Action Planning your Next Steps, Review

and course evaluation

Practical and Transferable Skills for Computer Scientists 2011

Careers Consultant from University’s Careers Service

Taking stock to spur you into action

Reflecting on what you have seen, heard

and been involved in since yesterday morning

• Action planning

• Setting objectives

• Making decisions

Action Planning your career

Action Planning: What?

• Plan of what you want to achieve and how you are going to do it

• Written down

• Broken down into logical steps/goals

Action Planning: Why?

• To establish direction

• To keep you motivated

Defining Goals

Think S.M.A.R.T.S.M.A.R.T. and…

• understand clearly what you are working towards

• spot when you are getting off track or need help

• recognise whether your objectives are unrealistic and need to be amended

Specific

• Has a particular meaning• Is detailed and focused - not

vague

Example:

To obtain feedback on my communication skills

Measurable

• Has a value and can be clearly measured: quantifiable

• Can easily determine whether achieved or not

Example:

To attend 3 recruiter presentations by end of November

Action Oriented

• Requires action on your part rather than a passive outcome

• Includes action verbs e.g. increase / research etc

Example:

To improve my communication skills bygiving a presentation to my peers

Realistic

• Practical and achievable• Unrealistic goals demotivate -

what’s in it for you?

Example:

To learn to program in Maya by the end of March to enable me to apply for jobs

in Computer Animation

Time-Bound

• Clear deadline• If you don’t have a deadline, it’ll

never happen!

Example:

To update my CV by the end of this week

Decision Making

STYLES• Impulsive• Emotional• Intuitive• Hesitant• Avoidant• Fatalistic• Compliant• Rational

MODELS• Guessing• Cost/Benefit analysis• Force Field analysis• SWOT analysis*• Ask the Audience• Phone-a-friend• Use a 50:50• Page 99 of Target IT

SWOT Analysis

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIESTHREATS

Think about…. Vacancies, competition, current CV, contacts, previous experience, module

Think about…. Meetings, departments, line manager, achieving, communicating, offering, asking questions

Good luck with your planning and choices!

• Keep in touch with the Careers Service.

• We can help you through the process.

• Watch out for the employer events on campus

• Update your CV

• Submit this along with a targeted covering letter on Friday 7th October to your Student resource Centre

• Finally we would appreciate your feedback