President of Children’s Aid Society Took ‘Bizarre’ Risk After Law School
The president and chief executive of the Children’s Aid Society says young people are “planning too much and thinking too much.”
Recent college grads should take career risks before they have a family and a mortgage, Richard Buery Jr. tells the New York Times for its Corner Office column. “Try different things, do crazy things, explore what you love, and find your passion that way,” he advises.
It worked for Buery. After he graduated from Yale Law School, Buery at first followed a traditional path, clerking and working for about 10 months working as a lawyer. Then he quit to start a nonprofit connecting kids and volunteer mentors through the Internet. It was “about the most bizarre, crazy thing I think one could do coming out of law school,” he says.
Apparently Buery’s brief job as a lawyer soured him on law practice. One boss “upbraided me in front of a group of my colleagues,” instead of pulling him aside to criticize him in private, he says.
“One of the reasons why I wanted to be an entrepreneur, frankly, is that I didn’t want to have any more bad bosses,” he told the Times. “I wanted to create an environment where it wouldn’t be OK to treat people like that.”
Buery envied friends with great bosses, so he decided to find his own mentors. He contacted people he admired or those with interesting jobs, and asked if he could have lunch with them every few months to get their feedback.
“No one’s ever said no to that,” Buery told the Times. “It’s made an incredible difference in my career.”
