At the end of last school year, Ian McVitty, a colleague of mind at Algonquin College, shared with me and a few other professors how he is using mind mapping to teach marketing in the School of Hospitality and Tourism. Ian’s talk and passion for this simple yet powerful tool was inspiring and awakened the mind mapper in me.
Since that time, I have used mind maps to plan new course designs, communication plans, share roles and responsibilities and even produce todo lists. I am now sold on the power of mind maps to convey information and most importantly allow you to make connections with information. Click to continue
When you are looking for a new job, networking to keep your options open or finding consulting work; you have to be ready to tell your story. Our goal is for our students develop their personal positioning pitch so they can tell their unique story when asked at anytime.
Before developing their pitch they must do some self-reflection that we call Dig Deep. The first module of the WhyHire.me personal branding curriculum is to ask many reflective questions of oneself. As individuals we don’t spend enough time thinking about ourselves. We think about projects, others, world issues and more. But to develop your career you really need to keep asking yourself the big questions.
- What are my personal values and greatest strengths?
- What personalities traits make me unique and stand out?
- Where have I had successes and what do they show about my strengths, personality, and values?
- What do others say about working and dealing with me? Have I really been listening to what others have to say about my performance, strengths and personality?
Our students answer these questions plus complete a variety of activities, worksheets, and online tools to help complete the foundation of there positioning pitch. This is the starting point of their online WhyHire.me profile.
