and knowledge discussed has been applied and developed through the organising of the event, widening the breath of experiences the author has to draw upon, allowing demonstration to prospective employers of their professionalism and ability to further adapt and learn.
As the event was a completely new and original concept, containing unique facets such as the beer mat exhibition and branding which were devised by the author, creative and personal attributes have been demonstrated; in particular, intrapreneurialism, the ability to act as an entrepreneur while working within an organisation; a quality prospects (2013) outline as a major sought after trait by employers.
In addition, the author's proven experience to plan and deliver the event working among a team of people and various stakeholders, allows for employers to recognise the interpersonal/teamwork/communicative skills used in securing in kind support from the venue, caterers, live band, sound equipment, and artist, along with working in a team of varying dynamics,
Alongside the experiential learning environment acting as an effective tool for self promotion and proof of professional standard skills, the event also facilitated learning through others and contributed to the author's self confidence in their own ability to offer the desired employability skills. Getz (2012,p102) expands upon this concept, "Self-efficacy, or belief in one's own abilities, increases through mastery of success, and diminishes with failure. It can also be increased through by example, learning from others (especially peers and respected persons)."
To conclude, a recent piece on Event Manager Blog (2014) titled ' Are you a #2014EventPlanner?' describes that to be employable an individual must be able to map their skills, be a well - thought out innovator, become experts in more than one field (marketer, leader, community manager etc), and be a strategist; the learning environment presented by the university led organising of Untapped demanded a structured, focused, and target led approach to planning, requiring the author to take a strategic outlook while undertaking varied job roles, demonstrating adaptability. The organising of the event also highlighted strengths such as rationalised and informed creativity, while also allowing the mapping of skills, imperatively highlighting those which could be improved upon, such as budget forecasting. and dealing with press complications.
The CBI & NUS (2011b) report shows that evidently it is insufficient to present a list of personal skills; it is far more effective to give examples of when they have been exercised, which the planning of Untapped has aided in providing for.
.
18
Untapped organisers setting up the Sheffield Tap's function room