Employability
Employability is about more than just getting a job. It’s about being employable which means having the attributes and skills that will help you to get a job, succeed in that job and change jobs. The importance of employability is summed up well by the following quote:
"To be employed is to be at risk, to be employable is to be secure."
(Peter Hawkins, 1999).
So what are the attributes and skills that you will need to be employable?
Well, having a degree will help.
However, employers stress that academic excellence is not enough. They are more interested in your attitude and the attributes and skills you can bring to their business.
Employers want you to be enthusiastic and confident. They need you to have good communication, time management, team working and people skills. You need to be able to sell them what you have to offer. There’s not much point in you having the right attributes and skills if you can’t tell other people about these and can’t back your claims with hard evidence, as the following quote illustrates.
"Many of the graduates I met were unprepared, uninformed and lacking in self-awareness. They struggled to demonstrate what it was they wanted from a job and what they could bring to it".
Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (2006)
Engaging with PDP activities will help you to understand and develop the attributes and skills which are valued by employers. PDP will also help you to recognise those attributes and skills you already have and what it is that you still need to develop.
The evidence that employers will seek will most likely be embedded within your ePortfolio. You will be able to use the evidence in your ePortfolio when applying for jobs. Having this evidence to back you up will help you to confidently promote yourself in job applications and when attending interviews.
Your programme of study is likely to provide you with many opportunities to develop the attributes and skills you need. For example, some of your modules may give you the chance to work in teams or make presentations. The feedback or marks you get as a result may help you to build up evidence of what you can do and have achieved. Your lecturers can give you more advice about this.
Of course there are many other ways to develop your employability. Examples could include having a part time job, voluntary or club activities or even just recognising how you manage your own finances or have to balance work, study and personal responsibilities. You can include evidence from these kinds of activities in your ePortofolio too, it doesn’t just have to be about things you do as part of your degree course.
You should also take a look at the questions in the “Skills and PDP ” section of MyLinC on Blackboard. These questions are designed to help you think about how you are developing your attributes and skills as a whole.
These are not just important for your studies they are also about what you need to be employable.
You can get more advice on developing your employability from Careers Advisers in the Employability Link.
Many students also find that the University’s Windmills employability self-help materials are interesting and useful and you can access these here: http://moodle.bell.ac.uk/windmills/