VII.I.  Open Educational Resources on Employability


Open Educational Resources (OERs) on Employability are digitised materials offered freely and openly for educators, students and self-learners to use and reuse for teaching, learning and research. OERs include many different types of digital assets, they consist of various exercises, videos introducing best practices, current results of research, quick tips for finding employment and starting new businesses, etc and are used for self-directed learning. The exercises of the OERs consist of a combination of open-ended and closed questions. Open-ended questions allow for self-reflection while the closed questions allow immediate evaluation.

The set of 25 OERs on Employability (in English) was developed during the project ‘e-Mentoring: New skills and competencies for new jobs’ (2011-2013), No. 511579-LLP-2010-LT-KA3-KA3MP to facilitate the Mentor’s work with the Mentees.

OERs on Employability are created in order to help a Mentee or a learner to improve his/her skills and competences on how to (re-)enter labour market as employee. By doing these exercises, the Mentee will check his/her knowledge or gain some new knowledge which will be useful in one’s career, e.g. in job seeking or adapting to a new organization.

OERs consist of self-directed learning exercises, interactive tests, quizzes, case studies, videos, etc. Mentees can do these exercises online using a computer: http://e-mentoring.eu/.

We kindly suggest that you, as a Mentor, visit these OERs on employability. The exercises are developed in a learner-friendly manner and are attractive to use. Below, you will find more on how to use these OERS.

The exercises include six different themes and they can be done one in turn by the Mentees as homework prior to each mentoring session. During the mentoring session, the results of the exercises can be discussed. Naturally, the exercises to be made have to be in line with the goals of the Mentees. However, all the themes address employment-related issues and most probably they support the Mentees in achieving their goals.

These learning exercises will help a Mentee to enhance his/her skills/competencies on how to be successful in finding a job, adapting to a new organization and managing one’s career.

There are six separate themes in the employability section:

Self-evaluation for my willingness/motivation to work

YOUR AIM

To evaluate your willingness/motivation to work

LEARNING RESULTS

After successful completion of suggested exercises, you will be able to:

  • evaluate your motivation to work;
  • analyse your reasons and requirements for employment;
  • understand which internal and/or external obstacles you might face while seeking a job.

Job suitable for me

YOUR AIM

To evaluate what kind of a job you require

LEARNING RESULTS

After successful completion of suggested exercises, you will be able to:

  • analyse your professional interests;
  • understand what kind of a job is suitable for you;
  • define in which area you would like to be employed;
  • define your career ambitions.

Active job seeking skills

YOUR AIM

To prepare for active job seeking and to learn more about job-seeking strategies

LEARNING RESULTS

After successful completion of suggested exercises, you will be able to:

  • assess your job seeking activity;
  • understand how to avoid and recover from typical job-seeking mistakes;
  • utilise possible job-seeking tools and strategies;
  • Analyse steps you need to take in order to get a job;
  • prepare the documents required for applying for a job (a CV, a motivation letter, etc).

Successful job interview

YOUR AIM

To know how to be successful in a job interview and which behaviour could be appropriate to convince the employer

LEARNING RESULTS

After successful completion of suggested exercises, you will be able to:

  • present yourself properly to a possible employer during a job interview;
  • prepare for a successful interview;
  • make a good impression for an interviewer;
  • ask the interviewer appropriate questions during a job interview;
  • prepare answers to questions most frequently asked during a job interview;
  • understand how you need to dress for a job interview;
  • analyse body language you should use during a job interview.

Successful adaptation in a new work place

YOUR AIM

To learn what the challenges of an adaptation period are and prepare yourself to adapt to a new workplace

LEARNING RESULTS

After successful completion of suggested exercises, you will be able to:

  • understand the main issues of an adaptation period in a new workplace;
  • choose appropriate behaviour in order to adapt successfully in the new workplace and to avoid typical mistakes;
  • realise the importance of organisational culture;
  • understand how you can improve your communication skills;
  • estimate your behaviour in a working environment;
  • understand the teamwork concept.

Career and professional development

YOUR AIM

To learn how to plan your future career

LEARNING RESULTS

After successful completion of suggested exercises, you will be able to:

  • plan your career development by evaluating your possibilities;
  • develop key networking skills which can help you to climb the career ladder faster;
  • evaluate your attitudes and behaviour with regard to success in your career;
  • understand the importance of career development;
  • create a professional development plan.