School of Mathematics and Statistics (SoMaS)

MAS279 Career Development Skills

Employability is one of the key aims of the University of Sheffield. This module will consist of various tasks to help students be more employable. Part of this will consist of general "careers skills" - researching careers and employers, CV writing, interview technique - and other parts will be more focused on employment in mathematical areas, where it may be necessary to present technical work to non-mathematicians.

Corequisites: MAS211 (Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra)
No other modules have this module as a prerequisite.

Outline syllabus

• Self-assessment of skills
• CVs and covering letters
• Interviews
• Researching graduate careers
• Oral presentations
• Report writing
• Working in teams

Aims

• to encourage students to analyse their own skills, aptitudes and career interests;
• to gain a greater understanding of what makes a good CV;
• to gain practice in interview technique;
• to research a graduate career area or opportunity;
• to gain practice in making presentations;
• to gain practice in report writing;
• to gain experience of working in a team.

Learning outcomes

• Students should get a greater sense of their own employability, with an analysis of their own aptitudes and interests;
• Students should understand the application process - CVs and interviews - better;
• Students should understand better how and where to research their career options;
• Students should improve their ability to present material in a clear and transparent way.

Teaching methods

Mostly seminar-based, with some lectures to introduce certain topics.

Assessment

By a portfolio of work throughout the course [100%]. There is no formal exam (and no resit) for this module.

Full syllabus

• Self-assessment of skills
• CVs and covering letters
• Interviews
• Researching graduate careers
• Oral presentations
• Report writing
• Working in teams

Reading list