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Employability Skills Awareness
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Learning outcomes
By the end of this session, you will be able to:
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Understand the importance of skills/competencies and be aware
of what employers look for in the recruitment and selection
process
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Identify which skills you have and understand how to give
evidence and examples of these
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Identify strategies and resources for enhancing and developing
your skills and experience
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Have you ever thought...?
‘I need to get some work experience’
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What is employability?
“...having a set of skills, knowledge, understanding and
personal attributes that make a person more likely to
choose and secure occupations in which they can be
satisfied and successful.”
Dacre Pool & Sewell, 2007,
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CBI: ‘Employability skills’
“ A set of attributes, skills and knowledge that all
labour market participants should possess to ensure
they have the capability of being effective in the
workplace, to the benefit of themselves, their
employer and the wider economy.”
Future Fit, CBI, 2009, page 8
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Exercise 1
Handout A - skills audit
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Highlight all attributes which you feel apply to you
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Where you have highlighted the most attributes against
a skill, this indicates areas of strength
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Where you have fewer or no words highlighted, this
indicates areas which you may wish to improve or
develop
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What do employers look
for in a graduate?
“Employers need graduates who are equipped
with a range of core work skills as well as
academic ability. It is these competencies, such
as interpersonal skills, communication, team
working and customer awareness which, in the
final analysis, make graduates employable”
‘A Manifesto for Graduate Employment ‘, 2010 Association of Graduate
Recruiters
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Which skills are employers
looking for?
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Team work
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Communication skills (oral)
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Communication skills (written)
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Commercial awareness
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Problem-solving ability
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Planning & organisation
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Persuading/negotiation
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IT/computer literacy
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How do I identify the skills
employers want?
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Employers give a clear indication of the skills they want from
a candidate and those required for the job through a range
of sources:
- job advertisement
- job description/specification
- organisation literature/website
- employer open evenings/events
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It is essential that the candidate shows how they match
these requirements in the application process to ensure they
progress through to the next stage.
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Where do I talk about my
skills?
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CV
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Covering letter
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Application form
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Interviews
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CVs and cover letters
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When talking about skills in your CV or cover letter, you
must provide evidence for them in a concise manner.
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An example of how a skill and evidence might be
expressed in a CV:Team work
When working at Marks and Spencer, I supported my
colleagues during peak times to effectively deal with
high volumes of customers. This helped to ensure the
team delivered an outstanding service and achieved
weekly sales targets.
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Application forms and
interviews
A competency based question requires you to provide
detailed answers based on real life examples in order to
demonstrate skills required for the job. Example questions: u
Please give an example of where you encountered a
problem. What was the problem, how did you solve it and
what was the result?
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Describe how you achieved a goal through influencing the
actions of others. What were the circumstances? What did
you do to make a difference and what was the result?
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How do I talk about my skills?
The STAR approach can be used when answering competency based
questions in application forms and at interviews.
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Situation – provide a brief background of the situation. Mention where
you were working / studying, what your role was and what the
circumstances were.
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Task – the problem/activity/request you were presented with.
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Action – what did you do? This section is particularly important, and
encompasses most of the detail. It should explain step by step the action
taken and why.
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Result – what was the outcome of your action and what did you learn?
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Exercise 2
Handout B - STAR exercise
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Using handout A, select the skill for which you
highlighted most attributes. Think of a specific example
you can give as evidence of using that skill. The
example can come from your studies, work experience,
clubs and societies or any other appropriate activity.
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It might help to imagine the question as “Tell us about a
time when you have .....[insert appropriate wording for
your skill]”.
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Using the STAR framework, write out an example for
your chosen skill.
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Developing skills
“21st century graduates need to demonstrate to employers
that they can ‘hit the ground running’. In addition to working
hard to gain a good degree, students should engage in
extracurricular activities and obtain work experience in
order to develop skills that will make them better prepared
for the world of work.”
Carl Gilleard – Chief Executive, Association of Graduate
Recruiters.
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Where can I develop my
skills?
Academic activities and projects
Vacation and part-time work
Professional Work Placement module (if applicable)
Volunteering
Mentoring/peer support
University clubs and societies and the Students’ Union
Home life
Interests
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Employment On-line
Managed by the Employment Service, Career
Development & Employment Service (CDES)
Part time work
Vacation work
Placements and internships
Graduate jobs
Jobs alerts by email
https://intranet.londonmet.ac.uk/studentservices/careers/the
employmentserce/students/home.cfm
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Voluntary work
“Put aside pre-conceptions: volunteering is work
experience… the act of choosing to be a
volunteer can show greater initiative and
commitment”
Miles Killingley, Senior Manager, Executive Education at HSBC
“Volunteering can be a great way to develop the
skills we look for when recruiting graduates.”
Helen Feltham, Marks and Spencer’s Director of UK Retail,
Human Resources
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Support in finding voluntary
work through the university
Reach
Student Development and Activities Service, Student Services
North Campus: TM1-89, Tower Building,
166-220 Holloway Road 020 7133 4064
City Campus: 3rd Floor, 2 Goulston Street
020 7320 2233
http://reach.londonmet.ac.uk
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Volunteering – useful
websites
Database of 163,000 registered charities in England and
Wales
http://www.guidestar.org.uk
Search for volunteer opportunities in your local area
http://www.do-it.org.uk
Information on volunteering and list of contact details for
local volunteer centres
http://www.volunteering.org.uk
http://vinspired.com - for 16-25 year olds, after completing
50 - 100 hours of volunteering, you can receive an award
that will boost your CV.
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Clubs and societies and the
Students’ Union
There are many personal benefits in joining a society, even starting a
new one and getting involved in the Students’ Union
Develop new abilities and leadership skills
Work within a team of peers
Satisfaction of setting and meeting goals
Put on campus-wide events or activities
Share talents or interests with the University community
Clubs and Societies
https://intranet.londonmet.ac.uk/studentservices/studentdevelopment/
studentoffice/
Students’ Union - londonmetsu.org.uk
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Exercise 3
Handout C - Action planning
Choose three skills you would like to develop
Be as specific as you can about what aspect of the skill you
want to develop, how and by when you intend to develop
these skills.
Complete the table in Handout C to create an action plan
Think as widely as you can about sources of help and
information you can make use of
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Summary
You will already have many skills and abilities that
employers value
You can develop these further and learn additional ones
whilst at university
Work experience and/or volunteering are vital to making
effective applications
Learning how to present and articulate your skills to
employers is essential
Use the free resources that the University provides to get
ahead in the job market
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Final tip
Keep a record of all your personal, academic and work
achievements, however big or small, as they occur
Use STAR (where appropriate) to practise providing
evidence for your skills
When you come to apply for opportunities and prepare for
interviews, you will have done half the work!
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Career Development &
Employment Service (CDES)
This service has a presence at both City and North campuses and offers
guidance and support to all students and to graduates for up to 3 years after
they leave. This includes:

The opportunity for individual discussion on areas such as career
planning and job/work experience search
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Workshops on a variety of job search topics

Information on careers events and activities
For more details on the services offered and on how and where to access
them, please refer to the website:
https://intranet.londonmet.ac.uk/studentservices/careers/
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Career Development &
Employment Service (CDES)
The University Employment Service provides access to vacancy information
for full time and part-time opportunities, vacation work and internships.
For details on how to register go to:
https://intranet.londonmet.ac.uk/studentservices/careers/the-employmentservice/home.cfm
CDES Contact information:
North Campus: 1st Floor, Tower Building, Tel: 0207 133 2094
City Campus: 8 Goulston Street, Tel: 0207 320 2380
email: careers.studentservices@londonmet.ac.uk
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