Module code and title:

MG410 Career Viewpoint

Module leader:

Assignment No. and type:

CW1 – Career Research Report 1,500 words

Assessment weighting:

50%

Submission time and date:

12^th April 2024 by 2.00 pm.

Target feedback time and date:

3 weeks after submission deadline

Assignment task

OVERVIEW AND CONTEXT

Prepare a report demonstrating an awareness of the knowledge, skills and experience required by a recent graduate to enter a chosen area of graduate employment. The research required to prepare the report will support you in your future career planning and decisions. This report will be 1,500 words and will provide the basis of the information for your self-reflection and career action plan report – CW2

You are required to identify an area of graduate employment that you would consider for when you leave university. This could be EITHER a profession (for example marketing/Finance/Accounting/HR) OR an industry you are interested in (for example retail, sports & leisure, public sector, not-for-profit, travel and tourism.) Your research should be either in an area you aspire to work within or maybe an area that you want to understand more about.

Your research in your chosen profession/industry should include likely future trends in graduate recruitment, and should equip you with the knowledge to write a summary of the key skills, knowledge and experience expected from graduate applicants.

You are encouraged to use both primary and secondary research for this assignment. Primary research might include attending events run by the careers team, and/or events run by the professional bodies, or else through personal contacts. It might also include information from the guest lecturers for the module.

You could consider talking to managers at work, if you have a part-time role, or else friends and family to enhance your understanding. Include in the appendix a log detailing who you contacted for primary research.

Having identified the profession/industry, you are then required to identify one current job being advertised that you would be interested in applying for in the future. This will form the basis of the second assignment. The advert should appear as an appendix, which you should refer to as necessary within your report. It is important that this is a graduate level job, and not one for an individual with many years experience.

THE REPORT – WHAT YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO SUBMIT AND SUGGESTED STRUCTURE

You are required to submit a written report of 1500 words. It is suggested that you use the headings shown in this briefing or you may use your own headings; what is important is that you clearly cover all areas outlined below.

The report should include the following sections:

INTRODUCTION - Provide a brief paragraph outlining the aims of the report and what profession/industry your assignment will cover. As this is your reflection, this section can be in the 1^st person

Analysis and Application- This section of the report should be as a factual reflection of the findings from the profession/industry you have chosen to research. You need to consider both primary and secondary research for this section. This section should be written in the 3^rd person and should include the key information regarding this profession/industry in terms of:

• General trends which will impact on your chosen profession/industry. What changes are happening in your chosen profession/industry which might impact on the jobs you apply for and the skills and knowledge you will need. Consider the impact of globalisation and technology for example. This section will be based on your secondary research but might also include comments or views from anyone you interview for your primary research.

• The skills / knowledge and experience required – Using information from secondary research, relevant professional bodies, and relevant job advertisements, provide a summary based on your research of the key skills / knowledge and experience expected from an applicant at this stage in their career. Again, this might be supported by your primary research. You should aim for at least 5 personal skills and 2 areas of knowledge and expertise.

Evaluation - For this section you need to identify an appropriate vacancy from your chosen profession/industry. You should include the advertisement in full (not a website link) in the appendices. Within the report, explain why this job role is of interest to you and address these questions. How does it relates to your potential choice of industry/profession? Why do you prefer this job opportunity to others you considered? Is this a new/emerging job role within your profession/industry and therefore likely to be future proofed? This can be written in the 1^st person.

You must reference all information used in the report, both primary and secondary, using the Harvard Referencing Guide.

See attached grid for assessment criteria.

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:

LO 2: Define and contextualise employability for graduates in relation to their own career.

LO 3: Gather and analyse relevant career and labour market information.

Practicalities: Referencing, presenting and submitting your work

Please see your programme handbook for information on the standard referencing style, presentational requirements and process for submitting your work.

Please reference your work according to the Harvard style as defined in Cite Them Right Online (http://www.citethemrightonline.com). This information is also available in book form: Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2019) Cite them right: the essential reference guide. 11th edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. The Cite them Right database can be accessed via the Library and Learning Resources page on BB – A to Z of Database list.

Please note the use of a cover sheet is required for this assignment to include student ID number, title of the report and word count.

• This assignment should be submitted electronically using the relevant submission point in the Upload My Assignment on LSST Connect.

• Please note that work that is submitted up to 10 working days beyond the submission date will be considered a late submission. Late submissions will be marked and the actual mark recorded but will be capped at the pass mark (typically 40%), provided that the work is of a passing standard. Work submitted after this period will not be marked and will be treated as a non-submission.

• Ensure that your work has been saved in an appropriate file format. Turnitin will only accept the following file types: Microsoft Word and PDF. Your file must also contain at least 20 words of text, consist of fewer than 400 pages and be less than 40MB in size.

• You can submit your work as many times as you like before the submission date. If you do submit your work more than once, your earlier submission will be replaced by the most recent version.

Once you have submitted your work, you will receive a digital receipt as proof of submission, which will be sent to your LSST e-mail address. Please keep this receipt for future reference, along with the original electronic copy of your assignment.

Confidentiality

You are expected to take responsibility for maintaining and managing confidentiality issues in your work. You should maintain and respect confidentiality in relation to the protection of personal, technical and/or commercial information of a sensitive nature in your assessed work, whatever the format.

For further information and guidance, please see the relevant section in your programme handbook.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity means taking responsibility for your own work.

When you submit an assignment, you are making a declaration that it is your own work and that you have acknowledged the contribution of others and their ideas in its development (for example, by referencing them appropriately).

For further information and guidance, please see the University website: https://www.bnu.ac.uk/current- students/registry-helpdesk-and-academic-advice/academic-integrity-and-misconduct

80-100 (A+)

Pass

70-79 (A)

Pass

60-69 (B)

Pass

50-59 (C)

Pass

40-49 (D)

Pass

35-39 E –

Marginal fail

0-34 (F) –

Fail

Outstanding

Excellent

Very Good

Good

Satisfactory

Below required standard

Not successful

Knowledge and Understanding

This should include evidence of:

- Number and quality of primary research sources

10%

- Number and quality of secondary research sources

10%

Exceptional use of primary research for this assignment (>4 primary research sources). This might include attending university events, networking, joining professional bodies, discussions with current employer. Evidence provided in log included in appendix.

Exceptionally extensive range of secondary research citations which are suitable for use in HE and from a diverse base of sources.

Use of primary research was highly accomplished for this assignment (>4 primary research sources). This might include attending university events, networking, joining professional bodies, discussions with current employer. Evidence provided in log included in appendix.

Extensive range of secondary research citations which are suitable for use in HE and from a diverse base of sources.

There was a sophisticated demonstration regarding the range of primary sources used for this assignment, (>3 primary research sources) as evidenced in the log included in the appendix.

Wider secondary research shows a range of sources being used and applied, and are suitable for use in HE and from a diverse base of sources.

There was a sound demonstration regarding the range of primary sources used for this assignment, as evidenced in the log provided in the appendix

Wider reading is largely limited to core texts but has clearly enhanced the work and not all are suitable for use in HE and or from a limited

range of sources.

Sufficient demonstration of primary research conducted for this assignment

Wider reading is relevant but largely limited to core texts and only partially integrated and not all are suitable for use in HE and/or from a limited range of sources.

Insufficient demonstration of primary research conducted for this assignment

There is limited evidence of wider reading and / or wider reading lacks relevance.

There is little or no demonstration of primary research conducted for this assignment

There is little or no evidence of wider reading

Application and practice

50%

This should include evidence of:

-  General trends which will impact on your chosen profession/industry

-  The skills / knowledge and experience required

Both trends and skills are thoroughly researched in an exceptionally accomplished manner and presented, demonstrating understanding of the job market, the opportunities available, and the skills and knowledge required in an exceptionally accomplished manner.

Both trends and skills are thoroughly researched in a highly accomplished manner and presented, demonstrating highly accomplished levels of understanding of the job market, the opportunities available, and the skills and knowledge required.

Both trends and skills are well researched and presented in a capable and effective manner demonstrating a refined understanding of the job market the opportunities available, and the skills and knowledge required.

Some trends and skills are well researched and presented,                      to

demonstrate                          a consistent and informed understanding of the job market,                    the

opportunities available, and the skills and knowledge required.

Some trends and skills are researched and presented, to demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the job market, the opportunities available, and the skills and knowledge required

Trends and skills are researched and presented at an insufficient level, demonstrating an insufficient understanding of the job market, the opportunities available, and the skills and knowledge required

Limited or no ability of researching and presenting trends and skills, demonstrating limited or no understanding of the job market, the opportunities available, and the skills and knowledge required

80-100 (A+)

Pass

70-79 (A)

Pass

60-69 (B)

Pass

50-59 (C)

Pass

40-49 (D)

Pass

35-39 E –

Marginal fail

0-34 (F) –

Fail

Outstanding

Excellent

Very Good

Good

Satisfactory

Below required standard

Not successful

Analysis and Criticality 20%

This should include evidence of:

-  A relevant job advert

-  Evaluation of the research presented to address the following questions…

Why this job role is of interest to you.

How does it relate to your potential choice of industry/profession?

Why do you prefer this job opportunity to others you considered?

Is this a new/emerging job role within your profession/industry and therefore likely to be

future proofed?

Work demonstrates exceptionally accomplished development of analysis of the primary and secondary research.

Development of conclusions (through evaluation of the job market and in particular, the specific job advertisement) are drawn in an exceptionally accomplished manner. Job ad is relevant and appropriate.

Work demonstrates highly accomplished development of analysis of the primary and secondary research.

Draws highly accomplished development of conclusions (through evaluation of the job market and in particular, the specific job advertisement chosen). Job ad is relevant and appropriate.

Work demonstrates well-developed analysis to describe, synthesise and critique the primary and secondary research

Conclusions drawn are well-developed and sophisticated (through evaluation of the job market and the specific job advertisement chosen) Job ad is relevant and appropriate.

Work demonstrates well-developed analysis to consistently describe, and comment upon the primary and secondary research

Conclusions drawn are well-developed and sound (through evaluation of the job market and the specific job advertisement chosen) . Job advert chosen is not totally relevant for a graduate opportunity

Work demonstrates sufficient analysis to describe, and comment upon the primary and secondary research

Conclusions drawn are sufficient (through evaluation of the job market and the specific job advertisement chosen) . Job advert chosen is inappropriate; either too senior or not relating to the chosen career path.

Work demonstrates an insufficient ability to analyse and some ability to describe, and comment upon the primary and secondary research

Conclusions drawn are insufficient regarding the evaluation of the job market and the specific job advertisement chosen

Job advert chosen is inappropriate; either too senior or not relating to the chosen career path.

Work demonstrates limited or no ability to analyse and little or no demonstration of an ability to describe, and comment upon the primary and secondary research Inappropriate or no

conclusions drawn with gaps in work presented and limited or no ability to develop lines of argument.

Job advert not chosen or is not appropriate to a graduate level role.

Transferable Skills 10% (Assignment parameters)

This should include evidence of:

Demonstrates an exceptional ability to communicate ideas and information accurately and reliably in written academic English

Demonstrates a highly accomplished ability to communicate ideas and information accurately and reliably in written academic English

Demonstrates a highly proficient ability to communicate ideas and information accurately and reliably in written academic English

Demonstrates a consistent and confident ability to communicate ideas and information accurately and reliably in written academic English

Demonstrates a sufficient ability to communicate ideas and information accurately and reliably in written academic English

Demonstrates an insufficient ability to communicate ideas and information accurately and reliably in written academic English

Demonstrates limited or no ability to communicate ideas and information accurately and reliably in written academic English