Employabilioty after Erasmus

Comprehensive Report: Career Development Workshop

Overview

To equip participants with essential career skills and knowledge, we organized a comprehensive workshop incorporating sessions designed according to the Holland Code formula. This approach ensured we addressed all six critical career dimensions:

• Investigative
• Realistic
• Artistic
• Social
• Enterprising
• Conventional

By collaborating with industry-leading experts, we aimed to maximize the impact of these sessions, offering participants valuable insights and actionable guidance. Additionally, this workshop marked the beginning of strategic partnerships with key organizations, fostering future collaborations.

Session Summaries

Market Trends and In-Demand Skills

Speaker: Narek Aslikyan, CEO and Co-founder of Armenian Code Academy

This session focused on providing participants with an understanding of the rapidly evolving job market. Key highlights included:

• Analysis of professions experiencing growth and decline.
• Detailed exploration of current market trends and their implications for job seekers.
• Emphasis on technical skills that are increasingly in demand in various industries.

Narek’s presentation offered participants a forward-looking perspective on career planning, enabling them to align their aspirations with market realities.

Crafting the Perfect CV

Speaker: Mariam Saribekyan, HR Specialist, Armenian Code Academy

Mariam’s session centered on building effective CVs and understanding their role in the hiring process. Highlights included:

• A breakdown of the differences between CVs and résumés.
• Practical advice on structuring and tailoring CVs to specific job opportunities.
• An interactive exercise where participants created their CVs for real-time feedback and corrections.

The session concluded with participants gaining the skills to produce professional, polished CVs tailored to their target industries.

Building an Attention-Grabbing LinkedIn Profile

Speaker: Armine Gevorgyan, Treasurer, ESN Armenia

Leveraging her four years of international market experience, Armine guided participants through the process of optimizing their LinkedIn profiles. Key takeaways included:

• Importance of LinkedIn as a platform for professional networking and showcasing achievements.
• Step-by-step assistance in creating and refining LinkedIn profiles.
• Strategies to attract recruiters and expand professional networks.

By the end of the session, every participant had a fully developed LinkedIn profile, ready for use in their job searches.

Personal Branding and Professional Image

Speaker: Yeva Gasparyan, Project Manager, The Crowdfunding Formula

This session emphasized the critical role of personal branding in career development. Topics covered included:

• The impact of communication, behavior, and appearance on professional reputation.
• Practical tips for maintaining a consistent and positive personal brand across various platforms.
• Strategies for leveraging personal branding to create lasting impressions in professional settings.

Yeva’s insights empowered participants to take control of their personal and professional narratives through the activities of storytelling where participants came up with some personal story, tried to tell their audience the way they should believe them. 

Understanding HR Processes

Speaker: Julieta Asatryan, Senior HR Specialist, Talentus HR

This final session provided an inside look at HR processes, enabling participants to navigate their careers more effectively. Key points included:

• Detailed discussions on interview preparation and common pitfalls.
• Insights into onboarding processes and expectations in large and small organizations.
• A lively Q&A session where participants received personalized advice on their specific queries.

The session provided practical and actionable guidance, helping participants build confidence in their job search and career management strategies.

Outcomes and Impact

This workshop achieved several significant outcomes:

1. Skill Development: Participants left the workshop equipped with:
   • Enhanced understanding of market trends and in-demand skills.
   • Polished CVs and LinkedIn profiles ready for job applications.
   • A deeper appreciation for personal branding and its impact on professional success.
   • Practical insights into HR processes and workplace expectations.
2. Engagement and Interaction: Active participation during sessions and the Q&A highlighted the workshop’s relevance and resonance with attendees.
3. Partnerships: Two new strategic partnerships were established:
   • Armenian Code Academy: A leader in technical education and career development.
   • Talentus HR: A trusted name in HR solutions and consulting.

These partnerships are expected to lead to future collaborations and enhanced resources for similar initiatives.

Conclusion and Future Directions

This workshop represented a significant step forward in empowering participants to navigate their career paths with confidence. The expertise shared by our speakers, coupled with hands-on activities and practical guidance, created an impactful learning experience. The new partnerships established during this event pave the way for continued growth and innovation in our career development initiatives.

Moving forward, we plan to:

• Expand the scope of future workshops to include emerging topics such as AI-driven career tools and remote work strategies.
• Strengthen existing partnerships and explore additional collaborations with industry leaders.

This workshop reaffirms our commitment to equipping individuals with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in an ever-changing job market. To spread awareness about the workshop we cooperated with the career centres of 7 universities in Yerevan and regions. 

You can watch the summary video on our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCzckhLuVbk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==