Maintain a log of work placement tasks and personal development Your work experience diary should;  Describe the tasks you completed each day  Identify the skills you used each day  Identify the knowledge gained each day

Be specific about what tasks involved you developing or using skills and knowledge

Working to deadlines Prioritising tasks Using your initiative to look for jobs that need doing Organising yourself Working with others on a task Completing part of a task so that others can use/build on your work Speaking to customers/business colleagues and contacts Customer services training Returns/refund policies Complaints procedure Listening to others Communicating your ideas/knowledge in meeting or on phone Communicating with senior colleagues

Specific knowledge about the business or company E.g. Aims of company, company ethos First aid/accident procedures Health and Safety Procedures Fire safety procedures Uniform requirements Breaks and absence procedure Specific services they offer Specific product or products offered by the company

Describe the knowledge/skills gained during specific tasks You must describe;  What was learnt from a task  When this was learnt  How this was learnt

Exemplar Task Answering Phone Calls What was learnt ;  how to use a script to answer calls  How to communicate with customer  How to answer queries When this was learnt;  When working on the reception phones How this was learnt;  Watch and listen to others first  Practice taking pretend phone calls  Asking questions from supervisor  Having a go at taking a phone call

Exemplar Task Helping customers with their purchase What was learnt ;  How to communicate with customers  Product knowledge  Problem solving When this was learnt;  When helping elderly lady find a suitable present for her grandson How this was learnt;  Watched other staff with customers  Asked other staff for help and what to do  Approached customers and started to practice helping them  Ask for feedback from supervisor on how I did

Exemplar Task Attending a meeting What was learnt ;  how to structure a meeting (agenda, minutes)  How to communicate with colleagues When this was learnt;  In a meeting about the company budget How this was learnt;  Listening to others speak  Taking notes  Speaking to others and asking questions

Exemplar Task Attending a meeting What was learnt ;  how to structure a meeting (agenda, minutes)  How to communicate with colleagues When this was learnt;  In a meeting about the company budget How this was learnt;  Listening to others speak  Taking notes  Speaking to others and asking questions

Identify aspects of the work experience that could have been improved For example you may have liked to improve the following;  Gain experience/learning in another task  Practice specific skills before starting the work placement  Communicating better with the supervisor  Manage your time more effectively

Exemplar I would have liked to learn more about how the shop processes store account cards and how people get accepted for credit I would like to have asked my supervisor more questions about what training the company provides on I would like to have managed my time more effectively when working on the computer to get more tasks completed I would have likes to practice how to change oil in a car before going on work experience so that I could do it more independantly

You must describe at least 2 ways that improvements could be made to the tasks carried out. Improvements could be;  More effective communication  Time keeping  Positive attitude

Exemplar I could improve the way I dealt with customers by having a more positive attitude when approaching them. I was nervous speaking to new people and I think this could have put customers off and made me seem grumpy. If I approached them with a positive attitude, I would appear to have more confidence and they may be more willing to speak to me.

Exemplar When using the computer for the first time, I got stuck and ended up making a mistake. If I used more effective communication with my supervisor I could have asked them for help or to go over it again before I made the mistake.

You must describe at least 1 way that the work experience has influenced your thinking about your future. For example; I enjoyed working with children in the school but didn't enjoy working with the younger year groups. Instead of looking at being an primary school teacher, I think I may prefer to be a secondary school teacher. I didnt like working in an office because I was sat down a lot of the time and prefer to be on my feet more active. I would prefer to be a supervisor within the company instead because they were more involved with meetings and would visit different offices rather than being based in one place. I liked working with customers and helping them so I would like to pursue a career in sales. I preferred helping them with fashion items so I would like to work in a fashion shop instead of a general shop.

You must set 2 short-term and 2 long-term goals that are SMART S – specific M – measureable A – achievable R – Relevant T - Timed

You must set 2 short-term and 2 long-term goals that are SMART Short-Term Attend maths revision every week until the exam in order to improve my Maths grade Long-Term Apply for an A-level accounting course which can get me onto an accounting degree in university.

You must set 2 short-term and 2 long-term goals that are SMART Short-Term Volunteer to work with E3 and the PE department to help out with sports events and gain experience Long-Term Get a job working in a sports centre training people