Preventing Career Worries Before They Start: Strategies for Early Success

We must make sure that a child understands the importance and power of knowledge and grows an urge to learn more. That not only helps in accumulating world views but also helps in exposing his mind to the world of unknowns. The discovery of unconventional paths brings the ultimate joy, and this is exactly where as a career counselor at an international school I step in.

We make sure that the students are exposed to the various blooming career opportunities through sessions with industry experts. Sometimes the Universities across the globe come forward. Recently, the Prestigious Russell Group Universities enlightened our students in a webinar. We also encourage students to have esteemed professors from renowned universities to be a part of the clubs, as it took place recently wherein the University of Waterloo presented the idea of Data Representation and its importance in terms of career options. Students of IGCSE, grade 6,7, and 8 also gets the opportunity to understand careers and courses that they can aspire to choose as they move forward to higher grades by being part of such sessions.

Apart from the webinars and sessions, we have a dedicated schedule for one-on-one career counseling sessions where students voice their concerns, indecisions, and queries. After all, the career one chooses should rest on informed decision-making that happens only when there is the liberty to choose between options and also the understanding of suitability and capability. Besides, the students transitioning from Grade 8 to Grade 9 also undergo one-on-one career guidance sessions as they step into the CAIE curriculum. They and their parents have better clarity in correlating the future with the subject combination they opt for in the present day. Similar activities take place for students who are in Grade 10 and would soon move on to Grade 11. We also try and ensure a smooth seamless transition as a student now embarks upon a journey with a new curriculum i.e IBDP from the CAIE through bridge programs.

Supporting the young students in the subject selection is an important activity that we have started working on in November 2021. For our IBDP students, it is very crucial for them to not only take care of their academics but also be mindful when it comes to making decisions regarding the selection of programs for under graduation and the universities best suited for them. Keeping this in mind, we have introduced a career guidance platform named BridgeU and the students have actively started working there. Right from selecting universities, to taking personality assessments and also documenting experiences that would add value to their profile. BridgeU gives students the platform to maintain a single document that would help them prepare rough drafts for the college essays, Statement of Purpose, and this, in turn, helps counselors draft letters of recommendation for them.

We have introduced it to students in Grade 8-10 and the enthusiasm that they have shown reflects in the portal in form of the activities they take part in. Students have completed the Psychometric Assessments to understand their learning styles and personality types. Merely deciding upon a career option is not enough, to be in the shoe of a person, who already is doing the job day in and day out, is more important to ensure that the thoughts and actions are in line with one another. Therefore, the students are updated and motivated to take part in various internship programs run by organizations like SUPROS, Summer School Programs by premium universities like Carnegie Mellon, London School Of Economics, MIT, etc. The collaboration of Oakridge with MIT makes it a wholesome experience altogether supplementing it with the courses and resources regularly updated by Nord Anglia Global Campus. Additionally, there are also contests run by top universities that help students nurture their interests like Techignite by Nanyang Technological University Singapore, and Entrepreneurship Contest by IIT Kharagpur to name a few. Also, most of the grade 12 students have completed their Regular Decision applications to universities in the USA, UK, and Canada.

Oakridge International School is an authorized Advanced Placement (AP) Test center, the registrations for the AP exam are https://www.oakridge.in/bachupally/advanced-placement-program/.

By Tiyasa Daw 

Career Counselor 

Oakridge International School Bachupally