Four workshops. Eight hours. The result? Discovering the majors and careers that fit you best.   

It sounds pretty intense, but past participants tell us that time flies in our Bootcamps, and they learn a lot about themselves. Believe it or not, they even have fun.

So why do we do have such great results while focusing students on their future? Our workshops combine scientifically-validated assessments, proven counseling exercises, lots of group discussion, and professional consultation. These activities come across in each of our four Bootcamp workshops:

DISC

How do you communicate? Why do you get along with some people but not others? The DISC workshop helps you understand your unique behavioral and communication style in preparation for the academic and professional environments ahead.

This might look like: Have you struggled in school because you felt like the pace was too fast for you? That's not necessarily an indicator of intellectual ability; you might just absorb information easier at a slower pace. On the other hand, if the pace is too slow for you, you'll get bored. Learning your natural behavioral preferences lets you aim toward environments that reward your natural tendencies, instead of holding you back.

Passions

Your career is going to fill a majority of your life –– why spend it doing something you don't love? In the Passions workshop, students will articulate the activities, topics, and causes that energize them the most, and we'll find the underlying patterns that cause you to love them. We'll then begin to target majors and careers that incorporate these underlying elements.

This might look like: A junior who loves playing point guard on the basketball team shouldn't necessarily go into the NBA... but his passion for the game is something to pay attention to. He might love playing point guard because he enjoys rapidly-changing situations, communicating strategy, being in the spotlight, and motivating a team. Those types of underlying passions -- the ones that cause him to love certain activities over others -- can then be compared to those required for different career fields.

Talents

What can you become excellent at? In the Talents workshop, students identify their five strongest talents –– and more importantly, how they can build them into true strengths. Understanding your talents will help further narrow your college major and career focus.

This might look like: Are you able to talk with anyone? Do you naturally analyze arguments to find their weak points? Maybe you daydream about future possibilities? All three of these, plus 31 others, make up the Talent themes the Gallup Organization has identified from over 40 years of research. Interestingly enough, our most inherent talents are often the ones we discount -- they come so naturally to us, it's easy to assume that everyone can do the same. But an ability to chat up anyone, or a tendency to quickly size up the in's and out's of a situation, or an ability to inspire others with your visions of the future... might be some of your natural talents. They'll provide a strong base on which to build a career of success.

 
Values

What drives your decisions? Do you choose the high paying job or spend more time with family? In the Values workshop, students will articulate their life priorities and examine whether the majors and careers they're considering align with these values.

This might look like: If you go into investment banking, let's hope you don't have family or friends in your top five list of life priorities-- you won't see them much with the 90+ hour weeks standard in the industry. That doesn't mean your career will always align with your values, but the more out of whack the two are, the bigger the potential to burn out. In the case above, if investment banking is a stop on the way to something bigger and brighter that DOES align with your priorities, you might take the plunge anyway... but  with a little more awareness of the factors that could cause you to burn out and the ability to set up safeguards against them. Or you might look for a company or position that comes closer to your ideal balance. Money, service, power, family, freedom -- we're not going to tell you that one or the other is right or wrong, but understanding where they and other personal values rank against each other in your OWN eyes will help you make career decisions you won't regret.

You might be getting the sense that most people intuitively make study and career decisions based on these things already, and you'd be right. But because most people don't take the time to get really specific, it's easy to miss important factors and use incomplete information. Most people start to understand the factors most important to them after years of experimenting with less than ideal job matches. We help you get clarity on the personal attributes that can set you up for success.

Click here to learn the hard deliverables you'll receive from a Hobnob Bootcamp.