Planning and Organising

“Being able to articulate your abilities to an employer – not in a boastful way but by giving evidence of what you have done – is a key skill.”

 

What do recruiters want?

Having the ability to plan and organise is a skill many recruiters consider essential. Many adverts will simply ask for someone who can "plan and prioritise their time" or "organise resources effectively"; others, however, might not make it so obvious. You have to learn to interpret phrases like:

• “Show us you’re flexible, organised and committed”
• “Excellent attention to detail is required”
• “Effective manager of both time and resources”
• “Ability to deliver on time and to budget”
• “Investigate new processes and set clear criteria”
• “Plan and implement change”

These quotes are all taken from recent adverts in graduate magazines . As you can see, they don’t always use the phrase “planning and organising”, but all these recruiters are after the same thing. They want candidates who can prove that they have the skills and the personal commitment to plan thoroughly, set clear targets and adapt, if necessary, to ensure that they can deliver quality work on time and on budget.

What skills do you need to be an effective organiser/planner?

Having the ability to plan and organise is something we all have – in fact, most of us use these skills on a daily basis. Being able to combine study, job and family commitments requires you to plan and organise yourself and your resources.
Whilst some people do this naturally, with others it takes more effort. Being a ‘natural planner’ is often highlighted by personality tests – if you are the kind of person who writes ‘to-do’ lists every day and ticks off every task; never goes shopping without a list of needs; always plans their holidays well in advance; sets yourself timetables; and are rarely late – you are a natural planner. You instinctively need to control your time and your resources so you can achieve what you set out to.
However, if you don’t do any of these things and just like to rely on intuition and feelings – when you go shopping you buy what you fancy; you’ve no idea what you are going to do this weekend because it all depends on what you feel like/what the weather is; you prefer to book your holiday the Friday before you set off on the Sunday because you don't mind where you go as long as it meets certain criteria; you leave things till the last minute so you always have to hurry to catch your train/bus – you are not a natural planner. You still achieve what you set out to, but you organise yourself differently and are happy to change and adapt along the way.
The skills and abilities you need to plan and organise a project are exactly the same, whether you are a natural planner or not! To plan a project, which could be anything from an academic dissertation, a celebration, or a work-based assignment, you simply need to:

• Know what you want to achieve and have a clear vision of the end-result
• Set regular objectives along the way so you know when you are on track or, even more important, behind schedule
• Make an action plan based on these objectives and arrange the resources to carry it out
• Draw up a work schedule or timetable and set deadlines, communicating regularly with others if necessary
• Effectively manage your own time

In order to be able to set and achieve these plans, you need to have some organisational skills. These include:

• Researching – identify possibilities, keep up to date with information, keep aware of developments or issues which could impact on your project
• Prioritising – identify critical tasks, arrange tasks in a logical order, be adaptable and adjust plans if necessary.
• Record keeping – make sure you keep accurate records so you know what needs doing, when and (if applicable) by whom; make sure you also record what has already been achieved or agreed.
• Time management – you need to be able to estimate the time and effort required to complete a task, and be able to manage your own time effectively so you can meet all your commitments.
• The ability to multi-task – you have to be able to deal with more than one thing at a time, and be comfortable with challenge and variety.
• Interpersonal skills – to organise anything effectively requires the ability to work well with other people. You need to have good communication skills and be confident and assertive, without being confrontational or aggressive.

How do you prove to a recruiter that you have these skills?

It is not good enough to simply say “I am an excellent organiser” or “I have the type of personality which makes me a natural planner”, you have to prove that you are by giving examples of when you have successfully planned and organised a project or an event.
You have to be able to tell a recruiter why the project benefited from careful planning and how the result was enhanced by being organised and planned efficiently.
Think of an example of when you have had to plan a course of action and organise resources to achieve it. You can then use the STAR technique to describe it:, either in your applications or at interview:

S	Define the Situation
T	Identify the Task
A	Describe your Action
R	Explain the Result

This technique is useful at all stages of the selection process so it is worthwhile getting to grips with it. Here’s an example:
S – define the situation:
Last summer I spent five weeks travelling around Europe with three friends. We started to plan the trip before our examinations so we would have something to look forward to.
T – identify the Task
We wanted to see as many European capitals as we could and I was given the task of planning the itinerary and budget. I worked out how much we would need travelling by rail and staying in cheap hotels and it was agreed that we would leave on lst August giving us five weeks to work hard and save enough money.
A – describe the Action you took
As our holiday got nearer, we realised that we wouldn’t have as much money as we thought! We were travelling by Inter-Rail so I worked out an alternative timetable which would allow us to sleep on the train, saving money on accommodation. I also bought a guidebook aimed at backpackers to help me plan more effectively. There was no way we were going to shorten our holiday, so we just had to plan ahead and monitor our spending.
R – highlight the Result you achieved
Even though the trains weren’t always on time, and we were often sleep deprived, we had a great time. We met up with other backpackers who shared their knowledge of cheap places to eat, drink and sleep and made great use of the Tourist Offices in each City for free things to do. We kept to our itinerary and visited everywhere we planned to. We are already planning to do the rest of the capitals next year.
Write a detailed statement like this, based on your own experience. You can then use it for applications and interviews, and summarise it for use in your CV, such as:

• Planned and organised a five week trip backpacking around the capital cities of Europe with three friends on a very tight budget.
• Planned a trip around European Capitals with friends. I had to use all means possible to save money as we were on a very tight budget. I worked out an itinerary which made great use of Inter-rail tickets, researched cheap places to eat and sleep, and free things to do.

Adapting Your Examples

The example above, for instance, could easily be altered to prove adaptability / flexibility, initiative and problem solving, and/or leadership. It is worthwhile spending time writing statements like this about all your experiences and then adapting them to match each recruiters’ specific requirements.

Resources for University of Bradford students

Destinations - The Destinations careers planning website has a great topics section with excellent resources on employability skills:

Other Resources

We run regular workshops on employability skills; our Career and Personal Development modules also help you identify your skills and relate them to career choice.
Many of the graduate recruitment magazines available in Career Development Services have good articles on employability skills. Come and collect the latest editions. Alternatively, check out the editorials on the publishers websites:

• Graduate Prospects – articles on skills and how to evidence them
• Real World – their advice section has some good articles on skills and how to sell them.
• Inside Careers - has advice on skills related to specific graduate professions

How you plan and organise can also be influenced by your MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®) personality type. Understanding and reflecting on your personality type can help you understand what you need to focus on, particularly in the way you plan and organise. We run workshops on personality types using the MBTI. In addition, the BBC Science and Nature website has a personality test you can take online.
The Learndirect Careers Advice website offers lots of useful advice, and has interactive programs on, for example, assessing your skills and interests and decision-making styles.
Mind Tools has a special section for career starters. Full of interesting quizzes, games, information on specific employability skills, including problem solving,. Most of it is free. This is an America site so sometimes the advice and terms used is geared towards the American market.