Description

Employability and Career Development

Description - summary of the module content

Module description

The opportunity to develop your employability skills and potential in your degree is paramount as you may soon be entering the job market.  In this module, you will be guided through possible career paths and learn to identify employers’ needs in a changing job market.  Guest speakers and relevant practical sessions will help you to prepare for future employment.  Topics covered include designing your CV, cover letter, the application process, improve your presentation skills, and interview techniques.  All of these skills are vital when applying for your first graduate job or postgraduate degree.  As well as the practical sessions, you will do forty hours of self-organised work experience (or equivalent learning tasks in the event that work experience is not permitted), maximising your employability potential and giving you the chance to experience a particular career.  Failure to complete a minimum of forty hours of work experience will result in a zero grade for that portion of the assessment. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of this module is to prepare you to join the workforce by developing employability and career development skills.

As part of this module you are expected to develop the following skills:

• Strategic thinking and problem solving in the workplace
• Know how to make professional applications, prepare a high-quality CV and cover letter, and improve your interview skills.
• Presentation skills to feel as comfortable as possible when delivering a talk and become a confident communicator.
• Reflective practice to build a portfolio about your work experience and created future employment plans
• People skills in communicating with peers, employers, and module teaching team
• Enquiring mind in pursuing further reading on topics covered in the module.
• Data management skills in collecting and recording data (e.g. reflections) and analysing
• Team work

The module requires you to undertake 40 hours of work experience (unless exceptional circumstances exist), and you must be willing to carry out independent research, to use the Careers Service and to attend careers-related events.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Plan and set out clear goals that are to be achieved from the work experience
• 2. Reflect upon and evaluate the work experience and analyse what was learnt in terms of employability
• 3. Develop an initial career plan that evaluates and applies this experience and what you need to do to achieve your goals

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Research, analyse and evaluate the current job market
• 5. Apply your learning to produce examples of professional communications for future employment

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Manage your own learning time about the course
• 7. Work both cooperatively and independently

Syllabus plan

Syllabus plan

A series of seminars will support the learning and teaching process. Whether you are attending in-person or online, these ‘interactive’ sessions (1-2 hours) will require you to complete some pre- and post-session activities (e.g. watching pre-recorded videos, completing tasks). A list of the topics that will be covered can be found below. Alongside this taught content you will be required to complete the 40-hour work placement (unless there are exceptional circumstances).

• Introduction to the module
• Introduction to reflective practice
• Developing a CV, a cover letter and making applications
• Presentation skills
• Presentation skills – practical session (research of the job market about you career plan).
• Interview techniques
• Professionalism and marketing yourself
• Interview techniques
• The importance of emotional intelligence
• Self-assessment and appreciating the value of a work placement
• Review of the module and the portfolio

Learning and teaching

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Assessment

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Re-assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to sit a further examination. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

You will not be given the opportunity to accrue an additional 40 hours of work experience.  The reassessment must relate to your original 40 hours. 

Resources

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

My Career Zone (https://mycareerzone.exeter.ac.uk/students)

• A large selection of electronic resources are available on My Career Zone. To access these, visit https://mycareerzone.exeter.ac.uk/students and click on Resources.

Interviews

• Skype and video interviews factsheet: available on My Career Zone.
• Example interview questions factsheet: available on My Career Zone.
• Case study interviews: available on My Career Zone.
• Interviews factsheet: available on My Career Zone.
• Interview tips available on Prospects.ac.uk under the “Jobs and Work” section.
• For online advice for answering hard interview questions, visit www.bemyinterviewer.co.uk.

CVs and Making Applications

• CV Creator – See My Career Zone.
• International and academic CVs: www.prospects.ac.uk; click on ‘Jobs & Work’then ‘Applications & Interviews’ – useful power word list
• www.selectsimulator.com – practice online application form
• www.futuremorph.org – very helpful Science Council careers site

Work Experience

• www.futuremorph.org - Setting aims and goals
• My Career Zone – Click on Resources, and then search “Work Experience” for a selection of helpful resources related to finding work experience.
• www.futuremorph.org - Setting aims and goals

Teaching

• www.exeter.ac.uk/employability/careerplanning/sector/teaching/

Module has an active ELE page

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

Careers Adviser appointment for further help – phone 01392 724493 or sign up for an appointment via My Career Zone.

• Book a practice interview with employers (check the web for details and dates on My Career Zone)

Key words search

Employability, careers, job application, work experience