1.1 Reviewing your progress
Before you start setting goals and making plans, it’s worth taking a bit of time to review what you have done so far on the course, and also to look over some of the notes you’ve written and the activities you’ve carried out. These will give you a firm basis for writing your action plan.
Activity 1 Reflecting on the course
Make a note of one thing you have learned from each week of the course. This could be something you have discovered about yourself, something you have learned from another person, or something that you’ve read or thought about.
For example, you might have found it challenging in the second week to account for the gaps in your employment record when creating your LinkedIn page and CV. Understanding the valuable skills and experience gained while being, for example, a carer, living abroad, changing career direction, doing volunteer work and/or running a parent/teacher group can help you be positive and unapologetic in addressing this.
In Week 6, you looked at how you may have lost confidence as a result of being out of work. What did you learn from this week and what strategies did you decide might help to overcome this barrier?
Remember, these are just examples – you should focus on your own insights and learning that are specific to you.
Here is a reminder of what you have covered so far:
| Study Week | Main topics covered |
|---|---|
| 1 | Learning from your experiences |
| 2 | Presenting yourself – online and on paper |
| 3 | What’s going on in your industry sector; what are the possibilities and future trends? |
| 4 | New ways of working – flexibility and other options |
| 5 | Achieving a harmonious work–life balance |
| 6 | Getting support – mentoring and networking |
| 7 | Finding your way round the job market |
Fill in your notes using the week-by-week reflection table [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .