Employability and Enterprise Skills

This report focuses on the importance of employability skills during job interviews and how the STAR process can help in better endorsement of these skills. It also discusses ways to increase knowledge and improve employability skills. The report includes journal entries and a professional development plan.

Employability and Enterprise Skills
NAME OF STUDENT:
NAME OF COLLEGE:
AUTHORS NOTE:
Running head: EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTERPRISE SKILLS

EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTERPRISE SKILLS
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Journal Entry 1.............................................................................................................................2
Journal Entry 2.............................................................................................................................2
Journal Entry 3.............................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6
Appendices......................................................................................................................................7
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EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTERPRISE SKILLS
Introduction
Employability skills are a very vital component in order to get employed to any job position in
any sector and therefore it is vital for every job aspirant to increase their employability skills.
The current report focuses on endorsement of employability skills during the job interview
process which would help in getting employed at a particular job role.
Journal Entry 1
The position which I have selected to get employed is HR business manager in Barclays Bank.
The detailed job description is attached in the appendices section of the project.
A professional qualification which could be acquired alongside the degree in order to be the
preferred candidate for the current job is The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Accredited course.
As opined by Moldenhauer and Londt (2018) my CV and LinkedIn profile demonstrate that I
have the essential and desirable skill for the job to the fullest extent as both my CV and LinkedIn
profile provides detailed information regarding my academic and professional qualifications and
also endorses my key skills and capabilities which to be preferred for the current job position.
Journal Entry 2
The questions which were asked during the interview process at Barclays Bank for the post of
Human Resource Business Manager were behavioural interview question. As opined by
Iordanoglou (2018) the behavioural interview questions were asked by the interviewer regarding
how I behaved in the past or regarding how I handled certain work situations in the past. In order
to answer the behavioural interview questions in an effective manner during an interview and in
order to grab attention of the interviewer it is very essential to follow the STAR technique as it
helps in influencing and satisfying an interviewer which proves very vital regarding selection to
a particular job role. At various times it is observed that interviewers structure their questions
using the STAR technique and therefore it becomes very vital for a job seeker to apply the STAR
interview method in order to prepare for behavioural interview questions.
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EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTERPRISE SKILLS
As stated by Bernstein (2014).STAR is an acronym of four key concepts namely Situation Task
Action Result and each concept is a step which a job candidate can adopt in order to answer a
behavioural interview question. Upon completion of the four steps a job seeker will be able to
give a detailed answer based on the behavioural question asked by the interviewer which helps in
pleasing an interviewer. During the course of my interview process I effectively applied the
STAR process which involved the following:
Situation- In this step I communicated to the interviewer regarding the context within which I
performed a particular task or the challenges which I faced during performing a particular task to
the interviewer in order to convey the importance and challenge of my previous tasks.
Task- In this step, I communicated my responsibility regarding one of my previous tasks to the
interviewer in order to convince him that I remain fully aware of my roles and responsibilities.
Action- According to Chapman, Miles and Maurer (2017) in this step I communicated to the
interviewer regarding how I managed to complete the task which was assigned to me and how I
endeavoured to meet the challenges associated with one of my previous task in order to convey
to the interviewer that I possess the skill and capability to complete any assigned tasks in a given
span of time no matter what the challenges remain. During this step I was cautious of the fact
that I focus on communicating to the interviewer what I did or what actions I undertook to
complete a task rather than focusing on what my team or my colleagues or my boss did during
the course of the task.
Result- As opined by Taber and Blankemeyer (2015) in this step, I informed the interviewer
regarding the outcome and result of the task which was undertaken by me and what were the
feedbacks of other individuals regarding the outcome of the results of my task. In this step I
ensured that I fully conveyed to the interviewer what I accomplished after completing the task
and what I learnt after the completion of the task in order to ensure that the interviewer gets
convinced regarding my contribution and capability towards the effective outcome of the task.
The first question which was asked to me by the interviewer during the interview process was as
follows:
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EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTERPRISE SKILLS
Tell me about a situation when you had to complete a task under a tight deadline. Describe the
situation and explain how you handled it.
The answer to the first question by me using the STAR process is as follows:
While I prefer to plan my work out in stages and complete it piece by piece, I can also achieve
strong work results under a tight deadline. Once, while working in my previous company, an
employee left the company few days before he had to deliver an important project to the
company. After the employee left, I was asked by my company to take over the task with only a
few days to learn and deliver the project. Upon receiving the work, I formed a task force and
delegated the work accordingly to my team members and we all completed the project before the
final delivery day and therefore I think I thrive to work under tight deadlines.
The second question which was asked to me by the interviewer during the interview process was
as follows:
What do you do when a team member refuses to complete his portion of a task?
The answer to the second question by me using the STAR process is as follows:
When there arises any issues of team conflicts, I always tend to step up as a team leader as I feel
that my communication skill makes me an effective leader. For instance, while I was working in
my previous company on an important project, two of my team members got engaged in an
argument which resulting in both of them refusing to complete their part of the work as they both
were not satisfied with their workloads regarding the project and therefore I summoned an
emergency team meeting in order to discuss the issue and accordingly re-arranged the work
arrangements and work load of all the team members which made every team member happy
which increased their productivity which ultimately led to the success of our project.
According to my point of view, my chosen company should employ as I possess all the required
skills and qualities which are needed to perform the job in the most productive and effective
manner. Another reason according to me for which my chosen company should employ me
because I not only have the theoretical knowledge regarding the various aspects of the job but I
also possess the required level of practical experiences which is evident from the experiences
depicted to the interviewer which is very vital for the selected job position.
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EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTERPRISE SKILLS
Journal Entry 3
Throughout the whole module I effectively learnt about how can I become more self-aware about
myself by implementing various tools and techniques which helped me in identifying my
personal strengths, weaknesses, capabilities and skills which would help me in preparing myself
for getting employed in any sector. From the current module I also learnt about various ways
regarding how to increase knowledge about the sector or industry in which I want to get
employed and therefore can prepare myself accordingly. Lastly, from the module I learnt about
how to increase and improve my employability skills in order to be in a better position to get
employed.
As stated by Marianne et al. (2018) the skills which I need to develop further are negotiation
skills, inter-cultural management skills and developing body language and posture during
presiding a meeting or conference as these skills and qualities are considered to be very vital in
context of the above mentioned job role.
Conclusion
From the above report it is clear and evident that STAR process is a very vital process, which
could be followed during times of behavioural interview question as it helps in better
endorsement of the employability skill of a job seeker and also helps in convincing an
interviewer in a more effective manner.
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EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTERPRISE SKILLS
References
Bernstein, L. E. (2014). The perceived importance of VUCA-driven skills for 21st century leader
success and the extent of integration of those skills into leadership development programs.
Business Premium Collection. (Online). Available at
https://search.proquest.com/docview/1512221932?accountid=30552 Accessed as on 17/12/2018
Chapman, E., Miles, E. W., and Maurer, T. (2017). A proposed model for effective negotiation
skill development. The Journal of Management Development, (Online). 36(7), 940-958.
Available at https://search.proquest.com/docview/1929855586?accountid=30552 Accessed as on
17/12/2018
Iordanoglou, D. (2018). Future trends in leadership development practices and the crucial
leadership skills. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, (Online). 15(2), 118-129.
Available at https://search.proquest.com/docview/2114612054?accountid=30552 Accessed as on
17/12/2018
Marianne, S. M., Kleinlogel, E. P., Tur, B., and Bachmann, M. (2018). The future of
interpersonal skills development: Immersive virtual reality training with virtual humans. Human
Resource Development Quarterly, (Online). 29(2), 125-141. Available at
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21307 Accessed as on 17/12/2018
Moldenhauer, L., and Londt, C. (2018). Leadership, artificial intelligence and the need to
redefine future skills development. European Conference on Management, Leadership and
Governance: Kidmore End, (Online),155-160,XI-XII. Available at
https://search.proquest.com/docview/2154973057?accountid=30552 Accessed as on 17/12/2018
Taber, B. J., and Blankemeyer, M. (2015). Future work self and career adaptability in the
prediction of proactive career behaviors. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, (Online). 86, 20.
Available at https://search.proquest.com/docview/1638517394?accountid=30552 Accessed as on
17/12/2018
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EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTERPRISE SKILLS
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EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTERPRISE SKILLS
Appendices
A. Screenshot of job description and specification
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EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTERPRISE SKILLS
D. Current Professional Development Plan
Goal/Objective
What is it that
you want to
develop or
achieve?
(e.g. skills
development/
career
development/
future plans)
Specific
What exactly do
you need to do
to achieve your
goal?
(e.g. coaching /
mentoring /
shadowing
/reading /
training /
research
/conferences
/supervisor
support)
Measurable
How will you know
you have achieved
your goal?
(e.g. achieved goal /
speak knowledgeably
about subject /
mastered new
technology/feel more
confident/received
good feedback)
Achievable &
Realistic
What resources,
time,
opportunity and
support do you
need to
succeed?
Goals can be
challenging but
must be
achievable and
relevant to your
role
Time bound
When, or within
what time period
will you achieve
this?
Use realistic
deadlines, to allow
time for progress
to have been
made
Short term
Developing body
language during
presentation and
presiding a
meeting or
conference.
Attaining
workshops and
conferences
Received good
feedback from
colleagues
Exposure to
industry
discussion forum,
conferences,
workshops and
online videos
6 months
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EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTERPRISE SKILLS
Medium term
Developing inter-
cultural
management
skills
Training Feel more confident.
Training
materials, Trainer
Support
15 months
Long-term
Development of
highly effective
negotiation skills
Reading, coaching
and mentoring
from supervisors
Gained complete
knowledge of subject
Supervisor
support, online e-
books and
journals
24 months
10