“The Advertising Agency”: a business game

Thumbnail

On 23 January, we organised “The Advertising Agency”, a business game, for Step Up students and members of the “Absolute Help” foundation.

The event was organised as part of the “Prof” project, which is aimed at supporting students and graduates of orphanages and institutions to find professional work. The project helps them to identify their strengths and their talents, and to build the communication and business skills necessary for a future career.

Students were split into teams and they then laid out the pros and cons of various professions. They advertised them so that students could give one of them a go.

Their main task was to show the versatility of each profession, to dispel the myth of good and bad professions, and to show that skills acquired in college can be developed in order to succeed as a sought-after professional in a given field.

The game helped many students at the start of their professional careers form a realistic perception of the world of work. It allowed them to find the answer to, or simply think about, the question: “What do I want to become?”

The event was interesting, fun and productive. During the students’ presentations, particularly when faced with various issues, students understood that certain jobs are not as simple as they seem. It would seem that bakers make cakes and, therefore, they eat. Such is a great bonus for those with a sweet tooth. Yet, it turned out that this is not the case.

Here are a few of our students’ best bits:

-A student advertising the hairdressing profession: “the world’s first haircut was given in 1231”;

-Visiting the hairdresser can increase your “self-confidence”;

-The response of a team promoting dog breeders to an audience question: “if you are in a mob or at college…”;

-A team promoting bakers and confectioners: “this profession is always demanding”;

-“A pastry chef is always loved by women and children”.

There were many touching moments throughout the game. Student shared their dreams and aspirations and spoke about the obstacles and problems that often do not allow dreams to come true.

For example, everyone was struck by Ira’s story. She loves dogs and dreams of becoming a dog handler. When Roma was told about translation as a profession, he asked whether the speech of a mute person can be translated. It is clear that this is a crucial question for Roma, who worked hard with a Step Up speech therapist and began to speak more clearly as he neared the age of thirty.

Our favourite hosts, Ekaterina and Aleksey Kurbatov organised the game; for years, they have been holding classes as part of a career guidance course on employment. We thank them for their exciting game and professionalism.

Thank you to the Courtyard Marriott Moscow on Voznesensky Pereulok, and particularly to Alexei Ryapolov for supporting the event and hosting the game.

Thank you to Polina Bikonya for the photos.

You can find more photos in the gallery.