FUTURE BUSINESS LEADER
Future Business Leader is the premier competitive event where outstanding FBLA members who have demonstrated leadership qualities, participation in FBLA, and evidence of knowledge and skills essential for successful careers in business are recognized. This competitive event consists of pre-judged materials, objective test and presentation (interview) components.
Event Overview
Division: High School
Event Type: Individual
Event Category: Presentation
Event Elements: Pre-judged Materials, Objective Test & Presentation (Interview)
Pre-judged Component: Resume & Cover Letter due by date specified in State Conference registration packet
Objective Test: 50 minutes, 100 questions
Presentation Time: 10-minute interview
NACE Connections: Career & Self-Development, Critical Thinking, Communication, Leadership, Professionalism
Equipment Provided by Competitors: Pencil for objective test, copy of resume and cover letter in a folder for both preliminary and final interview
Equipment Provided by FBLA: One piece of scratch paper per competitor for objective test
Objective Test Competencies
There is no test composition available for this objective test. Visit www.fbla.org for access to information about FBLA.
· FBLA Organization
· FBLA Bylaws & Handbook
· FBLA National Competitive Event Guidelines
· FBLA National Publications
· FBLA Mission, Pledge and Goals
· General Business Knowledge (including, but not limited to, accounting, banking, law, entrepreneurship, marketing, international business, management, organizational leadership)
District
Check with your District leadership for District-specific competition information.
State
Eligibility
· FBLA membership dues are paid by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on December 1 of the current school year.
· Members may compete in an event at the State Leadership Conference (SLC) more than once if they have not previously placed in the top ten of that event at the National Leadership Conference (NLC). If a member places in the top ten of an event at NLC, they are no longer eligible to compete in that event.
· Members must be registered for the SLC and pay the state conference registration fee in order to participate in competitive events.
· Members must stay in an official FBLA hotel in order to compete.
· Each district may be represented by participant(s) based on the Florida FBLA scaled quota system found on the Florida FBLA website.
· Each competitor can only compete in one individual/team event and one chapter event (American Enterprise Project, Community Service Project, Local Chapter Annual Business Report, Partnership with Business Project).
· Only competitors are allowed to plan, research, prepare their pre-judged component.
· Each competitor must compete in all parts of an event for award eligibility.
· If competitors are late for an objective test, they may be either disqualified or permitted to begin late with no extension of the time as scheduled. If competitors are late for a presentation time, they may be disqualified or placed later in the schedule. The decision is solely up to the judges.
· Participants must adhere to the Florida FBLA dress code established by the Florida Board of Directors or they will not be permitted to participate in the competitive event.
Recognition
· The number of competitors will determine the number of winners. The maximum number of winners for each competitive event is 5.
Event Administration
· This event has four parts: pre-judged, objective test, preliminary presentation (interview), and final presentation (interview)
· Pre-judged Materials
o Submission Deadline: A PDF of the cover letter and resume must be uploaded in the conference registration system by date specified in the State Conference registration packet..
o Cover Letter
§ Not to exceed one page.
§ Letter should state reasons for deserving the honor of this award.
§ Address letter to: Mr. Alexander T. Graham, President and CEO, Future Business Leaders of America, 12100 Sunset Hills Drive, Suite 200, Reston, VA 20190
o Resume Specifics
§ Not to exceed two pages.
§ Should list the competitor’s FBLA activities and involvement
§ Photographs are not allowed
o Competitors must prepare resume & cover letter. Advisers and others are not permitted to write the resumes & cover letters. Resumes and cover letters must be original, current, and not submitted for a previous NLC.
o Pages must be formatted to fit on 8 ½” x 11” paper.
o The pre-judged materials are judged before the SLC.
o Pre-judged materials will not be returned.
· Objective Test
o Test Time: 50 minutes, 100 questions
o This objective test is administered at the SLC.
o No reference or study materials may be brought to the testing site.
o No calculators may be brought into the testing site.
o Note: There is no objective test composition/question breakdown available for this competition.
· Preliminary Presentation – The Interview
o Interview Time: 10 minutes (one-minute warning)
o Internet Access: Not provided
o The presentation (interview) is judged at the SLC. Preliminary presentations are not open to conference attendees.
o Competitors/teams are randomly assigned to sections.
o Competitors must bring one hard copy of resume and cover letter in a folder onsite. Label folders with the competitor’s name, state, and school. The competitor’s name should be included on all pages of the resume and cover letter. No items can be left with the judges.
o No additional materials can be brought to the interview outside of the resume and cover letter.
· Final Presentation – The Interview
o Interview Time: 10 minutes (one-minute warning)
o Internet Access: Not provided
o An equal number of competitors from each section in the preliminary round will advance to the final round. If there are no more than 15 entries in the event, the final round will be eliminated.
o Final presentations are not open to conference attendees.
o Competitors must bring one hard copy of resume and cover letter in a folder onsite. Label folders with the competitor’s name, state, and school. The competitor’s name should be included on all pages of the resume and cover letter. No items can be left with the judges.
o No additional materials can be brought to the interview outside of the resume and cover letter.
Scoring
· The pre-judged, objective test and preliminary presentation (interview) scores will be added together to determine the finalists (or winners if no more than 15 entries).
· The final presentation (interview), if needed, score determines the top winners.
· Objective test scores will be used to break a tie.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
· FBLA meets the criteria specified in the Americans with Disabilities Act for all competitors with accommodations submitted through the conference registration system by the registration deadline.
Recording of Presentations
· No unauthorized audio or video recording devices will be allowed in any competitive event.
· Competitors in the events should be aware FBLA reserves the right to record any presentation for use in study or training materials.
Penalty Points
· Competitors may be disqualified if they violate the Competitive Event Guidelines or the Honor Code.
National
Be sure to see the National guidelines at https://www.fbla.org/divisions/fbla/fbla-competitive-events/