Planning for success: A student’s perspective on Action Planning and Internships

ceth conference 2010

Employability in the Curriculum:Beyond the Bolt-On?University of Central LancashireTuesday 22nd June & Wednesday 23rd June 2010

“Networking is a natural process; it is much more fun to IM, LinkedIn and Digg It on Facebook. And the nicest thing about networking is that if you Stumbleupon failure you can always send a tweet.”

Nathaniel Southworth-Barlow

ceth conference 2010

Planning for success: A student’s perspective on Action Planning and Internships.Nathaniel Southworth-Barlow ACIM, UCLANWednesday 23rd June 2010

Planning for success: A student's perspective on Action Planning and Internships

Nathaniel Southworth-Barlow www.southworthbarlow.com 23 June 2010 1

Networking is a natural process; it is much more fun to IM, LinkedIn and Digg It on Facebook. And the nicest thing about networking is that if you Stumbleupon failure you can always send a tweet.

My success to date has been aided by adopting a planned approach to my future career.

Hopefully my experience will persuade others that planning their future is no harder than social networking and has significant benefits.

Introduction



The first part of my talk covers my experience in the US education system and how I was forced to create a plan. This was my introduction to planning; it wasn’t an option it was something I had to do prior to starting High School.

The second part of my talk looks at what this entailed and examines the similarities and differences I have seen in an employment focused professional qualification – to which the academic requirement might be considered the ‘bolt on’ to my vocational based degree to which the employment aspect might be considered the ‘bolt on’.

The final part of my talk describes my experience of placements to date. Specifically my experience in Romania on an EU funded Leonardo placement followed by my experience in first securing and subsequently completing a one year paid internship.

Overview



US High school studies span four years and involve a mix of compulsory and elective modules a number of which must be passed in order to graduate.

Timetables are based around the individual; they are not year based.

I took advantage of this to tailor my plan so that it would provide maximum support to my potential return to the UK after only two years in High School. I looked at what would best support future ‘A’ level choices which in turn involved me looking at the type of university courses I wanted to apply for when I was fourteen.

My High School lesson choices strongly supported the ‘A’ levels I applied to study at a college that was prepared to admit me on the strength of my US High School grades.

I was learning about options and contingencies – both components of action planning – that would help me react to changing circumstances.

Class of 2007



Aledo High School, Texas

http://www.baiaustin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/aledohs5.jpg



Each update of my plan refined my future options – think of it as moving along a funnel that seems to progressively narrow. As a result when the time came to finalise my university choices I had a good idea of that I wanted to study.

I also asked myself: “What was I going to do after my degree?” It was a habit I was getting into.

Having clear goals allowed me to quickly refine my search from communications to Public Relations.

With sufficient research and the right level of planning other courses may be found that may compliment your degree studies.

Before I started my degree I had a volunteer job at Barnardo’s and had embarked on a CIM accredited marketing course.

A bridge to professionalism - 1



The differences? Professional qualification vs. University degree?

I found subtle differences between the two forms of study. The constant link back to your company being the most significant. I was constantly expected to relate my academic learning back to my company.

As you seek to link different topics back to the same company you will uncover new facets about your chosen organisation which in time will start to form a cohesive whole.

University courses arguably focus on aspects that may – at least at first - appear to be more theoretical in nature. Partly this may be the result of students not having the industry experiences that professional qualifications take for granted. Indeed professional courses often assume a specific level of industry experience as well and are typically described as practitioner focused.

Maybe action planning needs social marketing!

A bridge to professionalism - 2



CIM Graduation, Birmingham



One of my goals concerns employment, another concerns building on the international experience I had gained in the US. A Leonardo placement met both.

To secure one I researched the companies that operated Leonardo placements, kept track of them and submitted an application when placements became available.

Living in another culture may not be to everyone’s liking but for me it represents an opportunity to use the skills I have learnt and to acquire new ones.

A key point to realise is that anyone who can create a detailed holiday plan has the capacity to create an action plan. Show people they can, show people the advantages.

In Transylvania



Transylvania

http://www.behindthespin.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/traveller.jpg



As much as anything it is a time consuming process that you need to fit in around lectures and deadlines.

In some ways securing my internship was harder than completing it. Going through the process was a significant learning experience.

As counterintuitive as it may appear to be if an internship vacancy didn’t satisfy the criteria I had set I didn’t apply for it.

Key points for me: don’t be dismayed, obviously – keep trying; have clear objectives – know what you want to get out of an internship; be aware that you will learn from your failures, you will get better at telephone interviews, assessment centres and face-to-face interviews – so try and start early.

This period may be difficult to plan but you can still take steps to manage your time.

Securing your internship



During my time there I worked under a professionally qualified mentor. What I experienced and what I did allowed me to grow as a practitioner in my field. It let me apply my enthusiasm and my dedication; it let me express my love for writing and – perhaps most importantly – it allowed me to apply the theories and techniques I’d learnt during my education to date in a practical setting.

One of the keys to a successful internship is to maintain learning logs and to ensure that you have regular reviews of what you have done and what you have yet to experience.

Your task is not only to satisfy your employer, doing the best you can for them, but to ensure that you experience as many different learning opportunities as possible.

Making a plan at the start of your experience – even if it is something as simple as a checklist of objectives – can help to ensure you get as much out of your internship as possible.

On probation

Nathaniel Southworth-Barlow www.southworthbarlow.com 23 June 2010 12Lancashire Probation Trust




Action Planning has been at the heart of my education and career to date for nearly eight years. It has helped me do more than I would otherwise have achieved.

Even the simplest of plans can become a personal development plan - a key tool which in turn can support a Continuous Professional Development scheme.

Action planning is not difficult; there is a process to it but not one that a social networker should have a problem with.

Show people the value of Action Planning; show them the process; show them how to use it and hopefully people will come to recognise the value of Action Planning in furthering their employability.

In summary



I maintain a rolling plan which I update when major activities start or finish.

To be of value an action plan must be dynamic.

Stuff happens and an out of date plan loses its value.

I think of planning timeframes in two different ways:

- Time based. The short term six to twelve months into the future; the medium term about one to three years hence; the long term about three to five years out.

- Event based: what I am doing is on-going and not yet finished; what do I expect to do but have not yet started. What do I hope to start – what opportunities, what contingencies.

Broadly these can be thought of as short term, medium and long term but they may not be.

Planning just a few months ahead is relatively easy; it’s mostly reacting.

My own action plan - 1



My own action plan - 2

Short term: another placement; finish my post-graduate certificate and my degree.

Medium term: key decisions ahead. Start a Diploma in Management Studies? Start a Masters degree? Which country, which university?

Long term include full membership of the CIM and CIPR

Additional goals: work experience; overseas experience.

Having thought about what I might do and what might happen; having thought about what I want to achieve and how to achieve it I will be in a far stronger position to take key decisions quickly when needed. And if unexpected stuff happens I will update the plan.

Thank you for listening; are there any questions.



Nathaniel Southworth-Barlow is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Currently completing a Post-graduate Certificate in Management and a degree in Public Relations he has recently completed a Communications and PR placement at the Lancashire Probation Trust. Previously Nathaniel attended Aledo High School in Texas before returning to the UK to continue his study at Cardinal Newman College, Preston prior to studying at UCLAN.

About the speaker

Career

Planning for success: A student’s perspective on Action Planning and Internships