Exercise One – Job Application
The very first exercise of the year was to complete a job application form, as its purpose was to help us think about how we have presented ourselves to a prospective employer when we are going to look forward for a job and the most important to extend our employability skills. Also, this exercise was helpful as it prepares me in applying for placement jobs and sending this kind of applications to companies for a job as well. Also, I believe that it is beneficial as it could influence me if I asked for any interview in order to be prepared. In this application was included my personal information, my employment record and my education path and last but not least by my experience and the skills I have gained. This is basically an alternative form of a professional CV, but in order to achieve that I have read a lot of articles and journals as a result to be aware on how to prepare a professional job application effectively. After completing this application form all of the students had to bring a copy of it with us in the classroom in order to exchange it with our peers in a group. This happened in order to evaluate all the applications of our group individually and make our comments on them, such as what we liked about the form, or what we observed that was need improve, what was missing or what was not that too important. At the beginning I was feeling a little nervous about my writing skills because of my foreign language and I was feeling a little shame from my peers when they would evaluate my work. However, it is worth mentioning that my application was pretty good in contrast to others because the bigger percentage of my comments were positive concerning my grammar, vocabulary and the variety of my real examples. After seeing those comments I felt proud of myself despite of my fears. However, the only negative thing of my application form that was noticed was my structure in the writing part where I was talking about my experience and skills, because I did not split it into paragraphs. But generally, I was pleased with my work because it seems that it had a good overview at the end. In addition from this event I noticed that all my peers and I were honest about our comments and thoughts when we were evaluating the others job application forms. Overall, I found this event very helpful as it made me feel more confident, because I think that I have gained the appropriate skills to fill an effective and impressive application form avoiding the past mistakes I have done and the mistakes I have noticed from the other students as a result to learn from them and not going to make them in the future when I hopefully required getting in a job.
Exercise Two – Job Interview
The second exercise of the year was to undertake a mock interview which is the second step after preparing a job application form. For this exercise we had to be well prepared after answering the five random interview questions were given to us. Hence, to accomplish this we had to use a website that is recommended by our tutor who thought that it would help us, where real businessmen and women ask you typical interview questions. The website was http://www.jobsite.co.uk/bemyinterviewer/. When I have heard about this exercise I felt nervous because I have never been interviewed before, so I found this process both strange and intimidating. However, after practising on the above link I found it very useful and for the future, as a result to make me feel more comfortable and confident too in answering any interview questions than in the beginning. My tutor told us that when we are going to answer any interview question we had to give straight answers without being able to think of what to say in advance. The reason is to show real feelings, emotions and more realism as a result to show them that we are honest and confident as well about our answers. In addition, in this exercise I had to listen to all the five interviewer questions and response to them by recording myself. During that process I tried to be as comfortable as I can and answer the interview questions with confidence giving many examples justifying my answers. My purpose of that was to impress the interviewer and show to him or her that I am ready to deal with the job he is offering to me with no fear. Then, when I have finished that part I had to type up my initial recording answers in a word document and brought them in my class for exchanging it with my peers in order to make some comments and thoughts about everyone’s answers. As I have seen the comments made from my peers for my interview answers, I observe that all the comments were positive and I have noticed that giving lot examples I achieved to impress them and show them that I have talked professionally. Summarising, rather than my stress in the beginning of the exercise, I made a lot of effort to develop my skills through my practise on it, as a result to gain good results and finally, the most important thing is that, this exercise helped me to capitalise on my interviewing skills and made me feel more confident about any forthcoming interview.
Exercise Three – Placement Event
This event was held in February and five students of last years who now they are doing placement came to talk to us about their placement journey. I have to say that, it was a special event because these students help other students who want to follow their steps to be aware of placement and make them feel more confident about their choices. These students told us about their work, they described their role, what skills they have gained in a working environment and the plans for the future, their process for applying in a job and the difficulties they have faced and finally, they gave us some advices. By the placement, all students have gained many skills from their work they are doing, as well as to improve their previous skills and knowledge that gained from the University as a result to feel more confident about their selves. Also, at the beginning, all of these students were disappointed as a result to lose motivation during their application process, because they have faced a couple of rejections by jobs which they wanted or some of them did not reply back. However, the most important thing was that they never give up and try their best to get the job they applied for. I honestly feel proud of them. I have to say that before that event I did not want to make placement, because I believe that placement was firstly, one year off of my studies, also it is required more outcomes as I would pay for new accommodations and all these things that placement disadvantages has in a way I cannot afford it. However, after listening actively this event I feel more enthusiastic and I am thinking about it seriously because except the negative side of the placement, I can see the benefits that can offer you, such as you gain work experience and you feel like you are a real employee in a working environment, you have your own salary, you enrich your knowledge as well as to gain more skills, your CV and Cover Letter will include more things that can impress your future employer. In this way you have more chances to choose you and call you for interviews as this is a big step. In addition, after the talk of these five students we had the chance to ask them any questions we would like to ask them individually in order to help us to follow their path to success. Finally, I honestly feel enthusiasm about that placement event and I could not wait to start applying for placements as they have made me to change my mind.