PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY

Running head: PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
Name of student
Name of university
Author’s note:

1
PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
Summary
Social media has presently grown as the basic need of the present world. This
platform has been considered to be the crucial aspect for each person. Social media could be
described as the computer based technology that allows the sharing of thoughts, ideas as well
as huge amount of information using the development of communities and the virtual
networks. By the designing, social media could be considered as the internet based platform
and it provides the users with quick electronic communication of the content. The content
mainly involves the personal information, videos, documents and the photos. The users could
engage with the platform of social media through any smartphone, tablet, computer or any
web application or web based software. With the use of social media, significantly large
audience has been reached as there is a vast amount of people using the platform of social
media. With the proper use of the platform of social media, huge amount of information was
gathered and appropriate methods were determined for developing the personal profile.
Social media has been considered as the marketing strategies that permits the organisation in
connecting directly with the audience. The people who are interested in the business could be
effectively determined and proper flow of information could be ensured. With the help of the
social media, significantly effective relations could be formed with the people. It provides the
efficient platform for meeting various new people, connect with the family and friends and
form group of efficient people with similar interests. This platform could also be used for
improving the relationships with the clients and colleagues. It is considered as the efficient
platform for developing the brand loyalty as well as trust. Huge number of people are
presently connected with one another using this platform and it offers efficient information
regarding people that assists the individuals in discovering the people with same likings as
well as interests.

2
PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
While developing the LinkedIn profile, it has been analysed that LinkedIn comprises
of various features for brand as well as the social media marketer. The expertise could easily
be established using the content platform of LinkedIn, interact with the community using the
brand pages as well as the groups and then reach out to the other individuals using the
LinkedIn messaging. With the help of LinkedIn, the contact with people who are hiring could
easily be established and appropriate people could be discovered. The LinkedIn platform
involves the extensive listings of jobs. The search engine of the LinkedIn platform could be
effectively used for working in any sector and find the appropriate jobs. Several popular
brands in the present times are utilising the LinkedIn platform as the method of discovering
the appropriate candidates using the job listings and presently, there are various listings that
are exclusive to the LinkedIn platform. The LinkedIn platform allows the peers in endorsing
the skills as well as writeup the various recommendations and similar kind of thing could be
done for the peers. The people who are searching for the networking connections or any job
candidates would easily take these particular recommendations into the consideration. With
the help of the LinkedIn platform, the individuals could easily select with whom to connect
on the platform. The LinkedIn platform hosts over thousands of various online groups,
allowing the professionals for networking within the respective branches.
While developing the skills audit questionnaire, it has been analysed that the skills
gap mainly denotes to difference among the skills that are required for any particular job as
well as the skills that are possessed by any particular individual. Due to the skills gap, any
particular employee may not be able to perform the total job. The identification of the skills
gaps benefits the individuals in ensuring that the individual has gained all the skills that are
needed by any organisation while applying for any particular job position. With the extensive
application of the skills gap analysis, the skill gaps could be effectively identified and
appropriate measures could be taken.

3
PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
While having the interview with the employer, it has been analysed that the personal
interviews are used by all the employers as well as the companies for choosing their
appropriate staff. The interview could be considered as the most crucial stage involved in
staff selection process. The interview proves as crucial as it connects both employers as well
as the job seekers. It helps the employers in choosing the suitable person for any particular
job. It has also proven to be the most effective method for the job seekers to present all their
job skills as well as gain the preferred position in the company. While having the interview
with the employer, all the skills were properly conveyed to the employer.
The interview was able to collect all the information regarding the cultural as well as
the educational background, the work experience, the intelligence quotient, the various
communication skills, the personality kind, social behaviour. While submitting the
application form, there were some hesitation while filling some of the sections and with
conducting the interview, all the queries were properly conveyed and solutions to the issues
were properly discovered. In the interview stage, all the past experiences were properly
conveyed to the employer along with the recent achievements as well as the research works.
When any potential candidate appears for any interview to companies, it could be considered
that the contacts of the person is increased with the interviewer as well as with the other
candidates. It allows the growth of significant confidence as well as the opportunities.

4
PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
Appendix
Questionnaire
S. No Skills Yes No Don’t
know
1 I am confident regarding my ability of adapting my
effective writing style to varieties of documents.

2 I have the ability of listening to people closely and
comprehend what they have to say

3 I recently worked as the part of team with the intention of
achieving a goal or completing the tasks.

4 I constantly meet or exceed my targets. 
5 I am confident regarding my ability of identifying the
various component parts of any complex problem prior
tackling any issue completely.

6 I have the ability of actively recognising the methods of
enhancing the respective performance.

7 I am commonly able to develop an effective collaboration
with the people from various ranges of backgrounds

8 I utilise the visual aids appropriately when giving any
presentation

9 I have made significant contribution to planning as well
as the co-ordination of the work of groups


5
PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
10 I efficiently plan ahead and then work appropriately with
scheduling for meeting the deadlines

11 I have the ability of assimilating, analysing as well as
evaluating the huge amount of complicated information
for discovering the logical conclusions.

12 I have the ability making the sound decisions easily 
13 I could easily apply what I have learned from any
particular experience to the new situations

14 I comprehend the statistical data and analyse the accurate
predictions

15 I have the ability of writing the concise reports with
summarising the events or situations

16 I can provide constructive feedback to other people 
17 I discover innovative methods of approaching the
problems like brainstorming or mindmapping

18 I set myself as significantly thought-provoking yet
achievable targets and goals

19 I have the ability of interpreting the numerical data that
has been presented to me in the form of graphs

20 I have been responsible for the organisation of activities
that includes various people.

Analysis of skill no. 3 using STAR

6
PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
Situation (S): The group assigned to develop a software for the clients was not able to
solve some issues quickly and there was significant delay in delivering the product to the
client
Task (T): My personal goal was generating the innovative ideas, incentives as well as
materials that would lead to the resolving of the issues and complete the software
development
Action (A): I designed the new requirement engineering process that helped me to
understand all the major requirements of the clients. I developed the appropriate framework
for the software development that was provided to the developer team for executing the stage
of software coding.
Result (R): The software needed by the client was provided according to the
specifications provided by the client within the allocated deadline. The framework was
significantly helpful for executing the coding of the software.
Analysis of skill no. 19 using STAR
Situation (S): Huge amount of data was gathered by the statistics department and
there were no employees present for analysing the data and deduce accurate forecasts of a
product in the market
Task (T): My goal was to produce the efficient analysis of the data using proper
methods that would help in generating the effective forecasts.
Action (A): The action that has been taken was that an appropriate data analysis
methods was used and appropriate forecasts were deduced.
Results (R): The analysis of data was complete and then accurate results were
deduced that were used by the company for making accurate business decisions.

7
PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
Interview with employer
Me: What is the name of the organisation?
Employer: Name of the organisation is JGH Software solutions. We are the expert and
leading company in developing various software products for our clients.
Me: What does the organisation do? What products and services do your company
offer?
Employer: Our organisation is the leading company working in the sector of software
development and we provide various software solutions to our clients. We develop the
software to the clients according the specifications provided by the clients.
Me: What is the job vacancy situation like in your company/job sector?
Employer: Presently, there is a vacancy in our company in the post of Junior Front
End developer who would be able to design interactive and attractive websites for our clients
and customers who need any kind of website developed.
Me: What application process does your company require?
Employer: The application process of our company involves the walk-in interview
process of the potential recruits and then evaluation of the recruits in the group discussions.
Me: What advice do you have for graduates finding a job?
Employer: I would like to advice the graduates who are looking for a job that they
should opt for a job where you could gain skills in the initial stages of your professional
career. I would advise the graduates to get a job where you could learn new things from your
senior and work in challenging environment and not only in your comfort zone.
Me: What skills are you looking for in a graduate?

8
PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
Employer: We are looking for commercial awareness, communication, teamwork,
problem solving skills, and leadership skills in any graduate who applies in our company for
job.
Me: How do you use social media?
Employer: We use the social media platform for determining the latest trends in the
market and make appropriate changes in our business processes.
Me: What are the biggest mistakes graduates make applying for jobs/attending
interviews?
Employer: I have observed that the graduates apply for the jobs that they are
comfortable with and do want to extend their knowledge base. The jobs where they could
learn new things are required to be explored and they want to get a job that gives low salary
but suits them initially.
Me: How many people applied for your job/the latest vacancy in your organization?
Employer: Recently we had a job vacancy of marketing manager and more than 100
potential recruits applied for the job position.
Me: What are the current trends in your area of the job market?
Employer: Presently, the software development sector is integrating the various
technologies of machine learning and artificial intelligence in their software for improving
the working of the software. We are also progressing towards that market and applying
appropriate mechanisms for applying these technologies in our software.
Me: What are the biggest challenges you experience in your particular industry?

9
PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
Employer: The biggest challenge that we face in the software development market is
making the software for the clients according to the specifications and sometimes the
specifications of the client changes in the middle of the project that leads to the initiation of
development process from the beginning.
Me: What makes a graduate attractive to a potential employer?
Employer: I personally find any graduate attractive when they represent great
communication skills and problems solving skills to the real time problems. They become
naturally attractive to any potential employer if they possess the appropriate knowledge
regarding their core subjects and areas.
Me: What can I do now to improve my chances when I graduate?
Employer: Most importantly, do not look for jobs that does not suit you. You should
always get your first job in the sector that suits you completely and allows you to develop
internally.
What did you gain from talking to potential employers?
Reflection: While talking to the employers, I have understood that the potential
employers search for extensive knowledge and understanding in the sector where the recruits
are applying for and want high quality communication skills in the graduates.
How did the experience change your perceptions on industry? What surprised you?
Reflection: I was quite surprised by the amount of competition that this industry faces
and the extent of innovative products that are available in this industry.
What skills do you need to think about improving upon?

10
PLANNING CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
Reflection: I need to improve my communication skills and computer skills that
would help me gain an appropriate knowledge about the jobs I am interested in.
What will you now do to build upon your skills to ensure you are more employable
when you graduate?
Reflection: I will enroll in the courses that provides extensive training for the jobs I
am interested in and ensure that I get the job once I am completely equipped with all the
skills.