module specification

This module is designed to provide students with an opportunity to prepare for entering the workplace as a graduate, as well as preparing them for success in their future career. It will help students to develop a clearer understanding of themselves, identify and develop their strengths and abilities as well as support their CV, application writing and interview skills. 
The aim of the module is to
• prepare students for the graduate employment market;
• prepare students for their future career by helping them to identify their preferences and career anchors;
• raise students’ awareness of themselves and their personality type; 
• provide students with a narrative to describe themselves at interview;
• practice required skills needed to be successful including networking, assessment centre exercises, interviewing skills;
• help students to develop their CV, and application writing as well as interview skills.

The main themes addressed in this module may include:

The job market including its opportunities and challenges LO1
Skills and knowledge needed by future graduates LO1
What do employers want from graduates LO1
How to hit the ground running LO1
Preferential personality type using the MBTI and how to use to its full advantage LO1
Identification of career anchors and what to do next LO1
How to stand out from the crowd LO2
How to market yourself to the future employer LO2
Visits to job fairs LO2
Participation in mock assessment centres LO2
Production of an outstanding CV, application form and cover letter LO2
Preparation and practice on how to excel at a graduate job interview LO2

It’s very difficult to put your best foot forward at a job interview if you don’t know yourself. One of the strengths of personality testing is that it provides us with information about ourselves that we can then use to our own best advantage. For instance, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) provides us with a narrative that is hugely useful at job interviews to answer the question “tell me about yourself”. This module will help you to discover your personality type, and it will help you to discover your preferred career anchor.  LO1

On the verge of leaving university you need to decide who you are – most likely you are a different person than you were when you began your studies, therefore you need to have a professional profile prepared as well as a professional CV.  CV writing is an art, you cannot lie but you want it to look good and to present you in the best light, so it’s best not left till the last minute. Application writing is also an art – this module addresses those arts. LO2

The CV gets you an interview but it’s usually the interview that gets you the job. And what about assessment centres- they also play a part.  First impressions are important and body language is as important as what you say and how you say it.  This module provides you with an opportunity to get some feedback on your body language and the impression you make at job interviews, and it provides you with an overview of assessment centres and how they work. LO2

This module is about reflection since its main purpose is to provide students with a mirror on themselves as they prepare for their first post-graduation job interview.

The module provides three hours contact time per week which will take the form of a mixture of ‘training’, ‘workshops’, ‘guest speakers’, interactive activities, visits to external parties, i.e. employment fairs, networking events, professional bodies, and assessment centres.   Opportunities for reflective learning will be available throughout the module as students are given the opportunity to consider their approach to tasks and discussions whilst simultaneously having the opportunity to reflect upon informal feedback that may be given from lecturers on ideas and concepts spoken of in class and, on class activities.

Given the dynamic and very competitive nature of the job market it is envisaged that students will be exposed to a series of talks by a number of external speakers working in different fields [i.e. finance, HR, marketing, management, voluntary sector, public sector].
This will be complemented by talks from the Londonmet Career Services, which will increase students’ urgency to develop an early focus in pursuit of employment. Guidance will also be given to those who want to continue further studies at Masters level within the university or elsewhere. Advice on job application material on and offline will be provided so that students can better market themselves.

Weblearn: will be used for the distribution of the Module booklet. It will also be used as an interactive mechanism between students and tutors, for example, to direct students to particular readings or to provide news about the module or the module content. It will also be used for the timely provision of generic feedback following formative assessment.

LinkedIn: Students will be required to prepare personal professional profiles which could be used to market themselves via the LinkedIn tool.

The learning outcomes reflect the integration of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) subject benchmark statement and the CMI requirements. 

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

LO1:  appraise their own strengths and their learning through reflection regarding the
          graduate job market;
LO2:  design their own professional profile based on a real-life job advert
          in their chosen industry in preparation for a job interview

There are two assessment points on this module;

The first is a reflective account of student’s suitability to the chosen industry, including their understanding of their personality type and career anchor.

The second is a simulated application to a real-life job advert preparing them for a job interview. This will include a cover letter, professional CV, application form and reflection of a graduate job interview.

Textbooks:
Core texts:
Done, J. and Mulvey, R. (2016). Brilliant Graduate Career Handbook. London: Prentice Hall.
Marsh, R. (2012). Skills for employability. Part two. Wrexham: Christal.
Rook, S. (2013). The graduate career guidebook. Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan
Schein, E. H. (2006). Career Anchors: Participant Workbook. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
Trought, F. (2012). Brilliant Employability Skills: How to stand out from the crowd in the graduate job market. Harlow: Pearson.
Woodruffe, C. (2007). Development and Assessment Centres: Identifying and developing competence. London: Human Assets

Background reading:
Websites to be used – for research on sector, future career paths, raising self-awareness

http://ww2.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/What_jobs_would_suit_me___Prospects_Planner_/Show_login_page/p!eLaXgjk

The London Metropolitan University Career website is a good source of information - http://student.londonmet.ac.uk/jobs-and-employment/career-and-employability-advice/

And the career portal will be used to support students