A 16-year-old student is deciding whether to study engineering or physics in college and is unsure which career path or university would be the best fit. His parents want him to attend the same university as his father but he is interested in other options as well. He feels influenced by others' expectations but wants to make his own decision. An executive at a bank is hiring new employees but finds it difficult to fully understand candidates' qualifications and skills from a single interview or standardized tests. Both the student and executive want to make informed decisions for their future but face challenges in fully knowing their options and accurately assessing skills and fit.

1. A 16-year-old middle class student in the last year of High
School and deciding which course/university to apply.
Father works as an engineer and mother works as a
Kindergarten teacher.
He is an only child and the family expects him to
graduate in College.
Say Do Think Feel
Interests I like Math
I usually do well in Math at
school
Is it just a hobby or a job?
There are so many jobs related
to Math. Which one should I
take?
Course
I'm not sure if I want to study
Engineering or Physics
I do quizzes online for better
understanding my profile.
Should I believe in these
quizzes???
What does an engineer do
everyday?
University
I am going to MIT because my
father have also graduated
there
I will just make the exams and
applications for the university
people expect me to go
I have always wanted to study
in Stanford
Should I follow someone's
instructions or should I do my
decision?
Influences
I am responsible for my own
decisions
I read online articles and
magazines for better
understanding courses and
universities
Parents don’t have experience
in today's marketplace, but
more experience. Friends don’t
have experience, like me.
I would like no one influenced
me and I could make a decision
by my own.
Job
I want to be a rich man and
have many cars
I already look after the car I'll
buy with my firts salary.
Which job would fit better for
earning a lot of money?
Should I choose because of the
consequences (money) or my
real interests?
Application
I need to study a lot for
entering in Stanford.
I study a lot, but sometimes I
feel a little lazy and don't know
exactly why I am studying.
Should I try other schools?
I feel my study is never enough,
although studying everyday.
College
I wnat to go to a College that
challenges me
I am looking up for people
studying there now for having
my doubts answered
Is there a College which will fit
perfectly to my expectations?
I am afraid to make a bad
choice

2. A Executive working for more than 15 years in private
companies.
He is in his late 40’s and now is a manager in a bank (one
of the main important in the country) and is hiring
people for working as credit analysts
Say Do Think Feel
Competi-
tion
There are many good
curriculums coming to us.
I do not have time to read
them all and have to select
some more "appealing".
There are so many courses
now. What is "Gaming
Programming"?
I am so out-of-date!
Hiring
There are many HR specific
methods for hiring people and
evaluating their personality.
I apply some of these tests.
Should I make a decision based
on this test and not by
intuition?
How would I answer to these
quizzes? Based on my answers,
would I be hired???
Courses
Distance courses, new
universities, colleges abroad. I
don't even know all of them.
I will get to know better some
of these courses.
These candidates are prepared
in formal ways, but they still
have much to learn!
Informal education is becoming
more and more improtant
Knowing
candidates
better
It's difficult to choose whether
a person is good or bad for the
job after 1-hour interview
I will apply some questions HR
team recommended, and see
their reaction.
How can I really choose among
these remaining excellent
candidates?
Should I choose the one having
more experience or the one
with better attitude?
Curriculum
This guy has studied "Data
mining for biological structures
in astronomy". What’s that?
It is important for employees to
be updated about novelties.
Does this 20-year guy know
more than me about data
mining?
What are people who will have
my job in the future are
studying?
Day-to-day
skills
The main skills one need for
working are not learned at
school
I hire people based on where
they studied, because I can
make guesses about other skills
Hiring people graduated in top
schools guarantees they made
an effort.
People graduated in top
schools value education and
will continue improving here.
Gen Y
These youngsters do not know
what they want and are used to
have everything
Anyway, the company needs
fresh air
How do I retain these talents?
They always want new stuff
and we can't provide novelty .
Are the Gen Y skills what
companies looking for? What
can I learn with youngsters?

3. Problem
Both student and executive have one common problem: adapting
marketplace and skills.
• the student doesn’t know enough what he will be expected to do when he has a
job and he can’t show all his skills in the interview; and
• the executive can’t show everything about the position before the candidates start
working and is not able to know better the skills the candidates have
Insight
The students have plenty of people and institutions (schools, parents, friends)
helping them to making the right decision, but they are not really capable to help
with more details.
Companies have specific recruitment programs and methods, but often create an
unrealistic image for the candidates and end up losing talented people because they
have greater expectations.
Partnerships among companies and universities are still uncommon and lacks the
focus on the students/candidates themselves.