Developing students’employability skills through

social media and technology

Sue Beckingham SFHEA

@suebecks

Sheffield Hallam Uni

This presentation will demonstrate the importance of embedding the use of social media and technology

within the curriculum to develop a range of graduate attributes and employability skills.

Activity3 Groups

On post-its write down as many examples as you can in 5 minutes.

Group 1: AttributesGroup 2: Competencies Group 3: Skills

Attributes – Competencies – Skills

The activity began with much discussion:

- around the definition

- the importance of context

- overlaps between the categories

The consensus was that this continues to be grey area.

It raises the questions:

- What ‘skills’ are employers looking for graduates to demonstrate?

- How are we helping students to develop and articulate these?

Dictionary Attribute Competency Skill

Merrium Webster

an inherent characteristic an ability or skill to make a difference

Collins a property, quality, or feature belonging to or representative of a person or thing

the ability to do something well or effectively

the knowledge and ability that enables you to do something well

Chambers a quality, characteristic, feature, etc., usually one that has positive or favourable connotations

capability; efficiency. Expertness, dexterity; a talent, craft or accomplishment, naturally acquired or developed through training; (skills) aptitudes and abilities appropriate for a specific job.

Wiktionary A characteristic or quality of a thing.

The ability to perform some task

Capacity to do something well; technique, ability. Skills are usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities, which are often thought of as innate.

Oxford EnglishDictionary

A quality or character considered to belong to or be inherent in a person or thing; a characteristic quality.

Sufficiency of qualification; capacity to deal adequately with a subject.

Capability of accomplishing something with precision and certainty; practical knowledge in combination with ability; cleverness, expertness. Also, an ability to perform a function, acquired or learnt with practice.

Graduate Attributes

https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/graduatecapabilities/case-studies/

Knowledge Application

Creative and Critical

Thinking

Social Responsibility

Motivation and

Engagement

Integrity and Professionalism Research

and EnquiryDigital

LiteracyCommunication

… and confidence

commercial awareness

communication

teamwork

negotiation and persuasion

problem solving

leadership

organisation

perseverance and motivation

ability to work under pressure

The top 10 skills that'll get you a job when you graduate (TargetJobs)

The skills Leaders need at every level

Digital Capabilities

Jisc 2015

“Many businesses report worrying weaknesses in graduates’ basic skills

and general readiness for employment, ranging from 17% reporting

shortcoming in graduate applicants’ use of English to nearly half (46%) voicing

concerns over graduates’ levels of business and customer awareness.”

CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey 2015

Why this is important...

CBI (2015: 58)

As Educators we need to provide authentic learning experiences to develop confident face to face and

digital communication and collaboration skills

https://twitter.com/ValaAfshar/status/776484380554432512

Preparation for face to face communication is very important

Preparation for face to face interviews is very

important

But we must also prepare students for the online world...

Authentic learning experiences

active listening and curation;

online collaboration and communication;

creativity and the ability to create digital resources using

multimedia;

and digital connectedness.

Encourage students to learn how to use the affordances of digital

spaces in a professional context.

(The 5C FrameworkNerantzi and Beckingham 2015)

Authentic learning experiences

active listening and curation;

online collaboration and communication;

creativity and the ability to create digital resources using

multimedia;

and digital connectedness.

These are all skills that can be developed further through participation of digital activities set in the context of the students discipline. The ubiquitous use of mobile technology opens numerous opportunities for students to use their own devices for learning.

http://go.shu.ac.uk/socialmedia

Using social media to enhance your employability

We need to provide learning spaces with adequate power sockets

Professional social networking: Ways to engage with employers through social media

using social media

Ask Students to search for companies or organisations they aspire to work for and identify

how they are using social media to promote graduate jobs and internships/placements

Job postings, graduate schemes, internships

https://www.facebook.com/guardianjobs

https://www.facebook.com/graduateprospects

https://www.facebook.com/YorkshireGraduates

https://www.facebook.com/graduaterecruitmentbureau

https://plus.google.com/+prospects

https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/graduate-jobs?country=gb

https://students.linkedin.com/uk

https://university.linkedin.com/linkedin-for-students

Enhancing your digital footprint

One or two profiles?Both need to be professional

NETWORK

Classify your professional friends→ Go to your list of friends and for each

person, click on the rectangle that says 'Friends'

→ From the pull-down menu, select 'Add to another list' and name this Professional

→ Target your work-related status updates to this group

→ Let this group know you are looking for a job

Follow companies you want to work at→ Like their page and you will receive news

about the company directly in your news streamFacebook

→ Search for people, groups, companies and jobs

→ Find common interest groups and contribute to the discussions

→ Follow companies

→ Make use of LinkedIn resources for studentshttps://students.linkedin.com/

LinkedIn

BLOG

→ Writing a blog can demonstrate your communication skills: writing, audio or video

→ knowledge in your field or niche; and your passion and enthusiasm.

Blog tools: Tumblr, WordPress and Blogger

Tumblr

'HOW TO' VIDEO DEMOS

VIDEO CVs

suggested length: 1-3 mins.

x untidy backgroundx shuffling papersx reading notesx poor lighting

dress smartly look to the camera speak clearly include contact info

ONLINE PORTFOLIO

Content strategy→ 15 sec video to demonstrate a skill→ Showcase your work/personality→ Develop your online brand

Networking strategy→ Adding a link to your description

section will make it easy for followers to go straight to your website

→ Follow companies you may want to work for. Get an inside look at their culture

→ Make useful connections, engage with their content

Instagram

→ Showcase your work and interests. Build a digital visual CV

→ Look for inspiring CVs and business cardshttps://uk.pinterest.com/suebecks/innovative-cvs/andhttps://uk.pinterest.com/suebecks/innovative-business-cards/

→ Use the search bar to find information about companies to research a potential career

→ Create a projects board if you are looking for freelance work

→ Engaging with an organisation's pinboardis a way to get on their radar, and one more way to network.Pinterest

NETWORK

→ Use advanced search to find people you would like to connect withhttps://twitter.com/search-advanced

→ Follow organisations and thought leaders in your field - Stay up to date with your industry and profession

→ Share things you find professionally interesting - be someone worth following

Twitter

Discussion

How have you used social media and technology to

develop employability skills?

Resources

• Social Media Leaflets http://go.shu.ac.uk/socialmedia

• Sheffield Hallam University Social Media Blog https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/socialmedia/

• Social Media for Learning Bloghttps://socialmediaforlearning.com/

• LinkedIn for Students https://university.linkedin.com/linkedin-for-students

References

Beckingham, S. (2015). What does it mean to be a digital lifewide learner? The Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, Innovation and Change, 1 (1). Available at: http://research.shu.ac.uk/ds/telic/index.php/telic/article/view/14

Beckingham, S., Purvis, A. and Rodger, H. (2014). The SHU Social Media CoLab: developing a social media strategy through open dialogue and collaborative guidance. In: Proceedings of the European Conference on Social Media. Sonning, Wokingham, Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited. Available at: http://shura.shu.ac.uk/8323/

CBI (2015) Inspiring Growth: CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey 2015http://news.cbi.org.uk/business-issues/education-and-skills/gateway-to-growth-cbi-pearson-education-and-skills-survey-2015/

Harvard Business Review (2014) The skills leaders need at every level. https://hbr.org/2014/07/the-skills-leaders-need-at-every-level

Jisc. (2015) Building digital capability: the six elements defined. http://repository.jisc.ac.uk/6239/1/Digital_capabilities_six_elements.pdf

Nerantzi, C. and Beckingham, S. (2015). BYOD4L : learning to use own smart devices for learning and teaching through the 5C framework. In: Middleton, A. (ed.) Smart learning : teaching and learning with smartphones and tablets in post-compulsory education. MELSIG, Sheffield Hallam University, 108-127. Available at: http://shura.shu.ac.uk/9616/

Sheffield Hallam University. SHU Graduate Attributes. https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/graduatecapabilities/case-studies/

Sheffield Hallam University. Using social media to enhance employability https://students.shu.ac.uk/lits/it/documents/pdf/SocialMediaEmployability.pdf

Target Jobs. The top 10 skills that get you a job when you graduate. https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/career-planning/273051-the-top-10-skills-thatll-get-you-a-job-when-you-graduate

World Economic Forum (2016) The 10 skills you need to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-10-skills-you-need-to-thrive-in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/

AbstractThis session will demonstrate the importance of embedding the use of social media and technology within the curriculum to develop a range of graduate attributes and employability skills. Examples will be shared of how students can develop:• authentic learning experiences to develop confident digital communication and collaboration skills• ways to engage with employers through social media through professional social networking • students' digital capabilities (Jisc 2015) awareness of the importance of lifelong learning and becoming a digital lifewide

learner (Beckingham 2015) employability skills which include social skills such as communication and teamwork which increasingly in the workplace is also taking place online.

It is important that the constant evolution of social media is understood (Beckingham, Purvis and Rodger 2015), and that students are given authentic learning experiences to allow them to learn how to use the affordances of these digital spaces in a professional context. Active listening and curation; online collaboration and communication; creativity and the ability to create digital resources using multimedia; and digital connectedness, are all skills that can be developed further through participation of digital activities set in the context of the students discipline. The ubiquitous use of mobile technology opens numerous opportunities for students to use their own devices for learning Nerantzi and Beckingham (2015).

Why is this important?

The annual survey produced by the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) considers employers' requirements for graduate skillsand highlight the dissatisfaction that employers feel over graduates' preparedness for the workplace. Over half of businesses (55%) were not confident there will be enough people available in the future with the necessary skills to fill their high-skilled jobs (CBI 2015:6) and noted that "Businesses look first and foremost for graduates with the right attitudes and aptitudes to enable them to be effective in the workplace – nearly nine in ten employers (89%) value these above factors such as degree subject (62%)." (CBI 2015:56).

Key areas of concern in this report were communication and team working skills. In today's digital age these skills need to be demonstrated confidently both face to face and online. Increasingly the first contact an employer makes with a prospective candidate is online. Particular attention should therefore also be given to the development of a professional online presence.

Participants will also have the opportunity to share and discuss their own use of social media and technology to develop employability skills.