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Phase: Winning Ideas

One Day · Tell me and I'll forget · Show me and I'll remember · Involve me and I'll understand

"One Day" experience gets young people in contact with passionate professionals, active in a field they find interesting, to meet up with them -on the job- for one day. Verifying the impact of the One Day experience, for young people to make better informed choices about their future career is key for identifying the succes of this service. Just as much as young people learning through One Day that one can become a passionate professional through many different and often surprising routes. One Day helps 18 year olds to make their own well informed career decisions at a young age, preventing youth unemployment at a later stage.

Photo of Barcelona OpenIDEO Meetup
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One Day Teaser
Examples of what you can do, One Day Examples of what you can do, One Day
User experience video for our idea: ONE DAY!
A sneak peek of the OpenIDEO Barcelona team's idea to youth employment pathways challenge!
User storyboard being a hairdresser 1 User storyboard being a hairdresser 1
User storyboard being a hairdresser 2 User storyboard being a hairdresser 2
User storyboard being a hairdresser 3 User storyboard being a hairdresser 3
User storyboard being a hairdresser 4 User storyboard being a hairdresser 4
User storyboard being a bike shop owner 1 User storyboard being a bike shop owner 1
User storyboard being a bike shop owner 2 User storyboard being a bike shop owner 2
User storyboard being a bike shop owner 3 User storyboard being a bike shop owner 3
An initial sketch of our service flow and concept An initial sketch of our service flow and concept
User journey map User journey map
Business Model Business Model

ONE DAY in a nutshell!

"One Day" is an online platform that gives young people (our users) the chance to get in contact with passionate professionals, who are active in a field the user is interested in, and see for a day what it would be like to actually have such a job and find out how they managed to get there, while widening their networks.​

On the other hand One Day gives the possibility for professionals to share with young people what they are passionate about, explaining what they like about it (and what not) and to support and inspire young people to find their way to do what they are passionate about.

At the same time they get to know passionate young people who are interested in their field of work, who might become their colleugues in the future.... One Day, or their clients.

SNEAK PEAK


 

Either in follow up of a career test or through social media marketing (e.g. http://www.whatchado.com/en/), young people are redirected to our website. TED style events as suggested by the OpenIDEO London Meetup, would be a great way to get in contact with both target groups: young people and passionate professionals. And as our new team mate Bernice Chan pointed out, an annual event similar to the Canadian "Take our Kids to Work Day" is a perfect way to open companies up for young people!

 

THE PLATFORM


The homepage of the online platform provides users four possibilities:

  1. A matchmaking search engine to find people with the professions and passions you are interested in

  2. A random overview of people with a description of their professions and passions you can swipe through to get inspired and click on for further details and contact information

  3. An exploration test that helps you better define what you would like to be doing, in case you don’t have such a clear idea yet 

A roadmap that shows the steps you have taken with us so far in exploring your options to follow your passion and what other steps you could still take (up to inspiring others!)
 

​THE PROCESS 


When a user has found an interesting profession on the website, he/she can get in contact with the passionate professionals executing such a job, so called "buddies". They can first chat online to learn a bit more about each other and the profession of interest, followed by scheduling a first meet up together through the website.

Prior to spending a full day, people can first meet for e.g. an hour to simply see the workplace and talk more in depth about the job and each others background etc. The next step is to actually try out the job. The user is received by the professional, shown around and after a short exlanation regarding the activites planned for the day and some shadowing of what the professional does, its time for some action! Ideally there are always a couple of tasks that can be done by the young person. We strongly believe in the principle of "Tell me, I'll forget. Show me, I'll remember. Involve me, I'll understand".

After the One day has taken place, a short evaluation email is send out to hear whether the One Day has gone well and whether the user got enthusiastic about the type of profession or would like to try out other jobs instead. This way we will be continuously measuring the impact of One Day.

In case the user is very enthusiastic about the profession, a next step can be made by talking about the type of education that is needed to get such a job in the future.

In case of slightly older users who already follow a relevant education, a conversation might be started between the user and the company about short internships etc. to have a bit more time to get experience and develop the required skills.

The One day experience allows users to experiment and explore different jobs without having to fear for making mistakes. There are no wrong choices; e.g. finding out that being a doctor is very different from what you thought, making you decide to do something else with your life, is a very good result of participating in One day!

It also gives beautiful showcases of people who manage to find, or create, a job that they really enjoy doing and examples of people who manage to balance their working life with their private life in such a way they can do what they are passionate about.

USER EXPERIENCE


MAP: Here!

VIDEO:

 

 SOME BACKGROUND INFO ON OUR WORK
Our own local challenge in Barcelona

In January this year we started working with our local OpenIDEO team on the topic: Generation-Y in Barcelona. We started off with a number of interviews and developed empathy maps of different local Gen-Y people, in different stages of their life and career. Later on in the process we also organised a co-creation session in the city, which gave us even more insights in the challenges Gen-Y face here in Barcelona. Based on this empathy research we could define the above mentioned challenge:

How might we help Gen-Y in Barcelona exploring their options to follow their passions in a meaningful way?
 
Insights from our research

Some of the most important insights we derived from the executed co-creation session, empathy maps and interviews would be the following four:
  • Gen-Y who are still studying or at the beginning of their career are far less worried about their future career steps in comparison to those with working experience. They do however have a strong urge to explore and express their own identity, discover what qualities they have and what their "purpose" or "passion" could be.
     
  • Gen-Y with work experience on the other hand, are often searching a balance between growing, learning and doing new things on the one hand and financial and social stability on the other. In short: no stress while not being bored either.
     
  • Doing something else for a living than what you studied for is by many Spanish people perceived as failure: you choose the wrong education. Which is why people stick too long to a job they very much dislike or more often they become unemployed. Many of the local unemployed find fault with the system, the economy, political corruption  or any other cause outside of their control. This enlarges the lack of self empowerment. By many Spanish work is also perceived as something negative, not something you are supposed to enjoy.
     
  • Entrepreneurship is not popular in Spain. This is mainly due to the culture being risk averse (afraid of failure) and more fatalistic than others. The higher education in Spain also has a strong theoretical focus on the memorization of knowledge rather than the development of skills such as independency, self-confidence and decision-making.
NEXT STEPS
Basic Timeline Estimate

 

What are the next steps for implementing this idea?

# Basic Timeline Estimate pictured above and downloadable pdf on the right. Main next steps to take: # 1) Role-play experiments with our local group members as if they were users and buddies to observe and better understand the exact needs of the One Day platform users. (already taking place, see video and storyboards attached) # 2) Contacting: schools, parents and potential "buddies", to communicate our platform and get feedback from the target groups and to do some early experiments with young people. We will ask them what they would like to do, One Day, and then try to make that happen, searching for appropriate buddies. Before and after their One Day we will ask the participants about their expectations (what they would like to get out of it) and experiences (were the expectations met, what was the bonus take away and looking back, what more could they have gotten out of it). During the One Day we will observe during the interaction during the early experiment phase. (More info can also be found under the adapted description of "What early, lightweight experiment can you try out in your own community to find out if the idea will meet your expectations?") # 3) Implementation: The insights from our research, feedback from youth, professionals, parents, teachers etc. and our observations during the pilot will help us to design and implement the One Day website. We have some clear ideas already based on our research so far, but this needs further development. # 4) Feedback: Following the lean startup principles, we plan to constantly evaluate and iterate the service we are developing as we go. Part of the service will always be the preparation and evaluation with participants: youth and professionals. This is for us to improve our service and for our users to improve what they get out of the service. # 5) Funding Plan and Growth: We will keep contacting governments, universities, non profit and social innovation organisations and foundations, to present our platform. This step is crucial to build and maintain this service for the youth, initially in Barcelona - eventually world-wide! # Potential Partners: For the online part we are considering to partner with one of the platforms that Uwe suggested below: http://www.whatchado.com/en/ to integrate their quick test of 14 questions "to find your calling" in the One Day website. To get in contact with the local youth, we aim to work with schools and universities and professionals that support young people in choosing a career. Financially, as mentioned under step 5) we want to partner with governments, universities, non profit and social innovation organisations and foundations.

Briefly describe a user scenario which illustrates the specific need that your idea is trying to solve.

# User scenario: Jordi is an 18 years old boy finishing high school with the upcoming phase in his life to decide what to study. He is very afraid to make the wrong decision and be stuck for the rest of his life at a job he does not like or will never be good at. There are also so many possibilities he doesn’t know anything about. His parents have talked to him and in school he has done a test and talked with some teachers. He now has some vague ideas of possibly interesting directions but still really does not know what to do! # Insights from research: During our research in Spain we got a lot of insights related to the perception of failure. Doing something else for a living than what you studied for is by many Spanish people perceived as failure: you chose the wrong education. Teachers and parents have a very high influence (and pressure) on the career choices kids make during high school, in Spain often much higher than the kids themselves! On top of that, the Spanish higher education is still extremely theoretical compared to many other countries. Therefore , very often, people only find out what the real work is like when they enter their first job or do an internship in their final year. Which is off course quite late to find out it is not your type of job. This is why people feel stuck in a job they very much dislike or more often they become unemployed. Many of the unemployed then find fault with the system, the economy, political corruption or any other cause outside of their control. This enlarges the lack of self empowerment. In this sense (the wrong) education choice is limiting ones´ possibilities to develop a career rather than creating opportunities to benefit from and further develop passions and skills. # How One Day helps to overcome this problem: One Day helps young people to get a better understanding about themselves and the things they like doing and at the same time it creates the opportunity for people to help each other in exploring the options they have to follow their passions. It gives a "sneak preview" into the future to prevent young people from making this "mistake" in a country where pivoting is not yet perceived as a positive move for personal and career development. By supporting these young people when they are approximately 18 already, so that they can make informed rather than enforced decisions at such a young age, we help prevent youth unemployment at a later stage.

Complete a User Experience Map. This will help you visualize how a potential end user will interact with your idea. Once you have completed it, upload it using the Upload File button at the end of this form. PDF files preferred.

  • Completed

Who does this idea benefit, who are the main players and what's in it for them?

One day benefits young people who struggle with the following questions: · How can I find my purpose / my passion / happiness / … ? · How do I discover what I can do and explore my options? · How can I make the first steps? Primarily, the platform is aimed at local youth still in high school, who need to make crucial choices about their future careers (often around the age of 18 in Spain). Secondary, the platform aims to support students and people who have doubts or regrets about their chosen paths and have the need to explore other options. Other key stakeholders of One day are the people who are passionate about their chosen careers and the companies they work for who are interested to meet young people interested in their field of work. Furthermore the local and national governments are important stakeholders, and so are the schools, universities and the parents of local youth.

How is your idea specifically increasing access to employment opportunities and pathways for young people?

One day is an online platform that gives people the chance to get in contact with passionate professionals active in a field they are interested in and see for a day what it would be like to actually do such a job and find out how they managed to get there. On the other hand it gives the possibility for other people to share what they are passionate about, what they like about it (and what not) and to help and inspire people to find their way to start doing something they love to do. Besides this, they get to know passionate young people interested in their field of work. On August 19, an interview Tim Brown (IDEO) had with Dick Bolles (best-selling author of the book “what color is your parachute”) was published on LikedIn. The interview was done to inspire people for the summer challenge of OpenIDEO on a topic very related to our local challenge: How might we build better employment opportunities and pathways for young people around the world? In the interview, Bolles made a compelling case for the value of self-knowledge. Furthermore he wonders why people don’t work together and help each other in job hunting and indicates that giving people hope is crucial. One Day helps young people to get a better understanding about themselves and the things they like doing and it creates the opportunity for people to help each other in exploring the options they have to follow their passions. One Day provides a "sneak preview" into the future to prevent young people from making the "wrong education choice" in a country where pivoting is not yet perceived as something positive for a career. By supporting them to make informed rather than enforced decisions at such a young age, we help prevent youth unemployment at a later stage.

What early, lightweight experiment can you try out in your own community to find out if the idea will meet your expectations?

The young people we explained One day to were already very enthusiastic about the idea. The first steps are a set of off-line test to see if everything works the way we thought of it in the customer journeys that we mapped out. Especially the part where the professionals come in will need some attention; what is in it for them and for their employers? We do a very basic early pilot through some schools we are in contact with; asking young people around 18 years old what kind of work they would like to try out for One Day and then try to find professionals in their field of interest (in some cases together with them if they know somebody. This helps to show young people what they are capable of themselves). When we have found a match, we are in contact with both parties to learn what their expectations of One Day are and to prepare well for the One Day, for them to get the most out of it (mainly finding out what their motivation is to participate, what they want to get out of it). Besides keeping close contact with both parties, in some cases we also observe (part of) the day where they meet for the One Day. We do this during the pilot phase to also get a good understanding of the crucial parts of the experience where we would normally not be involved in person. In all cases we are also in contact with both parties after the One Day to evaluate the experience. We want to know whether it met their expectations and if, looking back, some things could have been more effective when done differently. Verifying the impact of the One Day experience to make better informed choices about a future career is key for identifying the succes of this service. Just as much as young people learning through One Day that one can become a passionate professional through many different and often surprising routes. From a service point of view, a crucial question (for both parties) is whether they would recommend a peer to also experience One Day. Beside learning how we can improve the different touch points within the service, these experiments also teach ourselves a lot about the easiness and difficulty to get in contact with young people and professionals to be involved in One Day, and to open up companies.

What skills, input or guidance are you keen to receive from the OpenIDEO community to help you build out or refine your idea further?

We would love to get in contact with people and organisations that want to take part in the development of this service into a good working platform, helping young people exploring their options to follow their passions in a meaningful way and create the life and career that fits them best! 1. We are looking for support to build a highly intuitive website 2. We are looking for people and organisations who want to support us financially to properly build and maintain this service, initially in Barcelona - eventually world-wide!

The idea emerged from:

  • An OpenIDEO Meetup

How do you envision your idea being implemented?

  • Keen to prototype it, find partners and pursue implementation
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Attachments (4)

USER EXPERIENCE MAP.pdf

User experience map

NEXT STEPS.pdf

Next steps for our idea implementation

TIMELINE.pdf

Timeline for our implementation

one_day_storyboard.pdf

We are pleased to share with you One Day user storyboard.

Inspired by (1)

Employability career talks and workshops
Employability career talks and workshops

This inspired (1)

One Day Experience
One Day Experience

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Hi. Great idea. A similar but more extensive idea around internships based in the US is being done by 'The Experience Institute". Could we worth checking out, http://expinstitute.com/

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