How to Improve Employability Skills - Research Paper Example

How to Improve Employability Skills Employability Skills/Attitudes: Section 2: Provide examples of how you have demonstrated each of these employability skills/ attitudes. Your examples may come from a variety of contexts such as work, hobby, pro-bono, society or academic. Your examples can be a positive or negative experience in demonstrating the employability skills/attitudes. 1. Business and client awareness: 2. Problem solving: 3. Communication skills: 3. Communication skills 4. Application of IT: 5. Team work: 6. Self-management: 7. Entrepreneurship/enterprise: 8. Can-do approach: Section 3: Critically reflect on your experiences described in section 2. Use the following questions to help you: What did you learn personally about yourself? What were your strengths and weaknesses? Would you act differently if you experienced the same situation again? Why is it important to reflect on your experiences? Section 4: How can you improve on your employability skills/attitudes in order to be successful in securing a job after university? Section 5: Set yourself five goals to help you to enter into your chosen career. Goal 1 To complete my degree in Bachelor of Laws with a high score within the next four years. This will help me prove that I have the necessary knowledge and expertise in the field of law. This will also help me reduce my chances of remaining unemployed for a long time while increasing my chances of getting better pay. Goal 2 To volunteer to work for a well established law firm for at least four months. This will help me gain the necessary experience to jumpstart my career as a lawyer. Though this calls for a lot of patience, it is worth doing as it will expose me to real life situations relating to law. Goal 3 To earn a top management or executive position. This is a long term goal that will be achieved with both experience and education. I want to improve my education level from degree level to doctorate within ten year of earning a degree. Goal 4 To start a pro bono club. This is meant to help those who cannot afford a lawyer to be able to get one. This is aimed at bringing lawyers who are willing to come together to fight for the justice of the oppressed in society. To initiate this project, some operational capital will be needed. This will be partly derived from my salary and income from investments, and donations from likeminded people. Goal 5 To enter a top management or executive position in a law firm within the next 13 years. This is a long term goal that will be achieved with both experience and education. I want to improve my education level from degree level to doctorate within ten year of earning a degree. Section 6: A) Find a job description or advert for a graduate job with an employer that you would like to work for when you finish university: Company: [DLA Piper] Job: [Professional Support Lawyer] Note: The advert is featured in the appendix B) Write a CV and cover letter as if you were applying for the job listed in part A). Curriculum Vitae [Name Address Email address and phone number (s) Profile Experience lawyer with the ability to judge what is suits the client. An ambitious, enthusiastic and committed individual, holding a LLB degree from the Coventry University. Education Dates from–to               Name of institution, name of programme Currently Coventry University Master’s in Legal studies 2000– 2005       Coventry University, LLB Law 1996-1999 GCSE level. Legal Work Experience Dates from – to Name of employer/organisation, location, job role 2008 – Kelly and Justin Solicitors, Legal Assistant Conducting searches and undertaking legal processes culminating in land registration and resolving land disputes Supporting a team of solicitors in providing legal advice to immigrants from Mexico Translating legal documents written in French into English Researching on legal issues as directed by solicitors. 2006 - 2008 New Walk Chambers, Leicester – Mini Pupillages: Attended court hearings and conferences with clients, solicitors and experts. Observed chamber meetings and learnt about the administrative work of the chamber.  Additional Work Experience Dates from – to Name of Employer/Organisation, Job description July– September 2007        BP Gas, Leicester - Customer Service Representative Responsibilities: Providing up-to-date information on services and products to customers Giving periodical to the line manager regarding customer feedback Skills Acquired: The experience helped improve my communication, IT, and organization skills. Further, it helped improve my understanding of business structures and customer relations. Achievements: Contributed to customer satisfaction from 60% to 87%. This had a significant effect on the company’s overall performance. As a result of the improvement in customer relations, the company made 20% more profit compared to the previous year. Other skills Computer literate, conversant with MS project International driving licence First aid skills Personal achievements Elected to the Law Society Committee for 2008-2009. Winner, ‘Employee of the Year’ award 2008. The award is dedicated to the employee who gets the most positive feedbacks from clients. Chairperson of the students union at Coventry University Interests & activities Sports:  Running and playing soccer Travelling: As part of my annual break, I plan and organise own tours to different countries Music: Member of all boys band based in London. Languages: English: First Language French: Upper intermediate level German: Fluent Spanish: Beginner Volunteering:  I provide lectures on law and motivational speeches to university students whenever I have time. This has helped them make good choices regarding their career choices and raised their focus. References Available on request] Cover Letter [Name of applicant Address Street Date Helen Brockbank DLA Piper UK LLP 3 Noble St, London EC2V 7EE, United Kingdom Dear Brockbank, RE: Application For Post of Professional Support Lawyer (PSL - RE – LON) I am a graduate with a master’s degree currently pursuing a doctorate degree. My interest in the advertised job has particularly been drawn by your need for someone who is highly knowledgeable and in transactional property. I have a wealth of knowledge and experience on land registration drawn from my master studies as well as my practice as a legal assistant affiliated with Kelly and Justin Solicitors. My practice as a legal assistant and researcher has also given me the practical experience that I need to tackle a whole set of issues related to contract, company, and international law. Apart from my legal expertise, I am well conversant with four languages which means that I can confidently handle clients with diverse cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, I am skilled in the management of projects and am conversant with project management software such as Microsoft project. My achievements including election to Law Society Committee, winning of the Winner, ‘Employee of the Year’ award, and election as chairperson of the University student union attest to my commitment to excellence. I wish to thank you in advance for your consideration. Sincerely, Name of the applicant] Bibliography allaboutlaw. (2014) Law CV Template, [Online], Available: http://allaboutlaw.co.uk/law-careers/law-cv/law-cv-template [2 August, 2014]. Leeds Metropolitan University (2014) Employability Skills: Self-management, [Online], Available: https://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/studenthub/employability-skills-selfmanagement.htm [2 August, 2014]. Kirkland K. (2012) Nominettrust, Evaluation - 10 reasons why you should, [Online], Available: http://www.nominettrust.org.uk/knowledge-centre/blogs/evaluation-10-reasons-why-you-should [2 August, 2014]. McQuerrey L (2014) How to Improve Employability Skills, [Online], Available: http://work.chron.com/improve-employability-skills-9852.html [2 August, 2014]. Mind tools. (2014) Developing Commercial Awareness, [Online], Available: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/developing-commercial-awareness.htm [2 August, 2014]. Mind tools. (2014) Understanding How Businesses Make Money, [Online], Available: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/developing-commercial-awareness.htm [2 August, 2014]. Pavlina S. (2006) 10 Ways to Improve Your Technical Skills, [Online], Available: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/08/10-ways-to-improve-your-technical-skills/ [2 August, 2014]. Targetjobs. (2014) Commercial awareness and how to achieve it, by trainee solicitors and law recruiters, [Online], Available: http://targetjobs.co.uk/career-sectors/law-solicitors/291163-commercial-awareness-and-how-to-achieve-it-by-trainee-solicitors-and-law-recruiters [2 August, 2014]. Targetjobs. (2014) Law, How to write winning covering letters for law firms, [Online], Available: http://targetjobs.co.uk/career-sectors/law-solicitors/300016-how-to-write-winning-covering-letters-for-law-firms [2 August, 2014]. Ulitmate Law Guide (2010) Career advice: What skills are required to become a lawyer?, [Online], Available: http://www.ultimatelawguide.com/careers/articles/what-skills-are-required-to-become-a-lawyer.html [2 August, 2014]. Zoë B. (2014) 6 Ways to Enhance Your Problem Solving Skills, [Online], Available: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/6-ways-to-enhance-your-problem-solving-skills.html [2 August, 2014]. Appendix: DLA Job Advert Source: http://www.totallylegal.com/job/2201169/london/professional-support-lawyer-real-estate-london-5-pqe Professional Support Lawyer - Real Estate - London - 5+ pqe Recruiter DLA Piper UK LLP Salary Competitive + Competitive salary and benefits Location London Job term Permanent Job hours Part time DLA Piper are looking to recruit a Real Estate Professional Support Lawyer (PSL) to work part-time (3 days per week) as part of the multi-locational UK based knowledge management team supporting the Real Estate group, both in the UK and internationally. The role will include a combination of work on standard documents, processes and know-how, client-facing material, and technical training. We would be interested to hear from candidates with the following skill set/experience: • Broad in depth practical experience/understanding of transactional property work including land registration. • Strong technically, with excellent black letter law academic credentials, with a passion for sharing knowledge/expertise with other lawyers. • Excellent oral and written communication ability as well as sound IT skills. • Strong inter personal skills to engage effectively with a large and diverse internal client base from different offices/jurisdictions and work effectively with other KM teams on cross group and international projects. • Good presentation, project management and organisational skills. • Previous PSL or other knowledge management experience would be helpful, but not essential. The role could be offered as a permanent or fixed term appointment, please state if you have a preference. Contact Helen Brockbank Posted 29/07/2014 Reference PSL - RE - LON Read More