Employability and Entrepreneurship Career Action Plan - Essay Example

Employability and Entrepreneurship Career Action Plan After graduation, employability or entrepreneurship is the next priority in the minds of the new graduates. Some may prefer to be employed, work for the company, public office or any institution the graduates deemed fit for the career path they want to pursue. Other graduates might choose to enter entrepreneurship, put up their own micro, small or medium enterprise and develop their business. There are also a fraction of these graduates which might opt to enter non-profit organization. With any employability and entrepreneurship action plan, the would-be applicant or entrepreneur should prepare themselves before entering this phase in their life. With adequate research, preparation and maturity, the new graduate will be ready to tackle employability or entrepreneurship to pursue the career path he/she wants to pursue. The fresh graduate should be aware of the knowledge, skills and experience(s) required to enter an area of employment or starting a career in a profession or industry. Before getting into the professional or the employment world, the applicant must be equipped with a package of capabilities that are often looked for the employers. Preparatory activities must be conducted to ensure employability of success in the chosen career. Beforehand, research should be conducted to acquire ample amount of knowledge on the various aspects of applying for employment or starting a career. There is a need to research on the various facts of employability or entrepreneurship. In employability there is a need to be equipped with the information on the graduate’s chosen career. The applicant should also study the options available on the possible companies, public office or any institutions that have the need for graduates of the course that the applicant took in college. The applicant should also gather ample amount of information on the basic skills that employer usually look for in an applicant. These minimum skills that will fit the vacant position are determined by the would-be employers. The minimum skills depend on the nature of work and the kind of service or product offered by the company needing employee. The graduate can also research on the work experience that the company or institution will require. This work experience requirement is usually related to the vacant position applied for. The success of employability sometimes depend on the extent of related work experience of the applicant. The applicant must also assess himself/herself on the skills he/she possesses. When applying for a job, determine if the skills required by the employer fit his/her current skill(s). For instance, there are companies requiring driving skills. Therefore, before applying for the job, make sure that the applicant has acquired driving skills. If not, the chances of getting hired would be low, sometimes nil. Another example of a skill requirement is the ability to blend with special students. This is usually required for teacher or instructor applicant wanting to get a job in a special institution for special children. This skill is a must when seeking employment with this nature of work. In being a teacher or instructor for special children, the ability to blend well will be the key in performing the duties of a teacher or instructor. Other example may be organizing capability. This organizing capability is a must when applying as events organizer, community change facilitator, society’s change agent, or others. As a development worker, the ability to organize people is a must. Other example may be marketing skills for would-be marketing people of a company. The desired skills would depend on the position applied for. Another instance is that majority of the companies are interested to know the languages that the applicant can speak and write. Many companies look for applicants who speak and write the English language, depending on the nature of work, the location and many other considerations. These companies are interested to know this since a lot of people accepts English as the universal language. Employability skills are the core skills that are essential in landing a job at a company. The basic competency skills are computation and reading. Communication skills are speaking, writing and listening. Adaptability skills are critical thinking, creative analysis and problem solving. Developmental skills are motivation, self-esteem, career planning and goal-setting. Group effectiveness skills are teamwork, interpersonal capacities and negotiation skills. Influencing skills are sharing leadership and ability to comprehend organizational culture and sharing leadership. There are situations, when the company require working experience background. This is important for some would be-employers who prefer to fast track orientation of the new employee to the new job. The new employee’s past working experience helps a lot in achieving increased productivity. The experience(s) that the new employee gained from past employment(s) can be a gauge of the level of maturity. This can also be the basis when measuring the level of skills of the applicant. Aside from employability, the graduate may opt for entrepreneurship. Being an entrepreneur means being able to identify, start and maintain a viable and profitable business. This business can be micro, small, medium or large enterprise. The size of the enterprise would depend on the capital allocated for the business. Unlike the career option discuss above, being an employee, who prefer to spend his/her like working for someone else or a company or an institution, there is another option of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship has its own rewards as well as risks. The graduate may research these to be prepared to be an entrepreneur. The graduate may analyze himself. Weigh prospective returns against the potential risks and losses. For a new graduate to enter an area of employment or entrepreneurship, self-reflection is required to prepare the would-be employee or entrepreneur a report that will support him/her in his/her future career planning and decisions and in the transition to future opportunities after the conduct of the undergraduate study. The applicant must analyze himself/herself on his/her personal characteristics that may lead to success in career planning, career decisions as well as in the move to prospective chances after the completion of the course or study. There are different types of graduate opportunities inside the country or internationally. Such graduate opportunities are graduate training schemes, professional careers, opportunities with the Small Medium Enterprises or SMEs, public sector roles, opportunities in “not for profit” organisations and others. These graduate opportunities are important for the graduate to know since they will be the basis on the career path that this graduate may want to pursue. Graduate training schemes are provided to graduates for them to grow, and develop into highly-trained or highly-developed persons that would be the key in the possible employment, entrepreneurship or pursuit of a chosen career or profession. These schemes are provided to bring out the potentials of the graduate, to continue to achieve leadership or position or possibly to improve the quality of graduates. These schemes show the available opportunities around and outside the locality. After the career training, the graduate/participant will realize his/her potentials take advantage of the launch pad available for new graduate. Another graduate opportunity is the professional careers. Professional career(s) can be pursued. It may be directly related to the school course or not. Depending on the capacity of the graduate and the educational background a graduate may choose the professional career suited for his/her personality. Professional careers may be through employment or entrepreneurship. There are also graduate opportunities with the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These SMEs abound everywhere. The graduate may choose to be employed in small, medium, or large business establishments. Likewise, the graduate has the option to manage his/her own enterprise(s). The public sectors play important roles also in providing graduate opportunities. Employment with this sector can be fulfilling to some. This is due to the notion that public service is fulfilling. Some non-profit organisations may provide graduate opportunities. These non-profit organisations may prefer to employ the graduate. Getting hired by the non-profit organization is possible. These organizations may have employment needs that may suit the knowledge, skills To conduct research on the concerns raised above, resources are available from the libraries, Internet, companies, friends who underwent employment process, and wide array of sources of information. The use of all or some of these resources can provide vast information and experiences. Awareness of the skills, knowledge and experiences that employers are looking for in graduates can be developed. These are continuously changing. Self-awareness and reflection in Career Development Activities play great roles in the accurate analysis of the applicant and contribute to the overall success of indulging in Career Development Activities. Below is an example of Curriculum Vitae as a generic career management tool towards career development: CURRICULUM VITAE Personal Information Name : Sarah Silverstein Address : P.O. Box 12212, Pennsylvania 19612 United States of America Telephone Numbers : 484-769-1111 (Home) Email Address : ssilverstein@yahoo.com Date of Birth : January 31, 1969 Place of Birth : Pennsylvania Sex : Female Citizenship : American Civil Status : Married Name of Spouse : Conrad Silverstein Occupation : Development Manager Name/Address of Company : Biostadt Agrisciences, Inc. New York City 723123738 Number of Children : Two (2) Name of Children : Mariah Chryzl (12 yrs. Old) Louise Angela (9 yrs. Old) Educational Background Masteral Degree University of Pennsylvania Master of Science in Development Management ( 2005 to 2007 ) College University of New Orleans Bachelor of Arts (Graduated 1991) Scholarships Received University of Pennsylvania Presidential Scholarship for the Master of Science in Development Management Employment Record March 16, 2004 – present Development Specialist Shoreline Clothing Company Eligibilities Professional Career Service Eligible 86.92% (July 26, 1992 / Pennsylvania) Other Skills Accredited Trainer on : Five S of Good Housekeeping Quality Control Circle Business Expenses Savings Training Entrepreneurial Course Computer Literate Knows how to drive motorized vehicles Skills in Creative and Technical Writing Development Facilitator Community Organizer Languages Able to Speak, Read & Write English Membership to Organizations Rotary Club of Pennsylvania Unpublished Work S.V. SILVERSTEIN. Development Management in the New Millenium. Master of Science. University of Pennsylvania Papers Presented on Scientific Meetings Decontamination of the Minds of the New Generation. Paper presented at the 24rth Annual Convention of the International Society for Development Workers held at the New Orleans University, New Orleans, United States of America. May 15 to 17, 2005. Record of In - Service Training / Seminars Title of Seminar/Conference/Etc. Inclusive Dates # of Hours Conducted by: *Orientation Seminar on Barcoding 19 August 2003 8 PANC *Seminar on Income Generating Activities in the Rural Areas 17-20 April 2001 24 PANC *Orientation and Planning Workshop on GAD, Industry Clustering and Productivity 21-23 February 2001 24 Technological Information System *Training Program on E – Commerce and International Trade 21 July 2001 8 Technological Information System *Organization and Management of Micro - Enterprises 3 to 6 July 2001 32 Technological Information System *Training of Trainers on the Basic Course on Entrepreneurial Farming (ENTREFARM) 11-15 September 2000 40 Passion for Perfection (CEFENet) References Dr. Donald Smith Assistant Professor Department of Development Management University of Pennsylvannia I certify to the best of my knowledge that all the above information are true and correct. SARAH SILVERSTEIN Applicant Below is an example of covering letter as a generic career management tool Toward career development: P.O. Box 12212, Pennsylvania 19612 United States of America Susan Smith The General Manager Penshoppe Clothing Lines New York City I am respectfully applying for the Development Management position in your company which you posted at the New York Times in March 17, 2007. Please find attached my Curriculum Vitae for your reference and further evaluation. Thank you very much and more power to you. Respectfully yours, SARAH SILVERSTEIN Below is a Career Action Plan as a result of considering the current knowledge, skills and experiences against the requirements as revealed in the research conducted: Career Action Plan Job : Development Manager Occupation / Area of Employment : This is a managerial position for the development of programs, strategies and activities as they relate to the clothing lines. This particular profession of Development Manager is a fascinating endeavour and a very challenging one. Organisations : The following organizations have opportunities for graduates in Development Management. Larger corporate organisations abound in the country. There will be numerous multinational large companies to choose from. Probabilities of landing a job at Small and medium sized organisations (SME’s) will also be worth looking at. Not-for-profit organization can be also looked at. However, this may give intangible fulfilment but not so much on acquiring good salary packages. This may be more of voluntary basis. However, new graduates need to have experiences first and gain income in order to establish themselves. The public sector can also be considered which have opportunities for graduates in the area of specialization chosen. Key Skills Expected : Supervisory skills are needed. Adeptness in the English language is a must since this company deals with clothing lines in the international language. The English language will be critical when executing the works for the company. Most of the stakeholders that the company have will have to be dealt with carefully. Knowledge Expected : The key skill required is knowledge on Development Management of the graduate applicants. This should reflect developments in the expectations of employers and likely future trends. The applicant should be a graduate of Development Management or any related management course. Experience Expected : Experience is critical in this case since this is a managerial position. The applicant should have handled more than one employee. Recruitment and Selection Methods : The recruitment method to be used is through publication of the vacancy(ies) through the tri-media. Personal Analysis The requirements in the research against own current skills, knowledge and experiences, showed that the current skills I possess are enough when applying for a job or pursuing a career. Read More