SESSION 8: AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Learn how to spot the key words in a job advert and then tailor your own CV to reflect them. By the end of the session students will be able to: Understand what employers are looking for Find their own examples to demonstrate these skills Understand what skills our hobbies/experiences have given us Understand why it’s important to explain these clearly Building on work in earlier Sessions, this takes learners a step further in picking up the key words for employers and then giving fully articulated examples of these skills or qualities from their own experiences (however limited!).

Activity 1 What do employers want? What sorts of skills, qualities or qualifications do we think employers are looking for in their employees? Ask the Group to suggest things and record them on the whiteboard/flip chart. For more advanced groups, you could create more than one column, to record transferable/general skills (eg. punctuality) and job specific skills (eg. use of tools) in separate columns.

Were we right? Using the Handout(s), taken from real Apprenticeship job vacancies, can you pick out the key words that describe the skills or qualities each employer is looking for? Working in small groups, give out the handouts/vacancies. Depending on how advanced the groups are and how much time you have, learners could just work on one vacancy or on several between them. Once learners have had time to pick out the key words, repeat the exercise by writing these words on the board: you may want to circle/highlight words that appear repeatedly or mark any words that the group didn’t predict. Once the words are on the board, ask if the group understands why employers are looking for these skills and explain any they are not clear on.

How can we demonstrate these skills? Select one of the key words from the board (perhaps one that has appeared frequently) and ask the group to come up with some real examples of how they could evidence it (refer to the Teacher Resource sheet for ideas if required). Once they have some ideas, working in small groups again, give them some key words to think of examples for (again, the number of words you give them can be varied depending on time and the ability of the group). After a suitable time period, ask each group to give one or two of their examples to share with the whole room.

Looking at your own CV…. Have you missed an opportunity to shout about some skills that you have? For example….. With these examples fresh in our minds, can we review our own CVs and covering letters to make them even better?

“I have had a paper round for two years.” Best Good “I have a paper round.” Better “I have had a paper round for two years.” Best “I have had a paper round for two years. I have to get up really early to do the round before school and I have never been late for school once. I am also trusted to do extra rounds at weekends if other people are away.” Good: shows some motivation Better: shows motivation and commitment Best: shows motivation, commitment, reliability and responsibility Can the group understand why these examples are important improvements? Remember, don’t just assume that an employer will understand what is involved if you say you captain the football team or own a pet, make it clear for them! Again, refer to the Teacher Resources sheet for some ideas if required. Ask the class, either working in their small groups or as individuals if they prefer, to pick a hobby or activity they have done and challenge them to really draw out the maximum skills from it. For higher ability groups or where individuals have specific careers goals, challenge them to find an example of both a transferable skill and a job-specific skill.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ACHEIVED? Learn how to spot the key words in a job advert and then tailor your own CV to reflect them. By the end of the session students will be able to: Understand what employers are looking for Find their own examples to demonstrate these skills Understand what skills our hobbies have given us Understand why it’s important to explain these clearly Confirm objectives were met – Does every individual have at least two good examples they can use to demonstrate their transferable skills? What went well? what did not work well? What have they learnt?

ANY QUESTIONS ????