Employability Resource Pack
by
Paul Chin, Della Grice and Tina Overton
 Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Physical Sciences 2004
Resources designed to help students of the physical
sciences develop skills for employment
• The pack is a structured resource that can be used as a complete
module or as individual exercises to support other career-based
activities. The aim is to provide academics with a range of easy
to implement activities that develop undergraduate key skills in
an employment context.
• The resources have been designed specifically for the physical
sciences community. The direct relevance of the activities to the
physical sciences enables students to relate their skill
development to their studies and see the links to future
employment.
Tutor’s Guide
• outlines the aim and nature of the relevant
student activity
• where applicable, a suggested assessment
scheme is included
Student activity sheets
• clearly set out what is required
• contain any relevant additional information as
handouts
The activities are divided into five main categories:
• Considering career options and which skills
employers are looking for
• The skills that are needed to obtain interviews
and secure employment, i.e. CV writing and
interview technique
• Developing communication and presentation
skills
• Getting the most benefit from careers services
and recruitment fairs
• Thinking ahead in a professional way
These relate to the five sections of
the resource pack
• Starting out
• Skills development
• Achieving results
• Finding information
• Looking forward and maintaining
professionalism
Overview of the resource pack
A summary of the main skills developed in each activity
Starting Out
•
•
•
•
Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3
Activity 4
Employability Quiz
Card Sort Exercise
Career Quiz
Skills Audit
Developing Skills
• Activity 5
• Activity 6
• Activity 7
• Activity 8
Evaluating Visual Aids
One Minute Presentation
Five or Ten Minute
Presentation
Press Release Exercise
Achieving Results
• Activity 9
• Activity 10
• Activity 11
• Activity 12
• Activity 13
CV Evaluation
Compiling your CV and
Application Forms
Interview Preparation
Exercise
Interview Scenarios
Graduate Vacancy Application
Looking forward and maintaining
professionalism
• Activity 14
• Activity 15
• Activity 16
An Ethical Dilemma
Professional Bodies and
Your Future
Reflective Log
Finding information
• Activity 17
Take away Guide
Employability Quiz
Q1 Do you have a specific career in mind?
(a) Definitely; (b) Some idea but still unsure (c) No idea
at all
Q4 Do you want to remain within the discipline of your
degree?
(a) Definitely, I really enjoy this discipline/subject; (b) I
enjoy some aspects of it but I’m not sure whether I would
like to continue in it; (c) No, I want to do something
different
Q6 Have you already had an appointment at your careers
service?
(a) Yes; (b) No, but I intend to make an appointment in
my final year/soon; (c) I don’t think the careers service
can help me in deciding what I want to do
Card Sort Exercise
Students are asked to
• Identify 3 cards in “very urgent” category
• Write half a page on steps to be taken to achieve the aims
Activity 5 Evaluating Visual Aids – Slide 1
•
•
•
1.2
Interactions of microwaves with liquids
Microwaves interact with non-magnetic liquids by induction of polarization by
the oscillating electric field of the electromagnetic wave. Polarisation is due to
the orientation of the permanent dipoles of the molecules through molecular
rotation, the distortion of the electron distribution within the molecules and,
for conducting liquids, movement of free charge carriers. Microwave spectra
are normally represented as plots of the dielectric constant e’ and the dielectric
loss e’’ as a function of frequency. The dielectric loss e’’ is the imaginary
component of the complex dielectric constant and is a measure of how
efficiently the sample can convert the energy of electromagnetic radiation into
heat. The real component, e’, describes the ability of the molecule to be
polarised by the electric field1,20-25. Both e’ and e’’ are dimensionless
quantities; the absolute values are obtained by multiplying the values by the
permittivity of free space efs which is equal to 8.854 x 10-12 C2 J-1 m-1.
Activity 5 Evaluating Visual Aids – Slide 2
Activity 5, Slide 3
Activity 5, Slide 4
Wavelength and Reflection of Microwaves
• The frequency 2.45 GHz coresponds to a wavelength of 12.2
cm assuming the microwaves are travelling in a vacum.
• In water 2.45 GHz coresponds to a wavelength of 1.87 cm.
• When microwaves are incident on the sample surface, a fraction
is reflected and the remainder is transmitid into the sample.
• Transmitid intensity decays exponentially with distance though
the sample as energy is absorbed.
Activity 5 Slide 5
Activity 8. Press Release Number 4
• A solar powered anti bacterial reverse osmosis water filter, particularly suitable
for use in third world countries, has been developed. The new filter uses
cartridges that last for a year without needing to be cleaned or replaced, an
advantage over the traditional ones that needed replacing every month.
• The use of solar power offers access to previously unreachable water sources.
The anti bacterial filter offers widescreen protection against a range of common
water borne bacteria found in the tropical climates of many of the third world
countries.
• You played an important role in the development of this product and have been
asked to prepare a brief statement to give to a government official who is
considering financing the implementation of the filter for a trial period.
• Prepare a statement that will be used to promote the benefits of this product.
Activity 12 Interview Videos
Four scenarios provided
•
•
•
•
Over-confident interviewee
Interviewee lacking in confidence
Technical interview
Oral presentation (at interview or any setting)
Video
pictures
Graduate Physicist
We are a healthcare company at the cutting edge of clinical
development. We believe in putting patients first by producing
quality medicines and pushing the development of novel products
to the forefront of clinical design. We are currently seeking a
Physicist for our state-of-the-art laboratories based in
Hepplesworth.
We have a number of opportunities based in the Medical Devices
Section. The vacancies cover a range of areas including fibre
optics, lasers, magnets and sensors development. At this stage we
are not seeking specialised knowledge on these specific areas, but
looking for graduates with a comprehensive understanding of
physics…
Activity 13. Graduate Vacancy Application
Figure 1. An overview of the application process. Each of the four
Groups shown applies for a vacancy advertised by a different group.
Activity 13. Graduate Vacancy Application
Figure 2. An overview of the interviewing process. Each of the four groups
shown interviews a different group to the one they were interviewed by.
Help Sheet - Common Questions Asked During Interviews
Ethical dilemmas
• You are responsible for the quality control testing of the raw materials for a
particular product line. Your supervisor is pressurising you to pass a batch of
material that is below standard, because the new batch was late arriving and the
production process has had to stop as a result.
• You discover that a senior medical representative you are working with is
falsifying his sales returns, and as a result the figures on which his bonus are
based are grossly inflated. What are you going to do?
• A colleague is going to be promoted on the strength of work that you did, but
that he is taking the credit for.
• A team member is really patronising and offensive towards you, but not in front
of other team members, and is spreading A team member is really patronising
and offensive towards you, but not in front of other team members, and is
spreading malicious rumours about you.
Professional bodies and your future
Whatever profession you ultimately move into it may be desirable,
or you may be required, to join the professional body for that
discipline. If you remain within your subject area the three relevant
professional bodies are the Institute of Physics (IOP), the Royal
Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the Royal Astronomical Society
(RAS).
•
•
•
•
Does the society have separate activities for younger members?
Can you join as a student or do you need to obtain your degree first?
Does the society advertise relevant job vacancies?
Is there a newsletter magazine produced by the society, if so how regularly is
it produced and what is it called?
• Is careers advice available?
Activity 16: Reflective log
You could consider:
•
•
•
•
•
The range of skills you feel you have developed
What you felt your weakest area was and why
The steps you took to improve
Why you feel that area has improved
What steps you will continue to take to ensure you
continue to develop this area in the future
• How your awareness of the needs of employers has
developed
Take Away Guide
• Do you know the dates of Careers Fairs at your University?
• Have you made an appointment at your Careers Service?
• Are you thinking about which areas / companies interest
you?
• Have you planned any work experience for the summer
vacation?
• Try to avoid leaving everything until the last minute.
• Don’t feel pressured if your friends are getting offers or
seem to know which direction they want to go into.
Useful websites
Prospects.ac.uk
http://www.prospects.ac.uk
Milkround Online
http://www.milkround.com/s4/jobseekers/
Job Doctor
http://www.gti.co.uk
Graduate Recruitment Bureau
http://www.grb.uk.com/index.php
http://www.physsci.heacademy.ac.uk/Home/
•
Talk presented by Dr Mary Masson at Forum on Employability: Developing the College
Teaching & Learning Strategy, Monday 20th December 2004, College of Physical
Sciences, University of Aberdeen.