Lecture 4

Introduction to assessment: Component B

 Assessment B: Due on the 16th of November
via b/b (Part A).
The portfolio is divided into two parts. In Part A (1500 words) you will complete two mini
tasks, each 750 words. It will be an opportunity to practise what you have learned from
the academic skills part of the module.
 Task 1: A short literature review on graduate employability, critically evaluating
relevant contemporary issues.
 Task 2: A critical self-reflection, drawing on your experience and learning from the
mock presentation during week 4 and considering the implications for your own
employability in terms of strengths, weaknesses and career-readiness. If you did not
take part in the mock, please reflect on our experience from having joined the top-up
programme, considering how it impacts your future employability and career-
readiness.
.
Assessment B: Due on the 16th of November
via b/b (Part B).
• Part B (1500 words) focuses on your employability, and is designed to
help you develop the skills needed to identify future opportunities in
terms of employment, study etc., and to enable you to apply for a
graduate job. Your submission for Part B will comprise of four items:
• The relevant job advert or course description
• A CV and covering letter to accompany, tailored to suit the specific job
advert you have selected (or PG course you wish to apply for).
• A detailed development plan showing what you will do to acquire any
skills or professional accreditation that might be required and you feel
should be strengthened
Part A: Mini-Literature review
A short literature review on graduate employability, critically evaluating relevant contemporary issues
(750 words)
- Please revisit the lecture on how to write a literature review – remember, it is not an essay!
- Check the references provided in Component B folder;
- Example: Importance of soft skills for accounting and finance graduates
- Introduction: Briefly introduce the topic and explain what you will cover (50-100 words)
- Main body: Introduce the role of skills in accounting and finance, explain how the profession has been
developed/evolved because of technology and the implications in terms of skills (200 words)
- An analysis of availability and career-readiness of accounting graduates; to what extent they possess
sufficiently developed skills; why that is the case and with what implications for both themselves but
also other stakeholders (e.g Universities and Employers). Do any particular skills and areas of
development stand out e.g need for more practical knowledge, greater focus in soft skills (250-300
words)
- Are there any observations/suggestions about how to bridge any gap, are there any particular issues
that create complexity e.g cultural issues (100 words)
- Conclusion: Recap, stressing the main findings from reviewing the literature (100 words)
Part A: Mini-Literature review Extracts
As well as employers, universities also have a More recently, McCracken (2015) identified that it
responsibility to support graduates with their personal would be beneficial for graduate employers to
development and applications to graduate roles. understand the priorities organisations have concerning
Universities integrate relevant skills within the recruiting and retaining graduate talent to achieve
pedagogical design of courses to prepare graduates for organisational objectives. The main finding from this
recruitment processes and opportunities post-study study was that employers felt graduates who showcase
(Harvey, 2005). Lau et al. (2014) identified the value their talent are more likely to have ‘the edge’ in
of extra-curricular activities, including collaboration comparison to others in the graduate labour market. This
with Student Unions and participating in sport and
suggests that graduates with a strategic mindset and work
society activity; building upon their leadership and
time management skills. However, there are potential experience are more likely to secure a graduate role.
drawbacks of over-committing to extra-curricular However, this contradicts the findings from a study
activities, including potential distraction from studies. published by Andrews and Higson (2008) that analysed
Clegg, Stevenson and Willott (2010) also explored the graduates ‘soft skills’ versus ‘hard’ business knowledge.
conceptions of curricular and extra-curricular in higher This study suggests that soft skills such as
education, and how participation can build upon communication and teamwork are equally important as
student success, producing similar findings to those of being strategically minded and having the drive to face
Harvey (2005) with both studies highlighting the new challenges. In summary, it is essential to develop a
importance of university support to partake in an extra- range of skills as a graduate and if possible, also gain
curricular activity. relevant work experience to enhance your application.
Part A: Mini Self-reflection
• Please recall the mock presentation and consider the research you carried out as a group
and evaluate yourself in terms of career-readiness.
• Please check the reflective writing workbook that is available (Component B folder).
• Introduction: Explain briefly what you will focus on 50-100 words)
• Main body: What was your experience like, what went well and what less so, what exactly
was your role, what skills did you use/practice/learnt/saw are important and why, what
was the outcome of the presentation and your contribution? (250 words)
• How will you able to build on these skills to help you secure graduate roles (you could link
this with a specific sector that you might be interested but you would need to explain
what skills are in demand and reference that) and what possible steps do you need to
undertake to improve further (250 words)
• Conclusion: On balance, how ready do you feel and what are you going to focus on in
terms of improvement (100 words).
Part A: A mini self-reflection, an example
• Although this is a self-reflection, you are still required to reference. For example:
‘ Revisiting the literature on the skills requirements for accountants, numerous authors agree
that a range of soft-skills are vital alongside strong technical knowledge (Smith, 2018;
Nicholson, 2019). Considering my own soft-skills, the opportunity to study different modules
at University both back home and in the UK has enabled me to engage in numerous group
projects, collaborating with people from a variety of culture and backgrounds. As Bryan
(2016) argues, students who become actively involved in teams as part of their University
studies can appreciate the different group dynamics, how to avoid conflict and focus on
motivating and co-ordinating to achieve the common objectives (Nelson, 2019). Making
therefore full use of the exposure to different teams across various modules as part of my
year at UWE, I feel it will further help me to enhance my ability to function within a team and
contribute to its success, equipping me therefore with the knowledge to use this experience
in a professional context, a key ingredient to be successful in securing a job in the accounting
sector as a graduate (Adamson, 2017). ‘
Part B:
• There are three items you need to include as part of this submission:
1) A copy of the job advert
2) Your CV & cover letter both tailored to evidence your skills and
suitability for this role
3) A Professional Development Plan outlining how you will develop
and improve on skills that you don’t fully meet and are necessary to
be successful for this post.
CV & Cover Letter
• CV should be up 2 pages long and cover letter 1
• The CV should include clear and developed examples to
showcase your skills across your academic and professional
experience.
• The cover letter should address all the requirements of the role
and provide convincing examples of you meet them.
• Use the STAR technique to develop both the CV and cover letter
• You might find it useful to tailor both after you have completed
the template.
Reflecting on your own experience and
background to elicit skills
• Consider your own experience, perhaps looking at your CV as well and
think what specific skills you possess and how can these be
evidenced;
• Work experience (obvious)
• Studies: What modules did you cover last year, what grades did you
achieve, what activities and related assessment did you undertake?
Which modules you are studying this year? What generalist and
specialist knowledge can you demonstrate and how?
• Volunteering, societies, sports, travelling – what else do you do/ have
you done?
Let’s try a skills audit
Please use your phone, laptop, ipad etc. to access this website;
https://careersmart.org.uk/tools/career-test-skills-audit
Or
https://uwe.careercentre.me/resources/taskmanager/?AwardID=7obWZGJ4hn9H6
6V9mND%20SQ==

Reflect on the findings and consider what are your key strengths that
you feel able to showcase and perhaps areas that you can work on to
develop, or what new skills you should aim to acquire and how!
 PDP template to complete.
PERSONAL / PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN - Template

Development needs for forthcoming year (Include as many learning needs as

required to achieve agreed objectives)

Learning and Type of development Timescales Who is responsible? Further comments

Development Need
Provide a specific description of E.g. Course, Workshop, Conference, Self- E.g. End of April, To be completed E.g. Staff member, Manager to E.g. Resource
the desired changes (e.g. skills development (researcher, reading, etc.), in the next 6 months, Over next 1-2 arrange, Staff member to work requirements, Additional
gained, knowledge acquired, Coaching, Mentoring, Job Shadowing, years. with team and Manager, etc. notes
topics/themes/content covered) Project work, Committee Membership,
etc.
CV: How to strike
a good balance?
 Assess this CV

• would you select this applicant for interview?

• how many mistakes can you find?
Curriculum Vitae

Personal details:

Name: Julie Maureen Crisp

Address: 21 Station Road

Shrewsbury
SW2 3GH

Telephone: 01483 805678

Date of birth: 9th January 1992

Place of birth: Manchester

Nationality: British

E-mail [email protected]

Qualifications:

10/2011 – 2014 Surrey University, Stag Hill, Guildford GU2 7XH

Mathematics BSC

Sept 2003 – July 2010 Oswestry School, Cheshire

2010 A levels: -Mathematics A

- Physics B
-Computer Science A
-Chemistry A

2008 GCSEs: English Language A

-Maths A
-Biology A
-Physics A
-Chemistry A
-French B
Geography A
Economics C
Business Studies B

Work Experience

2011 Norwood Finance Ltd, 27 Winterbourne Road,

Birmingham B 7 3 HF
 Summer internship, 8 weeks

2009 – 2010 Toys R Us, part time sales assistant

Developed communications skills through being on customer
services desk, and ability to work under pressure at peak times

2005 – 2007 Direct Call Services, Part time customer services clark
Promoted to senior clark

Interests and Achievements

I enjoy building computers and developing websites.

Voluntry work: Working on a talking newspaper for the blind
Fund raising for the RNIB, eg organised raffles and an auction
Music: play saxophone in jazz group
Reading, watching films, listening to music.socialising
Playing computer games, especially violent kinds

References available on request

How to ‘unpack’ your skills using S.T.A.R?
 A good technique to
strengthen how you
evidence key skills and
competencies: S.T.A.R
Using the S.T.A.R Technique: CV
E***** P**** - Curriculum Vitae
9 ***** Place | Bristol, ****** | 07********* |e***********@live.uwe.ac.uk

EXPERIENCE
Triple Cooked, Bristol – Sales Representative PERSONAL DETAILS
08/2018-Present

I’m currently employed at triple cooked where I work within a team primarily focused at
marketing and sales. The role involves networking to find potential new customers and strong I am currently studying an International
communication skills to maintain our current market and to work in synergism with my team. Business degree at the University of the
West of England. I consider myself highly
Hollister, Manchester - Stock Lead self-motivated, enthusiastic and
outgoing; I am an extremely hard working
05/2018-09/2018
and friendly individual that enjoys
At Hollister I was responsible for a team of people and making sure things ran smoothly in back communicating with others and always
of house which was essential in order for the front of house to be successful and for customers completes tasks to the highest of my
to have a pleasant shopping experience. I often had to use my own initiate to solve problems ability.
under pressure as each day would be different in terms of our level of inventory, our sales, the
time at which delivery arrived therefore I had to be equipped and prepared for the various
possible outcomes and know how to deal with them.

To pshop, Manchester - Sales Assistant

SKILLS

05/2018-09/2018

Over last summer I also worked at the fashion retailer Topshop, where I carried out a of variety I communicate well both written and
roles ranging from helping the store to make sales by constantly engaging with customers and verbally, I am a quick learner, attentive, a
helping them find what they were looking as well as making them feel comfortable, to being in good listener and easy to approach. I
back of house and organizing stock deliveries to make sure operations in the shop would run enjoy working in a team and can perform
smoothly and successfully for the day ahead. well under instructions but also using my
Manchester United, Manchester - Hostess own initiative.

12/2016-06/2017

I worked at Manchester United as a Hostess on the welcome team. My role was to ensure LANGUAGES
customers received a seamless and luxurious experience. This strengthened my
communication skills as I would be speaking to hundreds of people each game and
furthermore I often had to use my own initiative to solve problems as everything was run on a
tight schedule thus improving my ability to work under pressure and independently. ILR Level 2 - Spanish

Asylum Seekers Shelter, Mount Chapel Church, Salford - Volunteer

06/2016-08/2016

During the summer of 2016 I also volunteered regularly at an asylum seekers shelter where the
team would cook meals for a new and every growing group of people every week and try to
give them a sense of belonging. It improved my confidence and personal growth as I was
talking to new people every week all with different stories to share from places all over the
world. On top of this, I often got the opportunity to improve my linguistic skills in Spanish as, at
the time I was studying Spanish a level, and for many of the asylum seekers this was their
native language.
 Example cover letters
Please check on blackboard – ‘Assignments’> Component B> Resources and
material> Cover Letters pdf.

Have look at the example cover letters and consider:

1) What kind of examples they use? Where are taken from?
2) How they structure them and what are they trying to match?
3) What about the tone?
Let’s have a look
Dear Ms. Moitoso,
I am writing to apply for the Senior Associate position at KPMG in Albany, New York. I learned of
this position at the information session that Mr. David Pondillo held at Rockefeller College of
Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany. I am currently pursuing my Master of Public
Administration at Rockefeller, with a concentration in Information Management. Based on my
skills in business process analysis and information technology, I believe I am an excellent
candidate. I have experience performing process analysis and producing professional writing,
which would be an excellent match for advisory work at KPMG. This summer I was employed as
an intern at the U.S. Census Bureau, where my branch collected financial data from local
governments. I was asked to analyze and standardize processes for reviewing and editing survey
responses. I conducted interviews with department analysts and produced a detailed data
analysis plan to document current practices and train new hires. My supervisor informed me
that he intends to use my report as a template for other analysis plans in all branches of the
division. My ability to analyze and communicate complex information clearly and logically would
make me a valuable addition to KPMG
 PDP Template
Learning and Development How/where you will get it Timescale Who will arrange it? Comments
Need

Take every opportunity to present at Retail Marketing Management and Global

university, practicing in front of friends Marketing Management module presentations
and family to develop confidence UWE teaching
Develop presentation skills content/content creators on Watch ‘Presentation Skills: 7 Presentation
Watch YouTube videos with tips on Next 1-6 months YouTube Structures Used by The Best TED Talks’ (2020)
how to present successfully video on YouTube.com

Broaden knowledge of Research organisations wider marketing Reviewing literature online Read the ‘Marketing with Exclusivity’ (2016)
wider marketing activity activity instead of focusing on the December 2020 via the UWE library journal to broaden my understanding of wider
digital element of marketing in marketing activity
assignments

Take extensive notes when viewing

Enhance proactivity online lectures and in workshops, being Myself/UWE pre-recorded Ahead of attending workshops, make notes of
proactive and always contributing in Next 1-6 months lectures and workshops multiple discussion points to showcase
class understanding of module and challenge my own
ways of thinking