Employability Skills Session 9 Careers Action Planning

Employability SkillsEmployability Skills

Session 9

Careers Action Planning

Aims for this sessionAims for this session

• What is an Action Plan?

• Using the SMART approach

• Relating decision-making to your life/work development

What is action planning?What is action planning?

• The written action plan

• The process supporting its production

• The skills and self awareness developed by the process

Action Planning is…Action Planning is…

“...an educational process aiming to helpindividuals to develop life skills which will beof value to them on a lifetime basis.”

Tony Watts (1992)

An Action Plan is…An Action Plan is…

“...a personal statement that can be reviewedbut aids the transition from education toemployment & lifelong learning. It shouldinclude all that is required to take you fromwhere you are now to where you want to be.”

Your Action Plan should have Your Action Plan should have SMART ObjectivesSMART Objectives

• S – Specific; make sure your action plan has a specific focus

• M – Measurable; make sure you objective is measurable, how will you know if you have reached your goal?

• A – Advantageous; ask yourself: what’s in it for me?

• R – Realistic; how achievable are your objectives and your overall career goals?

• T – Timescale; put in a range of timescales to help with your planning

Skills required for action planning

• Self-awareness• Information gathering• Verbal and written communication• Decision making• Long and short-term target-setting• Planning• Personal organisation• Review and evaluation

• Remember: these are all employability skills

Careers Action Planning Cycle

Have you made a thorough assessment of where you are now in terms of your readiness to make a career decision?

Have you assessed your skills, knowledge, experience so that you can present an accurate picture of yourself?

Do you have a definite career or some careers in mind which match your skills, knowledge and experience?

Have you researched what steps you need to take to help you reach your goal?

Do you need to gain any particular work experience and/or further training/qualifications?

What resources do you need to access to help you reach your goal?

Do you know if there are any deadlines you need to meet?

Are you confident you can make effective applications and perform well at interview?

Remember to keep reviewing your progress regularly, taking account of internal and external factors which you may have no control over. Keep developing your skills, knowledge and experience to remain employable.

YourPersonalProfile

Where are you now? Where are you now? Summarise your situation Summarise your situation

and self profile by thinking about:and self profile by thinking about:

• Self audit (do a self evaluation)• Your present studies• Your key projects and achievements• Your past and present work experience• Your personal skills and qualities• Think back to session number 2 –

Assessing yourself

Resources to help youResources to help you

• See Session number 2 Assessing yourself• Review what you have learned about yourself

through the various exercises you have completed

• Prospects web resources: www.prospects.ac.uk– Click on Careers advice/Starting out/Your degree

what next? your_degree_what_next_action_plan.htm

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/your_degree_what_next_action_plan.htm

Resources to help youResources to help you• Windmills web resources at:

www.windmillsonline.co.uk/interactive/– Section 3 ‘How can I start working towards my

kind of life?’ Begin by Clicking on ‘Creating the stepping Stones’.

– Contains useful activities, hints and tips to help get you started with your careers action plan.

http://www.windmillsonline.co.uk/interactive/

Let’s focus on Decision Making…

• Skills like reading, writing, driving we accept we have to learn.• But the less tangible skill of decision-making we assume we have. • Most decisions we have to make are minor ones - what to wear,

what to eat – the issues involved are simple and consequences small.

• But, sometimes we have to make major decisions with serious consequences.

• This is when we can struggle. • Without a strategy it’s all too easy to grab for the easiest solution or

walk away from the issue altogether.• When your course ends you will have to do something – you will

have to make a decision.• The next series of slides helps you to understand the different styles

of decision making and possible implications of these.• The exercises in the accompanying Word document help you to

assess your own decision making style.

Let’s focus on Decision Making…

• When your course ends you will have to do something – you will have to make a decision– One of the fundamental skills required for

effective action planning is the ability to make informed decisions.

– We shall now look at what your decision making style is and the effects ineffective decision making can have on how you plan your career.

Let’s focus on Decision Making… Styles

• Impulsive - seizing on a possibility• Emotional – sudden reaction to a new idea• Intuitive – a instinctive reaction to something, what

‘feels’ right• Hesitant - afraid to make a mistake• Avoidant – hoping the need for a decision will go away • Fatalistic – leaving everything to chance• Compliant – conforming to others expectations• Rational –logical appraisal of options available• You can use more than one of these styles• You may employ 2/3 of these in the process of

arriving at a decision

Decision Making… Styles – the implications

• Impulsive

• Emotional

• Usually a result of panic. Has a short term advantage of making a person feel better – but other more appropriate options are often ignored, even the chosen option is not fully explored.

• E.g. in response to a TV programme or an article. You have an instant reaction and feel this is what you want to do – this is fine as a starting point but enthusiasm should be limited until all the facts about the job have been thoroughly researched.


• Intuitive

• Hesitant

• You ‘feel’ something is right - but you need to make sure your instant reactions are supported by genuine knowledge about the job before a decision can be made.

• Hesitant people probably have the hardest time. You want to make the ‘right’ decision and read everything on the subject but still fail to make a decision. You need to realise that few decisions are made on perfect knowledge and you need to trust your instincts too.


• Avoidant

• Fatalistic

• You put off making decisions with seemingly good reasons – but avoiding the issue for too long can result in missed opportunities.

• You wait for things to happen rather than proactively going out to find out about opportunities or spending time working out what you really want. You need to accept responsibility for your choices.


• Compliant

• Rational

• You are unduly influenced by others, refusing to take responsibility for your decisions. You need to assert what you want more rather than try too hard to please others.

• The most useful style – involves assessing yourself, identifying possible options and researching them to see they match your expectations. This style is fine but ‘rationals’ need to also take account of their more personal ‘wants’ as well. Be open minded and don’t expect to know everything – no decision can ever be made on the basis of perfect knowledge.

Decision-making –the Blocks Decision-making –the Blocks and how to overcome themand how to overcome them

• Blinkers – Sometimes you might have a job assumption in your head which becomes an obstacle to alternatives.

• Example: ‘Office work is boring’• How do you know? Are all offices the

same?• Try this:• Identify and write down any of your job

assumptions; ask yourself ‘where is my evidence for that belief?’

Decision-making – the Blocks Decision-making – the Blocks and how to overcome themand how to overcome them

• Defeatism – The ‘why bother’ syndrome. You believe your chances of getting anything worthwhile are slim or non-existent so you don’t try.

• Example: ‘What’s the point, there aren’t any jobs anyway’.

• There are no certainties in life but that should never stop you doing things. Defeatism often covers a fear of failure, lack of confidence or refusal to take responsibility for your life.

• Try this:• You need to work out what lies behind your defeatist

attitude first before you can find a solution and take some positive steps forward.


• Thinking you ‘must do’ something – Like blinkers, this prevents you being open-minded and honest about yourself and your options.

• Example: ‘I am a graduate I must go directly into a graduate level job’.

• Why? Firstly, many graduates do not immediately enter graduate level jobs, but look for ‘first steps into’ jobs then progress their career. Secondly, you could find many jobs very enjoyable and satisfying which do not require a degree.

• Try this:• Write down the things you think you ‘must do’ and

replace them with things you ‘could do’. By doing this you will free yourself from placing too many constraints on yourself.


• Unrealistic expectations – Don’t assume any career will satisfy all your needs.

• Example: ‘I want a job that pays at least 200,000RMB, is available within 10 miles of my own home, offers instant career progression, is always interesting, and fits in with my family’.

• You need to aim more to find the best match with your abilities, interests and values. There will rarely be a perfect match. Think about the things which are most important to you and the things you could maybe manage without.

• Try this:• List everything you want from a job, highlight the things that are

essential. For those non-essential elements think of ways you could satisfy these outside of work.


• Lack of assertiveness – A major issue for the compliant decision-maker.

• Example:• Assertive people know they have the right to express

their opinion and make their own choices and accept other people are entitled to their opinion. People who lack assertiveness find this difficult to do.

• Try this:• Read about assertiveness and consider going on an

assertiveness training course .


• Poor self-knowledge – Analysing yourself is never an easy process. Rational decision-making requires you to try and look objectively at your skills, qualities, interests and values.

• Example:• Lack of self-awareness leads to haphazard career decision-making

or no career decision-making. It can often be a feature of hesitant decision-makers. This often means you accept less than you are capable of when considering applications and also are not aware what jobs may be appropriate for you.

• Try this:• Go back to the exercises you completed in Session number 2

‘Assessing yourself’ – share your results with someone you know and trust. Ask for their feedback.


• Lack of confidence/poor self-esteem – Not believing in yourself leads to an underestimation of your abilities and stops honest self-assessment. This can also prevent you from looking at some options because you feel you are not ‘good enough’.

• Example:• Many under confident people end up doing jobs well below their

capabilities and end up frustrated and often with even poorer levels of self-esteem.

• Try this:• Begin by reading some books on confidence building and consider

talking to one of the University counsellors who can help you devise strategies to build up your confidence.


• Fear – This underpins many of the blocks already discussed.

• Example:• Fear of failure, offending someone (perhaps parents, teachers),

taking responsibility, getting it wrong.

• Try this:• Write down your fears on a list. For each one write down what you

mean by ‘failing’, ‘getting it wrong’. Write down what the consequences would be. Then, question each one – ask yourself ’Why do I think that?’, ‘Says who?’, ‘Has this happened to me before?’ ‘How did I cope?’ ‘Would I cope better next time, perhaps with help?’

• Once you see your thoughts on paper you often realise you are placing unnecessary demands on yourself and are over-estimating the negative consequences.


• Summary

• Decision-making is a skill which CAN be learned.• The Rational approach is the most productive.• The blocks to decision-making are many, varied and

powerful but can be overcome.• There are no certainties in life, no guarantees you’ll get

your ideal job immediately. People’s careers often follow an uneven path.

• However, with some honest self-assessment you are much more likely to reach your goals in the future.

Documents

Employability Skills Session 9 Careers Action Planning