Preparing for Success: PSKC Portfolio - Employability Development

This portfolio, titled "PREPARING FOR SUCCESS: KNOWLEDGE AND CREATIVITY," is a 2000-word document showcasing a student's development of employability skills through the PSKC (Preparing for Success: Knowledge and Creativity) module at LSST (London School of Science and Technology). The portfolio includes a reflective summary explaining how various artifacts, such as photos of classwork, a personal SWOT analysis, a personal development plan, reading logs, job hunting resources, academic resources, examples of job descriptions, a blog post, a poster, and a step-by-step guide, have supported the student's employability. The artefacts demonstrate the student's understanding of employability, self-assessment, career planning, study skills, and job searching techniques. Appendices provide detailed analyses, resources, and reflections, offering a comprehensive view of the student's learning journey and skill development throughout the PSKC module, with the goal of preparing them for the future job market and enhancing their chances of success after graduation.

PREPARING FOR SUCCESS: KNOWLEDGE AND CREATIVITY-FY026
CW2 - Portfolio
(2000 words)
Student’s Name:
LSST ID Number:
BNU ID Number:
Lecturer’s Name:
Submission Date:
OneDrive link of the
portfolio
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Table of Contents Page No.
1 REFLECTIVE SUMMARY TO EXPLAIN HOW AND WHY 10 ENCLOSED ARTEFACTSHAVE SUPPORTED THE DEVELOPMENT OF MY
EMPLOYABILITY. - LO2, LO4
2 10 Appendices
Appendix 1 Photos or Samples of Work Produced in the PSKC Class (During Lessons, Webinars, Self-Study
Sessions or Workshops at LSST) -LO1, LO2, LO3
Appendix 2 Personal SWOT Analysis – LO2
Appendix 3 Personal Development Plan – LO2, LO4
Appendix 4 Reading Log 1 – L01, LO3
Appendix 5 Reading Log 2– L01, LO3
Appendix 6 Resources for Job Hunting 1 – L01, LO3
Appendix 7 Resources for Job Hunting 2 – L01, LO3
Appendix 8 Academic Resources 1 – BNU E-Library – L01, LO3
Appendix 9 Examples of Job Description and Personal Specification (screenshots) – L01, LO3
Appendix 10 Blog – How to Prepare for The Future Job Market? – L01, LO4
Appendix Poster - New Features of MS WORD (RM Unify version) – L01, LO3
Appendix Step by Step Guide - Work Together on PowerPoint Presentations– L01, LO3
Appendix Reading Log 3– L01, LO3
Appendix Reading Log 4– L01, LO3
Appendix My Favourite Bucks Graduate Attributes – L01, LO4
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HOW AND WHY 10 ENCLOSED ARTEFACTS HAVE SUPPORTED THE DEVELOPMENT OF MY EMPLOYABILITY?(500 words)
Employability refers to the transferable skills that are required by the individual for making them employable. Along with the good subject knowledge and
technical understanding, the employers also outline different skills which they require from the employees. It is very essential that as a candidate to develop the
personal skills and knowledge of the specific field for becoming employable. There are number of jobs and opportunities created every year for the candidates.
The candidates are unable to utilise the opportunities as they are unable to make fit for those jobs due to various reasons. For getting good and required jobs
candidate must develop skills and knowledge required for the jobs.
The enclosed artefacts have helped me to understand the need of developing the self capabilities to get the jobs. The artefacts have enabled to understand the
importance of learning things during sessions and workshops. It is provided to know the concepts learned and understanding which has been developed through
practical exposures. This also made me to conduct my personal SWOT analysis to identify my personal strengths to develop them for the future opportunities
so that full advantage could be gained from these opportunities. The weaknesses were also identified so that I could work on them and be prepared for the
probable threats that could affect my growth and development. The reading logs helped me to identify the ways through which different situations could be
handled. It developed the ways how resources and drawbacks could also be used productively for the self benefit. The time of lockdown created various
opportunities for those who used the time productively. It helped me in researching the different career options available for choosing the most appropriate one.
Also I have learned that the study skills must be effective for studying in right manner and only focusing over the concepts threshing out unnecessary
information. This helped me in getting more knowledge and to increase my knowledge using quality study materials as there are number of resources which are
not authentic and may create confusion. The job hunting sites are essential for seeking jobs. There are number of job opportunities around the world that may
provide with desired job if posted on right sites. I assessed different sites and chose the best one after analysing their pros and cons. Number of sites are there
with millions of candidates with huge competition which makes it essential to post it over good site to get positive response. E-library is the resource that
allows to use books from anywhere on the digital devices without the need to carry physical books. It has eased the learning process and get access over ocean
of information and to select the best ones. The job description and personal description gave me the idea regarding the presentation of resume and personal
skills. It also gave me the idea about general skills that are required by every job such as communication skills and computer skills. The blog writing helped me
in improving the writing skills which is essential for the personal development. It developed my overall personality and increasing my employability
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APPENDIX 1: Photos or Samples of Work Produced in PSKC Class
Caption: Caption:
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Caption: Caption:
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APPENDIX 2: My Personal SWOT Analysis(as a student of BNU)
STRENGTHS (strong points) WEAKNESSES (weak points)
1 I am very good at grasping the things at once. 1 I am not good at focusing over one thing
2 My communications skills are strong and
effective.
2 I am not goods at sports or co-curriculum activities
3 I have good academic record in the high schools 3 I face difficulty in starting the communication
4 I am always interested towards learning new
things or getting new knowledge
4 I face issues in adjusting in crowdie places
5 I manage my time effectively doing productive
things
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OPPORTUNITIES (potential gains) THREATS (potential losses)
1 The university would prove to be an opportunity
by learning new things
1 To adjust to new environment might be difficult
2 Knowledge of the core interest areas of study
could be enhanced by focusing
2 The new students may not interact positively
3 To improve the weaknesses 3 Lower grades will create problems in getting good job
4 To enhance the communication skills interacting
with new people
4 Increasing competition will require highly specialised
candidates
5 Good jobs by getting good marks 5 Concentrating over productive activities eliminating all the
distractions of life.
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APPENDIX 3: My Personal Development Plan (to become an employable graduate after 2024)
OBJECTIVES FOR MY
PERSONAL
DEVELOPMENT
ACTIONS REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE MY
OBJECTIVES
SUPPORT
AND/OR
RESOURCES I
NEED
TIMEFRAME ESTIMATED
DATE OF
COMPLETION /
ACHIEVEMENT
Enhacing Research Skills Readings, studying, carrying out
researches
Books/
Journals/
Articles/ Internet
2 years 31/12/2022
Enhancing
Communicatiion Skills
Interactions with people
Communication courses
Internet/ people 1 year 31/12/2021
Enhancing technical Skills Technical Study courses
University graduation
Practical practice
Software/
Internet/
University
course
2 years 31/12/2022
Time management Online courses
Practising time management in routine
Internet 6 months 31/06/2021
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APPENDIX 4: Reading Log 1
8
TITLE AND
WEBLINK
How you can continue to focus on Career Planning during the Covid-19 Lockdown
https://portal.lsst.ac/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=2214
SUMMARY AND
YOUR COMMENTS
OF THE BLOG IN
YOUR OWN
WORDS
This year has been critical for everyone. Each and every field has suffered during the Covid because of lockdown from the trade,
business, travel and education. The education of children was put to hold during the time which has affected the studies of students
as all the schools, colleges and universities were closed. Blog provides that world is full of uncertainties so one must try out solutions
that help them in growing and achieving their desired goals and objectives without a stop. Blog states career planning is very
essential for the students for identifying what are the fields in which they could excel. Students are required to find out their interest
areas in which they would like to grow their career. During the lockdown all the places are closed so students could focus over
researching their career. The internet has proved to be very important during the lockdown as it helped the people to continue their
work from home. It provides that the students can also search for the career options available for their chosen stream. The colleges
and universities that provide the courses, the eligibility criteria, fee structure for admission all these related things should be
researched. They could also communicate to counsellors through telecommunications that will also guide for the possible options
and fields. The graduates could search for the different organisations where they would like to work and give interviews online. They
could identify the job requirements and apply in different companies for getting a good job. It depends on every person how
productively the time is utilised for planning career.
IN-TEXT CITATION ( Cullum, and et.al., 2020)
FULL REFERENCE Cullum, R.J., and et.al., 2020. Identity in lockdown: supporting primary care professional identity development in the COVID-19 generation. Education for
Primary Care. 31(4). pp.200-204.

APPENDIX 5: Reading Log 2
9
TITLE AND
WEBLINK
Study skills and learning materials
https://portal.lsst.ac/mod/resource/view.php?id=2264
SUMMARY AND
YOUR COMMENTS
OF THE BLOG IN
YOUR OWN
WORDS
The blog provides that everyone put their time in studying things for different reasons. Some study for getting higher grades, some
for enhancing their knowledge and some for learning certain things. The purpose of studying may be different but the thing
important for retaining is how it is being studied. Students are required to develop their study skills for understanding the concepts
and things in more better way. Study skills enable the students to identify what is required to be studied, how it is to be studied and
what is required to be learned from the learning sources. The study skills includes getting organised for study, using effective time
for study, sources used for study, critical reading and creating studying strategies and notes preparing. Learning material play an
important role in studies. The quality of knowledge that will be gained highly depends over the learning materials which are being
used as per the blog. Students should use the books and materials provided by their schools and colleges as they are verified and
authentic. They help in getting quality knowledge. Students are nowadays using number of sources for studying things. It is essential
that the learning materials are of authentic institute or authors for getting the right concepts and understanding.
IN-TEXT CITATION ( BOUZID, 2019 )
FULL REFERENCE BOUZID, H.A., 2019. Innovative Practices in Teaching the “Study Skills” Course: A Comparative Study.

APPENDIX 6: Resources for Job Hunting 1
Adzuna
Description: It is a global site founded in UK which is considered as top site in UK for job seekers. The
site is having millions of visitors every month and the site is also free. In the early 2018, it also over took
operations of Find a Job. Replacement for the Universal Job-match it is government job board that is
available in both English and Welsh. The company is operating in around 16 countries. It collects and
displays vacancies from the large employment sites, employer sites and specialised job sites in single
database.
Image
IN-TEXT CITATION
(Novak and Novalija, 2017)
(Thompson, Muir and Qayyum, 2019)
IN-TEXT CITATION
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Large job database collated by services allows to provide statistics
trends on employment
There are large number of vacancies posts which means increased
competition
Is used by every employer in UK It takes considerable time to fill the details
It is a government site that ensure high degree of confidentiality The employers only choose candidates that fulfil their specific
requirements
It is located in number of countries around the world It is useful for candidates having some years of job experience
The website is easy and simple to use Fresher may not find it useful due to heavy crowd from different places
The website is free and candidate from anywhere can apply for jobs.
Conclusion (Will I use it?/ How to use it effectively?)
No i am not going to use it due to high competition and the jobs are not displayed at specific to the employers that helps in getting more attention
increasing chances of getting job.
References
Novak, E. and Novalija, I., 2017. Connecting Professional Skill Demand with Supply. Proceedings of SiKDD.
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Thompson, K.M., Muir, R. and Qayyum, A., 2019, March. Australian Library Job Advertisements: Seeking Inclusion and Diversity. In International
Conference on Information (pp. 817-825). Springer, Cham.
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APPENDIX 7: Resources for Job Hunting 2
Monster.Com
Description: It is global employment website which is operated and owned by the Monster worldwide.
The company has headquarters in Weston, Massachusetts. It attract of number of Job seekers from
different places every month. The site has 3 job types of the job ads for choosing from that could also be
purchased in bundle. Monster would also distribute the jobs over social media and different targeted
websites in form of banner ads for increasing the visibility. It was formed in 1999 by merger of Monster
Board and the Online Career Centre. It is also subsidiary of the Randstad Holding which is, Dutch
multinational HR is consulting firm.
Image
IN-TEXT CITATION
(Patwardhan, 2016)
(Amusan and Oyediran, 2016)
IN-TEXT CITATION
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
The website display the job ads over number of other websites There is huge competition as it is available globally
It also displays jobs over social media which is the most useful source
for attracting new talents.
The website is paid one and provides access for limited time frame
The website is easy to use and access by the candidates The job is criticised for number of personal data theft
It has various plans as per which the jobs are categorised reducing
competition
It is also criticised for stock options grant backdating scandal
It is global site that enables to search for jobs around the world The risk of data theft is very high at monster.com
Conclusion (Will I use it?/ How to use it effectively?)
Yes the site will be used for the job seeking. The second plan of the site is helpful in displaying the jobs at different sites of organisation for one
year. It helps in reducing competition and having attention of different employers. The CV or resume must be effective and match the job
requirements.
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