Individual activity (20 mins)
In addition to digesting information from psychometric tests, it is also important to reflect on your transferable skills. These are skills which we can usefully apply across all types of work environment. Although there is no universally accepted list, transferable skills are highly valued by employers. It is therefore important to audit a range of these skills in order to take stock of where you are in your career development and to diagnose your main development needs.
A typical list of transferable skills for managers is as follows.
- Written Communication
- ability to write clear and accurate reports, emails, notes etc., appropriately expressed for target audience
- Spoken communication o ability to express oneself clearly in one-to-one and group meetings and on the telephone; use of appropriate expression for different audiences and contexts
- Application of number o effective handling and organising of data, performing accurate calculations, interpreting and communicating results
- Information technology o effective use of word processing, spreadsheets, databases, PowerPoint, web-based programmes
- Presentations o designing and using effective visual aids, speaking confidently in front of different audiences, handling questions
- Interpersonal skills o relating effectively across a range of different people e.g. customers, colleagues, managers
- Team working
- contributing and working for the benefit and goals of the team, helping others out when needed
- Negotiation skills o having clear objectives in dealings with people; ability to find ‘win-win’ solutions where possible
- Managing information
- researching, organising, analysing, presenting and disseminating information
- Problem-solving o diagnosing, analysing and solving problems at work
- Flexibility and adaptability o ability to work with changing conditions and to reprioritise tasks, deadlines and your role where necessary
- Leadership o providing direction, motivation and support for others
- Coaching
- ability to assess others’ learning needs and help them develop effectively
- Meeting deadlines and achieving targets o ability to deliver work on time to required standards
- Commitment to ethical practices and diversity o understanding and upholding of ethical codes in the workplace; tolerance and appreciation of differences between colleagues and customers.
In pairs (20 mins):
- Review each of the 15 skills above. Discuss their precise meaning with your partner and seek clarification from your tutor if needed. You can also read up more about the skills definitions and their importance later through further research.
- Discuss with your partner:
- Which transferable skills have I developed best? What are the best examples? o Which transferable skills have I developed the least?
- Which ones should I prioritise to try to develop over the next year? (3-5 skills would be enough!) How could I do this?
- Which transferable skills am I not sure about, in terms of whether I have developed them or not? How will I get more information about this? In your own time:
After the workshop, write up a Skills Audit in a suitable format. You might want to use the headings and questions above, though you are encouraged to find a credible alternative through further research. (There are plenty of examples out there, and increasingly popular are ‘strength-based skills audits’). You need to do this for Part 2 of the Portfolio.
It can be difficult to diagnose your own skills and development needs, so when you come to do this exercise properly after the workshop, you should first ask someone responsible who knows you well in a work context (e.g. a supervisor at work) to give their opinion on how well developed they consider your transferable skills to be. You don’t of course have to agree with them on everything.
Their opinions are an additional, potentially objective source of information to help you arrive at a more accurate self-diagnosis.
ACTIVITY 1.3: FORM LEARNING SETS
(10 mins)
For future activities and portfolio tasks throughout this term, it is essential to be in a learning of 3 students (maximum 4 by exception). As a team of 3 you will need to rely on one another both inside and outside of class. Next week you will need to confirm with your tutor the learning set compositions.
ACTIVITY 1.4: CRITICAL REFLECTION
Individual activity (20 mins)
Now that you have completed some of your personal profiling from your psychometric tests and transferable skills audit you are now in a position to make an initial self-reflection of your own competitive position in the graduate labour market by answering the following questions.
- How do I feel about the results of your psychometric tests (e.g. any surprises, etc.)?
- What have I learnt about myself so far (i.e. strengths and weaknesses)?
- How might I use what I have learnt to gain a stronger position in the graduate job market?
- What do I need to do to improve my knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA)?
Theoretical application
Looking at the responses for each of the above questions, can you draw on any of the HR, OB, career or personal development literature from the recommended reading list in support of your reflection?
Group discussion (15 Mins)
Now discuss the content of your critical reflection with your leaning set.
ACTIVITY 1.5: PREPARING YOUR PERSONAL STORY (IGNITE PRESENTATION)
(10 mins to run through pre-workshop activity overleaf)
For Workshop 2 create an IGNITE Presentation: share your Personal Story in a 5-minute slideshow.
IGNITE Presentations (very similar to Pecha Kucha, as originally developed in Japan) are rapid-fire PowerPoint slideshows where the speaker shares just a few images and narrates each slide for a few seconds to tell a compelling, lively – perhaps funny – story. For the next Workshop, you will create an IGNITE Presentation to share your Personal Story. This will condense your career narrative and personal brand into a 5-minute window.
Instructions for students: In the next workshop, you will be given 5 minutes to present your Personal Story / Career Narrative / Personal Brand. Your IGNITE presentation might address questions such as:
- who am I?
- how did I come to be here?
- what are the key events and aspects of my life?
- what is different and unique about me?
- how do I see my future?
- how might I get there?
You must use exactly 20 slides. Each slide must contain an image only – no words. Each slide will be shown for exactly 15 seconds, and will then advance automatically to the next slide. That is a total of 5 minutes. Your task is to create, present, and narrate the slides to share your Personal Story concisely. Infuse your presentation with energy, enthusiasm, humour, and your unique style to make it engaging and memorable.
Remember, this is a way to practice in front of a supportive audience as you continue developing your Personal Story and Personal Brand. Use the opportunity to improve your skills and gain valuable feedback from your classmates. There are many online sources to learn more about IGNITE and Pecha Kucha; here are a few tips:
- If you write out your talk in advance, you should estimate that you can speak about 20 to 30 words per 15 second slide
- Most slides should have just a single photo or graphic. The slides should reinforce your words, not vice versa
- You need to connect with your audience using your voice. Modulate it. Talk fast then slow. Loud, then soft. Sound sarcastic (for practice!) then sincere. It keeps people interested
- Figure out your natural style and go with it. Talking fast works for some people. But your natural style may be completely different. Your style will become apparent when you practice your talk. Once you figure it out, go with it. Humour is terrific. A few funny pictures will hold the audience attention. Speakers get energy from your audience. Look for a few people in the crowd who like what you are saying and speak to them
- Body language is everything. If you just get up on ‘stage’, stand behind the podium and stare at the screen for five minutes, you may find more people becoming disengaged. But, if you use hand gestures, pace around the stage and use turns and twists effectively, it makes all the difference
- Don’t be afraid to poke a little fun at yourself. The best speakers are self-deprecating – not arrogant
- Tell stories. Stories are probably the most important facet of any presentation. Without them, you have only facts, figures and an impersonal Powerpoint presentation
- Experiment – try different things, take a few risks – and have fun!
Follow this link on How to Create an Ignite Presentation, showing detailed photos of each step in the process: http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/content/fast-ignite-presentation/
(Source: Dr Scott Johnson, University of Greenwich 2011)
Now as a group, agree the running order of Ignite presentations for next week.
| Recap and Preparation for Workshop 2: Complete psychometric tests online Complete transferable skills audit (using external feedback) Prepare your IGNITE presentation Identify 2 other students to discuss forming a learning set with you. |
WORKSHOP 2: IGNITE PRESENTATIONS AND PERSONAL BRANDING
Aims of workshop
- Gain insights into others’ personal stories, and reflect on one’s own
- Develop first draft of personal branding statement for social media website
- Confirm learning set composition
- Critically discuss personal branding as a concept and practice
In Workshop 2, we will be doing the following 4 activities:
- Ignite presentations (75 mins)
- Personal branding statements (15 mins)
- Confirming learning sets (5 mins)
- Requirements of Part 2 of the Portfolio (15 mins)
ACTIVITY 2.1: PRESENTATIONS
(75 mins)
Follow the running order agreed at the last workshop. Be supportive to your colleagues!
ACTIVITY 2.2: PERSONAL BRAND STATEMENTS
(15 mins)
After everyone has given their IGNITE presentations, take 5 minutes to draft a personal brand statement, i.e. reduce your personal brand down to 1 or 2 sentences, to use for your own professional social media website such as LinkedIn TM .
Your personal brand statement is distinctive to you alone and should include what you are best at (value) and who you serve (audience) as well as how you do it (USP). Your personal brand statement should therefore be is memorable, punchy and solution oriented (see more information via this link
Once you have written your personal brand statement compare it with a partner. Give each other constructive feedback. You may also wish to read your statement out to the whole group for feedback!
You will need to reproduce your professional social media home page for Part 2 of the Portfolio.
ACTIVITY 2.3: CONFIRM LEARNING SETS
(5 mins)
Confirm the composition of your learning sets of 3 students each with your tutor. Make sure that you have each other’s telephone numbers and email addresses.
Activity 2.4: Requirements for Part 2 of the Portfolio
Below are the requirements for Part 2 of the Portfolio, with some additional guidance in italics.
Based on the activities of Workshops 1 and 2, discuss as a group what has been learned and what more needs to be done in order to address the requirements of Part 2 of the Portfolio. (15 mins).
Part 2. Self-Assessment (approx. 1000 words)
- Reflection on psychometric test results
- What were the key results of your 3 psychometric tests?
- Reflection: What are the key learning points from your 3 psychometric tests?
- Skills audit
- Reflection: What are the top 3 skills that you will prioritise for your development? Why? How will you do this?
- My personal brand statement
- The ideal evidence to submit for this part of the Portfolio is a screenshot of the homepage of your professional social media website, such as your LinkedIn TM homepage.
- The main requirement is to have a 1-sentence branding statement; this may be usefully supplemented by your key goals, skills and experience, and a portrait picture.
- Development Network and CQ reflection
There are two tasks that you will need to include for Part 2 of your assessment. Although please note that we will touching on this in more detail in Workshop 4 – Relationship Management. After this workshop, you will need to write 2 short reflective pieces:
- Reflect on your Developmental Network questionnaire. How useful was the questionnaire in terms of helping you understand how you could use your developers to assist with your studies and enhance your employability? Thinking about your future career goals, who in your current developmental network could help you get there and what help is missing? Use your diagnostic feedback to help you with this question.
- Following completion of your CQ questionnaire in Workshop 4, write a brief critical reflection of your areas of strength, areas needing attention and your development priority?
Please remember to use relevant career management and personal development literature in support of your reflection.
| Recap and Preparation for Workshop 3: Ensure you are connected with others in your learning set Are you clear about the requirements of Part 2 of the Portfolio? You are required to bring your current CV and covering letter to Workshop 3 for Activity 3.3. Your CV will need to meet the requirements for the industry/sector you wish to apply for postgraduation. Also, bring a Job advert for a job you wish to apply for post-graduation |
Additional reading on personal branding
CREATING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND, The first steps (based on Meg Guiseppi, 10 Steps to an Authentic, Magnetic
Personal Brand, http://executivecareerbrand.com/10-steps-to-an-authentic-magnetic-personal-brand/)
| With so much social media-speak and concomitant buzz about personal branding swirling around us these days, | |
| it’s no wonder that many people are confused about what branding really is. Tom Peters coined the term “personal branding” in his 1997 article “The Brand Called You” in Fast Company. Since then, it’s been bandied about, misrepresented, and often trashed by people who latch onto and pick apart bits and pieces of the whole concept. | |
| Based on Tom’s insights and my training through the Reach Certified Personal Branding Strategist program, I | |
| describe personal branding in this way: Your brand is your reputation – the combination of personal attributes, values, drivers, strengths, and passions you draw from that differentiate your unique promise of value from your peers. | |
| It’s up to you to identify those qualities and characteristics within you, integrate your value proposition in everything you do, and communicate a crystal clear, consistent message across multiple channels – online and | |
| offline – designed to resonate with your target audience. | |
| One of the great things about personal branding is that it helps generate chemistry for you by spotlighting your “softer” skills. Employers look for executive candidates who will be an overall best-fit for their organization. They want more than the right skill sets, knowledge base, and experience. They want people who will fit their corporate culture, so they want to know what kind of person you are. People hire people they like. Your brand helps them assess your fit. Personal branding is THE way to stand out above your competition in a tough job market. Uncovering and pulling together these components in the following 10 brand assessment and development exercises requires digging deep and can be an intense, sometimes painful introspective experience, but ultimately eye-opening, affirming, and energizing. In the end, you’ll be armed with compelling personal brand messaging to anchor and weave throughout all your online and offline career marketing communications. What are your vision and purpose? Before clearly defining your brand, look externally at the bigger picture of your vision for the world, and then internally at how you might help the world realize your vision. What are your values and passions? You have to know yourself and what you want and need before you can move forward. Your belief system and operating principles are at the core of determining whether an opportunity in front of you will be a good fit for you. If the passions that drive you aren’t met, you probably won’t be happy. What are your top goals for the next year, 2 years, and 5 years? Work on projecting what you intend to accomplish so you can put together a strategic action plan to get there. |
| 4. Do an assessment of your top brand attributes. | |
| What 3 or 4 adjectives best describe the value you offer? What words do you use to define your personality? | |
| Once you pinpoint what you feel are the right kinds of words, it’s a good idea to consult a thesaurus to precisely | |
| nail the exact words. Here are some possibilities, but don’t limit yourself to these: Collaborative, resilient, forward-focused, risk-taking, connected, international, visionary, diplomatic, intuitive, | |
| precise, enterprising, ethical, genuine, accessible. | |
5. What are your core strengths or motivated skills? | |
| In what functions and responsibilities do you excel? For what things are you the designated “go-to” person? | |
| What gap would your current or future company be faced with if you left suddenly? The possibilities are endless, but here are a few suggestions: Identifying problems, seeing the details, leading, delegating, performing analysis, | |
| fact finding, crunching numbers, anticipating risk, motivating, mentoring, innovating, managing conflict, writing, | |
| listening, communicating. | |
| 6. Get feedback from those who know you best – at university, work, at home, anywhere. | |
| The true measure of your brand is the reputation others hold of you in their hearts and minds. Notice how they introduce you to others. Ask them what your top brand attributes and core strengths are. How does your selfassessment jibe with their feedback? | |
| One tool that could help with this is called The 360° Reach Personal Brand Assessment, a confidential, web-based | |
| tool that collects anonymous 360-degree feedback in real time from your choice of respondents. There is a nocost, basic version of this tool that can be accessed at http://www.reachpersonalbranding.com/support/faq/360reach-faq/Be sure to read the entire FAQ first and scroll down to sign up for the free option! Do a Personal SWOT analysis (Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats). Strengths and weaknesses are internal, and speak to your potential value to an employer. Opportunities and threats are external, and help you foresee what you’re facing in next career steps. SWOT is an invaluable personal branding exercise that also helps prepare you for interviewing and future career growth and stability. Who is your target audience? Determine where you want to fit in (industry and niche area of expertise). Learn what decision makers in that field are looking for when they’re vetting job candidates. Find out where those decision makers hang out and what key words will attract them. Position yourself in front of them and capture their attention. Who is your competition in the marketplace and what differentiates you from them? What does your competition typically have to offer? Determine what attributes, strengths and passions come together to make you the best hiring choice for organizations that you know are a good mutual fit for you. What value do you bring to the table that no one else does? Remember the 3 Cs of personal branding: | |
| A strong personal brand communications plan embraces these 3 characteristics: Clarity – be clear about who you are and who you are not. | |
| Consistency – steadfastly express your brand across all communications channels – online and offline. | |
| Constancy – strong brands are always visible to their target audience. The work involved in uncovering your brand may seem daunting, but your efforts will benefit you immeasurably. In job search, developing and communicating your personal brand can pre-qualify you as a good fit, clearly showcase why you’re the best hiring choice, and position you to land your next great gig. |
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