-Reflective Report-

Essentials of
Employability
(QH0312)

Name: Marius Bursuc

Student I.D.: 10106586

Date: 03.08.2020
 Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. ESE Test

2.1 General Networks

2.2 Career Decision Making

2.3 Goal Settings

2.4. CV’s and Applications

2.5 Digital Literacy

3. Conclusions

4. Development Plan for Marius Bursuc

5. References
1. Introduction

Solent University made available on their site (Solent Online Learning) the ESE
Test (Employability Self-Evaluation) and with recommendation from the
lecturer of Essential Of Employability I have complete the test.

The ESE Test was created to help student’s to identify their weaknesses and
strengths, to make individuals aware of the areas in which they need to make
improvements and make them more prepared for a future job.

I identified myself 5 weaknesses that I will improve during the next period of
time. At each point the report will start with SMART Objectives. SMART
means:

 Specific

 Measurable

 Achievable

 Relevant

 Time bound
2. ESE Test

After I finished to complete the ESE test, based on the results that came out, I
will make a short description of the area that I want, establishing also the
SMART Objectives for each aspect.
2.1 General Networks

Smart Objective: My objective is to improve professional network by using

more effective the social media and other professional sites (e.g. Linkedin). I
will improve my social profile, learn and develop new skills that will help me in
my future career, and will make me to become a person that the employers want
in their Company. I will do this within the next 2 months.

In a report published in June 2016 by authority of UK Parliament it was said

that UK is facing a “digital skills crisis”. In the same report it is shown that
around 12.6 million people of adult age are facing difficulties in used of
computers, and about 5.8 million adults did not used internet in their life (House
of Commons, 2016).

Lack of computer skills is a factor that is barrier in developing social networks,

and this create a big gap between employers requirements and the candidates for
the job. The networks have started to be seen as ways to create connection
between “resources”.

Coulton (2003) argued that in the poorest areas the information through social
media are going harder and are flowing at a slow level, which create barriers for
employability.

To stop this things to happen, and to get the youth ready for future, governments
need to act in relation with other institution to create programs to help the
students.

2.2 Career Decision Making

Smart Objective: My target is to develop better ways to communicate with

tutors and teams that are made available for students by Solent University (e.g.
Future Solent, ACE Team), in order to discover in what area I am the best, and
choose the right path in life no matter how hard it get. I will do this in the next 4
months.

Making a decision on the career you want to follow is not an easy thing to do. In
the last years the technology, the evolution of society and the advance of
industry have made this process a very complex one. The usual way to choose
your path in life have evolved and need to be treated with more attention to
cover and prepare the future employees to the requirements of the employers
(Kidd, 1998).

A career is the emerge stage of an individual’s job in his life-time, according to

Arthur et al. (1989). Career decision making is a process that take place in more
stages (Hirschi and Lage, 2007).

London (2009) argued that the main extrinsic factor that is influencing the
career making decision for students is the financial compensation. Individuals
are choosing their careers in order to meet their own desire and aspiration in
life, to improve their life-style.

According to World Food Programm (2013), there are more 800 million people
with no food, so in order to survive they need to work. So there is no question
that this basic needs are satisfied with money.

Quality of life is another term that need to be taken in consideration when you
make your career decisions and is incorporating aspects like wealth and health,
“economic well-being, quality of education, level of security and safety, access
to transport, and other aspects of life at a local level” (Castelli et al, 2009).

The employees are also intrinsically influence in a big number by “subjective

career success” (e.g.: pride, satisfaction, self-esteem).

As we saw , the career decision making is a complex process that can be

influenced by financial reasons, psychological factors or social class factors and
the people’s decision can be related to one of this factors, or to a combination of
these. The theories about careers need to be continuously evaluated and career
advisors need to understand and keep the step with the changes that are
occurred in society.

2.3 Goal Settings

Smart Objective: In order to achieve my goals once I have establish them, I will
put a dead-line for this goals to be achieved. The time should be realistic, not
too far, but also not to close, just enough to give me time to stay on the track,
and to achieve the goals. Short-term goals I will achieve them in maximum 5
months, while the long-term goals I will make it on 2 years.
My goal: - going earlier in pension (dead-line 2027), get a high-paid job (1
year), starting a part-time business (next 5 months).

I will start my position on this subject by giving a quote that was valid 2,500
years ago, and it is valid also in our days:

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals,
adjust the action steps.” Confucius (551-479 B.C.).

The Goals-Setting theory was brought forward by Edwin Locke in the 1960’s, a
theory that is correlated with task achievement. When you are starting your task
and receive positive feed-back during the work, the results are better.

To put you on the track and keep you motivated a goal need to have
“specificity, commitment, challenge, and feedback”.

Locke and Latham (1990) argued that more challenging and a little harder goals
boost the performance of the employees. Of course, more difficult goals are
promoting more elasticity, more flexibility in the cognitive process of the
person for who the goals are given, also is keeping a persistent activity that will
keep the individuals out of their comfort zone.

According to the same authors, the goals have three important factors: “goal
level and specificity, goal commitment, and goal orientation”. When in
discussion come “commitment” the first thought that come in mind is
determination. Depending on what is the thing, person, items, that is staying
behind your goal, you will be more engaged in achieving the goal (Locke and
Latham, 1990).

As it is mentioned and showed in goal-settings theory, the facts are proven that
between “challenging goals” and inspirational high performance the relationship
is constraint by positive feed-back.

2.4. CV’s and Applications

Smart Objective: As a results of my ESE Test I have discover that another

weaknesses that I need to work on it is “CV’s and Applications”. I want to
apply for a new job in short time, so I need to gain more experience and more
knowledge that can build up my C.V. and get access to an interview easier. I
will get in touch with ACE Team from Solent University in order to help me
write a Professional C.V.

The C.V is short for “Curriculum Vitae”, which in Latin means “your life
story”. Another word that is use the same reason is “Resume”, but this term is
more common in America.

United Kingdom is no longer member of European Union, and because of

Covid-19 pandemic, the importance of a good C.V. will increase, in order to
obtain an interview for your job. Before I use to make my C.V. upon the
Europass model, a C.V. that is accepted by all members of European Union
(Europass, 2019). That is why is necessary and an imperative request to learn
from ACE Team how to write my British C.V. in a professional manner.

In The Guardian (2017) the authors showed how to write a C.V. and the
importance of a good writing of first page of a C.V., showing that the employer
will read a C.V. in about 30 seconds, and you need to include all important
information that are relevant for the job you are applying.

2.5 Digital Literacy

Smart Objective: I want to improve my use of Internet profiles on social web-

sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and use more often Linkedin. All this in a
professional manner so that the my public profile to offer valuable information
about me and my past. I will this by the end of August 2020.

According to Vrana (2016) there are several definitions for digital literacy, and
one of the best was given "the ability to understand and use information in
multiple formats from a wide range of sources when it is presented via
computers." (Gilster, cited in Vrana, 2016). In the same paper the author is
showing the importance of Digital Literacy for the people that want to become
an employee.

We leave in the Information Era, when the speed on which the information is
transmitted is crucial. That is why the Digital Literacy is emerge continuously.
New software, new programs, are developing at a speed that was never seen
before, that is why in order to get a good job it has become imperious to
develop and improve your Digital Literacy (Vrana, 2016).
3. Conclusions

After this assignment and this analysis of some weaknesses ESE Test that I
have identified after the results, I manage to establish my SMART objectives
for future, short-term goals and long-term goals.

The research that I have made in my weakest area it make me realise the
importance of having all the skills that are required for my future job, and also
how to “sell myself” on the market.

The goals that I have put it for my smart objectives are challenging and
completing this report it will get me out of my comfort zone. I will not
procrastinate anymore, and start to work. I will be the person that every
employer on the market will want to have in his team.

As we can see, Solent University is preparing us to be an employee, and to have

a high paid job, but also it will help me to boost my entrepreneur skills, and
from employer to get on the other side of the quadrant: Entrepreneurship. The
question for me it is: “I want to be an employee, or I want to be an
entrepreneur? For both, hard work will give results.
4. Development Plan for Marius Bursuc

Weakness Improvement Support and Achievements Time Target

Plan Resources
1. General - improve social - ACE Team; - learn to sell; - October 2020.
Networks profile: Linkedin; - On-line PR - learn to
- take lessons of lessons; communicate;
PR (Public - webinars. more effective;
Relations). - making
connections with
individuals and
Companies.

2. Career Decision -communicate - Ace Team - I want to start a - December 2020

Making more with ACE - Future Solent career in which I
Team and Future will work with
Solent passion, doing
something that I
love.

3. Goal Setting - I will keep it - University - I want to set my - August 2020

SMART. tutors; goals accordingly,
- take in - ACE Team; allowing enough
considerations all - Future Solent; time to be
factors that are - webinars. realisable, but not
influencing this: - make short-term too long to be
financially, goals, and long- boring.
psychological and term goals.
social.

4. Cv’s and - learn how to - ACE Team; - build an - no time limit

Applications write a CV and - Future Solent; impressive CV (we learned
what it should - social networks; that will open during the whole
contain; - on-line courses. doors for me at life).
- improve my big Companies.
skills and learn
more.
- webinars and
on-line lessons

5. Digital Literacy - improve my - webinars and - boost my digital - August 2020.

social profiles on on-line courses; skills and stay
Linkedin, Twitter - ACE Team; connected to the
and Facebook; changes that are
- take courses of taking place in
 web-design and this Era.
programming;

5. References:

CASTELLI, A. et al., 2009. Centre for Health Economics, University of York,

U.K.

COULTON, C., 2003. Metropolitan Inequalities and Ecology of Work:

Implications for Welfare Reform’, The Social Service Review, Jun 2003, 77, 2,
p 159-190.

HIRSCHIi, A. and LAGE, D., 2007. The relation of secondary student’s career
choice readiness to a six-phase model of career decision-making. Journal of
Career Development, 34(2), 164- 191. doi: 10.1177/0894845307307473.

KIDD, J.M, 1998. Emotion: An Absent Presence in Career Theory, Journal of

vocational behavior 52, 275–288, article no. Vb971629.

LOCKE, E. A. and LATHAM, G. P., 1990. A theory of goal setting & task
performance. Prentice-Hall, Inc.

LONDON, A., 2009. 4th Annual Siena College Student Conference in Business,
April 17, 2009, 89.

ROSE, N., 2017. Why the first page of your C.V. is most important. The
Guardian, 21 December 2017, [viewed on 02 August 2020]. Available from:
https://jobs.theguardian.com/article/why-the-first-page-of-your-cv-is-the-most-
important/

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE, 2016. Digital Skills Crisis.

House of Commons [viewed 04 May 2020]. Available from:
http://www.publications.parliament.co.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmsctech/270/
270.pdf
Vrana, R. 2016. Digital Literacy as a Boost Factor in Employability of Students.
Communications in Computer and Information Science. Available from:
www.researchgate.net/publication/313031140_Digital_Literacy_as_a_Boost_Fa
ctor_in_Employability_of_Students