Frequently Asked Questions

Golden Path’s methodology works for any kind of job, from entry level jobs to complex jobs, from careers that need no degree to careers that need advanced degrees.  Because our methodology breaks a career down into skills needed as well as defining the educational path needed, any job can be considered.

Sponsorships can be different for each company, but usually it means covering some percentage of tuition and expenses in exchange for a work commitment from the student and being able to influence the student’s educational path.   Tuition reimbursement might be in the form of scholarships or loan repayment.  It’s up to you!

No.  Golden Path can help you understand your jobs to help you write better job descriptions or drive awareness of your company and careers to students through the Compass application without having to offer sponsorships.

It can take as little as 1 hour for us to do a group interview to several hours to deeply understand a role.

Golden Path can work for any job.  In fact, Golden Path might be useful to help students understand that your company offers a variety of complex and advanced careers that they might not have ever thought you offered.

When your profile is completed, it is published in Compass.  Compass allows students to create their own profile based on their experiences which will match them to your positions, so not only do all students see information about your company, but also the ones that might be a great fit for your positions!

We have a variety of options, including in-person roll outs, virtual implementations, or a self-help video that can be used for students to walk through getting Compass set up.  We want to be sensitive to restrictions with COVID, so please reach out to us for more information.

It’s up to you.  Some schools roll out Compass to all their grades, some to a subset.  If you want to help students with career planning and career awareness we suggest starting as early as 9th grade.  Sponsorships will more likely be available to upper classmen who have more high school experiences.

When you agree to adopt Compass, we load your school’s curriculum into Compass and get you and running as quickly as possible.  We usually need one hour to train staff on administrative functions, and then can roll out to students using a variety of options.  For students, we recommend a class period for the initial set up, and then ½ hour for monthly or quarterly updates.  If you are using Compass for career curriculum, time spent in the system could be longer.

We use Holland Codes (RASIEC), which are a standard most career assessment tools use.

Learn more about Holland Codes here.

Yes. Part of what we do is try to connect schools and employers more deliberately, and so we facilitate speakers, career fairs, site visits, career exploration that often happens outside of Compass.  We are also looking at developing a career curriculum from 9-12 that can be used with Compass but also extends outside of Compass.

When we first onboard your school, we’ll also ask for introductions to business development in the area (i.e. Chamber of Commerce, EDC, etc).  We find employers that we think fit this model, and then we facilitate a conversation with school personnel, employers, and economic development to ensure everyone is working together!

Sponsorships vary by employer, but it typically means that an employer would pay for some or all of your tuition and expenses in exchange for being able to work with you on your educational path and a work agreement when you graduate.

Of course!  We want you to benefit from learning about your skills and the opportunities that are out there, but you can choose to not be interested in sponsorships.  If you do want to be considered for sponsorships and one is offered to you, you can always say no if you don’t think it’s the right fit

If you are using Compass through a school license, your information is seen by your counselor, just like your grades are.  But your information is not shared with staff at Golden Path or with sponsoring employers without your expressed consent (or your legal guardian if you are under 18).

We recommend updating Compass at least monthly or quarterly, or whenever you have a new experience or finish a semester of classes.  We want you to learn a little bit more about yourself every time you have a new experience to capture in Compass.

 Reach out to us at info@goldenpath.net for individual usage options.

Putting grades into Compass helps us understand you a little bit better, but more to see what classes you did better than your average GPA, which might indicate an interest or talent in that subject.  We don’t weigh a 3.5 GPA better than a 2.5 or worse than a 4.0.