Employability and Personal Development - Assignment Example

Employability and Personal Development Question (a) How Modern Career Forms are different from the traditional or conventional ones and what this implies to me and my career A career implies a lot of aspects in the life of a person’s work, academic life and general life. A career therefore refers to an occupation or profession which an individual is trained in or possesses skills to do such a task. Unlike the conventional career forms, the modern or contemporary career forms has actually established numerous choices due to different educational causes which have allowed individuals to choose from a variety of available career choices. Unlike before when individuals had to work or strive very hard in order to climb the career ladder, the modern career form and climbing up the career ladder necessitates that one should have high academic qualifications (Allen, 2013:1). Modern career forms have indeed made it possible for individuals to have different careers and even enhance their own career opportunities. I strongly prefer the modern or contemporary career forms because they can enable me to work in fields which I am interested in and also gain the much needed experience to be able to work under different work environments (Peacock, 2013:8). Despite the fact that white collar jobs have now become so scarce, I am quite optimistic that upon my graduation, I will be able to get a good job and preferably work in any reputable banking institution. In order to increase my chances of being employed once I graduate, I plan to conduct my internships in one of the local banks in my town so that I can gain experience in the banking sector and also be able to increase my transferable skills to be able to work in numerous organizations (Armstrong, 2012: 60). Question (b) What the Current Graduate Labour Market Looks like and its implication to me Quite genuinely, it can be correctly ascertained that the contemporary labour market in Britain is not only dynamic but also complex as well. Despite the fact that the demand for workers is very high, getting such chances is quite difficult because of the high number of educated and learned individuals in the country. The number of graduates who are currently being employed in formal employment is too low as compared to how the situation was a decade ago. Given the fact that many graduates and even diploma holders are searching for jobs, most of the employers now prefer employing individuals with low academic qualifications as opposed to those who are high educated so that they can be able to spend less expenditure in terms of salaries or remunerations (Rao, 2010: 40). As a result, most of the graduates in my country have therefore been forced to take on perennial and low paying jobs in order to earn their daily living bread. This is attributed to the fact that most employers shun away from employing graduates because they fear that they will demand higher salaries as opposed to the Diploma or even Certificate holders (Cameron, 2009:62). As on my side, I am determined to gain the relevant experience during my internship and given the fact that most banking institutions are opening their branches and expanding into new local and global markets, I am sure I will get good employment (Reading University, 2013:1). However, incase I graduate and I don’t land an employment position as soon as possible, I will definitely look for some capital and open up my small business which can sustain me as i search for formal employment in the banking sector. I cannot and will never regret having chosen this career path because the banking sector is here to stay and with time, vacancies will become available and I will be able to land a good formal employment (Chalabi, 2013:1). Question (c) Definition of Employability According to the Anglia Ruskin University, the term “Employability” refers to the attributes, assets and achievements which make a person to stand higher chances of not only gaining employment but also achieving success in their specific chosen careers. Based on this definition, I can genuinely assert that since it is a continuous process, I will try my best to ensure that I horn or sharpen the positive skills in me which will help me to gain the confidence of the potential employers in my field. In essence, it should be known by all and sundry that employability is not just an issue of a graduate landing a job, but rather, it is the ability of such a graduate applicant to continuously remain employable throughout the lifetime (City University London, 2013: 3). As a graduate, I will therefore do a thorough analysis in order to ascertain what most of the employers look for in employees so that I can be capable of creating a positive impression to any potential employer. In addition to that, doing analysis will help me to train myself and ensure that I suit the preferences of my potential employers. My internships done in various organizations will give me an upper hand of being in a better position of ascertaining the skills and needs of different employers (Danson, et al 2013: 40). Question (d): What I learnt from the Alumni Event and Recruitment fair that I attended as regards to employability I realized that the career alumni event was quite beneficial to me because I was able to learn from the graduates from our university what they were doing and the remuneration they were getting from their jobs. As a result, they clearly aided me in redefining my career path especially on where I can work and the benefits which were associated or linked to some of the job positions. In addition to that, I was able to learn what the job market or employers for that matter required from the job applicants and what made the successful applicants to stand out from the rest of the other applicants (Done, & Mulvey, 2011:50). In addition to that, the career event was quite beneficial to my career life because it helped me to understand what the banking sector required from their potential employees and therefore I was able to enhance my skills in accordance with what was required (Redman, & Wilkinson, 2006:4). By attending the graduate recruitment fair, I was capable of enhancing my employability because I was able to meet some of my potential employers who gave me first-hand information of what was required in the banking sector. I eventually analysed my skills to ascertain whether I made their requirements (Fafinski, & Finch, 2014:55). (e) How Employable I am Despite the fact that I know I am on the right track as far as my job career path is concerned this will only become quite evident when I land a good formal employment with either the private or government banking institutions. After my graduation, the strength of my Banking degree will only be ascertained depending on the number of years that will pass before I finally land on formal employment in reputable banking institutions in my country. In order to remain focussed in my career path, it will be prudent for me to fully comprehend my personal aspirations and goals in both my academic and personal life (Gravells, 2010:30) Since my childhood, I have always liked working and handling money and that is why I opted to training in banking so that I would get an opportunity of working in an environment that involves money handling (Teichler, & Schomburg, 2011:70). My Banking Degree course has enabled me to gain a lot of knowledge and skills in money handling. Indeed, the degree course has greatly enabled me to become aware of various practices like for instance money laundering which I didn’t have a hint on what it was before joining university (Herring, 2013:1). Working while undertaking my internship in some of the financial institutions in my hometown has enabled me to realize that I can achieve a lot when given time and more experience. In addition to that, the internship opportunities enabled me to become aware of various policies in the banking sector and I was also able to learn how to achieve the trust and the confidence of the customers (Jonathan, et al 2010: 68). Working with the financial institutions was so interesting and I was even to get into contact with the company’s top management. I am therefore definitely looking forward to securing a job position in any one of the three banking institutions that I have worked with during my internship periods (Tran, 2014:53). Working with such organizations has greatly enabled me to become aware of my weak points and strong points and thus I have adjusted myself accordingly in order to ensure that I can easily fit into such organizations easily when the time comes (Lumley & Wilkinson, 2013: 40). I have realized that in order to become a good banker, I need to have a good grasp of mathematics and quantitative methods so that I can be able to handle anything that may need calculation. In addition to that, I need to have good Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills to comfortably work with banking systems (Marsh, 2012: 370). I re-evaluated myself based on the needs and requirements of banking institutions so that I will get first hand position when interviewed to fill in any vacancy which is related to my profession. That apart, I plan to read widely and gain more knowledge and experience regarding what is needed in my profession so that I become an all round individual who is capable of comfortably working in different capacities in my organization (Morcos, 2009: 70). (f) Conclusion and Outcome Throughout my academic life, I have tried all I can in order to evaluate my personal academic life and assess myself whether I am headed in the right direction. Reflection of my academic and professional life has strongly been based on numerous sources like for instance through alumni events, course materials, advice from my lecturers, seminars and workshops and even from graduate recruitment fairs. Since embarking to study this course, I have gained a lot both intellectually, socially, morally and psychologically. The numerous seminars and student exchange programs coupled with the numerous graduate recruitment fairs have greatly enabled me to become an all round individual capable of working under any junior managerial positions in any financial institution. Read More