MANAGING YOUR CAREER - 2024/5

Module Overview

The module seeks to enhance the prepare students for their imminent transition into the workplace post-graduation by:
¿ building their knowledge of the skills, behaviours and attitude required to secure employment, proactively manage their career and be successful in the professional workplace.
¿ increasing their self-awareness through exploration of their experiences and the competencies developed from these so that they are better able to evidence these in their job applications and apply them in the workplace.
¿ developing their understanding of the recruitment tools used by employers (i.e. CVs, social media, interviews) to make them more effective in marketing themselves to employers.
¿ exploring the employment trends in different sectors.
¿ exploring alternative career paths to help them shape their professional interest and career goals.
¿ developing an understanding of coaching and mentoring and how they work to develop a career.
¿ exploring CPD and how this will help develop their career.
¿ learning about the importance of maintaining health and wellbeing by achieving a work-life balance and engaging in practices like mindfulness.
¿ exploring how to manage change throughout their career.

The assessment for the module will evaluate the development of their written and verbal communication and reflective evaluation skills as well as their knowledge of the employment market and tools for managing their career.

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

RIVERS Christine (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

JACs code:

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

Personal and Professional Development module

Module content

¿ Refining professional portfolio to include an effective CV, Cover Letter and LinkedIn profile. Exploration of potential career paths to inform professional interests and career goals through exposure to professionals in the sector.
¿ Development of written and verbal communication, team working and reflective evaluation skills through self-evaluation questionnaires, interviews, the development of a team presentation and a written reflection of professional development journey.
¿ Exploring the employment trends in different sectors.
¿ Exploring alternative career paths to help shape professional interests and career goals.
¿ Developing an understanding of coaching and mentoring and how they work to develop a career.
¿ Exploring CPD and how this will help develop their career.
¿ Learning about the importance of maintaining health and wellbeing by achieving a work-life balance and engaging in practices like mindfulness.
¿ Exploring how to manage change throughout a career.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Individual presentation instead of team project.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of their own employability and how this has been developing. It also allows for them to demonstrate their developing reflective evaluation, written and verbal communication, and team working skills.

The reflection on learning will enable students to evaluate the progress they have made and look forward to their next steps.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

¿ Team project, 50% (addresses learning outcomes: 1, 3 & 4)
¿ A written reflection on their professional development journey including their professional portfolio (CV, Cover Letter and LinkedIn profile), 50% (addresses learning outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5)

Formative assessment and feedback
Along with feedback provided on activities during workshops, students will also be able to sign up for one-to-one sessions with the Module Tutors and the University Careers Advisors. This feedback will help students develop their professional portfolios, self-awareness and reflection on learning. All students will also be encouraged to register on SurreyConnects in order to network with, and secure coaching/mentoring support from, Surrey alumni. Students will also be given the opportunity to be mock interviewed by peers, using an automated interview tool on Surrey Pathfinder and by the University Careers Advisors with feedback provided. All students will be encouraged to fully engage with Surrey Pathfinder and Employability & Careers service events to help them develop their professional portfolio.

Module aims

• Develop the application of the knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitude appropriate to the professional workplace.
• Develop understanding of the value and application of various tools for career management.
• Develop greater self-awareness through the reflective evaluation of experiences.
• Develop greater knowledge of the employment market and potential career paths.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to prepare students for their imminent transition into the workplace post-graduation.

The learning and teaching methods include:
¿ interactive workshops in which students work individually and in teams.
¿ talks by experts and practitioners to help them better understand the tools available to them for career development, potential career paths and the employment market.
¿ interviews with industry professionals to help students better understand the career paths open to them and how they might access these.
¿ mock interviews to help them practice their skills as an interviewee and interviewer.
¿ mentoring/coaching by alumni to support their professional development and understanding of how to effectively manage their career.
¿ encouraging engagement with Surrey Pathfinder and Employability & Careers service events to help students develop their professional portfolio, an effective job search strategy and engage effectively with employers.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MAN3221

Other information

This module focuses strongly on employability and enabling students to become aware of the global working environment, deepening skills such as resourcefulness and resilience and where applicable widen knowledge and skills of digital capabilities required in their future workplace.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2024/5 academic year.