Most families treat the college major like it's the whole plan. The data says otherwise — and after thirty years of interviews, so does my own experience. Here's what the numbers actually show, and what to watch for instead.

I hear this from parents constantly: "My kid just doesn't have a passion for anything." After thirty years of interviews, I can tell you that's almost never true. Here's what's usually happening instead.

Every fall, seniors sit down to write essays answering a question they can't actually answer yet. Here's the question I'd ask instead, based on thirty years of watching which candidates figure themselves out — and which ones don't.

Every August, parents load their kids up with the toughest schedule they can build. After interviewing thousands of professionals, I can tell you the transcript isn't what predicts whether someone thrives at work. Here's what actually does.

Most career conversations focus on job titles and salaries. After interviewing thousands of professionals, I've learned those are often the least important factors in whether someone actually thrives.

Career assessments give teens a list of matching jobs. What they rarely give them is a working understanding of how they naturally operate. That gap is why so many college major decisions feel like guesses.

Most frustrated parents think their teen doesn't care enough. After interviewing thousands of professionals, I'd tell you the opposite is usually true — and that the real problem is one nobody talks about.

If you're a year or two into your career and something feels off, don't assume you made the wrong choice. You might have chosen the right work in the wrong environment.

I've hired English majors into finance roles, biology majors into tech, and history majors into some of the sharpest analytical positions I've seen. Major matters a lot less than people think — and something else matters a lot more.

After 30 years of interviewing professionals, I've noticed something. The people who thrive in their careers can almost always describe how they work — not just what they do. We're asking teens the wrong question entirely.

After 30 years of recruiting, I've seen what happens when career planning gets rushed. Most of the time, the counselor saw something. The parent knew something. But nobody had the right conversation at the right time.

Nobody tells you this before you pick a major — but the most important information you're missing isn't about the job market. It's about yourself.

After 30 years of interviewing professionals, I've noticed something: the ones who struggle most in their careers aren't the ones who picked the wrong major. They're the ones who never understood how they naturally work.

A student can be capable, responsible, and high-achieving—and still have no idea what kind of work will fit them.

After 30 years of recruiting, Brian Hughes has seen one pattern again and again: people rarely struggle because they lack talent. They struggle because they never understood how they naturally operate.