The assignment for semester 2 is an individual portfolio consisting of three elements;
1. Written assignment [2,500 words]
2. Excel analysis with written commentary [1,000 words]
3. Two powerpoint slides with audio commentary [2 minutes]
The portfolio is worth 60% of the overall module marks. The weighting for the individual elements of the portfolio are as follows:
1. Written assignment [60%]
2. Excel analysis with written commentary [30%]
3. Powerpoint slides with audio commentary [10%]
Part 1. Written Assignment [2,500 words]
You are required to answer the following question:
“Businesses look first and foremost for graduates with the right attitudes and aptitudes to enable them to be effective in the workplace” (CBI, 2016:8). Drawing on the intelligent career framework critically consider the actions that you could take to
demonstrate your potential to future employers in your chosen career.
Assignment Guidance:
- The word count is 2,500 words (+/- 10%) excluding references. PLEASE NOTE any words beyond the maximum limit will not be marked.
- NUBS use the Harvard style for referencing [please see the information on Blackboard and links to the Library website).
- For formatting please use a minimum of size 12 font, and minimum 1.5 line spacing. You can use subheadings within the text if you wish and where appropriate you may use tables and bullet points.
Assignment Content:
Below is some guidance for the content of your assignment broken down into the different elements of the question.
Your future career: You may already have an idea of what career you are thinking about, this might be related to a certain role and/or field e.g. HR Manager, Chief Executive or Management Consultant. You may want to have a career in a specific sector e.g. Finance, Oil and Gas, Consultancy. You may want to set up your own business. You may have ideas about the size or location of the organisations that you might want to work for. Or you might be like I was at this point and still be considering all of your options!
The Excel exercise and assignment which requires you to explore the Destinations of Leavers of Higher Education (DLHE) survey results will give you good insight into the types of employment that graduates are entering. The point here is to try and identify a career that you are thinking about. You will need to provide an overview of what this and why this is of interest to you – for example you could link this to your values, or notions of career success.
Attributes: Think about how you will identify the attributes that are required for the career you have identified. For example, you could look at recent job advertisements, consult online careers resources. As discussed in the lecture you can learn from the stories of others – interviews with individuals with ‘successful’ careers in this areas (famous or not!). These could be interviews conducted by others (videos or articles in practitioner/general press) for example see xyz or you could speak with people that you know in these areas. What attributes are being asked for now? Are these expected to change in the future –what might the future of work look like for your chosen career? You could also consider what attributes are needed at different points – entry-level graduate through to manager/leader/owner.
Intelligent Career Framework: draw on the ideas discussed in the lecture to consider what you can do to develop the attributes that you have identified and how you can communicate to potential employers your career aspirations, intentions and directions. This is not simply about identifying a list of actions but reflecting on how this help develop your pre-professional identity as a graduate (again you can draw on the lecture material and reading to develop this further). It is expected that you will draw on the academic literature.
Critical considerations: Strong answers will critically reflect on the challenges and barriers in developing the attributes that have been identified. For example, you could consider if certain individuals more likely to succeed in particular careers – here you could examine gender/class/ethnicity. You will need to draw on the literature here to support your arguments.
Part 2 – Excel analysis with written commentary [1,000 words]
It is important for you to think about the relationship between your learning and your career. The aim of this part of the portfolio is to encourage you to think about the range of careers and opportunities available to you by examining the destinations of recent graduates. Your task is to use MS Office tools (in particular Excel) to analyse and present data about destinations of Newcastle University graduates using the Destinations of Leavers of Higher Education (DLHE) data.
The 2015 and 2016 DLHE Data for graduates of Newcastle University are available on Blackboard [please refer to the DHLE Analysis information sheet to confirm the meaning of the column headings and the link to the HESA website for the codings used].
You are required to analyse the DLHE data from 2015 – 2016 and produce a report on the following areas;
- Employment destinations of Newcastle University graduates
- Retention of graduates in the North East of England and their employment
- Factors impacting on how graduates find their jobs
Assignment Guidance:
- The word count, for the supporting commentary is 1,000 words (+/- 10%). Excluding references and tables. PLEASE NOTE any words beyond the maximum limit will not be marked.
- NUBS use the Harvard style for referencing (please see the information on Blackboard and links to the Library website).
- For formatting please use a minimum of size 12 font, and minimum 1.5 line spacing.
- As the assignment is to undertake data analysis it will be appropriate to use tables and other visual forms of presentation such as graphic and charts.
Assignment Content:
Below is some guidance for the content of your assignment.
In the IT Practical during the week commencing 12 February you will analyse the 2014 spreadsheet of DLHE Data [Destination of Leavers from Higher Education] for graduates of Newcastle University. Use the Excel skills from the seminar to analyse the data from the 2015/16 spreadsheets and convert this into information to respond to the 3 points you are being asked to report on.
You are being asked to identify the data from the 2015 and 2016 spreadsheets and present the information in a visual form (i.e., charts and graphs), AND provide a supporting commentary of no more than 1,000 words to explain the information you have chosen to present. Strong responses will demonstrate the skills learnt in using Excel to analyse the data and how this can then be reported so that the key information is clearly highlighted and easy to understand.
You will therefore need to make decisions about the data you wish to include or exclude – strong responses will detail in the commentary the rationale for what data is considered and why.
For the three areas you are being asked to focus on you may wish to consider specific elements such as;
- Employment destinations of Newcastle University graduates – consider which variables you could analyse
- Retention of graduates in the North East of England and their employment –consider which characteristics you could analyse
- Factors impacting on how graduates find their jobs – consider what types of employment you could analyse
For instance, point 2, are decisions to stay in the North East of England related to gender, original address, discipline studied, sector of employment, networks or some other variable?
Part 3 – Powerpoint slides with audio commentary [2 minutes]
Employers consistently identify communication as a key skill required by graduates entering the workplace. This part of the assessment focuses on your communication skills. Your task is use MS Office Powerpoint to present information supported by an audio commentary.
Prepare two Powerpoint slides and present these (maximum of 2 minute audio recording) on;
- My five personal development goals and how I will achieve these by the end of Stage 2 of my degree at Newcastle University Business School
Guidance:
- A maximum of two Powerpoint slides
- The audio commentary can be a maximum of two minutes in length. PLEASE NOTE ANYTHNG BEYOND THE TWO MINUTES TIMEFRAME WILL NOT BE ASSESSED.
- NUBS use the Harvard style for referencing (please see the information on Blackboard and links to the Library website).
- As the aim of the assignment is present information visually and orally it may be appropriate to use visual images and / or bullet points.
Powerpoint Content:
Below is some guidance for the content of your assignment.
In the IT Practical during the week commencing 5 March will focus on producing effective Powerpoint slides. Use the Powerpoint skills from this seminar to design your slides.
You are being asked to present the information on your slides so remember the slides are there to support your audio delivery, not be a substitute for it. Your commentary is your opportunity to personalise the information and explain your goals and actions and why these are important to you, remember to pace what you are saying [don’t rush / speak too quickly] and speak clearly.
There is no set format required for your slides you can use whatever design and animation you consider to be appropriate.
Points to consider when creating your powerpoint:
- Keep it simple
- Limit the number of bullet points or text used
- Limit the use of transitions and build [animation]
- Think about how you might use colour[s]
- Think about the font and typeface size
- Have an appropriate visual theme
- If using any graphics or images ensure that they are high quality and no copyright issues or is source acknowledged
- If using charts or tables ensure that the information can be seen and there is an appropriate level of detail
Also prior to submission it would be a good idea to listen to ensure that the audio commentary is audible.
In presenting your five personal development goals strong responses will be able to confirm why these are the most relevant goals to your future career and the specific actions you have identified that will enable you to achieve these.
