Supporting development

This document can be sent directly to your students, or you can choose to discuss it with them in-person.

It advocates for them choosing the guidance which is most appropriate for them. The parts in RED are the areas where you can offer assistance - change and adapt these as you see fit.

Consider:

• Printing a list of values/strengths, and talking through the ones you feel your students particularly embody.

• Encouraging them to complete the tests in the 'Resources' section below. Offer them some time to discuss their findings, and share any reflections:

  • Did the outcome surprise them? Why (not)?

  • Is there anything they would now like to try and implement in their work?

  • Are there skills/strengths they would like to work on, and how might they be able to do that within the project?

Free tests available:

List of values to work through:

The LMD team have personal value cards, that you may be able to borrow and work through. They are also available on Amazon:

Strengths are things that we are both good at and energise us, values are principles that are important to you.

You can use these to help you:

• Understand where you thrive
• Consider the environments and industry cultures that align with you
• Understand what kind of work or role you may want to go into

This document can be sent directly to your students, or you can choose to discuss it with them in-person.

It advocates for them choosing the guidance which is most appropriate for them. The parts in RED are the areas where you can offer assistance - change and adapt these as you see fit.

Consider:

• Talking through the skills matrix activity (below) with them.
• Discuss with them the skills they already have, skills they will naturally develop in this role, and future skills which would be beneficial for them to work on.
• Encourage a reflective log, or a way of tracking their own progress against the skills they have used as part of the project.

Use the following to work through with your students:

This document can be sent directly to your students, or you can choose to discuss it with them in-person.

It advocates for them choosing the guidance which is most appropriate for them. The parts in RED are the areas where you can offer assistance - change and adapt these as you see fit.

Consider:

• Talking through what normally happens at the university (such as the personal development review) and how to get the most out of these conversations.
• Sharing the Excel (under 'Resources') and get them to reflect on:
  • What achievements have they had so far?
  • What skills do they need for this project, or may want to explore for their next career milestone?
  • What goals can they set to achieve these?
  • How might they encounter barriers (SWOT analysis) and overcome them?

Personal development excel tracker - the first tab contains 'how to' guidance for subsequent tabs:

Check out LinkedIn articles that you think are an accurate representation of personal development in your areas.

If you feel it is appropriate, you could share the University's PDR page, and their how-to guide:

Personal development is incredibly specific to an individual - what it looks and feels like will depend on you.

Some top tips:

• Take it slow, and don't feel like there is a 'right' or 'wrong' way to do this
• Don't compare yourself to others
• Be honest, and not unrealistic - don't only put down what you think sounds good, consider what 'good' looks like for you, and what you are aiming for
• Don't overload the plan - too many goals can dilute focus. Prioritise a few key areas rather than trying to tackle everything at once

This document can be sent directly to your students, or you can choose to discuss it with them in-person.

It advocates for them choosing the guidance which is most appropriate for them. The parts in RED are the areas where you can offer assistance - change and adapt these as you see fit.

To help them prepare effectively and grow in this aspect of their role, consider:

• Sharing key contacts they would benefit from shadowing. Consider how they could shadow those contacts, for how long, and which areas would be most beneficial for them

• Asking previous students in this role if they would consider acting as a mentor for the current student

• Sharing the mentoring resources below, and encouraging them to pursue coaching/mentoring

Many companies encourage their employees to do outreach work in the community. Consider encouraging your students to approach individuals via email or LinkedIn to ask if they would be willing to mentor them.

Other ways to source opportunities:

This document can be sent directly to your students, or you can choose to discuss it with them in-person.

It advocates for them choosing the guidance which is most appropriate for them. The parts in RED are the areas where you can offer assistance - change and adapt these as you see fit.

To help them prepare effectively and develop in their role, consider asking students which specific aspects of public speaking they struggle with. See if you can source opportunities for them to practise in an environment they are comfortable in.

They can:

• Attend a speaking event, take notes on what they thought the presenter did/didn't do well
• Give mock presentations
• Be involved in small group discussions
• Be involved in supported speaking opportunities

They might want to check out Warwick Institute of Engagement, who support and train staff and students to get involved in public engagement, which has a significant overlap with public speaking. They also have a section on

It could be helpful to start by getting your students to design an

• Know your material- be well prepared. Understand your topic thoroughly so you can speak confidently and adapt if needed

• Practice regularly- rehearse out loud, in front of a mirror, or record yourself. Practice helps build confidence and smooth delivery

• Engage your audience- make eye contact, ask questions, and use relatable examples to maintain attention and connection

• Work on your body language- use gestures, stand confidently, and avoid distracting movements. Your posture speaks as much as your words

• Manage anxiety- use breathing techniques, visualisation, and positive self-talk to reduce nerves before speaking

• Start strong, end stronger- craft a clear, impactful opening and a memorable conclusion to leave a lasting impression

• Seek feedback and reflect- ask for constructive criticism and watch recordings of your speeches to identify areas for improvement

This document can be sent directly to your students, or you can choose to discuss it with them in-person.

It advocates for them choosing the guidance which is most appropriate for them. The parts in RED are the areas where you can offer assistance - change and adapt these as you see fit.

Consider:

• Taking them along to networks that you are a part of, especially ones that may benefit them in their role

• Encouraging them to source and find networks of their own.
• Getting them to reflect on areas where they may already be networking without realising it.
• Sharing the university's staff networking groups, and discuss any they might think are relevant to the project.

Networking tends to be synonymous with building and maintaining relationships. Whilst networking can be an intimidating concept, it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing process.

See it as:

• Building a set of connections that help you learn and progress
• Finding people who are interested in similar things, to help you build a support community.

It takes time to build up the skills needed to feel comfortable and confident when going into networking spaces - take your time!

This document can be sent directly to your students, or you can choose to discuss it with them in-person.

It advocates for them choosing the guidance which is most appropriate for them. The parts in RED are the areas where you can offer assistance - change and adapt these as you see fit.

• Discuss with them what stakeholders you hold in your project- you can also arrange introductory meetings with them
• Address any hierarchies/structures in place that they may need to know about
• Get them to shadow you in a meeting or a committee where you employ a level of stakeholder engagement - it may be useful to discuss this with them afterwards
• Share guidance on tone of voice in emails and meetings
• Discuss the role professionalism plays, and what that might look like in different settings- in team meetings, in the department, in the university, when engaging with others/out in the public

As well as resources available in this toolkit, try looking for online courses and sharing those you have found useful. Staff and students get access to LinkedIn Learning and there is an interesting playlist on

It might be useful to get them to check out Warwick Institute of Engagement, who have a small section on

We always recommend addressing hierarchies, policies and structures as part of their induction.