Ben needed help connecting with potential employers for his dream job. The document proposes three ideas to address this: 1) Create a website with resources and tips for job seekers to engage companies, including reviews from students and professionals. 2) Open "study and recruitment cafes" where companies post real-world challenges for students to work on in teams. Students build skills and ratings that can lead to jobs. 3) Companies provide detailed online information about roles and career paths to help students plan their studies and development to work there. Students can rate companies' support which incentives better opportunities and recognition.

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.