How many of you changed careers in the last 18 months, or dropped habits and picked up new ones? How many of you decided that you truly loved what you do, or realized that you needed something more. How many new friendships were forged, and others left behind? When you strip away the familiar, and all of the routines that we thought made up our lives, what actually lies behind it?
It is a good time to talk about this. We are still emerging from a period in which so much has changed. The way we travel, work, teach, learn, communicate and interact has been radically upended over just 18 months. Or better expressed, the change happened literally overnight, and we have spent 18 months adapting to it. And this is the point. Think about all the things we, as adults, tell ourselves about our ability to change and adapt.
"You can't teach an old dog new tricks"
"I'm too old to change careers"
"Technology is only for the new generations"
"It's harder to learn when you are getting older. "
The last one is pretty much accurate, according to the most recent body of research, but the rest really just does not stand up to scrutiny. So much focus is (rightly) given to talking about a growth mindset in our young learners and budding entrepreneurs and creatives. But what about those of us further on in careers? The campus administrator, the university teacher, the researcher, the recruiter for international schools, or the seasoned agent for language schools? What happens when change knocks at our doors?
As you move forward from this time of great upheaval, purpose will be your anchor. If we are to truly embrace that change is the only constant in life, we need to know what the thread is, which connects past, present, and our authentic selves. That thread is our purpose; the inner sense that tells you to surround yourself with the things and people who act as wellsprings and fountains of energy in your life, and leave aside those that drain and sap you. Purpose is aligning with what you just know to be right for you. When you are in that space, the world can throw what it will at you, and you always have solid ground underfoot.
Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to create new patterns, and wire in new habits, beliefs, knowledge and all the rest. There was a perception for many years that change was for the young, and though it is true that neuroplasticity gets a bit more challenging as we advance in years, the evidence is now clear that our brains are malleable throughout our whole lives.
This is incredibly empowering. Watching your job in student recruitment get slowly edged out by AI? You can upskill at any age. Bamboozled by the new directive to market your institution via TikTok? Embrace being a learner again, and being out of your comfort zone. That all sounds like a load of hollow advice until you realise that your brain is really ready to support you.
Until you realise that when things got tough in 2020, you figured it out, and you can do it again without waiting for an external event to force that change. Being out of your comfort zone will produce fear in the primitive part of your brain, because that's its job. But there is another part of you that knows that this is where the growth actually happens.
The challenging part of change is not only embracing it, but sustaining it. The recruitment agent who suddenly had to adapt to a world without fairs and events, and even suddenly had to recruit students for wholly digital institutions, which were ready to thrive in this turn of events, or the teacher who was pushed into a whole new realm of EdTech and digital literacy just to reach the learners.
These were both opportunities to learn and grow, but the enduring change depends on whether we perceive this change as purely reactive. In other words, were we just doing what had to be done, and waiting to get back to familiar territory as soon as possible, or are we ready to keep growing, learning and adapting?
Habits and beliefs take time to change and rewire. You've already learned how to support learners using a range of digital tools, so what else might be out there? Even as they return to your classroom or lecture hall, what new practices could you roll into the traditional environment to enrich it and keep moving forward? You learned how to adapt to a desk-based remote working environment and perhaps even partner with education portals or other recruitment gateways. Could you consolidate this and reorient your business? Is the "old" way really future-proof if this happens again? Or should we say....when this happens again.
Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous. This is the world as it really is. The planet is heating up, traditional socio-political systems are shifting, people have access to a wealth of information but often lack the tools to disseminate and filter it critically. The big players in education marketing and recruitment, teaching and learning, are all forging new alliances and new business models. The jobs we are preparing learners for may not even exist yet, and AI is slowly taking over so many of the functions that humans used to perform.
Challenging? Yes. But sometimes, we have to look back before we look forward. Take a moment to think about what 2020 brought you in terms of growth and awareness, and what you might take forward. You really can forge something new out of this, and your brain won't let you down.
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” —Lao Tzu
Cast your mind back to March 2020. Dark times for so many of us. For those at the front of the roller coaster, in China and Italy, there wasn't much security in being able to observe what was happening in other places, because it was unfolding here first. Those of us in the UK, or the USA watched as it happened to others, with a growing but grudging awareness that it could happen to us too.
You see, we don't like change much, as human beings. There is security in the predictable, and the bit of our brain that keeps us alive and helps us respond to threats just loves to know what is around the next corner. The problem is, that this is just not the way life is. We want to keep ourselves safe and surround ourselves (and our children) with routines, familiarity and a linear sense of how life might unfold. Life, however, has other plans.
Suddenly, students could not travel. They could not even come to class. K-12 schools scrambled into action, because there was no other choice. The learning and the support had to continue. Some teachers learned how to use Zoom or Google Classroom for this first time, and there was a sense of just having to adapt. We learned that we could do it. Those of us behind the scenes in marketing, recruitment and administration had to step back and watch events unfold as we tried to make sense of what that might mean for our world.
Within all of this, so many of us learned important lessons. The challenge, however, will be in taking those lessons forward with us. As travel opens up, and the world lurches slowly back into motion, the seduction of the familiar will pull us back into the patterns of security and predictability. But were we to allow ourselves to be changed by the experience, what might we find? What did we actually learn from all of this? How do we embrace change, and flourish in that practice, rather than freezing and fearing?
At geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy) we stay small and flexible, adaptable and open to change, and we are ready to support you in growing your agency, institution or yourself. Embracing change is much easier together.
"I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam" said Popeye, but he also lived entirely on tobacco and spinach, so let's look to someone else for life advice.
“Step out of your comfort zone. Comfort zones, where your unrealized dreams are buried, are the enemies of achievement."— Roy. T. Bennet
With the rise in the accessibility of information through technology, we see both positive and negative outcomes. Access to education through technology can promote equity, or it can widen the gap between those who have devices, digital literacy and connectivity and those who do not. Access to 24/7 education can democratise learning and empower the next generation, but how? Join us live with Filip as we discuss these important issues?
If you come out in a cold sweat at the thought of this, just read our last article on why you should use TikTok in education marketing & recruitment. We probably all felt the same about Instagram when everyone was telling us that this was the next thing, and look how that worked out. This time, we're going to assume you've downloaded the app, had a browse around, given the idea time to percolate, and are a little bit curious about just how this works.
Now, advanced TikTok users will be interested in the ads feature, and approaches such as influencer marketing, but that's not where we are aiming here yet. As a matter of fact, we suggest first building an organic audience before getting into the nitty-gritty of TikTok Ads.
TikTok is investing money in creating educational content, and the platform is starting to be taken more seriously by education institutions all over the world. That said, the playing field is still relatively open. There are big players like the University of Florida and McCallie School for the K12'ers, but so many other institutions are just dipping their toes in the water. It is a great time to dive in.
As we have already mentioned, engagement rates on TikTok are sky-high, and the next generations of students are already there. Using this platform to reach them in its most organic way is relatively low cost, but that doesn't mean it should be approached without a well-thought-out basic strategy.
And that's where we are aiming today: to look at some principles of using TikTok to good effect, in a way that will help you build a sense of what works and what does not, before stepping up to ads and all the rest.
No. Not unless you want to. One of the main misconceptions of TikTok is that it's all about lip synching and dance challenges. In promoting your institution, it's important to look at the broader principles at work here. TikTok users love challenges, and this "challenge culture" is, according to the book Generation Z goes to College, part of the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of generations Z and Alpha. This means they are less bothered about consuming content, and much more interested in creating it.
And what about you? The marketing team, campus manager, teacher, or administrator? The thing is, it really is open in terms of who should get involved. Check out the hashtag teachers of TikTok to see some of the really creative ways that staff are engaging directly with students, but also you will see that your average institutional TikTok account is almost entirely student-generated content, such as the account of Indiana University. There are usually a great many local challenges too, and picking up on these is a guaranteed way into high engagement.
Some administrators and leaders in education might feel a touch uncomfortable at seeing all of the content that is filmed in the corridors and classrooms of their institution, but you don't have to share it. What is important, is to embrace and learn from it. How authentic is the feedback you really get from students about their experience? Want to know what they really think and feel? You will find it here.
Raw content is encouraged. You might think it counter productive to showcase videos of all the things that your students are finding challenging about their studies, but trends such as the #collegegotmelike hashtag were picked up by many institutions, such as the University of Limerick, in Ireland.
In this, users would make short videos about how stressed they were, the mistakes they had made in missing deadlines, or just the struggles of getting out of bed for an early class. We all know that college has challenges, and sharing them in this fun way gave the institutions a very human, authentic appeal that complements the glossy course brochures, rather than contradicting them.
Several schools from around the world, for example, asked their students to post TikToks for the #backtoschool challenge, where users would make short videos showing how they were prepping to return after the holidays. Tagging and hashtagging their schools was a great way to generate authentic and fun content that gave a snapshot of student life, with real students producing raw content.
If you do want to jump in, go for it, but make it fun. TikTok is all about embracing awkwardness and cringe-worthiness, so don't aim to make it polished, because authenticity is the key at all times. Self-deprecate, be a little silly, or leave it to others: that's the best advice we can offer on this one.
We are really comparing TikTok here with Instagram, for easy reference. On Instagram, you can create short, engaging videos to market your course or institution, but on TikTok, the videos are really short. The videos are 3 to 15 seconds long. However, you can combine them to produce something up to 1 minute in total.
That said, TikTok says that ads of 9 to 15 seconds are optimal. The sheer amount of content on here should make clear why, as users are unlikely to engage with content 1 minute long unless they are really really interested.
To grab the attention of people who may not already be checking you out, your content needs to be punchy. Think about those YouTube ads that have a few seconds to get you hooked before you click the skip button. TikTok doesn't only have great filters and songs, but also a host of post-production tools that you can play around with to make your content stand out. Though the content is short, the creative potential is endless.
TikTok is built on trends. These trends can be around current events, local hot topics etc. Some of these don't last long, such as the trends you find on the "discover" page, so you have to get in there quick. Unlike the mentality of content on other platforms, on TikTok copying others is really the done thing. You don't need to reinvent the wheel and be hyper original to get started- just jump in and do what they do, with your own spin on it.
Share the content on other channels too, because users who engage with it there and follow the thread to your TikTok page is something the TikTok algorithm really likes. Make the most of the trends as they emerge and disappear, because when things are hot on TikTok, they are smoking hot. Make time available on a regular basis to see what is driving engagement. Your students will be only too happy to tell you, and you might even find yourself pulled in to a video demonstration!
We said at the start that TikTok was really a low cost and high engagement way to interact directly with students, current and prospective. The thing is, that essentially "playing" on TikTok can really give you unique insights into what works and what does not, so that if and when you do invest in ads, you will be better prepared.
Ask your followers what questions they have about the experience at your school or university, and use TikTok to answer them. Challenge students to showcase what life on the MBA course is like, or what they wish they'd known when they started school. All of this is not only amazing content for prospective students, but can feed back into improving the overall experience for students too.
Do open a pro account. It is free and gives you the dashboard for analytics, on which you can really start to figure out where future ads and campaigns might be targeted. There's no rush. Just being there and showing the fun side of your school or college through the eyes of your students is already an achievement.
When you are ready to take things to the next level, geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy) is ready to support you. Our only requirement is that you send us your request in the form of a dance.
If you are the CEO of comments, or the Heather of #Hotgirlsummer, then DNI with this article. For anyone else who has no idea what that first sentence meant, then this is for you. There are a great many people working in our world of education marketing and recruitment who are social media positive, but for whom TikTok seems a bit too frivolous or bewildering, but with Facebook most popular with the over 40s, and Instagram firmly for the 20-40 year olds, there is just no avoiding TikTok in your strategy.
We get it. You feel like you finally got used to using Canva to make beautiful Insta stories, and worked out how to refine that audience on Facebook ads to get the right kind of engagement. All the courses and conferences to learn more about social media engagement, and the established platforms now feel like an integrated part of your operation. Opening the Instagram app is like engaging in conversation with a peer. Your feed is curated to reflect what you like and want, how you think and feel.
And in bursts TikTok with bussin' lip-synch dance challenges that are ironically cheugy. Opening this app can be even more overwhelming than that last sentence. User Generated Content that has you saying "but...why?" makes it easy to disengage and write off as something that could never be a serious asset to a K-12, higher or further education institution.
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Meeting Gen Z and Alpha where they are
Take a look at the demographics. TikTok's users are clearly the forthcoming generations for K-12 to Higher Ed, and it is easy to see why. Instagram does see more use among Gen Z and millennials , with 71% of 18-29 year olds using it regularly compared to 48% for TikTok, but Gen Alpha coming up behind them are clearly TikTok loyal. Demographics shift, disruptions happen, but one thing is for sure: TikTok is way more fun than Instagram.
Perhaps that is why TikTok engagement rates are far higher than Instagram, even after they introduced Reels in an attempt to compete. More than one study has concluded that Millennials prefer to consume content, whereas Gen Z and Alpha want to create it and engage with it. And for those still saying that it is the parents as decision makers we should be focusing on in education, never forget the unrivaled pester power and growing maturity of Gen Z and Alpha.
Yes Instagram has the far greater reach, credibility and the platform, and is part of a marketing approach you should never ignore, but for younger generations who want to actively engage with you, rather than passively consume content, TikTok is where you have to be.
You've probably guessed that we're not going to write an article suggesting you make TIkTok a serious part of your marketing strategy, if we think it's going to get "Myspaced" in a year or two. The growth predictions are strong. TikTok currently has about 1 billion active users monthly, which means it has nearly tripled in size since 2018.
Growth like that cannot last forever, and institutions in the US may also want to keep a close eye on the particular challenges the app is having there. Though President Biden has Rescinded former President Trump's ban on the Chinese-owned app, he has requested a thorough review of privacy issues. The general feeling is, however, that TikTok will continue, even if some of its US operation has to change behind the scenes.
With a billion users and growing, the unmatched engagement rates on TikTok will soon have the reach and visibility to match; especially as more brands and organizations come on board. The clock is both ticking and tocking and it's past time to set up an account.
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At geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy) we write all the time about authenticity. How important it is, not just from a values' perspective, but to connect with new generations that can sniff out a hollow sales pitch in seconds. We have to be real.
Looking through the example list of higher education institutions using TikTok, you can see two key angles playing out again and again. Fun and insight.
Studying at a college or university has a serious side. The ROI for the fee, and the real skills you hope to learn to prepare you for an uncertain world. But if you went to college yourself, is that what you remember? The website version of your degree?
The experience of an institution is much more than this, and until now it was something that was hard to showcase. The only way was to talk to someone you knew had studied there, or to student ambassadors who, when they ran through all the brochure stuff, finally started to talk about what it was really like to be a student there. How did it feel?
TikTok gives prospective students a window into the reality of that experience, in a way that is fun and light-hearted, but also engaging and emotive. Getting current students involved in a way that gives them free reign (ish) on creativity is also a no-brainer. There is still a place for testimonial videos of course, but for current and prospective students to be cognitively, emotionally involved and engaged, that red button has to be pressed.
In part two of this article we will answer the following questions to give you the right start on TikTok, whether you work in K-12, further or higher education.
Check back in next week for the answers to these questions. And remember, for support in navigating these new media and emerging trends to reach and connect with prospective students in authentic ways, geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy) is here for you.
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Let’s recap what we learned about Generation Alpha from part 1 of this article/podcast. In some ways they are amplifications of developing trends through Millennials and Gen Z.
They can detect inauthenticity quickly, are not impacted much by ads, don’t believe the marketing slogans and prefer to crowdsource the real deal. They are information literate, grew up in fake news and have known from day one that not everything is as it seems.
Diversity, inclusion and social responsibility are all part of the fabric of a Gen Alpha. They are parented in a way that encourages them to forge their own paths with greater agency and independence, almost coming full circle from the so called “latch key kids” of the 60’s but for different reasons.
Prudent with money, but with huge potential spending power amidst the most numerous generation the world has ever seen. They shy away from big financial commitments, and prefer the sharing economy to ownership. So the question is, what does all this mean for our colleagues in education marketing and recruitment?
All this may seem distant, but people didn’t just radically change on 1st January 2010. Generations are not an exact science at all, and we are going to see the alpha effect growing among new students in just a couple of years,
How do we prepare for this generation to pop up on our screens, asking us to give them three good reasons why they should study with us. Three is apparently a mythical number for Gen Alpha.
We totally invented that thing about the number three, and a gen Alpha would have caught that in a second, messaged their friends, figured out that it was nonsense, and never darkened our door again.
Gen Alpha are not the generation who see a meme on Facebook that says something that is clearly untrue with “share if you think this is a disgrace” at the bottom, and reaches for the click. In fact, they aren’t even on Facebook at all.
Alphas are growing up in a world where the airy rhetoric of politicians and the flashing slogans of the big name brands are just noise. They can find the truth in a second. The days of getting away with unethical behavior are over. Gen Alpha want trust and authenticity.
If you talk the talk (and you should), then walk the walk. CSR is no longer a “nice to have” and diversity makes a great photo but without proper work on inclusion behind the lens, the whole thing rings hollow and everyone will hear it.
Gen Alpha are more likely even than Z’s to be aware of the importance of wellbeing. Talking about academic support is one thing, but they have been raised in an era where wellbeing and mental health is on every agenda. They will expect you to have meaningful support beyond the school counsellor, and to show how you support wellbeing in your day to day operations.
Physical wellbeing is also high on the agenda. The snack machines full of sugary drinks, and the dining room with no plant-based healthy options will not go down well. This is the most health conscious generation yet.
Showcase the diversity and inclusion of your institution, your net carbon zero plan, and your safeguarding policies. Workshops on consent, LGBTQ+ societies and an active institutional voice in equity and equality issues. The days of remaining “neutral” on such things are long behind us, and there really was no such thing as neutrality anyway if we are to be honest.
Social marketing is about influencing behavior, not raising awareness. Showcase what you care about and they will do the rest. The top- down approaches don’t work with Alpha, as they need to be in control of the decision and are more likely to reject the word from on high. That means really understanding who they are and what they care about, so that you can meet them where they are.
Much of the new approach to engagement with this generation is truly about letting go. Sorry, but the testimonials on your website are great, but Alpha’s are not buying it. “Daisy from Dortmund” might say the Bachelor in Business Studies or the IB program was amazing, but the Alpha’s don't know Daisy and, truth told, might not believe that it is genuine in the first place. Video testimonials are much better, but the inevitable truth is that Alphas want to ask their peers on their terms, not yours.
There is just no way to control this, so embrace it. Though student ambassador networks like Intead and Unibuddy are great, and still have a place, understand that they will contact others on their own, and seek out reviews through organic search. The furthest we would go is recommending that they contact the alumni network on LinkedIn.
They are called screenagers for a reason, and if you want to reach them you have to be on those screens. Alphas are very comfortable with AI and gamified learning, so use that.
For those with the resources, build a gamified virtual campus if you have the resources, or open a campus in Minecraft! Visual, video, AI, gamification: these are the tools that will land on the right screens. Even using gamified lexis such as “unlocking new skills” to progress to new levels of mastery will resonate much better than “passing exams”, which was always a ridiculously abstract concept anyway.
What a big one to save for last, but it needs its own space. Alphas are not only a new generation emerging from unique and unprecedented circumstances, they are also going into a whole new landscape of work as employees. We’ve written extensively about the liquid future of work, the volatile and uncertain shifts in industry as climate change hits and technology matures.
We have seen a lot of articles advising Education Marketers to “emphasize the financial security that the course of study will bring” but we have to say that it goes beyond that. It’s not about a degree giving you security, but empowering alphas with the skills they need to create their own security. They already know that degrees are not the golden ticket anymore, and they want skills above all else. From K-12 to university, show them how they will develop as people, not products of a system that was designed for those who came many generations before.
Prep starts now. In the list above we can see that these are not things that change from one academic year to the next. They are systemic, and they will require strategy. That’s why now is the best time to start preparing, because catching up last minute is just not viable. As always , for any support and advice we can offer, we are right here, in your corner. Just reach out , and let's prepare together.
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Extra, flex, yeat, GOAT, and no we haven’t lost our minds. According to a detailed report by Mccrindle, These are words and expressions common to generation Alpha, and knowing what they mean is just the start of our homework as we get ready to understand them and engage with them.
In this two-part article/podcast, we are going to look at who Gen Alpha are and what they want in part one, and in part two, focus on how we in the world of education marketing and recruitment can engage with them. By the time you finish reading/listening to them both, you’ll definitely be the sheep.
We meant GOAT. It is hard to keep pace with such distinctive generational changes and what they mean, especially when it comes to a young person’s very distinctive experience of a rapidly changing world. This goes way beyond slang.
Gen Alpha were born from 2010- the year the iPad was launched - and the last Gen Alphas will be born in 2024. That means by the end of the 2020s, Gen Alphas will be starting to have children, enter the workforce, go to college and all the rest of it. What is more remarkable is that they will be the biggest generation the world has ever seen, with 2 billion Alphas well on the way.
Now that we have your attention (and yes, that was 2 billion), let’s consider the world they are growing up in now. Generations as we understand them are a complete invention, but they are very useful. The environment and context we grow up in does of course influence our behaviors in a generalizable way, and for that reason we will see a continuation of some characteristics of Gen Z and Millennials. That unifying factor is technology.
When Millennials grew up, just because there was no 5G and bewildered adults on TikTok, some of the essential aspects of technology were in place. The internet was a thing, and so millennials were easily able to access information about all the ethical scandals and dodgy dealings of their favorite brands, and they learned to look for authenticity and ethics in the brands they engage with. This is perhaps the reason why millennials are the ones mainly driving sustainability issues forward. This is not about to change for Alpha.
Social networking does not recognize barriers and boundaries when it comes to diversity. Millennials and Z’s grew up interacting with everyone from all walks of life, and so diversity and inclusion is central to these generations.
When a country announces that it has legalized gay marriage or equalized pay for all genders, the Millennials, Z’s and Alphas will join together to shout “Why is this still a thing? Why are we still sorting this out?”.
Millennials were the generation that took a leap forward in how knowledgeable and self-sufficient they are. Access to information means that they aren't buying any glossy stories about how great and perfect an institution is, because they know how to crowdsource information and track down the real story to find out what students really think.
The only small difference here is that Gen Alpha, as screenagers who had access to instant information from the start, will get wise a lot sooner. Perhaps that’s the reason why this book doesn’t sell as much as it used to. It’s still a fun book by the way.
These last generations also grew up in times of financial instability, uncertainty about climate change and also the threat of AI and automation upending traditional jobs and technology creating roles we can’t quite foresee.
It is no wonder that millennials onwards have tended to be more prudent with their spending habits, spending in the sharing economy rather than ownership, saving more for the future and weighing up big purchases carefully. Did we mention that millennials are the parents of Alphas? Their relationship is, according to research, famously close.
If you’re an alpha reading this, we better summarize it quickly. Attention span is shorter than previous generations. To be honest, the evidence for exactly how much shorter this is, tends to be pretty sketchy, but the small scale studies and observational accounts add up to a trend that suggest it is the case. Flipping between several screens from a young age will certainly be a factor in that.
Raised by helicopter parents, millennials, it is thought, are determined to do things differently with their alpha children. Gen Alpha are being raised in democracies at home, and not dictatorships. Their sense of agency is encouraged, resilience is built through having space to try, fail and pick themselves up again. Mccrindle research aligns with this in saying that Gen alpha will come to maturity earlier than Gen Z. Growing up from a very young age using digital spaces that were not really designed for them, Gen Alphas have also been exposed to more “adult” dialogues than ever before. The comments section of Youtube is not the most age appropriate environment.
As an extension of greater agency from their millennial parents, the alphas are brimming with pocket money, and they know how to spend it in-app, in-game and in a hurry. The spending power of this generation is starting much earlier, and will become a force to be reckoned with in the next few years.
They will in many cases surpass their parents' knowledge of tech by the time they are eight. Yes, eight. They are growing up with touchscreen devices, educated by gamified approaches, totally comfortable with AI and far more visual than their parents, who read Gruffalo books and delighted in the word “twohoo” for probably a bit too long into adulthood.
But that is only a part of the story. A lot of articles tend to focus on how Alpha’s are so high tech, and have everyone scrambling to meet them on every conceivable platform. The thing is, they are digital natives of course, but they know how to think for themselves.
Only 22% of Alphas say ads have an impact on them, and only 14% say that online personalities influence them in any way. The vast majority think they should really question what they see online, and they are most likely to discuss decisions with their peer group before doing something. That is really important for us to understand.
Gen Alphas are just around the corner, and we have to be ready. Striking a false note by communicating in a way that is jarring, or making assumptions about them based purely on our experience with Gen Z is definitely an oversight. In part two, we’ll focus on how to engage with Gen Alphas and get your marketing flex on. Did we use that word right?
Now isn't that a strange question? Take either one of these and tell someone "follow your passion" or "follow your purpose" and they both sound like good ideas, and also kind of the same thing. But they are not.Why are we interrupting your holiday with this? Because somewhere, someone in our network is reading this and struggling with change.
Working in a job that is unfulfilling, putting up with an environment that is out of alignment with your personal values, and just generally aware that there is more out there. Is it too late? How do you make the leap? But what about the mortgage?This article is not going to answer those questions, because you already know the answers anyway, but what we do want to do is to take a look at these two concepts, often talked about in education, and what they might mean for your life.
First hit on Google takes us to Oxford Languages, which gives us the following definition for passion: "strong and barely controllable emotion." We have heard educators say for years that we have to help young people uncover their passion in life, which sounds great, but when we start telling them to follow it, things can get messy.Why? Because of the dictionary definition. Following something that is barely controllable is a recipe for disaster, but the bit that concerns us more is that it is, after all, an emotional state. Emotions change, ebb and flow. They are temporary states which we experience and which can provoke strong reactions. When we say things "in the heat of the moment", they are things we often regret, and that is because we were held captive by a strong emotional state. Making decisions in this mode does not always lead to desired outcomes.
Since 1990, the term "follow your passion" has increased almost tenfold in use. It appears on pithy tees shirts, tea towels, wall art and seems to send people into a dreamy state with glazed eyes as they wait for that magical moment. This is it! I found it! The trouble with that is, that it has made its way off the tee shirts and into classrooms, where workshops and seminars are held on finding that most elusive of joys.And that's it. Passion is not just elusive, but transitory. What you are passionate about changes. We may be passionate about playing a sport or creating collages, but that can change. We are often passionate about things that relate to our experience in life so far, so while we may have encountered something and developed a passion for it, this does not mean it is the thing we should follow throughout life.Research by Carole Dweck, who you might know from her work on the growth mindset, suggests that passions can be developed, and built over time. The idea that they are just in there, lingering and longing to be discovered and let down from their Rapunzelian tower, is just not supported by neuroscience.Passion is amazing. passion makes us feel alive, and passion connects us to the present moment with the joy of being. But passion alone does not cut it. Rather than turn to a tee short slogan for life advice, let's check in with the Buddhists, who know a thing or two about this stuff.
"An unreflective mind is a poor roof. Passion, like the rain, floods the house. But if the roof is strong, there is shelter." Gautama Buddha. That roof is purpose.
Sorry, did we throw another new term in there? We were just overcome with passion and not thinking straight. Purpose and Ikigai are essentially the same thing, but Ikigai has a structure around it that really helps us to understand what it is and how we might recognize it. Essentially, it is a Japanese concept that encapsulates your direction, or purpose in life.Ikigai is frequently misunderstood in western industrialized nations, where people often come to the wrong conclusion that one of thegoals of our life direction is making money. As The Ikigai Tribe coaches tell us, "the concept is closer to self-actualization with an understanding that the sum of small joys in everyday life results in a more fulfilling life as a whole". Nonetheless, if we understand that making money is not a goal, but is essentially a natural byproduct of doing something you love, the westernized Venn representation is still useful. Have a look:
Interesting, isn't it? We see here how passion sits, and how it could just as easily be something you adore, but which nobody else needs and nobody else will pay you for. That's fine for the trustafarians but for the rest of us, it won't pay the mortgage.The Stoics take it pretty far when they say that passion is suffering, but we take the point. Passion on its own is just not enough. Purpose is what drives you, and sees you through the setbacks, building resilience around something enduring while passion gutters out and rekindles anew on different fuel. Passion is about the I, the ego, whereas purpose is about something bigger than ourselves.And here's the thing. Passion can be built around purpose. When you develop an understanding of what your life is for, and what you want to dedicate it to, the passion to follow it can be constructed in new and florid networks of neural fire, which will burn bright through whatever life throws at you. The point is, that the magic happens when purpose and passion work together.
Ok here goes. Look, purpose isn't sexy compared to passion, so let's just get that out of the way first. Passion is form where purpose is function. See? Distinctly unsexy. the stoics would approve.But function implies a process, and that means purpose can be built. Leave passion alone for the dreamers, for regret does produce beautiful poetry so at least something comes from it. Purpose can strike you one day like a bolt from the blue, but that is exceedingly rare. The wandering mendicant who finds purpose at the edge of deprivation after days wandering in the desert is a tale that stands out for a reason- it is an exception to the rule.Building purpose means deliberately investing what you do with a sense of meaning, for a start. If you work in a bar, you can be grumpy and impatient, or you can smile, ask after the health and happiness of your customers, and build a sense of purpose from service to others. That may blossom into other things, but you never know until you try.
Seriously, instead of waiting for meaning to strike you, try to find it first in what you already do.The next thing to understand is that purpose is not one thing. You can have many purposes in life, for they are simply things from which your life derives meaning. Helping others, inspiring young people, whatever it is, it can be pluralistic.So go build them. Try new things, speak to new people, get outside the routine of your current life and broaden out to take new routes, even if those deviations are small. Look for meaning, regardless of what others might think, because purpose is personal. What do you have to give, and what does the world need? Stripping back the layers of your activities and actions to find where the joy and sense of alignment is, and then building on that.And reflect, always. Nothing burdens the conscious mind like routine. Moving from one task to the next as a recruitment agent can feel automatic, but reflecting on the fact that you are helping young people find their future pathways to become the best versions of themselves....that will put your heart in the job, and maybe a bit of passion too.
While the world adjusts to the new landscape of education post-pandemic, the big players are not sitting still. 2021 on a global level, has been a record-breaking year for mergers and acquisitions, not only because of low borrowing rates, but because so many organizations and institutions have been weakened by the lack of student mobility and the shift to online learning. There is a major shift going on right now, but what are the standout moves?
Not everyone is taking a holiday this year. Keystone are very busy living up to their name and becoming ...well... a keystone of the education marketing and recruitment edifice.
In merging with Educations Media Group, the newly formed Keystone Education Group has come together to challenge the status quo of university aggregators, or most commonly called student portals. EMG's growth trajectory has culminated in a merger that will help support more than 110 million students per year.
Keystone has had a record period of growth on its own, with CEO Erik Harrell sharing that with physical recruitment fairs on hold, institutions have been channeling all their offline recruitment budget into the digital space. Offline recruitment strategies don't work in the online world, and so institutions took those huge budgets that used to go on flying around the world with free pens and roll-up banners, and spent it on those who could help them navigate this new landscape.
Earlier this year, Keystone acquired FindAUniversity which not only hugely increased their reach and the breadth of their search options, but also gave them greater access to the expanding market in PhD courses, which has increased by 69% over 30 years in the US alone and continues to grow.
With the Head of EMG moving into a Head of M&A role, Keystone are making no secret of their intention to grow further. They have openly said they will move into the application to enrollment phase of student recruitment, so perhaps the next acquisition will be in support of that strategy. Things are going very well for Keystone, and they are using every bit of momentum to firm up their position and hang on as the rest of the field reacts.
Yes, the gators are moving in. Jokes aside, this is a fascinating moment for the world of digital recruitment, as technology really starts to step up in the complexity of its offer. We all know how big the world of international recruitment is. So many options, so many networks and connections, but each individual agent, agency, institution or applicant can only handle so much information on their own.
Enter aggregators like ApplyBoard, which has raised a startling amount of funding even before the pandemic. On one single platform, you'll find agents, institutions and students all connected, and the breadth of networks it can deal with are giving everyone so many more options, whilst simplifying the whole recruitment process end to end. ApplyBoard say they are trying to democratize the decision-making process and reduce the bias that might come from commission structures, and though they were the first unicorn in the sector, other competitors such as StudentApply, among others, are emerging quickly.
There is scepticism, however, with the UK still taking a cautious approach to aggregators according to The PIE.
Reasons cited in a recent survey were that some aggregators were not open about who they were working with, it was not clear how much smaller institutions would benefit, and of course that these are commercially driven platforms where the "education" focus might take second place.
All of these are valid, viable concerns, but given how recent the advent of aggregators actually is in education, it is likely they will prove to be teething problems as opposed to systemic issues. If you need proof, look no further than ApplyBoard's partnership with Times Higher Education. These platforms are clearly reaching big, are well funded and are here to stay, so it will be interesting to see how quickly the rate of adoption grows, and how the aggregators respond to concerns over transparency and equity. Watch this space.
This is huge, and hugely smart as well. EdX is one of the original heavy hitters in the MOOC world, owned by Harvard and MIT, and at the exact time of writing this article, there were more than half a million active users on its page that day. That said, though EdX compares favorably to Coursera in aspects like the respectability of its certification, and its slightly sleeker UX, for years it has been slowly losing ground in the marketplace.
Enter 2U. For years, they have been the go-to provider of online learning for several universities, and the Covid-19 pandemic has radically shifted that trend from an add-on to a must-have for many serious universities. This explains how 2U found $800million for the acquisition, with its coffers swelled from universities quickly funneling capital into a shift online, just to stay open.
EdX has 500million users worldwide, and all 2U has to do is to create an effective funnel from their new EdX MOOC base into its regular offerings with partner universities, and it will have created a new and innovative recruitment channel at a bargain price in the long term. Smart indeed.
This move will surely open the door to more innovation in recruitment for purely online learning in higher and further education, and we are sure this is not the last such acquisition we'll see this year.
We were surprised by this one in 2020, but it does make sense on a very practical level. Times Higher Education is a very trusted name, and its university rankings are taken as a key standard. No wonder so many prospective students go there to find out more about where and what they might study.
It is these early discovery phases that certainly appealed to Studyportals, who can very comprehensively deal with the rest of the journey. Tailoring recommendations and offers takes a huge amount of data and a broad range of partnerships, so the combined forced of the two are a force to be reckoned with.
The biggest focus of this partnership: data. This is fully aligned with a previous action where Studyportals crossed their student and university data with Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Data Stream. This pioneered student mobility data in the early-stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, through an interactive dashboard offered by Studyportals' Analytics and Consulting team.
Partnerships with universities in specific geographical areas, for data purposes, is and will keep enabling this key player to uncover further key insights around international education. The data they now hold, might have taken years for other institutions to gather.
Through this data supremacy, Studyportals is enabling institutions to have an immediate impact in terms of student recruitment, but also fostering a more transparent and fully-fledged experience for potential students who were previously in untracked territory.
From the online shift to the disaggregation of the college degree to adaptive learning and the changing nature of admissions, things are really shaking up. These big moves in our world will not be the last, but they do signal a watershed moment. The old rules and structures are being broken up, competitors become partners, and both EdTech and private investment are in there plugging the gaps and pushing tradition aside.
We'll keep an eye on it and, as always, bring you fresh insights every week on the innovations, dreams, challenges and straight weirdness of the world of education.
You learned to walk, drive, navigate difficult conversations, fix a blocked sink, and keep at least some of your plants alive. But when the holidays start, or even just that first day off in a while. Have you learned how to truly disconnect?
This is not an article for the Zen masters, but for those of us who are still struggling at times to find a way to quiet the mind, leave work behind, fade out the background of global uncertainty, and just be. For many of us, this is the hardest thing we have ever had to do.
In a culture of busyness, catching up with friends happens "tomorrow", starting that new hobby happens "when I get this project out of the way", and for those of you with children running wild on top of all the rest, we salute you.
So how do we do it? Leave work truly behind and switch off without returning to work feeling like we need another holiday to recover? For those of us in the world of education, leaving our work at work is not straightforward, when we have people in our charge and care, or targets to hit that just might mean success or failure for the new course your institution launched. What's the secret?
Oh, right, is that all? Yes, we know this is something many of us find challenging, but hear us out. There are certain personality types that complicate this, but when you recognize that this is happening, it can get a little easier to apply the brakes. See if you recognize yourself in one of these.
The insecure overachiever is a common one. This great article by HBR titles "if you're so successful, why are you still working 70 hours a week?" is a great provocation. We are not here to psychoanalyze, but it stands to reason that those of us experiencing insecurity, imposter syndrome, people-pleasing tendencies and working in cultures where "hard work" means long hours, it is easy to see why we just can't stop.
The trouble is, there is always more to do. Look at your "to-do" list. Does it ever stop? Do you say yes to things without really figuring out the impact they will have on your time? Not saying no, answering emails while your autoreply is on- all of this suggests that your boundaries are malleable, and colleagues (even unconsciously) will take advantage of this.
The empathetic sensitive striver is another type that may have trouble drawing a line in the sand. Research actually claims that this describes 15-20% of the population, due to a genetically coded finely-attuned nervous system. Who knows if that really is the case, but what is sure is that many of us will recognize the description in ourselves. While empathy is hugely important in building authentic relationships (and where would the world of education be without it), it can cause overthinking. How will this person react when we change that process? Maybe I should just check-in to see if they are OK? Perhaps I should rework that part of it so they get on board with it? That comment my colleague made about my work in the meeting- what did they mean by it? On and on it goes until there is nothing left in the tank. With friends and family waiting for you at home on the other side of this, how can there be anything much left to give? Time to stop.
If you recognize some of the above, it is hard to feel anything but guilty or ill-at-ease when taking time off. But that's it. Time off is not an indulgence. Do we coo at motorists filling their cars at the gas station, saying "oooooh look at you treating yourself!". If you do, then you've got us worried.
Downtime is an investment. Carving out space for yourself means you can be better at giving to others in work and at home. You have heard it before, and you'll hear it again now- you cannot pour from an empty cup. Running on fumes means nobody is happy, and reframing time to yourself as an investment in the things you care about, might help the sensitive strivers and insecure overachievers. Giving to yourself is also giving to others - it is not an either/or situation.
Give yourself permission, fully.
If you grew up in the pre-TikTok era, how did you ever survive? What on earth did we do with our time? If your fingerprint ID no longer works because you wore your finger smooth with constant scrolling, just take a second to think. 61% of people surveyed felt worse after checking their phone updates. The screen light keeps your brain active, and the dopamine hits from clicking the updates and liking the cat videos just never ends.
Disconnecting is hard, but your mobile device is the thing that largely tethers you to work and responsibility. If your work cannot manage without you, then that is a problem for them to solve. If you are self-employed, then that is an issue for you to solve. It cannot be the case that we are unable to extricate ourselves from something that is meant to support, but not consume our existence. Another line to draw.
Be firm in the autoreply. None of this "I will only occasionally have access to emails". You earned this time. If that seems extreme, try setting contingency plans with your colleagues before leaving: if X happens, speak to Y. You cannot be the single point of failure in any process. Be more gentle with responses if that helps to "train" your colleagues as you set boundaries. "Thanks for your email. I am currently spending time with my children on annual leave and will reply as soon as I return".
Delete the email app from your phone, bring physical books with you so you don't read on your phone or iPad, leave the phone at home or in the car when going for walks, get an old-fashioned alarm clock and switch the phone off in the morning and evening. Make the "airplane mode" and "do not disturb" your best new friends.
Switching off your device is the single most important way to create distance from your work. In that distance, you might start to find the space you really need. We wrote about some great morning and evening routines to reduce stress in this earlier article and, truth be told, holidays are actually a great time to create new healthier routines.
Switch it off and charge your own battery.
Distance creates space, and space creates opportunity. What are you afraid of? So many of us suffer from the scarcity mindset, as the newspapers chatter about global job losses and you feel the weight of responsibility to keep going. So many of us feel trapped by this, and trapped you most certainly are not. Think back to other points in your life when this felt the same. How did that turn out?
Changing thinking patterns ain't easy. Research suggests that hardwiring a new way of thinking can take at least 66 days as the neurocircuitry reforms around new patterns. Moving from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset is not going to happen on your 2-week trip to Mallorca, but the seeds can be sown there. Journalling, reading, meditating, affirmations' does this sound too woo woo? These things work. And that is often the barrier to change. Change happens from space to step back, but for those of us who are overworked and in a cycle of stress and scarcity, making changes when we finally get some beach time can feel like the last thing we want to do. We collapse into a heap, sleep for a while, go swimming, have a little scroll on Instagram and check out the local sights and then we are back in the grind. Refreshed? Time off is the best shot you have to sow the seeds of lasting change.
In the coming weeks, we're not going to be posting lots of articles about work. If we did, that would be pretty hypocritical after all of this, and believe when we say- this article is speaking to us as much as it speaks to you. We are all in this together. 2020 was mind-melting, and 2021 hasn't turned down the heat, so we all need to look after each other.
We’ll be sharing some great beach reads on personal growth and other topics, that might just be the spark for change. We'll be covering lighter topics on The geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy) Academy Podcast so that you don't get pulled back into the fray. We are right here with you, so reach out and let us know if there’s something else you believe we should cover.
You've got this. You can absolutely make a change and leave a cycle that does not serve you. If you survived 2020, you're made of strong stuff, and we invite you to take the time to start believing that.
