Assignment on Employability: Reflecting, Evaluating and Planning

This is an INDIVIDUAL piece of work and should be undertaken on your own.

The purpose of this assignment is to;

• Evaluate your learning and skills development across the project
• Reflect on skills gaps and how they might be addressed

Demonstrate your employability and readiness to apply for graduate level jobs, as you progress to Level 6.

The ‘Task Requirements’ section below details the four tasks to be completed.

The word count of 1500 words refers specifically to Tasks one and two. The response to these tasks should be written in report format using a formal tone and a concise style. You may use the first person.   

Tasks three and four will be fully assessed using the Assessment Criteria but will not be included in the word count.

Note: Since this assignment needs to reflect your current knowledge/skills/experience, including learning from your client project, we do not expect to see substantial recycling of your Career Viewpoint Level 4 work.

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcome:

Perform efficiently and effectively as a collaborative member of a working group and as an added value contributor to the organisation assigned to the students.

Develop and demonstrate effective business communication skills.

Task

Task one Having worked as part of the team solving your client’s business problem, this task requires you to reflect on the process and evaluate your learning and your skills development. For example,

• Which skills have you developed and/or enhanced as a result of the project?
• What do you know now that you didn’t know at the start of the process?
• To what extent has your level of confidence improved?
• How could you use your learning in your future career?

Your critical evaluation should be supported with examples.

Task two

Taking into account your evaluation in task one, this task requires you to identify THREE skills gaps or areas where you consider that further development would be useful, for you to be successful in your business career. Propose a plan of action for filling these gaps/developing these areas.

Use ‘My Jobs’ on the top menu bar, and then ‘Job Search Engine’ to identify a specific job that you would like to apply for (This could be a graduate scheme, an internship, a placement or a graduate job).

Alternatively, identify a graduate scheme, an internship, a placement or a graduate job that you have seen advertised, or published on a website.

Whether using the ‘Job Search Engine’ or another source, please select a job where there is a reasonable level of information on the company’s requirements, such as a person specification or job description. Then,

Place a screenshot or print out of the job you are applying for, including the job description/person specification

Task Requirements

Create a CV which is specifically tailored to the job requirements and description. For this element of the assignment, please either use the CV Builder on mybuckscareer (accessed through CVs Job Applications, then ‘Writing your CV), or a format of your choice which includes similar information.

In the body of the report, create a simple table which;

Shows the key skills/qualities that the organisation is looking for (Column A – use extracts or summaries of the job description or person specification to help) and

Maps against each requirement the wording from your CV which addresses these requirements (Column B)

This table will not be included in the word count.

Task four

Create or update your LinkedIn profile to ensure it is fully reflects your current situation. (Use the section ‘Social Media’ on mybuckscareer to help you)

Place a screenshot of your profile in the Appendices. Your profile should include the following;

photo, headline and summary, education, skills (at least 4), groups (at least 2) and companies (at least 2.)

The profile will not be included in the word count.

The Cite Them Right database can be accessed via the Library  – A to Z list of e resources

How your work will be assessed

Your work will be assessed using the separate assessment grid, which takes into account the learning outcomes and the grading descriptors for Level 5. Note the allocation of marks to the different sections.

Please also note that work that is submitted up to 10 working days beyond the submission date will be considered a late submission. Late submissions will be marked and the actual mark recorded, but will be capped at the pass mark (typically 40%), provided that the work is of a passing standard. Work submitted after this period will not be marked and will be treated as a non-submission.

Please use the checklist below to make sure you are ‘fit to submit’ your work

We recommend you use this checklist as soon as you get this assignment brief to help you plan your work

This brief assignment checklist is designed to help you avoid some of the most common mistakes students make in their coursework.

In it you will find details of the assessment task, word count, the assessment criteria your work is marked against, and the learning outcomes – the basis for the assessment strategy in each module.

Have you read and understood the assessment criteria?

Have you met the learning outcomes? You will lose marks and your work may even   be failed if you have not.

Have you demonstrated you can think and write critically in the completed work?    

 Have you maintained an academic tone throughout your work? Is your work formal, focused, developed and clear?

Have you checked that the referencing in your assignment is in line with your programme requirements?

Have you proof-read your work and used spellcheck software to check your spelling and grammar?

Have you checked the presentation of your work is as specified by your tutor, for example, are font size, colour, style, line spacing and margins as the tutor specified?

Have you kept to the word count (or equivalent)? If you are not sure, check with your tutor.

Can you confirm that the work submitted is your own and not plagiarised?