Reflection on Career Development Presentations

Reflective Journal On Wednesday the 13th of March 2012 in room H102 at 12-1pm Catherine Chinnock from USQ Careers came to talk to the first semester ACC1101 student about career development (ACC1101 2012). I was never one to listen to career expositions or pay attention to any type of career development presentation, because most of the time they would just repeat the same thing over and over again. So when it came to listening to the career development presentation in my first semester (second semester for USQ) I wasn’t too enthused at what Catherine had to offer.

Though after listening to the presentation I was actually surprised at what I had learnt and was able to understand why career development learning is beneficial, especially at Uni. I learnt about the skills and attributes involved, and what employers look for as well as how these skills enhance my graduate employability and ways to obtain these skills. Catherine had talked about the 8 skills of employability some of I had already heard of, such as ‘teamwork communication, problem solving, planning and organizing, and self-management’ (Chinnock 2012).

However certain ones I hadn’t heard of, such as ‘long-life learning, initiate and enterprise and technology’, which came as a bit of a shock. I guess growing up in a generation where computer skills are almost a natural action I hadn’t put much thought about this skill I had obtained and how it could actually help me throughout my career. The Career development presentation also gave some key attributes to help me as a student prepare for graduating, and those were Aptitude, Attitude and Academic performance (Chinnock 2012).

I found that in order to gain these skills; study, employment, volunteer/community work, work experience and extra-curricular activities could help (Chinnock 2012). To which I did some further research and found that USQ offered the Phoenix Award, which is an award given to those who had done extra-curricular, work experience and community work by accumulating points (The phoenix award 2012). I also gained information on how to get employment and work experience and where to find it, which was online at the CareerHub (Chinnock 2012).

USQ also had a career mentoring program which in which I am assigned a mentor for six months to help with any questions, give guidance and provide goal setting for life outside of university in my given field (Chinnock 2012). She had also explained what workshops were intended for in regards to setting up university and life skills (Chinnock 2012). I had also learnt that USQ held events throughout the year such as, speed networking, a careers fair and Industry Experience Program (Chinnock 2012).

One main event that had interested me was an Industry Experience Program which is ‘designed to assist student to develop and enhance their skills and knowledge’ (Chinnock 2012) thus allowing me to broaden my understanding of what to expect work wise, and give me career opportunities (Chinnock 2012). From what Catherine had taught me I was able to learn the importance of balance between university and personal life. I learnt about what USQ careers has to offer to help me really get a head start in my career as an accountant, the opportunities that can arise and the importance of community both at and after university.

I was able to see how different skills, help improve job employability and that it’s not just about the academic results but also the extra mile that I as an individual can do in order to enhance my career. This also helped me identify my own strength and weaknesses in each of the skills to improve, and how I am able to do so to ensure that when I graduate I am able to graduate with all the skills needed to help maximize my employability.

Because of this presentation it means that the phoenix award I had enrolled myself in at the start of semester will help me improve my career development skills as well as still enjoy participating in activities. Because of this presentation it now means I am able to improve my skills and still collect point for my phoenix award, to become a more effective employee and person. Word count: 698 References ACC1101, Study Desk S2 2012, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, viewed 24 August 2012, <http://usqstudydesk. sq. edu. au> Chinnock, C 2012, Career Development Presentation, PowerPoint slides, ACC1101, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, viewed August 2012, < http://usqstudydesk. usq. edu. au/m2/pluginfile. php/57316/mod_folder/content/11/Career%20development%20presentation%20Toowoomba. mp4? forcedownload=1> The Phoenix award, 2012, USQ Student Guild, viewed 20 August 2012, <http://www. phoenixaward. com. au>