Professional Preparation Programme

Professional Preparation Programme for Engineering Students (2023-24)

The Professional Preparation Programme (PPP) is jointly offered by the Faculty of Engineering and CEDARS – Careers and Placement. Over the years, the programme has been well received and we have had over 1400 students participated.

For this academic year, we are joining hands again to offer the Professional Preparation Programme to all undergraduates.

Aims:

• To prepare students for entering the job market
• To enhance the employability of Engineering students
• To improve students' overall competitiveness in the graduate job market
• To develop more advanced career planning and interview skills to improve students' chances of success

Programme Schedule:

^^ Students enrolled and attended both “Ways to make your CV, Cover Letter stand out” and “What you need to ace your next Interview?” are eligible to join one session of "CV Clinic and Mock Interview". Please be reminded to click "Yes" to both sessions, otherwise, the enrolment page for “CV Clinic and Mock Interview” will not come out.

** Students are free to choose any of the modules and do not have to register all the sessions

Registration Deadline

Workshops 1 & 2: 9:00am, 19 September 2023 (Tuesday)
Workshops 3 & 4: 9:00am, 10 October 2023 (Tuesday)
Workshops 5, 6 & 7: 9:00am, 24 October 2023 (Tuesday)

Module Descriptions

1. Your role in a group : Communication, Teamwork & Leadership (1.5 hours)
   Three important career skills that most employers are looking for, how can you cooperate and coordinate with your peers to get the chemistry right?
   This interactive module allows the students to experience various communication styles and behaviours when working in teams, as well as how communication style influences team members’ interactions. Recommendations will be given to students as to how they can develop their leadership style.
2. The Art of Job Offers Evaluation, Workplace Etiquette and Communication (1.5 hours) 
   Congratulations on having multiple offers, what's next? Learning how to choose wisely and decline gracefully can go a long way for your career and academic journey. Treating the act of selection with mindfulness will be a key factor that separates success from failures.
   This module aims to help students learn how to make informed decision when considering a job offer by providing strategic guidelines ranging from choosing a job which best meets one’s needs, evaluating multiple job offers to the proper etiquette for declining a job offer. In addition, students will be given useful tips on essential working / office etiquette and communication skills to establish better working relationships and experience in the workplace to increase productivity.
3. Ways to make your CV, Cover Letter stand out (1.5 hours) 
   Writing a CV or cover letter can be daunting when you start with a blank sheet. Let's change that by working through it together and help you ace internships, scholarships and competition opportunities.  
   The module aims to equip students with the techniques of writing impressive CV and cover letter in order to increase their competitiveness in their job application process.
4. What you need to ace your next Interview? (1.5 hours)
   "Tell me about yourself." Many people may seem to forget who they are the instant they are being asked this question. Do you want to know how to vibe with the interviewer and make you an irresistible hire? This module is for you.
   This module aims to sharpen your interview skills, students will learn what to do before, during and after interviews, how to answer common interview questions, and ways to prepare for interviews.
5. Smart ways to give your Presentations and Impromptu Talks? (1.5 hours)
   How do your tutors or supervisors evaluate your presentations? How to deliver a prepared or impromptu speech? 
   The module will focus on the structure of an individual presentation and provide tips to successfully compose and deliver an impromptu talk to help students present with impact. Instant verbal feedback will be given to students on their performance during the practice session.
6. Increasing your net worth with networking (1.5 hours)
   Networking skills is crucial to our career connections, soft skills learning, and professional brand building. It seems that networking is a privilege exclusive to extroverts; actually, it is not. Learn to do it in a way that is comfortable for you in this module where we redefine the word "networking."
   This interactive module provides more tips and ways to practise and explore your potentials. Students will learn networking skills, as well as how to be more at ease in the networking arena to facilitate their building of a network connection that is beneficial to their career development.
7. CV Clinic & Mock Interview (2 hours)
   This module provides written feedback on CV and cover letter writing based on your submitted work. It also prepares you for an actual interview by helping you learn what is expected in a real interview situation so as to increase their chance of success. You will receive both written and verbal feedback on your performance.

Attendance Requirement and Policy

You are required to attend the enrolled module(s). You should therefore check your class schedule before enrolling.

If you cannot show up at any module due to urgent matters, you will need to send a brief email message with relevant proof to let us know why you cannot attend to show respect to the time and resources others spent on preparing for the workshop. The email can be sent to PPP@cedars.hku.hk at least 1 working day prior to the module.

Important Notes

1. A reminder email will be sent to successful registrants before each module. Stay tuned to our emails.
2. Students will be required to
   (1) sign in the Zoom Meeting (with their FULL name); OR
          sign on the attendance sheet (f2f)
   (2) complete an online feedback form after each module.
   These two together will form a complete attendance record. Please remember to do both.

Interested students please register via here.

Selected qualitative feedback of Professional Preparation Programme from Engineering students

• The workshops provide comprehensive materials with detailed explanation.
• The feedback by the instructors is very constructive and helpful.
• The PPP enables us to understand the market and the job opportunities.
• We learned how to deal with difficulties and turn it into an opportunitity to show our ability and strengths.
• The PPP may teach us how to prepare for assessment centers of big companies.
• Overall, the PPP workshop is satisfactory. The facilitators are really qualified and do well in leading us in the workshop. And the workshops have given us an all-round training of our capabilities in all aspects for job hunting and characteristics formation.