As we progress through our high school journey, we get each time closer to the inevitable: choosing our future. I’m sure you’ve already had at least one conversation at home about which college you’re going to, what you’re going to major in, and which career you’re going to choose for your future. However, how can such important decisions be expected from teenagers, especially when we had never had any guidance on the subject before? This is where my appreciation for the career week and the workshadowing experiences at Graded arises from. As a junior severely struggling with choosing what to pursue in the future, I can’t stress enough how invaluable it is for me to listen to relatable stories and experience different careers firsthand, and the workshadowing at Adidas was no different.
The day turned out to be nothing as I expected: when I first signed up for the workshadowing, I thought it’d be something much more slow and tedious, where we would literally “work shadow” someone, as in just following them through their day. However, it turned out to be much like a “career workshop”, where students were able to explore the very different branches within a company while at the same time receiving critical professional advice.
The experience started with thought-provoking presentations from both Fernanda Chiaparini, manager of the talent acquisition southern cone in Adidas, and Olivier Gianina, general manager at Adidas Brasil. The sessions not only presented what it is like to work within the sports scope but also gave us an idea of unusual yet crucial skills in the market. For example, something constantly emphasized by the presenters was the importance of culture and passion in your work. Being in Adidas, an already well known brand, the goal is to make the company and its products speak to the consumers. The products have to be immersed into Brazilian culture, and what better way to do that if not being passionate about your job and the company’s core values?
After that, the group of students was divided into smaller groups and we went through a rotational dynamic where we could talk to different professionals from 5 different areas of the company: human resources, supply chain, marketing and wholesales, finance, and direct to consumer services. All stations naturally provided information on the different operations areas and valuable insights on the person’s experience dealing with that. However, as we traveled through the five stations, there was one piece of advice in common for all of them: know your company. Each company is different and the more you know your business’ operations, relationships, needs, and image, the better you can adapt your work strategies to that.
Furthermore, another crucial point raised during the activity was that we don’t need to have it all figured out by the time we finish high school. Most of the workers we spoke to did not even know about their eventual professions when they first graduated from high school. And even as they moved on to college, some of the majors were far off from what they ended up doing. Take Fernanda Chiaparini for example, responsible for recruitment in the human resources department, she graduated with a degree in administration and didn’t even know what it meant to be a “talent hunter”. As she grew in her career and put effort into something that passionated her, she found an opportunity to work in company recruitment. As she experimented with that position, she discovered her passion in hearing each person’s unique story through company interviews, ultimately combining the two things she loved: people and sports.
At last, all of the experience and guidance we received in the workshadowing goes on to argue the significance of outside-of-class activities organized by the OCC. After all, finishing high school presents a myriad of opportunities and choices to make and it shouldn’t be something rushed or done fearfully. The Tuesday we spent on Adidas was able to give me more confidence in tracing my path as well as in knowing that things get figured out as we uncover our journey.
