BCU Employability Attributes Introduction:
What skills do you have? This aspect is the most crucial part of gaining employment and yet presenting them is one of the hardest things for us to do as professionals. What we must not forget is that skills come in all components of our lives. Whether involving work, your studies, your social life or what you do inside your household all require some level or form of skill. As an academic mentor, the experience will provide you with some if not all of the aspects of employability that companies require.
On your course you will…
• Worked in a team
• Design, write or give a presentation
• Solve a problem
• Use research or analytical skills
• Communicated in writing/verbally and body language
As well as improving many of this attributes, being an academic mentor can offer many transferable skills that can benefit you for the rest of your life:
Have you…
• Worked with staff in an equal collaboration to better your university?
• Committed to an action plan or regime e.g. a work rota?
• Gained leadership skills from a group or one on one academic session?
• Engaged in any volunteer activities outside of your education?
• Solidify you own and help to implement research and analytical skills?
• Independently reflect on your skills and areas for improvement?
The purpose of this exercise is for YOU to recognise these attributes that you have, be able to provide evidence to support them and be able to articulate them with the job you are applying for or interested in. You will find after this activity that you have a lot of experiences to draw on that perhaps you never realised you had. As a result of this you will then be able to recognise gaps in your experience. In effect this will aid in identifying key areas that you may need to develop in, or even improve ones that you already excel in. So take action now and develop those missing attributes!
There are numerous in which we can identify the skills we have, have not and will need to gain or improve. Our attached exercise contains a list of skills in which Birmingham City University have identified as key for employability. Out of this list a mentor can select which ones they feel they have, which ones they haven’t and which ones they need to improve. From these we can form an action plan of how to develop the attributes using SMARTER, which highlights whether the targets to develop the skill is achievable right until the action plan has to be reviewed at the end.
Mentors can also use the STAR technique, which is specifically helpful in formulating experiences for interview purposes later in life and also recognising your own positive skills. The ideas consist of a Situation where you have used your skill, a Tell section where details are provided, followed by an Action part where your behaviour and role influenced the situation, ending in a Results component which highlights the positive outcomes and learning points for you.
BCU Employability Attributes
Fundamental skills Thinking skills People and Social skills Personal Development skills
Oral/Written CommunicationThe ability to communicate formally and informally, verbally and in the written form, with a wide range of people, both internal and external of the organisation
Reflection
Able to reflect upon, analyse and learn from significant experiences to support and encourage self understanding
Team working
Able to co-operate and communicate effectively with others. Contribute to a group to meet shared objectives. Contribute to an atmosphere that supports / empowers all group members
Integrity and honesty
Demonstrate the ability to develop a relationship over time showing honesty, reliability, and fairness. An understanding of right from wrong and consideration of ethical dilemmas
Numeracy
Able to use, analyse and present numerical data in appropriate contexts Action
Planning and Organisational skills
Ability to plan, develop and oversee projects / events from start to finish: time management, reliability & attention to detail
Self Belief
Self promotion and confidence in ones own identified strengths, abilities and capabilities. Having a positive attitude
Self Awareness
Awareness of personal characteristics and traits. Ability to identify – and articulate - their own strengths, weaknesses and values
IT Skills
Use, present and communicate information using a variety of IT skills and software
Analysis and Decision Making
Able to reach a position, opinion or judgment demonstrating a critical consideration of the options
Influence and Negotiating
Identify desired outcomes, show flexibility in negotiating assertively to reach mutually agreed outcomes
Career Management
Demonstrate relevant work experience, ability to assess current / future situation and plan development in relation to employment
Explanation and student guidance notes
This is a list of attributes that recent surveys of British employers show as most valued in new graduates who come to work for them.
Many of these also correlate with those often called ‘academic’ or ‘study’ skills.
In other words, these attributes can do you a double duty – help you with your studies AND make you more employable
Please think carefully where to target your attribute development for the coming academic year.
Problem Solving
Define and apply strategies for changing or resolving a situation or problem. Evaluate and review method used
Leadership
Able to take a leadership role allowing others to contribute effectively, whilst accommodating differences in opinion
Adaptability and Flexibility
Able to manage change in an adaptable and flexible manner. Ability to ‘think on feet’ and change styles in different situations
Ability to put theory into practice
Able to clearly understand theory and integrate theoretical concepts into practical work.
Networking
Establish and maintain working and communicative relationships with others to support and further their own objectives, identify role models and develop a professional identity
Commitment
Demonstrate motivation towards goals, showing passion and dedication. Being tenacious and maintaining focus
Enterprise, Creativity and Innovation
Create and develop original ways of working and problem solving – ‘thinking outside the box’; developing a positive attitude to risk, being resourceful and resilient
Interpersonal skills
The ability to relate to, and feel comfortable with people at all levels, to be able to make and maintain relationships as circumstances change, to be able to demonstrate active listening Specialist Attribute
Work Awareness
An understanding of appropriate relationships with a wide range of individuals, commercial and political awareness in a work context
Independent Working
Take control and responsibility of own contribution within set boundaries or constrictions. Work without supervision to meet a set target Specialist Attribute
Your Action Plan for Developing Your Attributes
SMART TARGETS Attribute:
Specific – what exactly are you trying to achieve?
Measurable – give details of targets, outcomes, results you are seeking to achieve
Achievable – Are your targets realistic and easy enough to achieve in the time you are giving yourself
Resources – do you know who and what can help you to achieve your targets?
Time – set times/dates for starting, reviewing and completing your targets
Evaluation – how well did you manage to continuously check your plan / your targets? Did you make any changes to your plans when you checked them?
Set a date a few weeks ahead and revisit this to see how you are doing
Review – has it worked, did it make a difference, and do you want to make further changes so you keep developing your attributes?
Set a date a few weeks ahead and revisit this to see how you are doing
Need help? For help identifying and developing your attributes go to https://icity.bcu.ac.uk/careers
UPGRADE YOURSELF TO OUTSTANDING - Assessing Attributes
Employers use competency –based recruitment processes – they will test for your attributes: by asking you questions on paper and in person; by giving you role plays or exercises where they can witness your attributes in action
Oral/Written Communication:
Application form question: Explain what your key communication skills are and how effectively you use different communication media?
In an interview: Give an example of a time when you had to influence a decision. What did you do and what was the outcome?
At a selection day or assessment centre: You might be asked to prepare and present a presentation using specific resources: or you could be asked to participate in a group discussion
STAR technique
SITUATION
• Brief introduction to the situation – the more recent the better
• Give a brief overview of the background
• Give the interviewer/other person the context
• Scope the situation out – give the perspective – eg. In my last job I was asked to work on a team project that was really running behind schedule
TELL
• Give more detail – how often? how many? quantify your input
• Be specific about what you said and what you thought
• Be prepared for questions – people will probe deep to establish your skill level – eg. The first thing I did was… we then came up with…
ACTIONS
• Be clear about the part you played in the process – don’t dilute the impact that you had by saying ‘we’ instead of ‘I’
• Describe clearly what you actually did to remedy the situation or move things forward. How did you act/behave?
RESULTS
• Make sure you highlight a positive outcome that you contributed to, or how the situation has changed or is different eg. ‘This made a big difference as each person felt they were making a contribution to the bigger project. Within a week the improvement was noticeable with the project back on schedule’
• Quantify (if appropriate) eg. how many people benefited?
• What were the immediate and long-term benefits?
• What were the key learning points for you?
UPGRADE YOURSELF TO OUTSTANDING - STAR Your Attributes
SITUATION
TELL
ACTIONS
RESULTS
That's all folks!
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