OVERVIEW

Prepare a report demonstrating an awareness of the knowledge, skills and experience required by a recent graduate to enter a chosen area of graduate employment. The research required to prepare the report will support you in your future career planning and decisions. This report will provide the basis of the information for your self-reflection and career action plan report – CW2

The overall aims of the assignment are to provide you with the opportunity to:

• demonstrate awareness of the different types of graduate opportunities i.e. graduate training schemes, professional careers, opportunities with small and medium size enterprises (SME’s), public sector roles, opportunities in the charity / not for profit organisations <br>
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OVERVIEW<br>
<br>
Prepare a report demonstrating an awareness of the knowledge, skills and experience required by a recent graduate to enter a chosen area of graduate employment. The research required to prepare the report will support you in your future career planning and decisions.  This report will provide the basis of the information for your self-reflection and career action plan report – CW2<br>
<br>
The overall aims of the assignment are to provide you with the opportunity to:<br>
<br>
•    demonstrate awareness of the different types of graduate opportunities i.e. graduate training schemes, professional careers, opportunities with small and medium size enterprises (SME’s), public sector roles, opportunities in the charity / not for profit organisations <br>
•    demonstrate how to research these opportunities in terms of the range of  resources available and reflect on the usefulness of these to you <br>
•    develop an awareness of the skills, knowledge and experiences employers are looking for, and an understanding of how they expect graduates to demonstrate these<br>
•    develop employability skills associated with meeting deadlines and succinct writing<br>
<br>
A) THE TASK – WHAT YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO DO<br>
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•    You are required to identity a profession you are interested in. **Business management *** This could be marketing/finance/accounting/ Human Resource Management/Business Management/Advertising or PR.  Your research should be either in an area you aspire to work within or maybe an area that you want to understand more about <br>
•    You will need to identify either a sector within this profession e.g. media, retail, sports &amp; leisure, public sector, not-for-profit, tourism etc. or else a sub-section of your profession e.g. Advertising within Marketing, Training and Development within HRM, Audit roles within accountancy firms.<br>
•    Your research in your chosen sector/profession should include; developments in the expectations of employers, likely future trends in graduate recruitment, recruitment &amp; selection methods used, and in particular should equip you with the knowledge to write a summary of the key skills, knowledge and experience expected from graduate applicants. <br>
•    You are encouraged to use both primary and secondary research for this assignment. Primary research might include attending events run by the careers team, and/or events run by the professional bodies or societies such as CIMSOc or Adsoc , or else through personal contacts.  It might also include information from the guest lectures for the module.  You could consider talking to managers at work, if you have a part-time role, or else friends and family to enhance your understanding.<br>
•    Having identified the sector/profession, you are then required to identify one current job being advertised that you would be interested in applying for in the future.  This will form the basis of the second assignment, your self-reflection and career action plan report.  The advert should appear as an appendix, which you should refer to as necessary within your report.  It is important that this is a graduate level job, and not one for an individual with many years experience.<br>
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B) THE REPORT – WHAT YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO SUBMIT<br>
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You are required to submit a written report of 1500 words  It is suggested that you use the headings shown in this briefing or you may use your own headings; what is important is that you clearly cover all areas outlined below.<br>
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The report should include the following sections: <br>
<br>
INTRODUCTION – Provide a brief paragraph outlining what profession your assignment will cover and how you decided on this profession.   As this is your reflection, this section can be in the 1st person.<br>
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RESEARCH- This section of the report should be as a factual reflection of the findings from the sector/profession you have chosen to research.   You need to consider both primary and secondary research for this section.  This section should be written in the 3rd person.<br>
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•    Main Findings – this should include the key information regarding this occupation or area of employment in terms of:<br>
<br>
o    General Employment trends in this sector / occupation: the employment market generally in this area, recent developments, predicted future trends. <br>
o    Opportunities for recent graduates – what organisations are recruiting graduates in this area of employment?  What types of role would a recent graduate be doing?  Where are they advertised? <br>
o    The skills / knowledge and experience required – a summary based on your research of the key skills / knowledge and experience expected from an applicant at this stage in their career <br>
o    How are graduates selected in the sector/profession you have researched? – What are the recruitment and selection methods being used? How are you expected to demonstrate your skills / knowledge / experience?      <br>
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•    A current opportunity advertised – For this section you need to identify an appropriate vacancy from your chosen profession.  This must be relevant to you as a graduate entering work for their first role.  You should include the advertisement in full ( not a website link ) in the appendices for this report and then a brief review of the selected advertisement within the report, explaining why it is relevant to you and your career choice.  <br>
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Conclusion -, a brief reflection on your key findings and how you intend to use these within your self-reflection and career action plan report.  This can be written in the 1st person.<br>
<br>
<br>
You must reference all information used in the report both primary and secondary using the Harvard Referencing Guide. <br>
<br>
See attached grid for assessment criteria.<br>

• demonstrate how to research these opportunities in terms of the range of resources available and reflect on the usefulness of these to you

• develop an awareness of the skills, knowledge and experiences employers are looking for, and an understanding of how they expect graduates to demonstrate these

• develop employability skills associated with meeting deadlines and succinct writing

A) THE TASK – WHAT YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO DO

• You are required to identity a profession you are interested in. **Business management *** This could be marketing/finance/accounting/ Human Resource Management/Business Management/Advertising or PR. Your research should be either in an area you aspire to work within or maybe an area that you want to understand more about

• You will need to identify either a sector within this profession e.g. media, retail, sports & leisure, public sector, not-for-profit, tourism etc. or else a sub-section of your profession e.g. Advertising within Marketing, Training and Development within HRM, Audit roles within accountancy firms.

• Your research in your chosen sector/profession should include; developments in the expectations of employers, likely future trends in graduate recruitment, recruitment & selection methods used, and in particular should equip you with the knowledge to write a summary of the key skills, knowledge and experience expected from graduate applicants.

• You are encouraged to use both primary and secondary research for this assignment. Primary research might include attending events run by the careers team, and/or events run by the professional bodies or societies such as CIMSOc or Adsoc , or else through personal contacts. It might also include information from the guest lectures for the module. You could consider talking to managers at work, if you have a part-time role, or else friends and family to enhance your understanding.

• Having identified the sector/profession, you are then required to identify one current job being advertised that you would be interested in applying for in the future. This will form the basis of the second assignment, your self-reflection and career action plan report. The advert should appear as an appendix, which you should refer to as necessary within your report. It is important that this is a graduate level job, and not one for an individual with many years experience.

B) THE REPORT – WHAT YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO SUBMIT

You are required to submit a written report of 1500 words It is suggested that you use the headings shown in this briefing or you may use your own headings; what is important is that you clearly cover all areas outlined below.

The report should include the following sections:

INTRODUCTION – Provide a brief paragraph outlining what profession your assignment will cover and how you decided on this profession. As this is your reflection, this section can be in the 1st person.

RESEARCH- This section of the report should be as a factual reflection of the findings from the sector/profession you have chosen to research. You need to consider both primary and secondary research for this section. This section should be written in the 3rd person.

• Main Findings – this should include the key information regarding this occupation or area of employment in terms of:

o General Employment trends in this sector / occupation: the employment market generally in this area, recent developments, predicted future trends.

o Opportunities for recent graduates – what organisations are recruiting graduates in this area of employment? What types of role would a recent graduate be doing? Where are they advertised?

o The skills / knowledge and experience required – a summary based on your research of the key skills / knowledge and experience expected from an applicant at this stage in their career

o How are graduates selected in the sector/profession you have researched? – What are the recruitment and selection methods being used? How are you expected to demonstrate your skills / knowledge / experience?

• A current opportunity advertised – For this section you need to identify an appropriate vacancy from your chosen profession. This must be relevant to you as a graduate entering work for their first role. You should include the advertisement in full ( not a website link ) in the appendices for this report and then a brief review of the selected advertisement within the report, explaining why it is relevant to you and your career choice.

Conclusion -, a brief reflection on your key findings and how you intend to use these within your self-reflection and career action plan report. This can be written in the 1st person.

You must reference all information used in the report both primary and secondary using the Harvard Referencing Guide.

See attached grid for assessment criteria.