Warwick Work Experience Bursary Reflective Report
Template version for offline preparation
The WWEB Reflective Report gives you an opportunity to review and reflect on your work
experience, drawing out your learning and helping you shape your thoughts ready for your next
career opportunity. The report helps develop your awareness of the working world, improves the
way you talk about your skills and experience ready for your next application or interview, and
leaves you with a ready-written entry for your CV.
You must answer every question on the form to a satisfactory standard in order to trigger your
bursary payment – please refer to the guidance provided at each point, to help you understand the
criteria we use to mark your report as “satisfactory”.
Identifying Information (Student)
You will be asked for your:
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Name
Student number
Preferred email address
Preferred telephone number
Identifying Information (Placement)
Organisation name
Job title:
If you were work shadowing across a number of roles, please state "work shadowing" in this field
instead of a job title
Start date of work experience
End date of work experience
Commercial Awareness
Demonstrate your awareness of the working world and the factors that affect any business, in any
sector – employers need to know you understand the bigger picture. You can answer either about
the whole organisation, or your team/department. Your answer will be assessed as satisfactory if:
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all boxes are completed
an attempt has been made to give a considered answer to each question.
Outline of main business
What products does it make? What services does it provide?
Clients and customers
Who are the products and services aimed at? Who actually uses the products/services – do these
groups differ? How does it interact with local, national or international markets? Who were your
department/team’s internal customers, within the organisation?
Main competitors
What other organisations offer similar products/services? How do these organisations compare in
terms of product, price, where they are sold, how they are promoted?
Type of organisation
What did you notice about the organisation’s size, structure or working culture?
External factors
What are the key issues affecting the organisation? What impact do other external factors have on
the organisation – political, economic, social, technological, legal or environmental – and did any
of these have an impact on your work?
Supply chain
What services and products does this company use? Who supplies these, how are those
relationships managed?
Reflection (CARE Model)
You have gained skills and knowledge during the placement. This section's exercise will help you to
compile proof for future employment opportunities, using the CARE model of reflection.
Example use of the CARE model: INITIATIVE (200 words)
CONTEXT (What was the situation/task?): I was asked to attend high level meetings with major UK
companies, meaning I needed to equipd myself with relevant information about the company and
their environment.
ACTION (What did you do in response? How did you go about it?): I searched for data from a range
of sources, reading through company histories, account details and finding out about projects they
were involved in. I used the internet, secondary resources and consulted with knowledgeable
colleagues to compile, analyse and condense a vast amount of data into a meaningful summary that
was used as a point of reference for the meeting, improving my analysis and investigation skills. I
taught myself how to produce complex and meaningful graphs in Excel, improving my IT skills.
RESULT & EVALUATION (What happened because of your actions? What did you learn?): The
meeting was a success: both the client and my supervisor were pleased with my well-prepared
research. My preparation and resulting contribution to the discussion improved my understanding of
how some businesses receive their picture of the UK’s macroeconomic situation. I developed a
much deeper understanding of the world economy and how it all fits together, especially with a
focus on current affairs.
This placement has given me an insight into the sector, with a practical perspective and
understanding that will allow me to gain maximum learning for my 3rd year module.
Reflection Exercise
Select three application/interview questions and use the CARE model to evidence your
competence, as demonstrated during your work experience. If you are really stuck, use an example
from another part of your overall experience in the workplace, your studies or your personal life.
These questions are real interview questions, so this will be good practice for the future.
For this exercise, your answers will be satisfactory if:
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3 examples completed
relevant examples chosen
good standard of English
follow the CARE model
between 100-200 words each, focused on the ACTION section
Think about an example where you had to work closely with others. How did it go? How did you
meet the challenge?
(TEAMWORK)
Give an example of a situation when you successfully led a group
(LEADERSHIP)
Give an example of when your communication skills have made a difference to a work situation
(COMMUNICATION)
Describe a time when you were successful at influencing others to accept your plan or idea
(SELF-PROMOTION)
Think of a time when you decided to take action or provide a solution, without being instructed to
do so – how did you decide whether to take the initiative, and what happened?
(INITIATIVE)
Reflect on a situation in which you had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did
you handle it?
(FLEXIBILITY / ADAPTABILITY)
Describe a setback that occurred during your work experience and say what you did to overcome it.
What lessons did you learn from this?
(PROBLEM SOLVING)
Give an example of a time you set yourself a goal. What actions did you take to achieve this and
what were the outcomes?
(ACTION PLANNING)
Objectives
Reviewing your objectives gives you the chance to recognise whether they were realistic, and
acknowledges your progress. You will have to set objectives throughout your working life – it’s not
something you leave behind when you graduate!
For each objective that you set in your application form, consider whether the objective is still
relevant, then either state (a) the actions you took to meet your objective or (b) why it was not
met, with the actions you will take to achieve it in future, if appropriate
Your answer will be satisfactory if you have addressed each objective and addressed either (a) or
(b), above.
CV Entry
Improve your prospects with a compelling entry for your placement. You answer will be deemed
satisfactory if it is:
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Useful (what you achieved, not a role description)
Simple (3-4 bullets points or equivalent)
Brief (60-75 words)
Example (71 words):
Internship in Sales Management, Remtech Health Products Ltd
Nantes, France. June ’13 – Sept ‘13
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Arranged buyer appointments through cold calling: successful sales
Communicated and negotiated with confident French language skills
Promoted Remtech’s presence at a national trade fair through social media and local
presentations. Identified new clients - 3 placed orders.
Liaised with key clients, providing data and answering questions about trade fairs.
Developed knowledge of sales techniques and account management.
Write new text for your CV, based on this experience.
This should be evidence of what you achieved, not a description of the role, laid out as 3-4
separate points (use * at the start of a sentence to denote a bullet point). Not counting the job
title, your CV entry should be less than 100 words.
Preferences And Attitudes
Identify the elements of work that will motivate and satisfy you in future. Your answer will be
assessed as satisfactory if:
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All boxes completed
An attempt has been made to give a considered answer to each question
What did you enjoy most and why?
(Has this put you in a better position to think about career decision making? To what extent did
the role give you the chance to play to your strengths, or discover new ones?)
What did you dislike and why?
(What unpleasant surprises did you encounter? What doubts did you have going into the role, that
were then confirmed? Which of your strengths were left untapped?)
How do you feel/what do you think about working in this sector in the future?
(To what extent do you feel like a good “fit”? This could be about skills, but also about the culture
of the organisation. What tasks, objectives and contexts are available in this sector that motivate
or satisfy you? What’s missing?)
Bursary Impact
We’ll use these quotes to help other students understand the bursary’s benefits, and to secure
ongoing financial support for the bursary within the University.
How has the bursary helped you (a) in a practical sense (b) in terms of your aspirations and (c) in
terms of your studies?
(consider whether any new knowledge or contacts could be useful when undertaking research)
To submit your report, go to
https://myadvantage.warwick.ac.uk/Form.aspx?id=403268
Within 10 working days of receiving your reflective report, we will read each section and check
that you have met the criteria before moving on to the next. If any area is unsatisfactory, we will
email you to explain how to improve your report, and ask you to resubmit the relevant section(s) by
email. If you prefer, instead of rewriting your report you can have an appointment with a
Placement Learning Officer, to talk through your responses. We can arrange an appointment in
person, by telephone or Skype. If we are not able to give your feedback within 10 working days, we
will contact you to let you know when you can expect your feedback.
When your report is deemed satisfactory, we will give Student Finance permission to pay you the
agreed Bursary amount. Payment instructions are sent to Student Finance once a week, on a Friday;
Student Finance will then ask you to complete your bank details on the payment system (if they
aren’t already on there). As soon as you complete your bank details you will receive the bursary
into your account.