1. An Introduction to Unit 4: Marketing Yourself 2015-16

2. Unit 4 CATs Write a Personal Statement for a UCAS application OR for a specific job (include a plan) Mock interview Plan, deliver and review a group or individual presentation Reflective response

3. Purpose of session Help students to prepare for successful applications and interviews Why? Ability to promote yourself is vital to success How? Provide advice and tools on ‘how to...’

4. Purpose of Unit 4 Develop practical lifelong skills Relevant for securing future HE or job places Improve your confidence – how many are confident in all situations? Promoting yourself is not easy – lets practice how to do it

5. HE stats What about those that didn't get places? Competition – Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, Law, Teaching, Physiotherapy, Social Work... 677,373 495,596 Number of applicants (2014) Number who got places (2014)

6. How to make yourself memorable? Academic grades? – not enough on there own Relevant Work experience Extra curricular activities - skills Well written personal statement including all of above A good interview performance and presentation skills

7. Personal Statement Market yourself Reasons for choosing course Understandin g of course/ subject Areas of academic interest/ strength Career aspirations Employment, work experience, voluntary work Skills and abilities with examples Extra- curricular DofE/ NCS Other interests

8. Use the Personal statement guide at UCAS.com

9. Use the Studential website to view example personal statements Don’t plagiarise. Not all examples are good!

10. Personal Statement – do’s Make it relevant and concise – one statement fits all course choices Make sure you have plenty of experiences to write about and provide examples Consider style as well as content - structure and SPG Always be positive about yourself, but honest and truthful

11. Personal Statement – don’ts Repeat, waffle and be vague Mention individual institutions by name Leave it till the last minute! Copy others work - UCAS Similarity Detection Service

12. How can you make yourself memorable? Interviews Will determine whether you get the place or job or not Some courses interview all candidates, others interview a selection

13. How to make yourself memorable? Preparation – research the course, institution or company Provide evidence with specific examples Non-verbal communication Enthusiastic Professional Confident – interviews are a performance! Ask questions

14. Presentations Plan, prepare and practice Keep it simple and relevant Stick to the time allocated Use presentation aids – PowerPoint, pictures, video clips Remember to reflect on performance to improve

15. Use the PM web page as a research tool

16. Points to remember Remember to include a plan of your personal statement Use the templates and other guidance in the Unit 4 booklet to help you, and online PM resources/web links Include a copy of your presentation slides/handouts Stick to the word counts requested Don’t copy and paste info from the web – plagiarism

17. Open Days 2015/16 Saturday 24 October 15 Friday 4 December 15 Thursday 23 June 16 Wednesday 29 June 16 Saturday 17 September 16 9.30am – 3.00pm