PE7019 - Analysing Self for Strategic Career Development

Each module session follows a similar structure of Learn, Explore Further and Apply. All learning materials and resources are accessible via our virtual learning environment.

Consistent with the distance learning philosophy, you are empowered as partners in the learning process, taking responsibility for your own learning. However, in this self-learning, you will be guided by us via a scheduled series of sessions on Blackboard Collaborate, directed and detailed academic readings, interactive and reflective activities together with diagnostics and self-administered questionnaires in order to enable you to analyse self for the purposes of career development. The first half of the module provides you with the tools necessary to identify your strengths and weaknesses in team-working, your leadership capability, and your emotional and cultural intelligence when undertaking these roles. The second half of the module enables you to transition to higher levels of self-efficacy and self-confidence through providing you with opportunities to use your newly found self-knowledge for employability and career development purposes. You will study the international labour market (including routes such as self-employment and developing your career with an existing employer) drawing upon local, national and international examples. Via Blackboard Collaborate sessions with your tutor you will receive guidance on how to craft professional and postgraduate CVs, LinkedIn Profiles and prepare supporting documentation to meet the needs of employers.

A range of approaches are adopted to accelerate your learning in this module.

During the first week of this module, you will receive information about the module and Teaching & Learning Plan. The teaching and learning plan (TLP) sets out
• Learning outcomes and overall module and programme aims
• Teaching, learning and assessment strategy
• Teaching schedule
• Directed reading references (text and journals) and core texts for the module

You will be an autonomous motivated learner within a supportive distance learning environment. The module tutor provides generic module guidance in various formats across the VLE, as stated in the previous section, and this is supported by the framework of a teaching and learning plan, setting out independent learning, directed study, session recordings, reading and activities prior to, and for, each session. We encourage a reflective-practitioner approach to learning so the emphasis will be on high levels of participation with the interactive activities. As well as developing your self-awareness for the purposes of effective leadership and management and career development we also want you to develop and hone your skills of critical evaluation. To this end, there will be S-T-R-E-T-C-H reading beyond the teaching and learning plan for those who wish to develop these skills further.

Directed learning will centre upon a range of activities including pre-reading, preparation for interactive activities and use of the tutor-supported discussion board on the e-learning platform for discussion involving tutors and particularly between students.

Independent learning will centre upon you identifying and pursuing areas of interest in relation to the subject area or by providing deeper / broader knowledge and understanding of the subject through a range of learning activities that might include extended reading (given the availability of an electronic reading, library e-resources and access to journals in electronic format), reflection, research etc.

Formative feedback will be provided to you on a regular basis as the tutor and your co-students critically evaluate and provide recommendations for your development. Structured and organised formative feedback from both your tutor and your peers will also be provided on some elements of the assessment, for example a draft assignment plan, to ensure your understanding of the assessment criteria and tutor expectations, again, making use of various e-learning facilities notably the module discussion board.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

You will have the opportunity to develop relevant and up to date employability skills and leadership capability which will enhance your personal and professional development and subsequent employability and career progression. Importantly, you will be able to recognise and articulate how to demonstrate your potential added value to organisations.

Knowledge & Understanding:

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
MLO1: Demonstrate ability to work in culturally diverse groups and teams and make appropriate and personal contributions to team effectiveness.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
MLO2: Have critically evaluated personal strengths and weaknesses and have demonstrated ability to engage in reflective self-development.
MLO3: Have critically reviewed the development of inter-personal and intra-personal skills in relation to what employers seek in postgraduate students.

Summative Assessment
The module will be assessed by one summative assessment of 4000 words.

In the first part of the assignment you will provide an overview of the importance of self-awareness and conduct a self-analysis via the use of diagnostics to identify your strengths and weaknesses across a range of interpersonal and intrapersonal skills (2000 words). [MLOs 1 and 2] [PLOs1.1 and 2.1]
In the second part of the assignment, consisting of 2000 words you will consolidate your knowledge and understanding of challenges and issues facing your chosen, or current, profession/industry. You will critically evaluate your own skills profile in relation to the needs and requirements of your profession/industry of choice and provide a comprehensive explication on how you will self-develop in order to overcome the challenges and address the issues you have identified. [MLO 3] [PLO 1.2]

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This module aims to make you highly employable by developing key inter-personal and intra-personal skills which have been identified by current research as those necessary for postgraduate students seeking to enhance their career development opportunities.

The first half of the module is about the analysing and developing self and is intended to develop your ability to recognise the need for, and to enter, the process of personal and professional development for both early employability and career progression. The module is also designed to develop your capacity as an independent learner and to enable the development and application of your identified transferable (soft) skills, and of individual and group learning, across the programme of study. A key outcome of this process is to provide you with sufficient self-awareness of your intra and interpersonal skills to be able to embark on the next half of the module which is designed to help you understand key issues and challenges in relation to your employability prospects in the context of your target profession/industry/sector. A particular focus will be the impact of emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence and self-awareness for your employability as postgraduates. This will include the development of knowledge into the global graduate labour market (including routes such as self-employment and developing your career with an existing employer), drawing upon local, national and international examples. A key learning vehicle for this half of the module is the interactive and self-reflection opportunities which are designed into the programme to enable you to build on your self-analysis from the first half of the module in order to explore further your strengths, weaknesses and areas for further development in the context of your career development plans. You will also receive guidance on how to craft professional, postgraduate CVs, LinkedIn profiles supporting documentation to meet the needs of employers. Detailed directed reading, diagnostics and interactive exercises will be undertaken which are contextualised to your intended, or current, employment, thus representing your specific needs.