Throughout the first three months of our bootcamp, Praxis participants focus on building their talent profiles. After many hours of hard work and feedback from our advisors, the profiles are ready to be posted on our talent portal where all of our business partners can review them and connect with apprenticeship candidates of their choice.
These profiles are the perfect example of how Praxis integrates both the professional development goals of new participants and what growing companies look for in new talent. They help our participants internalize the long-term importance of building a substantial personal brand that will help them create opportunities for themselves that would not otherwise exist while also providing immediate context to what CEOs and hiring managers at high-growth startups value most in candidates.
They seamlessly blend together both educational and professional priorities, and emphasize product over paper. As it should be.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the core elements of a Praxis talent profile.
The Basics
Before starting placement all participants start to discover their primary role interests through content in our curriculum portal and individual advising sessions, most valuable immediate skills to a potential business partner by building projects and creating content, and also make sure their appearance is professional through quality headshots, simple email addresses (use as close to firstnamelastname@gmail.com as you can), and a polished LinkedIn profile.
Website + Content
Most of the meat of what our participants create during the bootcamp ends up on their personal websites. Just by building the site itself they gain a stronger understanding of basic marketing tools and quality design, but of course, they take it to a whole new level. They use their websites as a platform to show the world what’s interesting about them and what they’re interested in. By the time placement starts, participants have written “How I Broke the Mold” and “Top 3 Skills” posts, created a personal pitch deck that tells their story to date, and other content around their profesisonal and personal interests. They make it easy for a company to notice what sets them apart.
Website Examples
Top 3 Skills Examples
Pitch Deck Examples
Portfolio Projects
Only two things matter in the market, the ability to create value and the ability to prove to others that you can create value for them. Our participants spend an entire month of bootcamp building their first portfolio project. Not only does this help them impress hiring managers who are desperate to find evidence that an entry-level candidate has some valuable skills, but it also helps our participants gain a better understanding of different types of roles areas through real-life experience. Check out three recent project examples here.
About Me/Pitch Video
The final piece of content posted on an individual talent profile is a brief pitch video where our participants explain why they’re doing Praxis, what they’ve created, and why they’re excited to apprentice for a business partner. Hiring managers love to get an idea of someone’s personality and verbal communication ability pre-interview as it allows them to picture them in different roles. This is an awesome opportunity for our participants to really stand out through their communication skills, attention to detail, and creativity.
