World of Work Skills Certificate Self-Awareness Bronze Statement
Reflection on Feedback
Q1. Explain how being self-aware can make you more employable.
These days, employers are interested in more than just qualifications; they are looking for additional personal qualities such as teamwork, communication skills, determination and enthusiasm. Being self-aware means that you can identify your personal strengthsin these areas, which is important for two reasons. Firstly, you can communicate these to potential employers during a job application or interview, which should help you to stand out from the crowd. Secondly, by communicating these strengths and giving examples to support them, you can highlight the benefits that you would bring to a particular role, and thus increase your chances of being selected. Therefore, having these qualities and being self-aware of them may give one individual the edge over another, especially in the current economic climate, when job vacancies are at a premium. Self-awareness also allows you to identify your relative weaknesses and demonstrating this skill to a potential employer, you can show that you are able to overcome challenges and are committed to self-improvement. These are perhaps perhaps the most important qualities that an employer is looking for; commitment and initiative.
Q2. What have you learnt about yourself from the feedback on your statement?
The feedback that I have received about my world of work statement has highlighted a number of areas in which I can improve and develop in the future. Firstly, the feedback has shown me that I am a little out of practice in using grammar and punctuation effectively in academic writing. This may be because I have not been in a learning environment for the past six years. The correct use of grammar and punctuation is extremely important, as it gives a good impression to prospective employers when reading job application forms and short-listing candidates for interview. Secondly, the feedback highlighted repeatedly that the examples I provided were lacking in detail and depth. At first, I felt that this criticism was not entirely justified but on reflection, I have learnt I do not always achieve the fine balance between giving an appropriate level of detail and being concise enough. In actual fact, my statement exceeded the allowed word limit, and the feedback explained that some employers may reject a job application in such cases. In future, I will endeavour to provide information in a more concise, yet sufficiently detailed manner. This will both assist me when writing similar pieces in the future and also in examinations or job interviews, where I will have limited time to provide information efficiently and effectively.
Q3. This question relates to the evidence that you provided in your statement to meet each of the self-awareness world of work skills criteria. In what ways could you have provided better evidence?
I drew on many experiences in my life to provide the examples used to support my answers for each of the world of work skills criteria. The examples were of a varied nature, covering a wide range of activities, form previous employment within the NHS, to leading a brownies group and a holiday scheme. These allowed me to highlight a number of my individual qualities, and the feedback that I was given rated these examples as adequate. However, it was suggested that the evidence to support the examples required more depth, detail and direction in order to strengthen them further. In particular, the example that I used to support ‘relating to others’ was rated as weak, due to a lack of specific insight into the role I held within the team I was leading, and limited focus on the skills and attributes I used while working in the team, such as delegation. I disagree with some of this feedback, as I believe I provided this information but on reflection, this section of the statement did lack structure. This may have made the example less organised and appear to lack depth, thus resulting in the negative feedback. In the future, when providing evidence in a similar situation, I will ensure that I work within the STAR (situation, task, action, response) framework to ensure my work has structure.
Q4. How are you now planning to enhance you employability during your future studies al LJMU?
During my future studies at LJMU, to enhance my employability, I will continue to work diligently to complete my qualification to the best of my ability. To achieve this, I will take on board the weaknesses highlighted in the feedback form my statement, including my poor use of grammar and punctuation and lack of concise focus. In the future, I will concentrate on these weaknesses, seeking help and support from my tutors if required, and I will continue to develop my strengths by participating in extra-curricular activities. These will include educational video filming and assisting with open days, which will allow me to gain a wider range of experiences to draw upon. Also, within the paramedic course itself, LJMU offers a wide variety of placements that will provide me with abundant curricular experiences and the opportunity to learn new skills and qualities. I will endeavour to make the most of these, and will look for opportunities to further improve my curriculum vitae and enhance my employability, including the Canadian exchange programme.
