William O’Donnell 170520850
Academic and Professional Skills Development Essay (BUS1016)
“Businesses look first and foremost for graduates with the right attitudes and aptitudes to
enable them to be effective in the workplace” (CBI, 2016:8)1. Drawing on the intelligent
career framework critically consider the actions that you could take to demonstrate your
potential to future employers in your chosen career.
Introduction
The increasing competitiveness and high tuition fees of students attending universities is
leading to weak prospects for graduates. “There are simply not enough quality jobs for
young people leaving university,” said Frances O’Grady general secretary of the Trades
Union Congress (Financial Times 2016). Studying at Newcastle has made me more aware
of the importance of developing my intelligent career framework in the appropriate
mannerism. It is interpersonal skills that perhaps may determine my potential as there is a
huge number of students across the country with the same degree as mine.
My interest in business, particularly marketing, was sparked by the 2008
banking crisis. The crisis affected many, including both my Uncle and Grandfather's
architectural businesses. I was able to witness the consequences on my immediate
relatives experiencing it first hand, driving me to pursue an interest in the social and
economic implications of the global recession.
I took this business interest and in 2016 started my own advertising business which helped
fund both my gap year and university. In the first year of operations, the company saw
profits of over £12,000 which for an A-Level student, is a step in the right direction. The
business has 3 employees to date and continues to work alongside a number of
companies and clients on a day to day basis. We first began business on the social media
platform, Twitter and to date have over 11,000 followers who all have an interest in the
sport. Companies will approach us to advertise towards this niche following. Studying at
Newcastle University has given me the confidence to challenge other business ideas I
have and begin developing them into practice. I’ve always been attracted to the idea of
running my own business as the flexibility coincides well with my other interests. According
to gov.uk “ self-employment has seen rapid growth in recent years who found the number
of self-employed increased from 3.3 million people in 2001 to 4.8 million in 2017”. My
attraction to this growing career choice is perhaps an influence of previous experience of
working for myself, whether it was selling sweets at school or selling club tickets at the
university. This potential influence is further highlighted by (McAdams, 1999) who states
that “For many of us, our career is an important element of our identity - our internalised
story which is influenced by our past, present, and future.”
There are an array of advantages that appeal to me about being self-employed, many of
which aren’t available through work...
