Grad Internship Programme Professional Development Guide
Unlike the clear progression from one year to the next at university, in the world of work your career progression is your responsibility. Professional development refers to growing your skills, industry knowledge, and confidence to progress in your career. Continuous development is also essential to navigate the unpredictable and fast-changing nature of the world of work, and any challenges and setbacks you may face along the way.
Progression is a broad term that can apply to different situations. For example, you may be looking to develop your skills to help you land your next graduate job, or you may want to develop the role you're currently in.
The Grad Internship Programme aims to provide you with an opportunity to work on your professional development. As internships are short-term, this guide could help you to reflect and plan so that you can gain as much as possible from the experience. The contents of this guide can also be applied to supporting your professional development as you move forward in your career.
CURRENT SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
Having clarity on your skill set and the industry knowledge you've gained so far can support your career progression in different ways. For example, being confidently self-aware can help you to reflect on and recognise your unique skills, strengths, and knowledge, and can support you to apply and articulate these in a range of different contexts. Self-awareness can also help you to decide what areas you would like to focus on developing and identify activities you could engage in to make this happen. There are many ways to gain clarity on your skill set, strengths and industry knowledge:
REFLECT ON PAST EXPERIENCES
You'll have gained skills and knowledge from a wide range of settings, including your studies, extracurricular activities, volunteering, part-time jobs, internships, previous roles, and other responsibilities you may have had in life. Reflect on your past experiences and what you gained from them. Think about what you did and how you did it – what skills and knowledge have you used?
REFLECT ON YOUR CURRENT ROLE
If you're currently working, think about the duties and responsibilities you're undertaking. What transferable skills do you possess? For example, communication, leadership, time management, or project management. Also consider if you have any industry specific skills and knowledge, such as specific software, policy knowledge, or the use of specialist equipment.
RESEARCH THE JOBS YOU ASPIRE TO
Read about jobs that interest you and make a note of the relevant skills and industry knowledge you currently possess. Websites like Prospects and ScreenSkills (linked at the end of this guide) can help you understand the skills, knowledge and experiences that different jobs require.
COMPLETE "MYSKILLS"
MySkills (linked at the end of this guide) asks you to reflect on how you've developed during your time at BSU. You'll be asked to select statements that best describe your current thinking about skills related to key attributes. The activity takes 20 minutes, and there are no right or wrong answers! A report will be generated showing your proficiency level for each attribute.
AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT
Knowing what you need to develop is just as important as knowing where your current strengths lie. Now that you have clarity on the skills and knowledge you currently have, it's time to think about the skills and knowledge you'd like to gain and develop. Below are examples of how to identify areas for development:
CONSIDER YOUR CAREER ASPIRATIONS AND GOALS
To ensure that you're using your time effectively, think about targeting your learning to reach your career goals. For example, if you want to be a Graphic Designer, what can you gain or develop now to help you get there? What could be improved and what are you missing? Websites like Prospects and ScreenSkills (linked at the end of this guide) can help you understand the skills, knowledge and experiences that different jobs require, identify gaps and gain ideas on how to fill them.
REFLECT ON YOUR CURRENT SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
Consider the current skills and knowledge you currently possess. Can you think of any skills or knowledge that could benefit from further improvement?
REFLECT ON FEEDBACK
Have you received any constructive feedback from academics, colleagues, clients, or managers? For example, feedback on specific assignments, tasks, or performance reviews. You can use constructive feedback to help you identify developmental needs. Feedback can help you improve in your current role and prepare for a new role.
"THINK ABOUT TARGETING YOUR LEARNING TO REACH YOUR CAREER GOALS"
CRAFT AN ACTION PLAN
What actions can you take to support your development?
You may want to share your developmental needs, and ideas of any actions you could take to meet these with your internship line manager. Your line manager plays an important role in your development. Having a conversation about what you'd like to develop could support you in working together to provide as much opportunity within the scope of your internship to further your professional development.
To craft an action plan, you'll need to be forward thinking and consider what resources you can utilise to support your ambitions and goals. There are many ways to engage in meaningful developmental activities. Some examples are outlined below:
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Explore training opportunities with your current employer. This could include access to courses and accreditations, shadowing, supporting another team or colleague with a project, or mentoring in the workplace.
COURSES
Search for relevant online courses and learning resources. For examples see Future Learn and Open University Free Courses, linked at the end of this guide. Professional associations, such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing, The Society of Authors, or ScreenSkills, may provide training opportunities and online learning resources.
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
They may offer mentoring opportunities, conferences, or one-off workshops and events that can support your learning.
CHARITIES AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISES
They may offer mentoring, workshops, events, work experience programmes and specialised professional development programs. See examples of these specialist support givers through the link at the end of this guide.
PERSONAL PROJECTS
Develop your practice by working on personal projects to help you build your skills or portfolio.
NETWORKING
This can be a valuable tool to meet people working in jobs you aspire to, gain an insight into how they got there, and identify relevant professional development activities to engage in. See our
IDEAS INTO GOALS
Turning your ideas into goals can help you to clearly define what it is you are trying to achieve and track your progress. To ensure that your goal setting is effective and meaningful, make your goals SMART. An example SMART goal is overleaf.
MSSPECIFIC
Your goal should be clear and focused. What are you trying to achieve? Why do you want to achieve this?
MEASURABLE
You should be able to track the progress of your goal, so that you can hold yourself accountable along the way and understand when the goal has been achieved.
ACHIEVABLE
AGoals should be achievable. Do not be afraid to go beyond your comfort zone and stretch yourself but consider how realistic your goal is in the context of other commitments and responsibilities you have in your life. Acknowledge that it is also ok for goals to change as time goes on.
TRRELEVANT
Ensure that your goal aligns with your wider career aspirations, so that your time and effort are focused on actions that will help you move forward.
TIME-BOUND
Give yourself a clear deadline so that you have a timeframe to work towards.
"TO HELP ME GAIN PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS IN PREPARATION FOR TAKING ON RESPONSIBILITY FOR PLANNING AN EVENT, I'LL ALLOCATE TWO HOURS OF MY DAY EVERY FRIDAY AFTERNOON TO COMPLETING A SIX-HOUR ONLINE PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSE AND TRIAL AT LEAST ONE NEW PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL BY THE END OF NEXT MONTH."
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE
Reflective practice involves looking back at a specific situation or task and thinking critically about what happened, being curious about what was learnt, and developing resilience to help you approach the same task again from a different perspective. Reflecting on what you did and what you can do differently next time is essential to progress in your career.
Reflective practice is important in many professions such as teaching, healthcare and social work – but anyone can engage and benefit regardless of their job!
Many tools have been developed to support reflective practice. Below, we've provided an adaptation of Kolb's Reflective Cycle. The tool is cyclical, meaning you can reflect on an experience and then reflect again if it's repeated to help you continue your learning and development in that area.
SITUATION
DEVELOPMENT NEED ACTION
Situation: What happened?
"I presented a project plan to a client."
REFLECTION
Reflection: How do I think it went? What was good about it? What was not so good about it?
"I think it went okay; the ideas were well received. However, I was very nervous, and I rushed to get my slides done on time."
Development Need: What could I do differently next time to improve the outcome?
"I could work on techniques to manage my nerves and think about how I could manage my time more effectively to avoid rushing the slides next time."
Action: What actions can I take to support my development in these areas?
"I can ask my line manager if they can recommend any time management tools and techniques. I can do some research online on how to manage presentation nerves."
WHAT YOU'VE GAINED
Once you've completed your internship (well done!), it's time to reflect on how your skills, industry knowledge, and confidence have developed, i.e. what have you gained from this experience? To support this reflection, we recommend:
TALKING TO YOUR LINE MANAGER
Meet your line manager at the end of your internship, and think about all the activities and tasks you engaged in. What skills and knowledge did you use? In what ways did the activities or tasks you completed help you? What areas did you develop in? Did you gain something new in the process?
MYSKILLS
Complete MySkills on MyCareer again, and compare your results to when you completed the assessment at the start of your internship.
USE ONLINE RESOURCES
Websites such as Prospects and ScreenSkills could help you identify any new skills and knowledge you've gained and developed.
EVALUATION FORM
Complete the Grad Internship Programme evaluation form that you'll be sent. This form will ask you questions about your confidence and what you've learned from your experience.
PROMOTING YOUR SKILLS
Future employers will expect to see clear evidence of what you can offer in relation to the role you're applying for. You possess a range of skills, knowledge and qualities which could have been developed through university, previous work, volunteering, and life experience. The trick is being able to articulate these effectively!
Articulating your skills is a skill in itself. It can take time and practice to be able to do this well. However, it's well worth the investment, as it can mean the difference between a well thought out, clear application that does your skills and experiences justice, and an application that lacks detail and doesn't show off your capabilities.
Tailoring your application, and using the STAR Technique and action words, are all helpful approaches to effectively articulating your skills.
TAILORING YOUR APPLICATION
When you apply for an advertised job, the employer usually sets out the criteria for what they're looking for. This information is provided as a person specification and job description with the job advert. The employer will then use these criteria to assess your application and decide if they'll invite you to the next stage of the recruitment process. Therefore, to help you develop a quality application that stands out to employers, you'll need to make sure that you do the following to help you tailor your application:
Understand what the employer is looking for by reading the job description and person specification carefully. This can usually be found in the job advert. If you're applying speculatively, see our separate "Guide to Speculative Applications" for tips on how to tailor your application when there's no job advert to refer to.
Reflect on your own skills, experiences, and knowledge and identify what matches the job criteria.
Connect the two in your application by providing specific evidence to demonstrate how you meet the job criteria. It’s not enough to just say "I have excellent communication skills". The STAR technique can help you write about your skills and experiences.
To help with preparing your application and to ensure that you're covering as many of the criteria as possible and providing specific examples, you could try making a table such as the one on page 12 of our "Guide to Application Forms".
THE STAR TECHNIQUE
The STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result) provides evidence of your skills in a concise, detailed way while bringing the skill you are describing to life. It helps you show the employer that you can demonstrate your competency in a particular skill rather than simply telling them that you possess the skill or describing the skill without explaining how good you are at it. See our "Guide to the STAR Technique" for more information.
ACTION WORDS
Employers look through many applications. Help them find what they're looking for by making your writing more impactful with action words. Action words are direct, clarify how you contributed to a situation, and describe your experience confidently and positively.
For example, when you're developing your CV, begin new bulletpoints with an action word. Instead of "I have excellent written skills", try "I consistently produce clear, well-structured and accurate reports, even when under pressure to meet strict deadlines".
Or, if you're writing a cover letter, instead of "I've carried out a range of general office duties with colleagues", try "I have a proven track record in office administrative skills. I supported and promoted the company's activities through the preparation of mailings and the production and distribution of sales literature".
For further examples and information on action words, see our "Guide to CVs".
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
You may find this template helpful when reflecting on your developmental needs and planning how you're going to address them to support your professional development and career progression. Employers may have their own versions of a professional development plan that employees are asked to complete. Examples are included to get you started.
SECTION 1: CURRENT SITUATION
Reflect on your current and past experiences, and the skills and knowledge you have gained.
Organisation skills from balancing my university studies with my part-time job, ensuring all responsibilities and tasks are completed to a high standard across both commitments.
Adobe skills from my second year university project, developing my proficiency in InDesign.
SECTION 2: DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS
Reflect on any skills and knowledge you'd like to gain or develop. Remember to try and focus on developmental needs that are relevant to your career aspirations and goals.
Gain project management skills so I can have more ownership and responsibility over projects in my current role and move onto project management roles in the future.
SECTION 3: WHAT ACTIONS CAN YOU TAKE?
Think about specific activities that you could engage in to help you meet your developmental needs.
Enrol in an online Future Learn project management course.
Speak to colleagues or peers who regularly manage projects to find out about any tools and techniques they regularly use in their work.
SECTION 4: GOAL SETTING
Reflect on which areas you are going to prioritise and turn your developmental needs into SMART goals.
To help me develop my project management skills in preparation for applying for future project management jobs, I'll allocate two hours a week every Wednesday to complete a six-hour online project management course. I'll then reflect on my learnings and how to articulate this to future employers.
SECTION 5: REVIEW
Have you met your goal? What went well, what could be further improved, and what further action could you take to do this?
Situation: I completed the six-hour project management course, and I've begun to experiment using a tool I learned.
Reflection: Negotiating time to complete the course during the work week made this goal more achievable due to personal commitments and held me accountable as my line manager was aware of this developmental activity. I now understand the basics of project management and I've chosen a planning tool to try.
What could be further developed?: I'm getting to know a project management tool, but I need a live project to help me fully trial it as a tool and understand how to effectively utilise it.
What actions can I take?: I can speak to my line manager to see if we can think of any smaller projects to trial.
MORE RESOURCES
PROSPECTS
Job profiles
https://bit.ly/4mh2cAG
SCREENSKILLS
https://bit.ly/4l6ihrO
BSU
MySkills
https://bit.ly/45gZHHV
Specialist external careers support https://bit.ly/4lXq50D
FUTURE LEARN
https://bit.ly/3UE8RJk
THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
Free courses
https://bit.ly/4od1Cpz
Kolb's cycle of learning
https://bit.ly/3UHDhKO
FURTHER SUPPORT
If you would like further support from Bath Spa Careers, please visit MyCareer at mycareer.bathspa.ac.uk where you can book a personalised appointment, ask us a question, browse further resources, attend informative events and search our huge jobs database.
Links to external content do not represent endorsement by Bath Spa University.
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