1. What is “Employability” and how do I develop it?

2. Improving your employability – my what?
Employment v Employability
Employment – securing a job
Employability – what graduates do to enhance their employment prospects

3. What is employability?
“Employability is a set of skills, knowledge and personal attributes that make an individual more likely to secure and be successful in their chosen occupation(s) to the benefit of themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy.” Yorke, 2006 Employability is not just about getting a job. Conversely, just because a student is on a vocational course does not mean that somehow employability is automatic. Employability is more than about developing attributes, techniques or experience just to enable a student to get a job, or to progress within a current career. It is about learning and the emphasis is less on ‘employ’ and more on ‘ability’. In essence, the emphasis is on developing critical, reflective abilities, with a view to empowering and enhancing the learner. (Harvey 2003)

4. What do recruiters look for?
What makes someone more likely to secure their preferred role, be successful and progress?

5. What is employability?

6. Career Decision Making
About you:
Why did you decide to study Software Engineering or Network Engineering?
Why here?
Why now?

7. Effective planning, organising and time management Presentation skills
Analyse, evaluate & interpret different sources
Excellent communication (verbal and written)
Problem solving
Using evidence to draw conclusions
Research skills
Digital literacy
Teamworking
Studying for a degree is about so much more than subject awareness, acquiring knowledge and proof of intellectual capacity. It is about using the skills you already have and refining others that are highly sought after by employers.
This is why over half of graduate level jobs do not require a specific degree discipline.
Your time at UCS is a fantastic opportunity to explore these skills further and refine them in an academic, learning environment.
Independent thinking
IT skills
Critical analysis & judgement
Self discipline
and motivation
Comparative analysis
Contextual awareness

8. Options with your degree
Academic or employment
Other fields
Broader fields
Includes aspects of my subject
Directly related

9. Improving own performance and learning Self-management Working with others Problem solving Information technology Numeracy Communication

10. What is Emotional Intelligence?
‘The capacity to reason about emotions and of emotions to enhance thinking. It includes the abilities to accurately perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth.’
(Mayer & Salovey, 2004)

11. Mayer & Salovey’s Four Branch Model of Emotional Intelligence

13. Reflect on your experiences (learning, work and life)
What did I DO?
What did I OBSERVE?
What did I THINK?
What is my PLAN for future action?

14. What are your natural strengths?
Strengths v skills: Even though these are the learning outcomes for a degree, not every student will be equally good at all of them e.g. Communication, verbal v written, 1:1 v large groups
How would your friend’s describe you - Not: Hard working, concientious team player, also able to work individually
Try writing down 3-5 key key strengths / things you are good at, natural talents
Address why it is hard, unnatural, we don’t tend to self-reflect and it can feel uncomfortable, but this is the key to developing self awareness

15. Telling people about your achievements?
Talk to the people around you:
What do you love to do?
What are your strengths? (Ask people who know you well to help you identify them)
Think of something you have done which gave you a real sense of satisfaction? Why did it?

16. Graduate Identity Transferable skills
So it is much more than just having a degree and repeating that you have transferable skills like teamworking and communication. This is the foundation but what can you do to stand out in a competitive job market?
Transferable skills

17. The key to success:
Know yourself – what are you interested in, what are you good at, what do you enjoy doing. Identify this and be able to articulate your skills, experience and natural strengths. Think about what makes you YOU and different to other applicant
Find out as much as you can about what is out there, the job market and roles / study that interests you
Then target your application to this, put yourself in the recruiters shoes

18. Homework? ... Why you – draft a personal profile Consider:
What differentiates you / USPs?
Natural strengths, key skills and experience
Motivations and aspirations
Targeting to the role
If you put yourself in the employer’s position, does it sound convincing?

19. Useful webpages
UCS Linked In Job Club -

20. Additional Information Available on MyUCS
Destinations is a great tool available for all students on MyUCS. Click on Careers and Employability.
Infozone drop ins, 1:1s, workshops