In this day and age it can be extremely difficult to find a decent, respectable job, as the world of employment is continuously changing. Due to recession taking the toll, employers are making high demands, the competition has increased. Since more people are gaining degrees, experience of working has become essential for certain jobs. Therefore it is necessary to consider current academic success in addition to think of ways to develop skills, as by doing so one can advance learning at University as well as consider ways of how to get a good degree in order to meet the demands when comes to looking for a suitable career path/job.
It is vital to think about the future, what kind of job is desired, as well as consider what skills will be required for a specific job. One needs to take into consideration what skills one has at previous moment in time as well as think of how to improve or develop skills to meet requirements in the near future. At the start of level three of Business and Human Resource Management (BA Hons) I had no idea what I would want to do after I graduate, Therefore through the PACE 3 module, I started to reflect on what I have learned as well as what skills I need to develop.
In this following assignment I will reflect my findings about my future career path and the skills I need to succeed in the longer run. In sequence I will outline my strength and weaknesses and the three skills I need to enhance. In the end of my reflection I will critically analyse my improvement in the three skills chosen so that I can see how effective the whole process has been in terms of preparing for my academic success as well as future career.
Finally to evident my findings and plans for future I will include a three year Personal Development Plan which I wish to pursue after graduation. Over the last three years of PACE, I have reflected on my academic success as well as the areas I have yet to improve on. However this year I have also started to consider what my career focus is and what skills are required for me to be successful. Cameron (2009, p. 6) cited that “the job market is highly competitive, and you can greatly increase your chances of a successful career if you start thinking now.
” To start with I thought this was impossible as I had no clear direction as to what career path I would want to pursue. I knew I wanted to major in a HR position however I was not sure as to how to go through the stages of recruitment or which skills I would need to achieve my career goals. Taking into consideration that I am going to be graduating this year, I started looking for a suitable job; however due to me not having any paid work experience, I found that it was awfully hard to find an employer who was willing to take me on.
With the recession being on the toll, employers are not willing to take risks with taking on inexperienced graduates. (See Appendix 6: SWOT analysis – weaknesses) Some businesses require 2-3 years experience, and because I have been studying for the last three years I did not think of finding a job as I thought it would mean less input in my modules. (See appendix 1: CV) However the PACE module this year has encouraged me to give attention to my current skills as well as look in-depth into the skills I need for my future career.
At the current moment due to not having any experience of working I have decided to further my options by applying for a two year placement on a Graduate scheme (See Appendix 2: NHS Graduate Scheme Advertisement) in order to learn and work at the same. To be successful in the Graduate scheme selection I need to get at least a 2:2 degree in addition to the following skills:
I need to have good numerical as well as IT skills, which I will be assessed on at the start of the Interview process. Therefore as I have not got maths at GCSE level I will need to work on my numerical skills as I have always been a little weak in this field. (See Appendix 5: Skills Audit). My IT skills however have improved over the last three years throughout many modules, including database and spreadsheets, which I am far more confident about. (See Appendix 5: Skills Audit)
Good communication skills: “To be successful on this programme need to be able to work and engage with a diverse group of people as the NHS employs over 1. 3 million staff” (NHS, 2010). (See Appendix 2: NHS Graduate Scheme Advertisement) Leadership skills: “The NHS is going through an enormous period of change and at a rapid pace and needs emerging leaders to support the transformation” (NHS, 2010). (See Appendix 2: NHS Graduate Scheme Advertisement)
