Avenues: Connecting Students to Career Exploration

Bridging the gap between students and professionals through job shadowing.

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Business Challenge

Career exploration for young adults is often limited to classroom discussions, career fairs, or internships—none of which provide early, real-world exposure to different professions. The absence of a structured, user-friendly system for job shadowing creates barriers for students who want to explore potential career paths before making major educational or professional decisions.

Approach

Avenues aimed to develop a mobile platform that simplifies job shadowing by connecting students with professionals for career exploration. By focusing on user needs, intuitive UX design, and scalable technology, the platform bridges the gap between young professionals and experienced mentors.

Research & Insights

User Research & Market Analysis

Surveys & Focus Groups – Engaged high school and college students to identify their biggest career exploration challenges.
Competitive Review – Analyzed platforms like LinkedIn, Handshake, and career counseling programs to pinpoint opportunities for a job shadowing-focused solution.

Key Findings

Students struggled with finding the right mentors and accessing structured job shadowing opportunities.
Existing solutions focused on job-seeking rather than career discovery.
A lack of seamless scheduling and communication tools created friction for students and professionals alike.

Solution Design

Avenues is a mobile application that empowers students by offering:

Personalized Job Shadow Matching – Uses AI to suggest career fields and professionals based on student interests.
Effortless Scheduling & Communication – Integrated messaging and scheduling tools simplify coordination between students and mentors.
Guided Onboarding & Profile Creation – Helps students showcase their interests and goals, improving match accuracy.
User-Centered Navigation – Optimized design for easy career exploration and mentor discovery.

Business Outcomes

For students, Avenues provides:

Clarity & Confidence: A structured approach to exploring careers.
Access to Experts: Direct engagement with professionals.
Skill Development: Targeted resources to build relevant competencies.

For educational institutions and businesses:

Stronger Student Engagement: A seamless tool for guiding students.
Talent Pipeline Development: Early connection to future professionals.
Increased Industry Collaboration: More opportunities for professionals to mentor students.

Growth Roadmap

To expand Avenues, future iterations include:

Virtual Job Shadowing – Enables students to observe professionals remotely through video sessions.
AI-Enhanced Career Pathways – Expands job shadow recommendations based on evolving student interests.
Professional Endorsements & Badges – Helps students showcase job shadow experiences for college applications and resumes.

Strategic Value

Avenues transforms career exploration by making job shadowing more accessible, structured, and scalable. By focusing on student-driven career discovery, the platform provides long-term value in helping young professionals make informed career choices before they enter the workforce.

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