During a speech on February 23, 2010 at the Brookings Institution Paul Otellini, the CEO of Intel, announced a $3.5 billion dollar initiative to invest in U.S. based growth-industries and create 10,500 jobs for recent college graduates. Otellini estimates that the payroll for these college graduate jobs, including benefits, will be over $1 billion dollars per year. For me, this announcement and subsequent actions are all about the head of a major corporation creating confidence in the future economic prospects of the United States and the world. Why is confidence important? According to the well-known economist, John Maynard Keynes, one of the essential ingredients of economic prosperity is confidence. The fact that Otellini was able to gain support from well-known venture capital firms and leading corporations confirms that they share his confidence in the future of America to successfully compete.

Not only has Intel and their partner alliance members gained prominence in the minds of graduating seniors seeking employment, but it also has also forced other companies to re-evaluate their upcoming investment decisions and hiring needs. Intel and the other partner corporations have certainly not been immune to the effects of the economic slowdown. However, they have seen indicators that suggest that we will not permanently be in recession. These companies know that the best strategy for long-term success is proactive, not reactive. Once the economic improvements are apparent to everyone, it will be much more difficult to hire top talent or profitably invest in amazing new start-ups. THANK YOU Intel and Invest in America Alliance partners for being awesome.

-Omowale Casselle

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About the Author: Omowale Casselle is the co-founder and CEO of mySenSay, a social recruiting community that connects college students and corporations.