Louise Frith

Curriculum and Educational Developer

Nicola Urquhart
Employability Adviser, Careers and
Employability
Service.
Personal development
planning and career
planning.

What is PDP?

A structured and supported process to develop

students' capacity to reflect on their learning and
achievement (Dearing, 1997)

What skills are you developing?

Communication skills
Interpersonal skills & team work
IT skills
Decision making skills
Independent working
Critical thinking
Research skills
Reflective learning techniques

How can I reflect on my learning and experiences?

Journal: Action plan

SMART
Specific

Is your goal well-defined? Avoid setting unclear or vague

objectives; instead be as precise as possible.

Measurable

Be clear how will you know when you have achieved your
goal. Using numbers, dates and times is one way to
represent clear objectives.

Attainable

Setting yourself impossible goals will only end in

disappointment. Make your goals challenging, but realistic

Relevant

Try and step back and get an overview of all the different
areas of your life: Academic, Personal and Career.
Consider how relevant each objective is to the overall
picture.

Time-bound

Set a time scale for completion of each goal. Even if you

have to review this as you progress, it will help to keep you
motivated.

Cognitive housekeeping
reading

volunteering

academic work

lectures

paid work

travel
music

Extra curricular

seminars

Critical incidents

Benefits of PDP and reflective learning

It makes you think about what youre doing

and how other people see your work.

It has enabled me to plan better and

organise my thoughts. It gives you the time to
say what you truly feel about a particular
project or experience.

Writing a reflective journal has enabled me to

channel my thoughts further, I have been
motivated to break-out of the usual mould and
really think about ways in which my actions
could lead to more success.

Page 8

What helps you get work in the arts industry?

Watch interview with Kingston University

graduate, Anna. How many times are the
following terms mentioned? http://
www.kingstonfutures.com/index.php/page/story

Terms
Internship
Free lance
Networking
Contacts
CV/covering letter
Volunteering
Part-time

Times mentioned

How you can use MyFolio to enhance

your employability.

Record your thoughts,

feelings and reactions when
carrying out a task Did you
enjoy doing it?
https://myfolio.kent.ac.uk/myf
olio
/

Use MyFolio as a space to

reflect on your values what
is important to you salary,
status, working hours,
location etc?

Use MyFolio to learn to write

reflectively. Record what you
have learned, activities
undertaken, what would you
do differently next time?

Cont. Using MyFolio to enhance

employability.

Complete the Action

Plan section. If you write
a plan down you are
more likely to do it. Be
aware of deadlines
many are earlier than
you think!

Consider how you could

use the portfolio section
to showcase your talents
and enhance your online presence (Use of
journals).

Record what you have

learnt at university,
employers are interested
in more than just the
class of your degree.

What I will cover during this 15

minute session following on from
Louise.

How personal development planning

(pdp) can help you to become an

effective career planner and enhance
your employability.

How to make a good career decision.

What employers say

"Few students are

able to articulate
what they have
gained from their
experience in higher
education."
( Association of
Graduate Recruiters,
1995)

Steps to making a good career decision.

Knowing yourself looking at your skills,

values and
personality Analysing where your
strengths and
weaknesses lie.

Exploring
opportunities
Gathering information
on the opportunities
open to you.

Taking action.

Often students spend

Lots of time on
opportunity
awareness gathering
information.

Lots of time trying to

implement the
decision.

Not enough time on

personal development
planning and self
awareness.

Careers and Employability Service.

www.kent.ac.uk/ces
Telephone: 01227 823299
Email:
careerhelp@kent.ac.uk
Opening hours: Monday
to Friday 9 to 5 including
vacations
Drop-in times (no
appointment needed):
10.30 to 12.30 & 2 to 5
pm
Undertake the Careers
Employability Module on
Moodle

Speak to an Adviser:

Quick query, drop in

and speak to an
Adviser 10.30am
-12.30pm and 2pm5pm Monday to Friday.

E mail @careerhelp
and an Adviser will
respond to your query.

You can also book a

longer career guidance
appointment over the
phone or pop in.

Useful contacts

Careers and Employability Service website

www.kent.ac.uk/careers

Choosing a career http://

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sitesmedia.htm

I want to work in
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sitesmedia.htm

Vacancy database http://

www.kent.ac.uk/ces/vacancies.html

Guardian Jobs (arts and heritage)

http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/jobs/arts-and-heritage/

Museum Association jobs site

http://www.museumsassociation.org/careers

Any questions?