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. |
WORKSHOP 3: COMMERCIAL AWARENESS
Aims of workshop
- Reflect on and discuss your preferred industry and role within it
- Discuss industry requirements for specific graduate jobs
- Consider the extent to which your CV fit between your preferred career, industry, goals and values
- Achieve clarity on the requirements of Part 1 of the Portfolio
In Workshop 3, we will be doing 4 activities:
- Researching industries and jobs (30 mins)
- Analysing a job ad (30 mins)
- Drafting a letter of application/targeted personal statement (30 mins) Reviewing requirements for Part 1 of the Portfolio (10 mins)
ACTIVITY 3.1: RESEARCHING INDUSTRIES AND JOBS
Job search is daunting. Not only do you need to know where to look and what to look for, you also need to be targeted in your job search. Only by being targeted can you achieve the optimal solution i.e. the best possible fit between your own goals and values and the requirements of your chosen industry and organisation. To get you started, here are some questions to consider with a partner (20 mins).
1. Where do I want to work? Why?
- Is your ambition to be employed by an organisation, or to be self-employed (freelance)? • Size of company: small / small-medium sized / large / multinational
- Near my family home, or further away?
- If you want to work abroad: what is the specific situation in the country you are considering?
3. In what type of industry would you like to work? Why?
| public or private: profit or non-profit: specific sector (see http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/): Agriculture, forestry and fishing Arts, sports and recreation Catering and accommodation Construction Education Health and social care services | k. l. | Personal services Professional and business services Advertising and marketing services Business support services Financial services Legal services Management consultancy Real estate services Waste management and environmental services | |
| g. h. j. | IT and telecommunications services Manufacturing i. Media and creative services Mining, energy and utilities | m. n. o. | Retail, hire and repair Transport and distribution Wholesale |
- What are the characteristics of the sector in terms of:
- main products and activities
- market reach: is the market global, national or regional: are companies in the sector differently organised in various countries?
- types of markets and customers: are these mainly individuals or companies?
- main players: who are the main players in the sector and how much do they dominate? Is the sector dominated by a few big players or are most companies small/medium?
- supply chains: who are the suppliers to the main companies and how are they linked within networks?
- trends in organisational structure: is there increasing competition from new entrants into the market or is there an increasing number of mergers? Is there much outsourcing, and is this on the increase?
- market trends: what seem to be the long-term prospects for the sector? Is it growing, contracting or fragmenting?
- What type of job would you be looking for in terms of:
- employee, partner, or owner-director
- business function: marketing, operations, finance, HR etc.
- working in teams or more independent
- being a generalist rather than a specialist
- location of role: front-office, back-office, mobile worker, homeworker etc.
- salary: what would you expect to earn per year in your first graduate role?
- In what type of environment would you like to work?
- regular 9-5 with tenure jobs or more flexible in terms of time
- job certainty or professional development with more uncertainty
- self-directed work or directed from outside the job
- performance pay or not
- a highly competitive or more co-operative environment
- good work life balance
- training opportunities
- corporate culture or more casual
- Which types of skills are crucial for the job you would seek?
- self-reliance skills: pro-active, willingness to learn, self-promotion, networking, planning
- people skills: teamwork, interpersonal skills, , leadership, communication, leadership, customer orientation, foreign language
- general employment skills: problem solving, flexibility, entrepreneurial, commitment,
- IT/computer skills, numeracy
- Specific skills: occupational/specialist relevant knowledge, technical skills etc.
Sources of information: What are the main sources of information about the jobs that interest you and the related information on the trends in the industry, sector, market, main players and working environment?
Now summarise your discussions using the table overleaf (10 mins).
| My Job Preferences | ||
| STEP 1 (Identifying your ideal position/job) | Salary/Wage (per year): | |
| Location/Country: | ||
| Sector/Industry: | ||
| Working Hours: | ||
| Size/Type of Company: | ||
| STEP 2 (Meeting the entry requirements) | Qualifications Required: | |
| Professional Accreditation/ Voluntary Experience/ Background Interest: | ||
| STEP 3 (Research) | Thinking about your chosen industry, identify – main firms/players, areas of outsourcing, subsidiaries, associated businesses etc. What different types of jobs are out there? | |
| STEP 4 (Job search and Where to Look) | Investigate the different methods for finding your ideal job by exploring the types of agencies, newspaper, magazine, websites etc. Where do you think such a position would be advertised? | |
| STEP 5 (Application and Follow-Up) | How do you plan to keep a log of the jobs you have applied for? What is the follow-up time you have allowed before you chase the outcome of your application? Is your CV up-todate? |
ACTIVITY 3.2: ANALYSING JOB ADVERTISEMENTS
In your learning sets, you are now going to analyse three graduate job ads for their skill requirements and for their fit with your own goals, values and current CV.
Questions to discuss in your learning sets for each job advertisement (20 mins)
- What type of industry/company is this? What can you infer about the employer brand and values and the type of industry it operates in?
- What is the main purpose of the role being offered? And why is this role important to the company?
- What types of knowledge, skills, abilities (KSA) and personal qualities, do they want? What other KSA and personal qualities might be needed, given the job’s purpose?
- Are the knowledge, skills and abilities required ‘essential’ or ‘desirable’ for the position?
- What further information would you want on encountering a job like this? How would you go about getting this information?
- How helpful are job ads such as these? (Bear in mind that approximately 80 per cent of jobs are not advertised at all!)
Now report back and discuss your findings with the group. What are the main similarities and differences between the three jobs? (10 mins).
Job Advert 1: Graduate Management Trainee position for Car Rental Industry
Job Advert 2: HR Assistant for Banking, Finance & Insurance sector
| We are currently working with an insurance firm on an outstanding opportunity for a HR Assistant that is looking for developmental support and growth within a personable HR team. As an HR Assistant, you will work closely with two HR Advisors supporting them as well as the Head of HR. This will be a varied role and be administrative but also offer exposure, the opportunity to continuously take on more and therefore a long-term career. Role responsibilities will include: Managing the HR systems and keeping updated Support the new joiner process Provide support to the recruitment process from organising interviews to preparing contracts Assist the graduate and intern recruitment cycles Monitor sickness, absence and identify trends Produce HR reports, manage the organisation charts Monitor HR inbox and respond or escalate queries Ensure that regulatory and legislative requirements are adhered to Support on ad-hoc HR projects Candidates suitable for this opportunity will: Have 1 year of experience in a HR position whether internships or post education Be educated to degree level and studying toward CIPD Have a proven interest and understanding of current HR topics Be highly professional and suited to a corporate environment but down to earth, helpful and a team player Vacancy summary: Recruiter: Oakleaf Partnership Location: London Salary: £25000 – £30000 per annum Contract Type: Permanent Hours: Full Time Source: Personneltoday.com as at 29 August 2017 |
Job Advert 3: Graduate Financial Analyst for Investment Bank
| Twenty Recruitment Group are currently recruiting for a Graduate Financial Analyst at a leading Investment Bank. This is an ideal opportunity to join an established brand in an exciting position which will offer excellent career progression and sponsor ACCA or CIMA studies. The division is one of the most dynamic and developing areas of the group and therefore we are seeking a proactive, self-starter who would like to take advantage of a role with considerable opportunities for career progression. The environment encourages sharing of information, and there is a strong team bond and identity. Due to the growth and development of the businesses, this really is a great time to join. Principle responsibilities and accountabilities: Assist in the production of financial information including budgets, plans and management and financial accounting information. Preparation of cash book journals and undertaking bank reconciliations for all Treasury companies Assist in the production of MI Packs for boards/committees as required. Assist in collation and monitoring of financial data on investments and expenses Skills, knowledge and expertise: Educated to university level (Minimum 2:1 degree) preferably in an analytical subject. Must have a genuine interest in Finance Must be studying for a recognised accountancy qualification or be prepared to study for one Excellent analytical skills and attention to detail. Must be able to manage a number of projects and prioritise accordingly. Excellent communication skills both verbal and written Macro level Excel Some financial work experience would be an advantage Vacancy Summary Job Type: Permanent Location: London Salary: £30-35,000 Source: Cityjobs.com as at 30 July 2017 |
| ACTIVITY 3.3: WRITING CV, COVER LETTER / TARGETED PERSONAL |
| STATEMENT |
(30 mins)
When applying for a job, invariably you have to send a covering letter of application with your CV or, increasingly, write a personal statement when applying online. This is your opportunity to show a strong fit between your own skills, goals and values, and those of the employer. Without this, you are unlikely to be invited for interview (and assessment centre, if the employer uses these).
Group activity
- In your learning set discuss the most common mistakes made in CV and covering letters?
- Compare your CV and covering letter with your learning set Points for discussion:
- What is good about their CV(s) or Covering letter(s)?
- Based on your previous discussion are there any of the common mistakes present within their CV(s) or covering letter(s)?
- More importantly, does the CV(s) or covering letter(s) fit with their preferred industry’s requirements?
Remember that ideally your CV and covering letter should be no longer than one-page (or possibly one and a half pages long). There are many examples on our Employability and Careers Service website and other graduate careers websites such as Prospects. Here are some other resources for your information:
Here are some supplementary resources on writing CV and covering letter:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/how-to-write-a-cv https://www.cipd.co.uk/new-hr-learning-development/job-guides/job-hunting https://graduatecoach.co.uk/cover-letters-cvs/
Writing a personal statement
(30 mins)
Writing a winning personal statement for your CV is important as this is the first section your prospective employers will see. Your personal statement (personal profile) is therefore a summary of your personal qualities, skills and experience etc.
It needs to be written in such a way to have an immediate effect on the reader, to entice them to read the rest of your CV and to help you stand apart from your competitors in the job market.
Remember, it takes as little as 30 seconds to make that instant impact! A successful personal statement should be at least between 60 -100 words and should answer the following questions:
- Who are you?
- What personal qualities, skills or experience can you offer?
- What are your career goals?
Here is an example of a personal statement from a graduate business student:
‘A recent business economics graduate with a 2:1 honours degree from the University of X, looking to secure a Graduate Commercial Analyst position to use and further develop my analytical skills and knowledge in a practical and fast-paced environment. My career goal is to assume a role which allows me to take responsibility for the analysis and interpretation of commercial data for a well-respected and marketleading company’ (see Reed.co.uk).
There is another type of personal statement that is more detailed and written for UCAS /
Postgraduate applications and job applications. This type of personal statement greatly differs from the personal summary written for your CV. When writing these you need to ensure you cover each of the items specified within the persons specification or application form.
Here are some tips for writing a detailed personal statement for a study/job applications:
- Ensure you cover all ‘essential’ and as much of the ‘desirable’ requirements as possible.
- Remember to use the STAR Framework (as will be discussed in Section 5.2 below) but keep it brief!
- Stick to the space provided on the application or the word count given (unless otherwise stated). You can always elaborate at the interview.
- Provide examples of skills or achievements relevant to the job and ensure to deliver the main and relevant message.
- Don’t make claims you cannot prove and ensure your assertions are backed up with evidence (e.g. ‘sales increased by 25% under my management’). Again, the STAR method can help you with this.
- Use subheads to flag things up and to make it easier to read.
Further guidance on writing a personal statement can be found at:
Follow up activity (Review of Letter of application/ CV/ personal statement).
Book an appointment with Employability Careers Service, Business School Employability Office (who often run CV clinics) to gain professional feedback on your CV, covering letter or personal statement. Appointments can be booked with your learning set or individually.
You will need to provide evidence of attendance i.e. written comments as well as written/stamped evidence from your career mentor. Alternatively, you could use an employment agency or a free CV checking service but you will need to provide proof of this.
Evidence of this follow-up task will be needed for Part 3 of your assessment portfolio.
ACTIVITY 3.4: REQUIREMENTS FOR PART 1 OF THE PORTFOLIO
(10 mins)
Requirements for Part 1 of the Portfolio.
Based on the activities of Workshop 3, discuss as a group what has been learned and what more needs to be done in order to address the requirements of Part 1 of the Portfolio. (10 mins)
Part 1. Where do I want to go? – Comparative Industry Analysis (approx. 2000 words)
- Comparison of two selected industries/sectors
- Main features, recent changes and expected future trends in the sectors/industries and their related graduate occupations
- Comparison of three key organisations in one industry/sector (chosen from the above two; one may be your own business start-up as a self-employed person):
- values, aims, strategies, market shares, key activities, recent performance, future plans
- employer brand, main strengths and weaknesses as employers
- fit with own values and goals
Please remember this is an academic portfolio so it is important that you to use a variety of data and literature to gain a higher grade.
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