Enhance Your Career and Employability Skills

This course is different to others. Unlike many Coursera courses which are discipline-specific, this MOOC would be complementary to any additional course of study as it enables you to recognise your own strengths and skills and understand how to best articulate those preferences and achievements to future employers or academic institutions in the future.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Understand the drivers behind your career preferences and choices
• Identify the skills which you can offer and know your current skills gaps
• Recognise opportunities for your career enhancement both within and beyond your current employer
• Summarise your achievements and skills in appropriate formats for future employers or academic institutions
• Perform effectively in a face-to-face encounter such as an interview or during a presentation
• Extend and make most effective use of your professional network both on and off line

Whichever stage you are at in your career development, you will learn more about yourself and how to manage your career in the future by joining us on this course!

Week One: What do you want? – Self Awareness

• What do you need from your career? Identifying and assessing careers values.
• Self-discovery or self-creation – where does your true career identity reside?
• Can you predict what will make you happy? Common problems in anticipating the future.

Week Two: What can you offer? – Skills Awareness

• Can you speak the secret language of skills? Evidence your achievements in a meaningful way.
• Making yourself instantly attractive. What skills are employers asking for?
• How can you build your skills? Education and experience – what’s the best investment?

Week Three: Are you ready to find success? – Career Readiness

• Are you open to opportunities? What behaviours increase your chances of getting lucky breaks?
• Are you using the right methods? Which ways of finding opportunities are right for you?
• Can you create your own job? Intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship.

Week Four: How do you express yourself? – Articulating Your Experiences

• Are you using the right medium for the message? CVs, portfolios and other ways of selling yourself.
• Your personal brand. What does your on-line profile say about you?
• Can you decode job descriptions? A step-by-step process for preparing better applications

Week Five: What impact do you make? – Making a Good Impression in Person

• Do interviews always have to be nerve-wracking? The secrets to interview confidence.
• Can you deal with bad interviewers? Common interviewer weaknesses and how to use them.
• Can you increase the chances that people will like you? Maximising first impressions.

Week Six: How do you build fruitful relationships? – Networking Online and in Person

• Does networking actually work? The benefits of loose ties.
• Are you using online media effectively? How LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter can help your career.
• Is networking just for job hunting? The social workplace and the power of relationships