"On Wednesday, October 18, the students of the Masters of Architecture participated in a Boot Camp as part of our Professional development Plan organized by the Internship Service and employment and the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra. This intensive workshop had as goal to provide us with guidance and advice for our imminent entry into the professional world.

The workshop began with a session led by Kristina Monson, Assistant Director of Internship Services and employment, focused on branding staff. She stressed that it is crucial to know ourselves, understand what we bring to the table, highlight aspects core topic about our skills and tell our story effectively.

He then explained what an elevator pitch is and why it is essential to have one that represents you. An effective elevator pitch is one in which you sample passion for project and self-confidence. He provided us with four steps to follow to create our own:

• Step 1: the headline. Adapt the language.

• Step 2: describe your profile, summarize the value you can bring, highlight your experience and training accumulated. Talk about the most relevant functions you have performed or wish to perform.

• Step 3: Add a differentiating feature, such as technical expertise, languages or contacts. Talk about your achievements and highlight your professional skills.

• Step 4: Closing. When finished, ask for the contact.

Kristina concluded the session with some important aspects of the elevator pitch, such as researching the person you are addressing, being concise, memorizing and rehearsing naturally (avoiding mechanical memorization), not improvising and, if possible, recording yourself to evaluate your presentation.

The second session focused on interviews and how to overcome them successfully. Two students from Master's Degree, Jesús Musitu and María López, performed a roleplay to exemplify two different approaches. Maria demonstrated how to conduct an interview effectively, exhibiting confidence, accurate answers and clear preparation. In contrast, Jesus assumed the role of an interviewee who made several common mistakes, such as hugging the interviewer, moving awkwardly, dressing casually, among others. The other students then pointed out the positive and negative aspects of both interviews.

The second part of the session focused on providing recommendations for dealing with interviews. The STAR method (status, task, action and result) was presented to structure and simplify the answers. It was emphasized that being invited to an interview indicates a high level of interest on the part of business. The importance of understanding the needs of the business and the interviewer was stressed. It was also urged to do thorough research on business prior to the interview.

The third session, given by Alfonso Vericat, director of the Internship Service and employment, addressed the management of immediacy. Before starting, he made us reflect on why we were there and whether we were devoting enough time to our future, stressing that we are the main stakeholders in our own professional success. During the session, we talked about the world we will face in the coming months, characterized by high uncertainty or "VUCA environment" (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity). Decision-making was emphasized as the most important thing in this new stage, urging us to consider all alternatives and consequences before making a decision.

In addition, the "3 attributes core topic" were presented, according to Vericat, which are the "3 P's" (passion, patience and perseverance), accompanied by practical advice. Regarding passion, it was recommended to set medium-term goals deadline. Regarding patience, it was advised not to rush, since professional life is a long road. Regarding perseverance, the importance of trusting in the natural process was stressed.

The session concluded with four recommendations:

Start this phase with calm, clarity of objectives and short term goals deadline.

-Every action you take will impact your professional degree program .

Making mistakes at the beginning is normal, the goal is to learn from them.

-Analyze all facets of a decision before making it.

To conclude the workshop, the proper use of LinkedIn was discussed. Alfonso provided specific tips on optimizing our profile and highlighted four important aspects related to this tool:

-Clearly define the purpose of using LinkedIn to guide its use.

-Explore networking opportunities to expand connections.

-He mentioned the availability of LinkedIn Learning, a platform with free courses.

-He highlighted the possibility of connecting with companies of interest to facilitate decision making and interview preparation.

At summary, the workshop was extremely enriching and served to make us aware of the importance of our future professional degree program , as well as to help us by giving us the tools and recommendations necessary to achieve success in the working world".

Text written by: Manuela Trompiz, student of Master's Degree University of Architecture (MUA)