Ideate - Selected Ideas
- 1. Ben’s School-to-Work transition IDEATE – Selected Ideas
- 2. Problem Statement Ben needed a way to efficiently connect and interact with potential employers, conducive to an exciting job with a dream firm. On one hand he was not well prepared to face the job seeking process. On the other hand HR processes of the companies that he contacted neglect job seekers’ needs, which almost prevented him from achieving his dream job.
- 3. No.1 - The most practical idea Resources Website Create a website with a collection of the best articles, tips and book references for students/recent grads on how to engage their dream companies. Include student/recent grads’ selected best resources, best tips and experience. Also include experienced professionals’ ideas and tips. Introduce categories and a rating system to facilitate user experience.
- 4. No.2 - The most disruptive idea Study and Recruitment Cafes Companies, universities and local governments open 'study and recruitment cafes' where they advertise short-term real-business challenges and short-term work opportunities in different areas. Students and recent grads can spend X% of their study time at the café over the last years of university. In the café they can study online, create teams, take part in challenges and have short work experiences. Challenges and work experiences can be online or on companies’ site, with or without company’s staff involvement. Cafe culture and environment facilitate the interaction among students/recent grads and enhance the work in interdisciplinary teams on specific real-world projects in areas and with companies of interest. Like musicians come together in music bands to play a specific genre, students come together to face real challenges. Students and recent grads get rated individually and as teams; rating comes also from teammates. Rating is based on knowledge, skills and ‘soft’ competencies like teamwork, leadership and creativity. Rating forms part of the college grading system. Students also accrue points that will count when they apply to real jobs. This allows students/recent grads to interact with different companies, learn new skills, find teammates, and be aware of personal competencies that they need to develop. Companies can employ individuals or the whole team based on the rating accumulated during challenges and work experiences.
- 5. No.3 – The favorite idea Beside the previous idea (No.2), I like the following one: HR Information Website Companies provide comprehensive information to students/recent grads on all positions in the organization (e.g. job descriptions, professional and competencies profiles needed, most common professional paths that led staff to the company, recruitment processes, internships, short-long term job opportunities, etc.), including videos and tutorials. This information is posted on a HR Information Website where students can access it. Based on the information on the company that they are interested in, students can plan their studies and professional development. Students can rate companies based on the quality of information available online, opportunities offered to students and their responsiveness to applications and queries. Rating leads to financial support by the government as well as public recognition, which increases the ability of companies to interact and support students/recent grads.