Today we made a body map storytelling mural. We drew the outline of our body on a big paper and filled it with pictures, colours and words about our life. I focused on my negative sides: being shy as a child, looking too serious, mixed feelings, days without a workout and eating everything. It was not easy to show these things so openly. At my feet I wrote "That's the beginning". For me this means that my weak points are not the end – they are the start of my growth. My takea

In today's lecture we had to think and write about one happy moment that is still in our head today. I wrote about my application for an apprenticeship at a bank. We wrote it in our mother tongue and in a poetic style, like the short text about the first sip of beer by Philippe Delerm. I remembered the sunny autumn day, my suit, the nervous feeling at the assessment centre – and the phone call four days later with the offer. It was interesting how many small details came back

Today we played a game: four people had to throw tennis balls into a bin for 45 seconds – blindfolded. During the exercise there were four different voices around them giving feedback. It was interesting to see how differently the feedback influenced them. Some voices really helped, others only made it more confusing. My reflection: Good feedback has to be clear, honest and come at the right moment. Too much feedback at the same time can be worse than no feedback at all. My t

In today's lecture we worked a lot on our personal marketing plan. The thing I liked most was the attitudes matrix. It reminded me of some things I already knew and some new things, but also of some attitudes I had already forgotten. Reflecting on yourself and your attitudes showed me again that it is really important not to accept everything, because some people want to see you down. For me, attitudes are like a filter: they decide how I see a situation and how I react to it

Today we had a guest speaker from a headhunting boutique. He told us about his career and how he got into headhunting himself. It was very interesting to learn a little bit about the industries he works with, for example electronics, mechanical engineering and consulting firms. We also talked about the money side: a headhunter earns a fee when he closes a deal – that means when the candidate he found really signs the contract. My question to him was: “What are red flags for y

Today we got introduced to the topic of Ikigai. I knew it before only from some stories from Japan, but nothing more in particular. Ikigai is a Japanese word. It means something like “a reason to get up in the morning”. The idea is simple: you look at four questions – What do I love? What am I good at? What does the world need? What can I get paid for? The place where all four meet is your Ikigai. My reflection: To be honest, I don’t have a strong connection to Ikigai yet. It

In today's lecture we watched the movie "The Guardian" with Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. The film is about rescue swimmers of the US Coast Guard. Their job is to jump into the cold, stormy sea and save people's lives. Kevin Costner plays Ben Randall, an experienced rescue swimmer who becomes a teacher after a terrible accident. Ashton Kutcher plays Jake Fischer, a young and talented swimmer who wants to be the best, but at first he mostly thinks about himself. For me, th

In today's lecture we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of assessment centers, the difficulties they can bring, and how we can prepare for one. It reminded me of the assessment center for my apprenticeship, where I had to face all of these elements: several interviews, group projects and discussions, in-tray exercises and a math test. One aspect I noticed back then, and again in today's lecture, is how much time an assessment center takes. But coming back to career m

Today's lecture was about the challenges a hotel can face – for example recruitment difficulties, transport problems, skills shortages, seasonal and weekly fluctuations in demand, inefficient staff utilisation and so on. For myself, I think our daily lives sometimes seem a bit like a hotel. Every day we face different challenges and new schedules, and at some point it can become overwhelming. That's why the right structure and schedule are necessary – just like the right pers

Creativity – a word that gets bigger and bigger the more you start thinking about it.

What is success for you? Today we faced this question, and when you start thinking about it, it's not easy to answer.

Today we watched some movies about shared happiness, restorative justice, the hidden Power of Smiling and the Power of words.