Self Assessment Questionnaire and Evaluation

To begin this module I thought it would be a good idea to fill out this self assessment questionnaire provided by the university to assess what level you are at know with your employability skills, and addresses what you need to do to reach the next level.

https://futureplan.glos.ac.uk/Form.aspx?m=r&sid=12140

Futureplan.glos.ac.uk. (2017). Future Plan Login. [online] Available at: https://futureplan.glos.ac.uk/Form.aspx?m=r&sid=12140 [Accessed 12 May 2017].

My questionnaire if below. 

Your Future Plan - Self Assessment Questionnaire: Level 5 students: 2016/17

• Complete your questionnaire

The new self-assessment questionnaire for Level 5 is quick to do and will give you an idea of how much progress you have made so far towards developing your employability and planning for your next step after Uni. It will supply you with suggestions about next steps to take, based on your scores in the three key areas of work experience, skills development and career management. Your Personal Tutor will want to discuss your questionnaire results with you in a tutorial meeting, to check on your progress and to help you to plan next steps.
Please note: you must save your draft form or submit your form within 30 minutes. The form will time out after 30 minutes and you will lose your data.

Name of your Personal Tutor

Kieran Phelps

Work Experience

Explore

I have actively investigated work experience, internship and placements opportunities, to find out what is available to me	YES
I have discussed my work experience/internship/placement plans with a member of the Future Plan team/my academic team/Personal Tutor	NO
I have attended any of the following: a Future Plan opportunities event; a placement briefing or 1-1 discussion; an employer presentation	YES

Decide

I know the most effective way to contact organisations to ask about work experience/internships/placements and feel confident about doing this	YES
I have undertaken ‘work-shadowing’ days or visits with individuals or organisations related to sectors/jobs I am interested in and/or I have completed a placement at Level 4	YES
I know which organisations I am going to apply to for work experience/internship/ placement	YES
I have investigated the recruitment process for the organisations I intend to apply to for work experience/internship/placement	NO

Achieve

My CV includes: work experience/internship/placement experience and/or previous employment history relevant to my career direction	YES
I have successfully applied for a work experience/internship/placement/part-time job/volunteering role	YES
I have already taken on additional responsibility in my part-time job/volunteering/internship or placement/previous employment	YES

Your Work Experience score

8

Work Experience - What did you score?

Select your score below to reveal suggested next steps

8-10

Work Experience - Score 8-10 - You’re ahead of the game!

You have understood the importance of work experience and already have some good examples to include on your CV. Next:

• Apply for a Future Plan internship and/or vacation work to gain further relevant experience – particularly if you are not doing a 12-month placement
• Run applications & CVs past the Future Plan team to make sure that they will make a positive impact  - book an appointment or Ask a Question.
• Ask people who have supervised/managed you if they can supply a reference or testimonial for you for future applications

Skills Development

Explore

I know what specific and transferable skills employers will be seeking in the sectors/roles which interest me	YES
I have spoken to the Future Plan Team or looked on the Future Plan portal to find opportunities to develop relevant skills	YES
I have investigated the requirements for the Gloucestershire Silver Award	NO

Decide

I know which are my strongest skills and which skills I most want to use in further study or employment	YES
I have decided upon an activity to try this year which will help me to develop my current skills (part-time job, volunteering, club or society, vacation experience…?)	NO
I know which skills I lack which I need to develop and I have made a plan to acquire them	YES
I have attended a Gloucestershire Silver Award workshop	NO

Achieve

I have taken up a new activity this year to develop my skills (part-time job, volunteering, club or society, vacation experience, something else?)	YES
My CV includes evidence of skills relevant to the placement/graduate jobs I hope to apply for	YES
I have achieved a Gloucestershire Silver Award	NO

Your Skills Development score

6

Skills Development - What did you score?

Select your score below to reveal suggested next steps

4-7

Skills Development - Score 4-7 - You’re working on it…

You have probably already done some skills analysis and you are taking steps to develop your skills. Next you could:

• Attend skills events to develop your skills profile – offered by Future Plan team, your School, the SU, the Growth Hub…and advertised on the Future Plan portal
• Commit to doing something new in the next six months which will broaden your experience and develop new skills – join an SU club or society or take on more responsibility in a familiar setting, volunteer, take a short course, find a new part-time job, look into summer vac opportunities
• Apply for a Gloucestershire Silver Award to practise talking about your skills and to gain official recognition for your achievements so far 

Career Management

Explore

I have used Prospects Planner and/or Profiling for Success psychometric assessments to help me with self-analysis, so that I am aware of my personal strengths, values and interests to inform my career choice	NO
I have attended Future Plan events to help me with self-analysis and career exploration and/or I have had a 1-1 meeting with a Careers Adviser	NO
I know how to investigate postgraduate study/industry sectors/organisations/job roles and I’ve started my research	YES

Decide

I am in contact with people doing jobs I am interested in, to find out how they started out and what skills and qualifications they possess and to develop my career network	NO
I have weighed up my career/placement options and have decided which option/s I wish to pursue	YES
I have set myself goals to work towards this year to advance my Future Plan	NO

Achieve

I have recently updated my CV to include the experience and skills I have gained since Level 4	YES
I am actively managing my social media profile to enable me to network and job-hunt successfully	NO
I have spoken to a member of the Future Plan team for advice on making applications for placements/postgraduate study/jobs in my chosen field	NO
I am confident about my interview technique	YES

Your Career Management score

4

Career Management - What did you score?

Select your score below to reveal suggested next steps

4-6

Career Management - Score 4-6 - You’re working on it…

You are taking active steps to identify possible career directions which could be right for you. To make further progress:

• Attend employability events organised by your School/Future Plan team to help with decision-making, goal setting, networking…
• Book an appointment with a Careers Consultant to discuss your career plans
• Investigate postgraduate courses and job possibilitie

Targets/Action Plan

From filling out this questionnaire I know have a set of target or things I could do to improve myself and gain more experience.

·      Apply for a Future Plan internship and/or vacation work to gain further relevant experience – particularly if you are not doing a 12-month placement

·      Run applications & CVs past the Future Plan team to make sure that they will make a positive impact  - book an appointment or Ask a Question.

·      Ask people who have supervised/managed you if they can supply a reference or testimonial for you for future applications

·      Attend skills events to develop your skills profile – offered by Future Plan team, your School, the SU, the Growth Hub…and advertised on the Future Plan portal

·      Commit to doing something new in the next six months which will broaden your experience and develop new skills – join an SU club or society or take on more responsibility in a familiar setting, volunteer, take a short course, find a new part-time job, look into summer vac opportunities

·      Apply for a Gloucestershire Silver Award to practise talking about your skills and to gain official recognition for your achievements so far 

·      Attend employability events organised by your School/Future Plan team to help with decision-making, goal setting, networking…

·      Book an appointment with a Careers Consultant to discuss your career plans

·      Investigate postgraduate courses and job possibilities 

I have summarised these targets, and have introduced a few which are skilled targets- thing I can do to improve my illustrations practice. Below are my 5 targets I aim to achieve during this module.

• Research- investigate possible job opportunities and what graduating with a BA in illustration can lead to. Research internships via the Future Plan internship scheme.

• Contact- Start collecting a list of potential clients and companies I may want to work work for. Contact them via email, sending off samples of your work. Contact potential work placements, and arrange work placements.

• Illustration Practice- increase my professional skills by attending classes, workshops, and watching tutorial gaining a further understanding of how to make your work as professional as possible. Increase my digital skills- how to set up a template for work, and how to interpret a briefs guideline.

• Competition and Commissions- I will enter lots of competition to gain further experience of working for a client and to a brief. I will open myself up from commissions, whether paid or not to gain experience working and communicating with a client, and to experience someone potentially buying my work, and how I go about sending them it, and what fee I induce.

• Learn- learn more about a gain a better understanding  of the free lance illustrator role, what a day is like for a professional freelance illustrator. Research how much illustrators can get paid, their professionalism, how they manage time, materials cost, licensing, fees, contacts, are they represented by an agent and how they started building their contacts list.

During my work placements I aim to refer to these targets, and will evaluate if I have achieved them at the end of this module.