Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE MGT2315

 
TITLE Careers and Job Search Skills

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL Not Applicable

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Management

 
DESCRIPTION Securing the right career in management partly depends on how well graduates present themselves to potential employers. Knowing what jobs are available, in which companies and how to find them will help graduates find the right career paths. The study-unit covers the essential tools and skills required to compete in the job market:

01. History of career development & career development theories
02. How recruitment works
03. Use of Technology in Recruitment & Your Web Footprint
04. Maltese jobseeker trends & Searching for jobs
05. Writing an effective application
06. Preparing for different types of interviews
07. Presenting yourself successfully
08. Interview skills & Salary negotiation
09. Popular interview questions
10. Know yourself: Psychometric Testing
11. Industry demands & Market trends - Jobs available and salary trends
12. Unethical recruitment
13. Mock interviews

Study-Unit Aims:

The study-unit aims to provide students with the skills required to prepare for their career search, application processes, interviews and recruitment assessments. The study-unit also aims to give students an insight into the expectations corporate recruiters, hiring managers or an HR Managers.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Understand the history of selection and career development;
- Compare past and present recruitment methods;
- Identify skills required to be a recruiter;
- Understand techniques to ameliorate prospects of hiring for fresh graduates;
- Identify possible channels to find and apply for vacancies;
- Understand the concept of headhunting and how to deal with potential proposals;
- Understand the difference between the different types of interviews;
- Understand the reasons for anxiety prior to interviews;
- Understand how non-verbal communication and personal attitude can affect the interview process;
- Learn about the use of psychometric testing in recruitment;
- Understand actual industry demands and market trends for different educational backgrounds;
- Understand the legal aspect of recruitment (incl. discrimination & unethical behaviour).

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit, the student will be able to apply best practice frameworks to create a professional CV, job application and online profile; to prepare for interviews, and psychometric tests, for successful placement. Students will be able to:
- Know how to use technology to ameliorate chances of hiring and situations to avoid;
- Know how to write a complete and effective CV;
- Know how to apply through different channels;
- Know how to use different techniques during different types of interviews;
- Know the Do’s and Don’ts for an interview;
- Learn techniques to control interview anxiety & build confidence;
- Identify key personal unique selling points used to build confidence and “sell” oneself;
- Learn to deliver a short, effective introduction to prospective employers;
- Learn how to critically analyse interview questions and provide the correct answer;
- Learn what to expect during a second interview;
- Learn how to negotiate salary;
- Know how to use skills acquired during University education, to tap into different industries (skill transference);
- Know how to deal with job offers;
- Know how to handle rejection.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

- Osipow, S. et al. (1996). Theories of career development (4th ed.) New York: Allyn and Bacon.
- Kate Wendleton. (2013). Mastering the Job Interview. Cengage Learning.
- Victoria A. Hoevemeyer. (2005). High-Impact Interview Questions: 701 Behavior-Based Questions to Find the Right Person for Every Job. AMACOM.
- Robin Kessler. (2012). Competency-Based Interviews, Revised Edition: How to Master the Tough Interview Style Used by the Fortune 500s (2nd ed.). Career Press.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Written Exercises (Create a covering letter) No 20%
Written Exercises (Create a Professional CV) No 30%
Presentation (Interview) No 50%

 
LECTURER/S Josef Said

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

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