Employability

CPD

One of the courses that we were introduced to is Wheelchair England Rugby League. On this coaching course it allowed us to broader our knowledge into how being in a wheelchair still allows you to take part in sessions such as rugby and not make people feel like they are segregated and unable to take part. The first part of the session started off by playing wheelchair rugby and getting used to how the game works. We started by working how to move around the area in a wheelchair attempting to pick the rugby ball up and then wheeling around whilst holding the rugby ball and for this to happen you had to wheel twice and then lean and pick the ball up. This was a good way to start the session as me personally and few of the other participant didn’t now how to pick the ball up whilst wheeling. The next part of the session consisted of moving out of a wheelchair and into small sided games. The coaches started off by taking us through different sessions that they had provided. After this they then gave us the authority to coach a session ourselves based on our own rugby knowledge or the sheets that were given to us by them and this then allowed us to come up with different ideas collectively. The last station of this practical was a session which was about the background of England Rugby league and how they can have an impact on young and older people’s lives. The basis of this part was getting to know how they work. Overall I believe that this was beneficial for moving forward as a coach as I think that it has opened new pathways for me and brought me out of my comfort zone, getting me thinking that a main stream sport like rugby can still be played regardless if you are in a wheel chair or not.

FA level 1 Coaching Course.

This football course is designed to develop and improve coaches skills on football to a higher level and advising aspiring coaches the way the FA would like new and upcoming coaches to deliver football session to a football team that can be from really young so under 5 all the way to open age. From taking part in this course I think that this has benefitted me coming into a sports coaching degree as I did this before coming to university and I was not confident in making any progress with session plans and I also was not that good at producing a good session but from this course and then using the resources available to me from the FA I believe that this has put me in a good place to move forward with my coaching. I believe that this would help me in the future for employability as now I have my level 1 I can now develop this further and work towards my level 2 and maybe father up the footballing ladder but it has definitely put me in a great place and by that meaning for coaching jobs as I have the minimum of what they want and now I have that I can go outside of the degree and focus more on improving my coaching.

Mentoring

I have mentored the level 4 students during their festivals with the children coming in from different schools. I believe that the feedback that I had given them will help them throughout their time coaching, at university, placement as I have been in that situation in my first year at Leeds Beckett so giving them feedback on what they can improve on moving forwards. This would be beneficial for them and for the level 4’s to get advice of older students who have been in there shoes is one thing that they should make the most of as interacting doesn’t really happen with the older students on the course. After being assigned a group to work with and guide, we observed their session during their festival. This for a level 4 student can be quite daunting and nerve racking as not only are they being observed by older students, they are also delivering a session to children who have come in to take part for the first time and not just their peers in seminars. After watching the session and making notes on what had taken place it was then a good opportunity to give them their feedback. For example, in the session I picked upon that when the main coach had split the students into groups, the other coach could off then got them underway instead of standing waiting for the lead coach to split them all up. The reason why I mentioned this when reflecting on the session is because it is key that the children are always in action and don’t spend time standing around. Another point I picked up on was the groupings. This means the way they split the group up as there was one group struggling and another who were striving. From past experience in coaching I believe that is beneficial for the group taking part to be mixed so that the children who’re struggling then had the opportunity to learn of the drivers in the group. It may also make them feel like saying to themselves if they can do it then why can’t I?. Overall, from this mentoring session it has been good for me as I can use this in my own coaching where possible and also for the level 4’s it is also good so that they can use this feedback and move forward positively in there future sessions.

Community Engagement

My first part of the community engagement took place at my School placement (Five Lanes Primary School) as we took the children on a school trip to football tournament against other schools in the local area. This was the first time during placement where we had take the children outside of school and as the main teacher. This was a football tournament for the children to compete in and we were told by the office team at the school that the school had never won anything like this before. Hearing that as the coach and mentor of the children it gave me massive motivation to go there and win. When we arrived at the venue it consisted of 7 other schools being there and having a round robin tournament. I had little notes in my pocket that had the formations and little tactics on them even though it was for fun and it was mainly for the children to look at, hoping to get them into positions where they could score and also win the game. The main thing i wanted to get from this trip is for the children to have fun and enjoy the experience of competing against other schools as it is very rare that the school get invited/take part in sport tournaments. As mentioned above the school have never won anything like this before so after winning two out of the three group games getting into the semi finals, it already felt a massive achievement for myself as the coach and for the school. The only issue we faced in this was keeping the children together and not having them wandering off to speak to other schools but, this was outlined before we arrived that we didn’t want this sort of thing happening, we wanted to stay together as a group and as a school. After getting paired with another school from the other group there was no sign of boredom from the children and certainly no signs of them wanting to go home! Getting through the semi final and into the final was a colossal achievement and even though we lost the final I feel that the children did the school proud and the school recognised that as when we returned. The following week we were told that the children who played had received a numerous amounts of house points in their respective classes, and this was much deserved as they did everyone proud. For myself, moving forward in coaching and looking into potential other openings and tournaments. This was a learning curve for me as this stood out as on of the most challenging coaching days I have had, as I was the responsibility of the children at that school and although it was nerve racking it was. As well as very fun and enjoyable and I would defiantly not say no to doing this again in the future.

The second part of community engagement that I took part in was a workshop organised by the Level 6’s on our course. There were plenty of workshops to choose from but the one I looked into and was drawn to was called ‘Burnout in Sport’. The reason why I chose this was because I had always looked at everything but the fatigue and the burnout that can be caused by playing or taking part in sport, and why this has a massive impact on participants and their performance. This was mainly because it looked remotely boring and I was not interested in any of it but I was to be proved wrong!

In this session it was the impact too much sport can have on a participant and in this it gave certain examples of it also not being sport related on why burnout can happen. For example, I learnt that parents and family can have a massive impact by pushing and forcing their son/daughter all the way leading them to be physically and mentally burnt out as they feel like they can not do anymore whatsoever. Following on from this we then looked at ways where this can be stopped. From this session it really gave me an insight on something I had never thought about looking into whilst studying and, it has given me something to think about when delivering my own sessions to think ‘have I gone too far’, ‘is there enough time to recover before going again’. Also, in relation to my studies and thinking what about looking into this more and using this as a guide in my final year at University.

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Social Media Training

The first part of social media training I Took part in was mistakes to avoid in writing a CV and the second part of social media training was Interview top tips. I felt as though these two would help me in future as I can build a good enough CV to get through to the interview stage and then when being present in the interview the tips that would give me to be calm, comfortable and just to be myself.

Mistakes to avoid when writing your CV:

Number 1:

Sending the same CV out to multiple employers – without tailoring it to that particular job. For example, skills, duties etc.

• They want to know:
• Can you do their job – Highlight key words in job description and do research. Makes sure it is obvious in the CV the ley competences 
• Are you passionate about the area of work – extracurricular, society, volunteering work. Link it all back to the job, what you learnt and developed for the job you’re applying for. E.G. strong communication skills and back up with an example.
• Are you going to fit in – tailor it is showing you will fit in.  Job adverts – pull out the key skills and common themes.
• Know what you have to offer – Strengths – show that you are better than the next candidate, confident in articulating yourself. Also, have examples and evidence of what you have done. 
• Used numbers – E.G. out of 300 pupils I got classmate of the year – more impactful.

Number 2:

Irrelevant Information 

• Ask yourself so what – does this allow you to get the job – pull out the relevance
• Degree learning – why is it useful your degree? – why is the degree better? 
• Studied till level 6, know about the theory’s trends and research, key modules that will link or projects you have completed that will link.
• Work experience – chronological order – competences – link it all to a strength – transferable skills that can link to this job.
• Extracurricular, volunteering, skills, awards – what makes you different? Sell what makes you unique.
• Excellent references available upon request – unless they ask for it.

Number 3:

Focusing on duties rather than achievement and competences 

• E.G. You can follow strict health and safety – attention to detail, shift at short notice shows flexibility 
• up and beyond for something 
• tell them what you did – E.G. cricket – what you did, role, skills gained from the role and link back to the job 

Number 4:

Difficult to read/poor format

• Legible 
• Not too small text 
• Make it easy to see the key points 
• Make them want to read on and be excited about it 
• Have to make it stand out

Number 5:

Lack of attention to detail 

• Check, check and check again 
• Don’t give them the chance to put the CV in the NO pile 
• Spelling mistakes, grammar?
• Don’t give them an excuse to put you in a NO pile.

Key messages:

• Needs to be tailored to the job role 
• Maximum of two pages long 
• Focused on most relevant skills and experiences 
• Back skills and experiences up with evidence 
• Make sure layout makes the reader want to read it – E.G. Bold and Text style 
• Shout about the achievements you have done – helps you stand out from the crowd 

From this CV video I feel that this has helped me moving forward into the future when writing one in regards to job opportunities that may occur and pop up once my degree hs finished at Leeds Beckett University.

Interview top tips:

Number 1:

Plan Ahead 

• Critical 
• Really understand the employer, challenges they’re facing, growth, competitors and the role you’re applying for.
• RESEARCH
• Authentic answers – what excited you about their business 
• Type of interview it will be – competency or strength interview?
• Rise of online video interviews – plan the technology in advance – quiet environment – background of the room – types of online interviews, skype or re-recorded interview 
• Know where you are going for the interview – Practice run to know where you’re going 
• Outfit you will be wearing – Dress code 

Number 2:

Understanding the employee/person specification

• Topics they are going to ask you to talk about in the interview
• Predict what is going to come up – looking at the specification 
• Highlight key words on the job advert if there is no specification 

Number 3:

Prepare your answers 

• CAR or CAB – context, action, result/benefit 
• Context – Set the scene – where were you, what were you doing, what problems you were having 
• Action – The action you took personally 
• Result/Benefit – What happened – can you quantify it (use numbers) bring out the skills and competences they are looking for.

Number 4:

Think of something you would like to ask 

• Most interviews will have the opportunity to ask
• Show employer you’re interested in the company/job
• Relate to the business – where do they see the business in 5 years’ time.
• Show passion, interest for the role

Number 5:

Practice

• Interview questions 
• Rehearse answering 
• Online video interview simulator – look at body language, how can improve the answers you can give
• Mock interview 
• Curve ball questions – see how you deal with being in the situation – I don’t have the answer to that now this is how I am going to get that answer – don’t be flustered.

Example questions – Competency style questions: 

Describe a situation when you have led a team?

How do you handle a difficult customer?

Tell me about a time when you have overcome a problem at work?

People give me an example of a time when you have had to work towards a challenging deadline?

This, like the CV writing video was also helpful as this has given me a massive insight into what an interview would be like and the tips that I picked up in the video would help me when attending a job interview and how reading one and using these tips can stand me In a good chance of getting the job!