Overview
Overview
Talented. Resilient. Creative. Team oriented. Relentless work ethic. Proven. Tested. Gritty. A passion for learning, improving, and competing . Totally committed. Do these attributes describe the type of individuals you want to surround yourself with and to drive your organization to higher levels of performance? Of course they do. Imagine your ideal teammate, project leader, sales person, operations manager – and these traits certainly speak to the most desirable human elements underpinning your talent strategy. So, where do you find these future leaders, and how would you determine that they have “the right stuff”?
Stuart & Douglas, LLC developed The Career Combine TM as an innovative, low risk/high return method to answer that question. Our experience as business executives, coaches, parents, and community leaders all factored in to the design of this program. A primary theme in our approach is to help our TCC candidates realize the life long return on their scholar-athlete experience by excelling and growing during their first “real” professional opportunity after college. In other words, to look at these early career experiences as a major building block for a successful and meaningful life. So, how does it work?
Approach
The Approach
Each TCC event is a 1-3 day program that includes registration, pre event candidate and employer screening through a disciplined selection process, pre combine preparation and practice, and participation in the actual combine. Our clients include single school events, regional combines, and events tailored for individual highly selective hiring firms. To be sure, TCC is not a “job fair”, our approach involves thorough selection criteria, a development curriculum that tests for the key attributes, while instilling a comprehensive understanding of professional readiness, industry and career path insight, and participation in individual and team competitions using an efficient but very effective case study model, with evaluation by selected employers. This approach will open the field of opportunities for selected candidates. Every candidate will leave TCC more prepared and ready to embark on a successful path. In fact, our TCC team will guarantee this through our ongoing professional development during the first two years of employment with one of our selected hiring companies. Interested? Here are some details:
Registration
Registration
REGISTER FOR THE CAREER COMBINE
Registration for candidates and employers should take no more than 10 minutes. You’ll hear back from our team via email on next steps throughout the screening, selection, and preparation timeline leading up to TCC for which you registered.
Screening & Selection
Screening and Selection
Following successful registration you’ll be asked to complete a number of tasks that include a short survey with inputs from key stakeholders in your college and work experience. Writing samples, transcripts, and other credentials will all become part of your TCC profile – and always protected throughout our process.
Preparation
Preparing for TCC
One of the aims of TCC is to “bridge the gap” between the core fundamentals (resume’ help, broad interviewing skills, what color is your parachute type analysis) developed today in Career Services organizations and Executive level development programs at major corporations. In that light, the preparation for your participation will include the following types of pre combine tasks:
- Industry and career path research ( we will steer you to the right references)
- Practice in articulating and presenting responses to adversity and demonstrated resilience
- Review of sample case studies so you are prepared for the evaluation aspect of TCC
- Assignment of pre reads to assist in the execution of TCC
What to Expect
What to Expect at The Career Combine TM
The curriculum, evaluation process, and hiring company interview approach is tailored to the scale and objectives for the individual event. At a high level, TCC schedule and program includes:
- TCC Introduction and Networking Reception
- The value of early career opportunities
- Career Maturity Model with Industry and Functional Career path overviews
- Translating the student athlete value to success in business and life
- Introduction to “the intangibles” that ensure success in your first job
- Moving beyond “how to find a job” to “how to be a high performing leader in every role”
- Overview of TCC alumni and continued career coaching program
- Case Study and Competitive Exercises (Observed and graded by selected hiring companies)
- Small group discussions with participating employers
- Individual interviews with employers
- Topical guest speaker and program wrap up
- Topics include: Leaving the structured student athlete experience into an unstructured world
- How to stay involved in your passions
- Managing your personal finances
Summary
TCC is a unique, serious, but fun approach to preparing proven talent for a successful life in the professional world of work. For participating employers, you’ll gain streamlined access to this talent providing an opportunity to raise the performance level for your businesses, reduce your recruiting costs while improving retention and strengthening engagement. Stuart & Douglas, LLC is confident that this approach and the long term aspects will strengthen the competitive fabric for all industries, and for all of our client academic institutions.