The module will introduce students to the concept of life long career management, based on theoretical models of employability and career development learning. The syllabus will include self-awareness exercises (personality, interests, values, motivation, transferable skills analysis); opportunity awareness activities (where and how to look for graduate opportunities, the hidden jobs market and networking); careers research and decision making; job getting skills (including CVs and covering letters, on-line applications, using social media, interview techniques and assessment centres); and achieving success once in the workplace.

ASSESSMENT STRATEGY:
Students are required to capture the learning from each session in short pieces of reflective writing. Questions are provided at the end of each online session that will guide these reflections. These will then be utilised to create a final Personal Career Research Report which will be submitted for assessment. This report will detail aspects of self-awareness, such as personality, interests, values and motivation together with reflections on current knowledge, skills and attributes that will be of interest to potential employers. It will also identify some possible future careers and what has been learnt about successfully securing and retaining the graduate employment opportunities of their choice. The report should detail the full process of developing self-awareness, opportunity awareness, decision making and transition into the workplace (the four key areas of Career Development Learning). Students are given support in face-to-face workshops which will allow them to gain the most benefit from the online learning provision.

WORD LIMITS & MARK PENALTIES FOR WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS:

Each written assignment set has a specified word limit attached to it. A word limit is used for the following reasons:

• It encourages clear and concise thought and expression.
• It ensures fairness as every student has the same number of words to express their ideas.

Most coursework assignments have word lengths specified. When a word length is stated you are allowed a 10% leeway on the length, e.g. if the word limit is 4000 then this effectively gives you a maximum of 4400 words. If this word length is exceeded the marker will stop reading and award the mark based on the work presented within the allowed word count. You must state the number of words you use on the front page of your assignment (the word count does not include the title page, reference list/bibliography and appendices; however in-text references are included
ASSIGNMENT BRIEF:-
‘Creative, expressive and reflective writing are well suited for helping individuals to explore and construct their career identities.’ (Lengelle & Meijers, 2014, p 54)
Assignment: You are required to submit a Personal Career Research Report (4000 words).
General guidelines on how to structure the report.
1. Title page (give your report a suitable title). Previous titles have included: Report on My Future Career Planning, A Detailed Investigation into my Person Profile and How I Can Achieve my Perfect Career and My Career in Accountancy.
You should also include your name, the date and the word count.

2. Contents page. List contents with the page numbers.

3. Introduction. There should be a paragraph that explains the report and what you are aiming to cover.

4. Findings. This is the main part of your report and should detail your learning throughout the module. You may use sub-headings as appropriate. As you have worked your way through this module you have been directed to complete activities, reflect on these and then write a short piece of reflective writing each week. You should utilise this reflective writing to complete the main part of the report. You may also need to refer to items filed in your PebblePad Asset Store. Approximately 1000 of the total word count should be included in relation to the research carried out for session 6.

5. Conclusions. Ensure that you draw all the threads of your reflections together and say what career related decisions you have been able to make.

6. Action Plan. You should also include details of what you plan to do next as a result of your learning on this module.

7. Reference List.

8. Appendices (if applicable).

Purpose of the assignment:-

This assignment is designed to give you the best opportunity to successfully enter your chosen career. If you are undecided about what you want to do, it will give you the opportunity to explore in some detail two or more possible careers for yourself. If you start the module completely decided about what you want to do, it will give you the opportunity to become an expert in this career so that you are well prepared for applications and interviews. It will also allow you to research a ‘Plan B’ in some detail, should your initial career plans not be achievable for one reason or another. Because we are all unique, your assignment will be different to everyone else’s but it must be something that is useful to you.

Content

You will complete all the interactive exercises online and then write about what the results mean for you. For example, if you discover you have a high Artistic score on the Holland test (session 2), you may want to explore some creative related careers. You will also need to include what you have learnt about securing graduate roles, including how to design and tailor a CV and complete application forms to a standard that will give you the best chance of gaining an interview. The questions provided at the end of each session should act as prompts to help you reflect on the activities and identify what you have learnt about yourself, the opportunities available to you and how to make the most of these.

Style

The assignment is designed to be of value and help to you. It is all about you, your self-discovery, your hopes, your needs and your plans for the future. As such it is personal to you and can be written in the first person (e.g. ‘I feel that’, or ‘I believe that’ or ‘I now need to’).

Referencing

Harvard referencing is preferred but it is acceptable to use other styles if these are more familiar to you. It is important that you are consistent throughout with the referencing style of your choice. The references used in each session are provided on the final slide if you need to include these in your report. You may also need to reference internet resources, books, and personal communications with professional contacts if these are included in your report.

Writing Reflectively�:
For the purposes of this module, in order to complete a successful assignment, you will need to:
Briefly describe the activities you experienced.
Reflect on the activities, what did you think/feel whilst you were engaged with them, what do you think/feel now? Importantly, what did you learn from the activities and how will you apply this learning to help you make decisions about the future or achieve your career goals?
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How to pass this assignment (1)�
Complete all the online classes by working through all the suggested activities.
Use the reflection questions provided to really think through what you have learnt from each class, what this means to you and how you will use this learning.
Try to find links between the different sessions. Did something you learn in one session help you to understand something in one of the other sessions? Show us you can analyse and synthesise information.
�How to pass this assignment (2)�
Use all the information in the MIP, including the assessment criteria, to help you produce the assignment we are looking for.
Write approximately 4000 words.
Carefully check your spelling and grammar. Make sure it is well structured. Ensure you reference anybody else’s work and provide details in a reference list. It can sometimes be helpful to have somebody read through your work for you.
Submit your work in plenty of time (allow time for problems with technology).
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How to produce a poor assignment�:-
Rush through the online classes and activities without giving them much thought or attention. (It will show in your writing.)
Only include descriptive accounts of the activities (no thoughts, feelings, identification or application of learning).
Don’t read the information provided in the MIP.
Be careless with presenting your work and/or include not enough or too many words.
Include content you have not written personally and don’t reference it.
Leave submission until the last minute, or worse, submit your work after the deadline.
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Using the checklist provided go through your CV as objectively as you can and find areas for improvement.

Once you have made the improvements, save your amended CV in your Asset Store.

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Reading List :-
Prospects.ac.uk – Graduate jobs, Postgrad study, Work Experience, Graduate Career Information

Employability Support – University of Central Lancashire

What color is your parachute?: a practical manual for job-hunters and career-changers – Richard Nelson Bolles 2013

Employability skills – David W. G. Hind, Stuart Moss 2005

Brilliant interview: what employers want to hear and how to say it – Ros Jay 2008

Personal, academic and career development in higher education: SOARing to success – Arti Kumar 2007 (electronic resource)

Module Materials :-
Week 1:
http://breeze01.uclan.ac.uk/p4r7jdmfz1h/
Week2:
http://breeze01.uclan.ac.uk/p1rg7penp7g/
week3:
http://breeze01.uclan.ac.uk/p2gz01s8zxn/
week4
http://breeze01.uclan.ac.uk/p7b0mc38u06/
week5
http://breeze01.uclan.ac.uk/p1ixy9h7vep/
week6
http://breeze01.uclan.ac.uk/p9fxqrcc59r/
week7
http://breeze01.uclan.ac.uk/p4fife4y7c7/
week8
http://breeze01.uclan.ac.uk/p1mublajsgw/
week9
http://breeze01.uclan.ac.uk/p5ygdepaxod/
week10
http://breeze01.uclan.ac.uk/p4cbkukw9fo/
week11
http://breeze01.uclan.ac.uk/p7y22x8wemj/