Personal Development - Case Study Example

Personal Development Skills Introduction With competition in the job market increasing by each year as more and more professionals graduate from colleges and universities, there is need for the working professionals, who want to climb the career ladder, to continually develop their professional skills. Developing of professional skills requires proper planning and research in your area of specialization. This enables one to have an edge in the job market over one’s competitors. This paper is an explanation of my personal development plan in my area of expertise, as a financial analyst. The paper looks at my personal development plan and the strategy that I intend to use in developing more skills as a financial analyst professional. Also, I have explained in the paper the ideas that have influenced some of the strategies that I have employed in my development plan. My main aim of developing skills as a financial analyst is to become a financial analyst of a reputable corporation, in which I will be earning more than $ 35,000 per month. Basic Elements of my Personal Development Plan In my plan to develop my skills in financial management, I have drawn a clear plan on the steps that I will take so as to development in my area of expertise. Central in my plan is to continue with studies in my area of study, and also to attend relevant courses on financial management. Also I have resolved to do a lot of personal study on financial management, so as to develop a lot of competence in profession. Also, I intend to develop skills in effective communication because I have learnt, through experience as a financial analyst, that effective communication is quite important as a financial analyst, good communication also creates good impression during interviews; good communication therefore can enhance the chances of getting a job or promotion in one’s career. For this reason, I will also enrol for some short courses on communication. Another important aspect of my personal development plan is to become a strategic learner. As a strategic learner I would be able to easily develop skills in my profession. The Nature of my Development Plan When drawing my plan of personal development, I have taken into consideration Richman’s objective guidelines for an efficient development plan. On goals set in personal development, Richman advices that the goals set in development plan should be, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-oriented (Richman 2012). Having worked as a financial analyst for the last three years, I have gained a lot of experience in this field, and I am convinced that now it is the opportune moment climb my carrier ladder. I strongly feel that I have all what it takes to achieve my goal of working with a reputable corporation. Good and Realistic Goal In setting up my goal in personal skills development, I first did a research to ensure that the goal that I set is realistic. On the range of salaries for the graduate level salary analysts, Kevin Thomson says that the average salary for the graduate financial analyst in London is in the range of $28,000 up to $40,000, with a possible bonus of 20%-100% (2009). This fact therefore shows that the goal that I have set, of earning $35,000 is quite realistic and possible. Upon research on the available financial analyst jobs online, I found out that most corporations require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in financial management. This therefore means that should I continue with my plan of continuing with studies in financial management till I get a bachelor’s degree, it will then be quite possible for me to achieve my goal of getting a lucrative job as a financial analyst. Currently I have an associate degree in financial management, and my aim is to continue with studies in financial management until I get a bachelor’s degree in financial management. Becoming a Strategic Learner Since almost all of my plans on developing my skills in my profession revolve around learning more on financial management, learning how to be a strategic learner is of utmost importance. As a strategic learner I will be able to learn more efficiently and therefore be able to achieve my goals quite easily. Since self-realization is central in becoming a successful strategic learner, in my personal development plan I have a plan on how to know the learning method that best suits me. Without this kind of knowledge, it wouldn’t be possible for me to easily achieve my goal of developing skills in my profession and, ultimately, landing a lucrative job in a reputable corporation. For this reason, I have to try the VAT learning model developed by Neil Fleming (92), and the four learning stages model developed by Kolb (84). In VAT method, Fleming says that we interpret information through three methods: visual, audio and kinaesthetic methods. On the other hand, Kolb argues that we learn through experiencing, reflection, theorizing and experimenting. After doing test for the two learning model, which actually involved filling a questioner, I learnt that the VAT learning method is best suited for me. This therefore made me to adopt the VAT learning model in my future studies. Developing Growth Mind-set In my development plan, I have resolved to develop to have a growth mindset and not to be discourage by the myriad of challenges that I will face in my journey to climb achieve my career goal. And on developing a growth mindset, I relied on the research by Carol Dweck (2007). According to the Dweck research, people with growth mindset look out for challenges in an effort to grow in their careers and they don’t give up when faced with challenges. On the other hand, people with fixed-mindset are averse to challenges and they are easily discouraged by challenges. Developing Emotional Intelligence In my personal development plan, I have anticipated a lot of challenges and I am ready to face them all till I achieve my goal. I have also known that to develop in my career I need emotional intelligence, besides the intellectual intelligence. For this reason, I have resolved to look for ways in which I will develop emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence will help me to relate better with my colleagues in work, especially my seniors. Through emotional intelligence, I will easily learn the expectations that my employers have on me, and through this knowledge, I will easily be able to meet their expectations thus increasing my chances of promotion in my career. Putting my Development Plan into Practice Having set out clear goals in my development plan and having read widely on developing my skills, I have now to put into practice all the resolution I have made towards achieving my goal. To begin with, I will continue with my studies in financial management. And although it will be very challenging to continue with studies while still working, I will take up the challenge and continue with studies till I get a bachelor’s degree in financial management. Also, having realized that Fleming’s VAT model of study is the best suited study model for me, I will employ this study method in my study. Through hard work coupled with the VAT model of study, I am confident that I will be able to get a bachelor’s degree in financial management within two years. On the need to develop emotional intelligence, I will make an effort to learn more on emotional intelligence, and I will also make an effort to understand my colleagues in work from the emotional point of view, rather than from the intellectual point of view. Also, I will try as much as possible to learn, through emotional intelligence, the expectations of my seniors so that I will be able to meet their expectations, thus increasing my chances of promotion in my career. Also, I will make an effort to improve my skills in communication skills. This will involve enrolling for courses on communication and also reading widely on effective communication skills. I will also consult experts in communication for guidance on how I can improve my communication skills. To be able to develop growth-mindset as opposed to the fixed mindset, I will read widely on how to develop a progressive mindset. Also, I will try as much as possible to face the challenges I will encounter in my effort to develop my skills with a lot of courage and positive attitude. This move will enable me to develop a growth-mindset that will propel me into achieving my goal. Lastly, in looking for opportunities to develop my skills in my area of study and in my career, I will try as much as possible to befriend the people who can help me to achieve my goal. These kinds of people include top financial analysts in big corporations. Through creating a network of friends with the people who can help me in my goal, I will be able to easily achieve my goal of developing skills in my career and getting a lucrative job in a big corporation. Conclusion For me to be able to develop my skills and to achieve my goal of earning in excess of $35,000, per month, I will strictly follow my strategy that I have set out in my personal development plan. In my studies to improve my skills in financial management, I will employ Fleming’s VAT study method because this is the best method of study suited to me. Also, I will endeavour to develop emotional intelligence because in the carrier world emotional intelligence is very important. Again, I will endeavour to develop communication skills since this knowledge is very important in the financial analyst career. Through strictly following these strategies I am certain of developing skills in financial management, and ultimately being able to achieve my goal of getting a lucrative job in a reputable corporation. References Dweck, C.S.,(2007), Boosting Achievement with Messages that Motivate. Education Canada, 47 (2) pg.6-10. Fleming, N.D. & Mills, C.,(1992),VARK. Web. Kolb, D.A.(,1984),Experiential Learning: Experience as the source of Learning and Development.New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Richman, L., (2011), Improving Your Project Management Skills, 2nd Edition. New York: Amacon Thomson, K, (2009), Invest Analyst: Salary and Conditions. Web. Read More