Short bio

My name is Anna Płoska and I’m a Timeless Career Counsellor. I work as a university teacher, educational trainer, HRBP and coach. On a daily basis, I run a training and consulting company and work as the director of an accredited Teacher Training Centre at the Centre for Training and Employment Promotion. I am the author of the book entitled  Ponadczasowy Doradca Zawodowy (Timeless Career Counsellor) and online courses are available on https://odlotowekursy.pl/ which are addressed to teachers and school counsellors. I currently study psychology, which is my 6th degree programme.

My story

I am well familiar with EPALE. Barbara Habrych, an ambassador of Polish EPALE, showed me the many opportunities that the platform offers. I regularly read articles posted there and follow upcoming events. In the next academic year, I plan to use the portal as a resource for my academic work at the Wrocław School of Banking. I am the content coordinator for the programmes in modern methods and techniques of professional development and career management and application of modern forms of employee development, and EPALE is a source of inspiration for professional development and a place to publish my own papers.

My first contact with adult learning was in 2014, when I conducted workshops for the unemployed on behalf of an employment agency. Having gained my first practical experience as a trainer, I ventured to broaden my trainee pool and opened my own training and consulting company: Training and Employment Promotion Centre. For several years, I worked with job candidates and employers, providing HR Business Partner services. At the same time, I conducted research and observations. My most valuable experience has been participating in 104 job interviews. I played the role of a candidate applying for a position of a blue-collar worker, administrative and sales assistant, and a manager.

My goal was to confirm a hypothesis that each job interview follows a certain pattern. In addition, I observed differences in the processing of applications submitted by candidates for lower, middle and higher level positions. Through this experience, I learned to analyse the needs of the labour market and became acquainted with job requirements for 14 different industries.

In addition, a valuable side effect of this research was the identification of the five most common questions asked in the recruitment process. I described my experiences in the book entitled Timeless Career Advisor. This is one of several experiential learning suggestions that I recommend.

Over time, I began to provide consulting services, and my first clients were friends who came to me for tips on how to write a CV.  Being aware of my competence as a trainer and my ability to teach adults, I started training teachers and school career counsellors.

I remember my beginnings, the first teachers’ meetings and sceptical looks of the participants. However, with my knowledge, experience and charismatic approach to teaching, I was able to convince the teachers.

The number of my trainees gradually grew. I have had the pleasure of appearing as a speaker at conferences organised by, among others, the Centre for Education Development, provincial labour offices, the Forum Media Poland publishing house and the TIK w Edukacji publishing house.

Beginner counsellors and public employment services staff asked me for advice and guidance. I decided to respond to the needs of these professionals and created the Timeless Vocational Counsellors Rallies. The idea was to educate, inspire and motivate career counsellors. Initially these were exclusively in-person meetings, but because of the pandemic, the Rallies were organised online. Beginning in May 2020, once a month dozens to hundreds of counsellors working at schools and as freelancers meet online to talk for 90 minutes with experts in education, counselling, training and psychology. Remote Timeless Career Counsellor Rallies are free of charge and take place on the CSIPZ Facebook page. In order to bring together the participants of the Rallies and facilitate the exchange of experiences, I have also created a Facebook group. In September 2022, with the participation of EPALE, the 1st Rally of Timeless Vocational Counsellors was held in Wrocław. The following one has been held in September 2022 in Poznań, and the subsequent one is planned to take place in the Tri-City.

My initiative, created out of passion for education and development, was appreciated by the participants. The Rallies have been discussed in two postgraduate theses and one master's thesis and presented as a form of education and in-service training. I invite you to join the group and actively participate in the meetings, where everyone can be an expert and a participant.

Once, the biggest challenge for me was to obtain accreditation from the Lower Silesian Superintendent of Education and run an educational institution. Recently, I realised a goal I set for myself five years ago by authoring a book. I am currently recording new online courses for school career counsellors. And in the future, the challenge for me will be to create a new brand aimed at students who are in the process of education and career planning.

I intend to educate on social media, including the TikTok platform. My goal is to promote professional development using modern channels for knowledge transfer.

A technological strategy for this educational innovation is currently being developed. Watch my activities, and I will be happy to share my experiences, regardless of the outcome of this project.