What do I do?

Personal details

This section should include your personal details and how they can contact you. Just complete the information asked for in the spaces provided. This sheet is an administrative one.

• Your full Name
• Current Address, including postcode
• Telephone number (Include mobile)
• Email address
• Date of birth in full
• School Attended (Full contact details)

Personal Statement

This is possibly the most important section of your progress file.

This is the opportunity for you to sell yourself.

This section should highlight strengths, interests and what you think are your best qualities.

This personal statement should be in two sections and fully reflect your personality. Make sure that all positive points are covered.

• Mention your best subjects and say why. What grades are you expecting to get.
• How do you respond to schoolwork and homework?
• Comment on level of effort in school.
• Comment on attendance and punctuality.
• School activities involved in.
• Awards and achievements.
• Positions of responsibility.
• Educational visits and how they have helped benefit work. eg team building, confidence, key skills.

• List what interests you have outside of school.
• Sports and/or activities you take part in?
• Do you belong to any other organisations?
• Do you play any musical instruments or have any musical interests?
• Any other interests or qualities displayed outside of school?
• Any awards or achievements gained outside of school?

Core Skills Statement

This statement is to show the reader how you have developed your core skills. There are twelve areas to comment on.

• COMMUNICATION
• NUMERACY
• USE OF IT
• TEAMWORK
• PROBLEM SOLVING
• INITIATIVE
• TAKING RISKS
• ENTHUSIASM
• FLEXIBILITY
• LEADERSHIP
• LEARNING NEW THINGS
• ORGANISATION

You should make a comment on each, explaining how you have developed that particular skill with examples. Although you should be very positive you must also be truthful. Where you are lacking skills you should explain how you intend to improve.

In each case specific examples of where you have used the various skills should be given. This can be in lessons, during activities in or out of school and of course Work Experience. The skills recording sheet will help you with examples and provide you with a certificate. Your CoPE award will also enable you to give evidence of your Skills level.

Individual Action Plan:

In the next year
What do you want to achieve in the short term: the next year, taking you up to the end of school? Set out your plan, which will enable you to meet these targets?

In the next 2 years
This will take you to the end of sixth form, college or an apprenticeship. Where would you like to be at this point.

In the next 5 years
What is the medium-term plan, taking you to the end of university or even a couple of years into employment? Where will you be?

My long term aim is
Eg. Eventually owning my own company, successful, the best that I can be. You need to put in more detail and information!

Be positive, honest and realistic.

Employment History

In this section you need to talk about any previous experience of work that you have had.

• To show that you are trustworthy, responsible, able to work with others and able to work sensibly.
• If you have had more than one job talk about the last job first.

• Dates that you had the job
• Name the employer and the address of the organisation. Include the telephone number and contact person.
• Job title.
• What did you do, were there any specific responsibilities?
• Did you enjoy the work, try and say something positive.
• How many hours a week and how did you fit this around school?

Give specific examples to demonstrate the above. There are 3 boxes, if you need more insert rows or delete as necessary.

Work Experience

In this section you need to describe your Work Experience. You should include:

• Where and when the placement was.
• Give the address, phone number and contact name.
• Describe the duties performed.
• State skilled learned giving examples of where and how they were used.
• Explain how you might have benefited from the experience.
• Include useful and positive sections from the work experience booklet, especially the employer questionnaire from the back of the booklet.
• If you can get a testimonial from the placement then make sure it is included.
• Your work experience booklet is very important; it should have examples of where you have used skills in the work-based environment. Refer to it when giving examples.

Educational Achievements

In this section you should use your target grades to show what subjects you are taking and probable grades. There are 3 tables, the first is for exams already passed eg NCFE French or those who take English early, the second one is the main table, see below and the third is for other exams you might have taken like Dance, Music or First aid either in or out of school.

Be careful how they are displayed, make sure that levels are included; examples are already inserted for you.

• This is one of the first things that a prospective employer or college will look at! Out of about 40,000 employers who were asked for the most important things they look for in an employee, this was the top!
• It shows commitment, reliability and a willingness to work.
• You should include the latest attendance record from the School. This can be printed from the attendance office.

Evidence of Achievements

In this section you should get together as much evidence as you can to back up what you have said in previous sections.

• Certificates
• Testimonials
• Photos
• Paper cuttings
• Sports awards
• Work you are proud of
• Work Experience evidence

Photos are a great way to break the ice and start a conversation at an interview, this is the section that can catch the eye and make you stand out from the rest!

CV

If you have a CV the make sure you include it. For more information on how to write a CV see Skills Section.