really means to be career-ready in the never-normal world.  

With companies still scrambling to fill open jobs and spending over $25 billion, why do candidates still get the heebie-jeebies when they apply for a job? You would think employers would have figured out how to create a candidate experience that is not all FCDD* up (Frustrating, Confusing, Disappointing, Distracting.)   Unfortunately, the results of the just released 2022 North American Candidate Experience Benchmark Research Report reveals a troubling trend: candidate resentment is on the rise. WTF is going on?   To help make sense of the state of the candidate experience, we welcome back Kevin Grossman, president of The Talent Board, to share highlights of their industry leading research and reveal a few of the Top 10 Takeaways.

With labor markets in freefall, there is no other business function that requires as much reimagination as recruitment and hiring. Can design thinking solve your organizations' hiring woes and help companies fill their talent pipeline? Jodi Brandstetter, an ardent and passionate fan of design thinking, thinks so. In this week's episode, you'll learn what design thinking is and why Jodi feels it might just be the catalyst to transform your talent acquisition strategies.  Before starting her own company Lean Effective Talent Strategies, Jodi worked as a Director of Talent Acquisition and is the author of the book Hire by Design.

Before February 2020, recruiting college students and recent graduates was a recurring annual tradition. Employers camped out on campus to secure the best and brightest for internships and jobs. Then COVID-19 hit and college campus activity came to a screeching halt. Now that the pandemic is basically behind us, how will college recruiting change? How did the pandemic impact internships? What is Amazon's impact on recruitment and the labor market? Where are wages headed? For answers, Steven Rothberg, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of College Recruiter, joins this week's episode of Geeks Geezers Googlization Show. If you're not familiar with Collegerecruiter.com, it connects high-quality students and recent graduates at scale to great part-time, seasonal, internship, and entry-level career opportunities. During the second segment host, Ira S Wolfe discusses the importance of validity, reliability, and job relevance when selecting and using pre-employment testing. Wolfe shares his easy-to-implement tip for customizing assessments to each position instead of using the same questions and criteria for every job.

Before February 2020, recruiting college students and recent graduates was a recurring annual tradition. Employers camped out on campus to secure the best and brightest for internships and jobs. Then COVID-19 hit and college campus activity came to a screeching halt. Now that the pandemic is basically behind us, how will college recruiting change? How did the pandemic impact internships? What is Amazon's impact on recruitment and the labor market? Where are wages headed? For answers, Steven Rothberg, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of College Recruiter, joins this week's episode of Geeks Geezers Googlization Show. If you're not familiar with Collegerecruiter.com, it connects high-quality students and recent graduates at scale to great part-time, seasonal, internship, and entry-level career opportunities. During the second segment host, Ira S Wolfe discusses the importance of validity, reliability, and job relevance when selecting and using pre-employment testing. Wolfe shares his easy-to-implement tip for customizing assessments to each position instead of using the same questions and criteria for every job.