Developing Employability for Business

Description

Developing Employability is an outstanding guide to the skills involved in job-hunting and entering the workplace. Straightforward, practical, and engaging, it allows students to develop, experience, and refine the skills and techniques that will help them stand out from the crowd as they look forward to their future career.

• The first textbook from a major publisher that is designed to support a module on professional and employability skills: covers the skills required in employment (along with numerous opportunities to practice these) together with guidelines on securing a job
• Interviews with high-profile graduate employers act as examples of real-life practice
• Student interviews highlight areas particularly important for undergraduates, and compare common experiences
• A holistic, project-based approach, which develops skills and understanding via active, experiential, social and reflective learning; students are given experience in the techniques and skills needed for managing themselves and others, for undertaking project work, and for finding and progressing in work
• Breadth of coverage on employability: in addition to a full range of workplace skills and job-hunting skills, the book includes material on areas that employers have identified as important, including customer-facing skills and entrepreneurship
• An integrated approach, with a balanced mix of theory and skills; sections are revisited so that skills can be revised, refined and developed over the course of the book and in response to actual learning experiences and needs

About the Author(s)

Maryvonne Lumley, UWL, and James Wilkinson

Maryvonne Lumley: Maryvonne lectures in employability related subjects to both full time and employed, part time students in the International Business School at the University of West London. Her extensive commercial experience, which has included recently overseeing an Investors in People project, gives her firsthand insights into current working practices and business perspectives on the employment market for graduates. This wealth of practical knowledge is supported by theoretical understanding achieved through her MSc in Human Computer Interaction and MA in Psychology of Education.

James Wilkinson: James is Director of Teaching, Learning and Assessment at the London School of Business and Management, and has previously taught in both teaching focused and research intensive universities. As a Teaching Fellow in Higher Education at King's College London, he supported early career teachers and refined his 'Combined Learning for Employability and Research (CLEAR)' pedagogical approach. Prior to this, as a Senior Lecturer at the University of West London, James participated in and provided leadership for numerous employability-related research and curriculum development projects, and also led an international, EU-funded project designing a new module and pedagogical approach for developing intercultural communication competence. In 2010 he was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship by the UK Higher Education Academy.

Table of Contents

How to use this book
Section One: Identifying and Building Employability Assets
1:Understanding employability and your development needs
2:Employability audit, learning logs and portfolio-building
3:Reflection and transferable Skills
4:Enhancing your Profile: standing Out from the crowd
Section Two: Developing Essential Employability Assets
5:Managing projects, managing yourself
6:Team Work 1: Getting started
7:Team Work 2: Maintenance
8:Customer facing Skills
Section Three: Into Work
9:Preparing the evidence
10:Finding a job
11:Career management: creating opportunities
12:Into work: suceeding in the workplace

Reviews

'This book surpasses all others currently on the market.' - David Dowdeswell-Allaway, UEA

'This book stands out with its focus on both the nature of employability as well as supporting the reader through the journey of self discovery and presenting that discovery to employers.' - John Watkins, Coventry University London Campus

Additional Resources

Developing Employability 1/e is supported by an extensive Online Resource Centre featuring:

Student resources:
Skills audit form
Examples of online application form questions
Targeted web links
Audio podcasts with practitioners, students and graduates

Lecturer resources:
Brief notes guiding lecturers on how to run the project
Tutorial activities for those who are not running the project
Notes on how to guide students in their own skills audit