Career Development: Personal Development and Self-Efficacy and Plan - Assignment Example

Career Development Career Development PORTFOLIO Self-Efficacy Beliefs Poster PORTFOLIO 2: Personal Development and Self-Efficacy and Plan (Lippke, 2009) Discussion Self-efficacy refers to a subjective and personal belief in relation to the abilities, capacities and competencies garnered to realize the set goals and objectives. In addition, the social beliefs and forces play a critical role the indispensable shape of self-efficacy (Graham, 2011, p.114). Self-efficacy in turn executes a crucial role in shaping behaviour. Further, individuals with high efficacy always tend to exhibit extrapolations in enthusiasm and get open to novel ideas. They also are at will to have experiments with new methodologies (Meristo et al., 2013, p.429). Bar et al., (2014) assert that the beliefs that entwine the idea of self-efficacy determine the individual’s beliefs, thoughts, motives, and behavior (p.61). He adds that, the beliefs may encompass affective, cognitive, motivational, and selection processes. Fundamentally, a self-efficacy scale helps in the prediction of behaviour given any belief-based index. In this regard, a high sense of efficacy in relation to oneself increases the chance of that particular person to opt for a task. For instance, it hikes the significance of the work and marks it as enjoyable, and thus motivating the person to indulge his/her ability in its preservation no matter the setbacks. In reference to the plan of action, self-efficacy helps students to strategize and align themselves in bettering their educational standards (Roberts, 2014, p.18). Through the motivation acquired from an integration of self-efficacy, students can prepare to cope with the schedules provided by various universities and colleges. In turn, they internalize the timetables provided and thus manage to attend all the lessons planned (Bandura, 2008, p.276). As a matter of high self-efficacy, students are in a position to gain self-composure. The aspect of self-composure accentuates the learner’s ability to answer and ask questions during the class sessions. In this case, when the learner is in a position to ask questions, there is a sense of personal development. Hence, it is critical for all the students to have self-efficacy to encourage them attends lectures and indulges in class participation. Involvement in lectures allows effective interaction between the lecturers and the learners and helps the learners to achieve their academic goals. Henceforth, the sense of increased self-efficacy fosters involvement in school-organized conferences, presentations, and inter-class debates. Moreover, there is a need for early and thorough preparation for the examinations allowing the students to achieve the academic targets. On the other hand, self-confidence boosts the achievement of academic goals through ensuring positive thoughts. Essentially, positive thoughts toward the subjects taught enable the learners to gain integrative insights to allow them have foci in their set goals. Confidence comes about by the learners knowing who they are. There is a realization of the situation when the students make use of a positive grooming and identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. When the learners analyse their SWOTs, they become aware of who they are and have an increased capacity to achieve better self-confidence and personal development. It is paramount to realize that without improved self-esteem, the students will face hard times to cope with situations that challenge them. Consequently, increased self-esteem brings about differentiating between accurate and inaccurate thoughts and enhances the adjustments of one to the beliefs and thoughts. PORTFOLIO ITEM 3: Current C.V Student Name：Ke Chen Address: 25 Friars Road Tel Mobile: 07523499333 Email: 342633468@qq.com Objective To acquire a full-time position in one of the renowned and reputable organizations in China To indulge in a professional work environment and perform challenging tasks To develop professionally while meeting the organization’s goals and objectives Academic Education Coventry University- BBM – Bachelors in Business Management (In progress) Coventry University- International Diploma (Between 2013 and 2014) Jiangshan High School in China- GCSE, Studied English, Physics, Chemistry, and Chinese (Between 2008 and 2010) Work Experience Witage Private Limited (Between October 2007 and November 2008) Duties and responsibilities undertaken as a Research Trainee and Assistant Assisted in basic research and selling of products Managed to prepare several research reports Assisted in checking the quality of products Reports and Projects Completed Prepared a research report on the impacts of Strategic Human Resource Management on Corporate Social Responsibility for the Siemens Company Prepared a Research Report on Marketing Management on the topic “The Impact of Logo Design on perceived value/brand image of a company’’ Major Courses completed Financial Accounting Financial Management Business English Statistics Business Studies Business Mathematics Business and Company Law Marketing Management Human Resource Management Research Methods Interests and Skills Proficient in dealing with QM for Managers, E-views, MS Office, and SPSS A professional team player having better coordination, communication, and leadership skills Watching documentaries Readings books Playing Cricket, Badminton, and Pool Discussion Curriculum vitae entail the capacities, abilities, and skills that an individual possess. It is a vivid description of the skills, working experience, educational background, and referees list. The curriculum vitae are in short known as a C.V or vitae. Typically, it is used in requesting for jobs for most nationals. C.Vs is integral components of all applications made in the contemporary world. A C.V for a fresh graduate does not entail much since the applicant is new in the job market. Therefore, it should not be a lengthy description, as this will reflect inapplicable situations (Ormrod, 2009, p.17). In essence, the C.V should be concise and to the point, it should not give broader descriptions of obtaining the details included. In the other words, a C.V provides succinct information about the personal information, the professional achievements, and the academic attainments together with the referees. Further, it displays the vast experiences gained in previous works and internships, and the technical skills acquired. The C.V displays a clear image of the person applying for a particular job in the companies and organizations. The managers use this document to evaluate, analyse and determine the type of candidates they employ. The situation is favourable since the C.V brings out the person in each applicant where there is a selection of the most relevant candidate best suited for the job. The personal data provided gives an insight to candidate’s gender and suitability for such position. For instance, women are not in a position to carry out activities in mines, this means that the advertisement will be encouraging more men to apply for the jobs. The professional and academic sections always begin with the most recent degree, for instance, Ph.D, Masters, or the Undergraduate. Then there is a mention of the other attainments backward to the first certificate achieved. In this case, there is an exhibition of chronology from the last to the first institution attended and the relevant goal achieved. The section also mentions the institutions attended and ensures that they are accredited and recognized. The essence is to make sure that the certificates obtained give the most expectations required out of the applicant. The hobbies and interests are another part that details in a few sentences the skills and abilities that one has gained. They usually capture the interest of the employer, they might not be acquired in school but can be from the previous works and seminars attended. The interest and hobbies section displays the various skills, for example, leadership skills and teamwork. They are not just mentioned but rather through listing the kinds of works you indulged in, the potential employer can pick the skills. For instance, mentioning that you were the chairperson of a particular youth group shows that you possess leadership qualities, and you can work in a team. The last part of the CV is a reference section. The section carries the possible contact persons that you have earlier interacted with, meaning they know you, and they can ascertain the information provided in the CV. The people mentioned should not be relatives or close friends as they might lie in order for you to secure a job. The entries in this section entail the first name and last name followed by their position in the respective companies, your relationship with them, and their contact details. PORTFOLIO ITEM 4: Preparation for Interview A good and appealing CV captures the interest of the potential employer and motivates him or her to meet the owner. Therefore, the employer schedules for interviews to select most appropriate candidates that meet the criteria and fit the job description. Once the interview has been scheduled, and the candidates notified, it marks the beginning of a significant journey. The roadmap to doing one’s best and acquire a position in that longed institution. The applicant thus sets forth to prepare for the interview thoroughly in order to place himself or herself in that desired position. Talking of interviews, candidates find themselves panicking and even going blank leading to failure of simple dialogs. Interviews are amicably agreed criteria to assess and ascertain the various potentialities claimed in the CVs and then select the best possible candidates that fit the position advertised. To shine at the interview, candidates need to make use of the STAR technique. In this context, the candidate is required to learn what it entails to being a star. STAR is an acronym for the situation, task, activity, and result. As such, the applicant needs to set up a situation or context succinctly for the questions asked to be in a position to offer accurate answers. The candidate should formulate the context for every question asked to provide the required answers promptly. In the task, the candidate must realize what the interview question need. Therefore, the candidate will be in a stance to integrate the question and answer it appropriately (Zhang & Li, 2015, p.10). Moreover, the activity point requires the applicant to analyse the options quickly and choose the best thing to do in answering that particular question. At this moment, the candidate fits into the context by providing the expected answers to the questions posed. Further, in the results aspect, the candidate can realize the expectations of the interviewer and integrate them with the situation to provide the most desired responses. When incorporating the STAR technique, one needs to be cognizant of some few aspects. For instance, the candidate must be specific to the point rather than beat around the bush. As this technique entails development and integration of stories into answering questions, being brief and straightforward with interesting stories makes it interesting to the listener thus gaining more marks. The interviews may have numerous questions. Therefore, the applicant needs to be succinct in giving the answers. Lastly, it is important to conclude with positive perceptions to leave a strong impression on the interviewers. PORTFOLIO ITEM 5: Psychometric Testing Discussion Discussion The administration of the psychometric tests verifies the processing of the candidate’s thinking in relation to the job position applied. The applicants answer numerous sets of questions and requirements are that they answer many questions within a short span of time. Candidates are successful if only they are capable of answering many questions correctly within a short period. The objective is to assess the reactions of the applicants when faced with different situations. In this case, the candidates face pressures when answering the questions hence vital to gauge the various reactions and decide who best suits the position. If the applicant scores highly, it means he or she can handle stringent and stressful situations thus fit the job description. When the applicant scores low on these tests, it means that he/she cannot manage the pressure that comes with employment. They in turn received stressed and harassed by the situations resulting in poor decisions in the workplace. Many companies have developed various psychometric tests that they display on the internet where people can access them and practice for the interviews. Many firms have also identified a business opportunity from these kinds of tests where they offer the services at a fee. Rather, there are companies that offer these services free of charge and students need to check and align themselves with the job market. The more individuals engage in these tests, the more proficient they become thus gaining a better position in the job market (Kirk & Vigeland, 2013, p.368). Further, the questions asked have foundations on the daily life experiences that need deeper interpretation and direct answers. If one fails to be careful, the questions are confusing and can easily lead to a failure. The psychometric tests involve simple math to gauge the analytic capacities of the candidates. They also fill in of gap based on an English psychometric test hence providing the applicant with the basic levels of the tests (Chen et al., 2015, p.73). The complex part comes when the candidate needs to figure out the patterns and provide the next possible sequence when such patterns undergo alteration. Most people fail in this section, as they are unable to follow the patterns correctly and provide the best answer to the questions asked. Since it requires a lot of time to figure it out, the individuals usually run out of time hence failing the tests. For instance, in a case where there are eight questions, one needs to score more than six to be in a better position. Because of hurriedness, the individuals fail to point out the best answers to the questions asked. Mostly, the questions are simple but require logic in answering them. In this respect, the candidates who seem to be all-rounded emerge out as the best candidates in this situation. The circumstance favours them since they seem to have general knowledge of vast areas ranging from mathematics, English, and figuring out patterns. Conclusively, for an applicant to stand out of the other interviewees, he or she needs to have high degrees of self-efficacy entwined with self-confidence, and self-esteem. Increased self-efficacy enhances personal judgment and fosters accurate answers during the psychometric tests. Thus, it is vital for the learners to have hiked self-efficacy to enhance their personal developments that further help them in gaining experiences pertinent to self-efficacy and dealing with stressful situations. Bibliography Bandura, A., 2008. Organizational Application of Social Cognitive Theory. Australian Journal of Management, 2(13), Bar, S. G., Ha’yin, D. S., & Israel. 2014. How personal systems coaching increases self-efficacy and well-being for Israel single mothers. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 12(2). Chen, P., Chen, T., & Kim, S. 2015. Comparison of Three Different Linking Procedures between Norm-Referenced Test and Criterion-Referenced Test. International Journal of Intelligent technologies and Applied Statistics, 8(1). Graham, S., 2011. Self-efficacy and academic listening. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10(56). Kirk, C. & Vigeland, L. 2013. A Psychometric Review of Norm-Referenced Tests Used to Access Phonological Error Patterns. American-Speech-Hearing Association, 45 Lippke, S. W. A. U. Z. J. P. R. T. &. S. R., 2009. Self-efficacy moderates the mediation of intentions into behavior via plans. American Journal of Health Behavior, 53(9), pp. 522 Meristo, M., Ljalikova, A., & Lofstrom, E. 2013. Looking back on experienced teachers’ reflection: how did pre-service school practice support the development of self-efficacy? European Journal of Teacher Education, 36(4). Ormrod, J., 2009. Human learning. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Roberts, J. 2014. Landing the job: A guide to successful transition. Nursing Management, 21(5). Zhang, Z. & Li, S. 2015. Negotiating Membership in Employment Interviews at a Chinese Media Institution. International Journal of Business Communication, 51(1). Read More