The module helps prepare students to acquire and develop the employability and transferable skills necessary to search and successfully apply for work experience and graduate opportunities in the commercial and public sector and postgraduate study.
The curriculum builds on employability support offered at Stage 1 providing intermediate level knowledge and exercises in application writing, CVs, careers advice, interview and assessment centre techniques, numeracy and competency tests, and psychometric evaluation. The aims here are to support students in obtaining long internships across the Summer Vacation.
Total contact hours: 15 hours
Private study hours: 15
Total study hours: 30
Usually comprised of:
Students will attend a series of talks, workshops and one-to-one meetings designed to introduce, develop and support the broad range of employability and transferable skills required to prepare for and obtain an internship opportunity. All activities will be led by the School Director of Employability and/or the Placement and Employability Coordinator in conjunction with the University Careers and Employability Service.
Talks will provide targeted advice to Stage 2 Economics students on different careers paths, different MSc programmes and on how to obtain an internship whilst attending university leading to a graduate job on leaving university. The talks will take place in Autumn Term and will constitute 3 formal contact hours in total.
Workshops will provide guidance and support across a range of employability related tasks including CV and application writing, assessment centre and interview techniques, numeracy and competency testing, and psychometric evaluation. Workshops will run in the Autumn and Spring Terms and will constitute up to 9 formal contact hours in total.
One-to–one meetings will provide bespoke advice and support to students as queries arise throughout the year. They will also provide feedback opportunities to students as they progress through the stages of the application process. One-to-one meetings will operate through drop-in sessions which run throughout the Autumn, Spring and Summer Terms and will constitute approximately 3 formal contact hours on average for each student in total.
Alongside formal contact hours, students are expected to commit a further 15 hours to the module across the academic year via independent study.
Students registered on Single or Joint Honours Degree Programmes in Economics but not Sociology and Economics, Law and Economics or Social Anthropology and Economics.
Students on the Economics Year in Industry Programmes also take EC536 Preparing for an Economics Placement that compliments this module.
Pass/Fail.
The module is non-contributory and does not 'count' towards progression or formal classification of Economics degree programmes.
The module develops transferable skills designed to enhance employability and the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to search and secure internship and graduate job opportunities in a competitive economic environment. This module also prepares students for entry onto Economics and other related MSc programmes within the UK and abroad. Students will be given guidance on the level of engagement expected and the assessment requirements for the module. Students will receive on-going feedback as part of the activities undertaken on the module.
Students who participate (engage) in the talks, workshops and one-to-one meetings, and who complete tasks and activities undertaken as part of the workshop and one-to-one meetings will be deemed to have met the module learning outcomes (MLOs 8.1-8.5 and 9.1-9.5) and will have this added to their transcript and Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR).
• S. Cottrell (2015), Skills for Success, Palgrave Macmillan
• F. Trought (2011), Brilliant Employability Skills, Prentice Hall
• S. Rook (2013), The Graduate Career Guidebook, Palgrave Macmillan
• Kent Careers and Employability Service
• https://www.kent.ac.uk/economics/employability/index.html
• Employability for Economics Stage 2 Students (Moodle module)
• Graduate Aptitude Tests (Guide to Psychometric tests)
• Prospects
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
8.1 Understand career and postgraduate further study opportunities in Economics and related fields for Economics graduates within the UK and overseas
8.2 Have understanding of the importance of relevant work experience and how to search, prepare and apply for relevant work experience e.g. internships.
8.3 Demonstrate awareness of placement opportunities and the Year in Industry programmes and possibility of transferring to these degrees
8.4 Have understanding of different recruitment processes employed by business and government
8.5 Understand and have practice of internship CV and cover letter writing, application writing, and interview techniques of all types (face to face, telephone and video), competency tests and team based recruitment exercises
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