Prototype: Try It Out!

What is Prototyping?

Prototypes are fast experiments to test an idea and learn, before investing too much time, energy or resources. Prototyping and iteration are often the fastest way to solve complex, open-ended problems.

By using the previous steps you have identified areas you want to explore, the next step is to Try it Out!

Prototype Conversations

Start by talking. People love sharing their stories. Invite an upper-level student, a professor, or alumna to coffee. Follow these easy OCS steps on how to request, host, and learn from informational interviewing.

Networking

Studies report that up to 80% of jobs are found through networking, so building strong professional connections is essential to a successful career search. Through networking, you gather information about careers and hone in on options.

Networking is a skill that improves with practice, so check out our quick tips and video to help you make connections!

Outbound Networking is talking to people you know, to find out who they know, to connect to a person of interest to you.

Inbound Networking is important if your network has few points of intersection with that of the person you’re trying to reach (eg: a recruiter for a job at a target company).

Odyssey Plans

Odyssey Plans are not plans to fully execute, they are mini-prototypes you try out and they will help inform your feelings toward different possibilities. Check out this brief 2-minute video to learn more!

Consider this Exercise:

1. Lay out 3 radically different timelines for how the next 5 years might unfold for you.
   1. In the first instance, write your current plan (Plan A) for the next 5 years.
      Example: I plan to major in biology and become a Physical Therapist OR I plan to major in English and become a journalist.
   2. In the next instance think about what you would do if plan A can’t happen.
   3. In the third iteration, remove barriers — what would you do if money and time were no object?
2. Then stretch your preferred plan or combine the 3 and create a 10-year timeline.
3. Pay attention to the feelings that emerge when you imagine and develop these different paths.

Bringing It All Together!

As you look at your Odyssey Plans and start to try different experiences, it is helpful to reflect on the exercises you have completed throughout this tool.

• Refer back to how you answered questions about your Collegeview, Workview, and Worldview under Accept and consider the following questions to create coherency among these three views.
  • Where do your views on college, work, and the world complement one another?
  • Where do they clash?
  • Does one drive the other? How?
• Consider the Values, Interests, and Skills Exercise under Empathize. Do your Odyssey Plans include how you will use your skills while satisfying your interests and values?
• Keep in mind that prototyping and trying out different experiences will help you determine if your plans on paper will match your expectations in reality.

Key Helpful Resources