Personal Development Plan - Report Example

Personal Development Plan AFFILIATION: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction to Personal Development 1 My Profile And Self-Analysis 1 Audit Of Personal Skills For Chosen Career Path 3 Detailed Analysis Of My Personal Assessment 5 MY SWOT ANALYSIS 6 Development Plan 9 REFERENCES 11 APPENDIX-1:SELF-ASSESSMENT OF SKILLS 12 APPENDIX-2: LEARNING LOG AND ACTION PLAN FORMAT 15 Introduction to Personal Development Now-a-days, people have started choosing the careers that are compatible with their interests and are taking initiatives during their academic period to achieve their goals. The concept of Professional Development is the latest addition to the field of professions and career progression (Price and Maier, 2007). The students who are acquiring education these days are encouraged to undertake the activities during their education period to acquire the knowledge and skills that will help them to make a prospering career in the future (Bailey, 2006). In order to equip themselves with the latest knowledge and skills, it has become mandatory for the undergraduates to design and implement their Personal Development Plan (PDP) (Brenan and Shah, 2003). PDP will help the graduates to keep a focused approach towards the attainment of their target career objectives (Barnett, 2007). My Profile And Self-Analysis Since Personal Development Plan (PDP) can be developed only after doing self-analysis, so it is better that every individual fills the forms that are given in the Appendix so that some light is reflected on the personality and characteristics of that individual. Hence, I also decided to do my self-assessment so that I can understand where I am standing now, what I want to achieve in future and what should I do to achieve my objective. As a brief introduction about myself, I was born in Illford, United Kingdom and I acquired my early education from a well-reputed school in our area. I also completed my college education from a well-recognized college in Illford and for further education I got enrolled in the Management program of the Business School. I decided to pursue my career in the field of Marketing and I want to work as a Marketing Manager in any of the well-reputed organizations. I realized that if I want to get qualified for my dream job, I will have to make sure that I have all the mandatory skills that are required by the marketing managers. During my education in the Business school, I decided to make my Personal Development Plan so that I can assess the skills that I have currently and what skills need to be developed for my future career prospects. The marketing field is best suitable for those people who have the ability to handle the challenges with patience and can handle multiple tasks at once (Eller College, 2010). The most important skill requirement in the field of marketing is to work under stressful situations and there is no limit on the number of working hours. The marketing field has grown drastically and is presenting lots of career opportunities for the graduates as there are numerous options to select. The best job options in the field of marketing are advertising, product development, brand and product management, global portfolio management, business to business marketing, international marketing, retail management, project planning, new product planning, marketing research, Sales and sales force management and marketing management science and systems analysis (All Business Schools, 2009 and Eller College, 2010). The communication skills are the vital requirement for the professionals who want to enter the marketing field as they will have to work well along with the team so that the marketing plans are properly developed and implemented. The marketing department people do not work in isolation so they will have to effectively communicate with other departments’ employees as well. In order to make a dynamic career, the graduates must try to get internships in the organizations so that they can develop a good foundation for their work experience (Moon, 2009). Audit Of Personal Skills For Chosen Career Path In order to assess my skills and competency level, I filled the following form “Audit of Personal Skills” so that I had an idea about the skills that I possessed and the skills that I will need to develop to make a prospering career as a Marketing Manager. KEY SKILL CATEGORY Rank the skill confidence level (1-5) [1=Excellent 2=Good 3=Fair 4=Poor] This topic will be an objective in my PDP, set against a completion date. [Y=Yes N=No] Communication Written Project Reports 2 N Letter Writing 2 N Producing a CV 2 N One-to-One 3 Y Essays 2 N Report Writing 2 Y Verbal With team members 3 Y As a leader or in front of the group 2 N Listening Letting others talk 2 N Visual Diagrams and charts 1 N Presentation skills Using visual aids 2 Y Numeracy General Math’s skills state target 2 N Presentation of results to others In assessments 2 N Analysis of data Using MS Excel 2 N Collecting and recording data Using library resources 2 N IT Skills Text manipulation in MS Word 2 N Graphics manipulation in PowerPoint 2 N Analysis using MS Excel 2 N Email 2 N Academic Searching using the Internet 2 N Learning to learn Sourcing material quickly Using library resources 2 N Assessing argument 3 Y Summarizing information 2 N Time Management 3 Y Reflective Practice 3 Y Working to deadlines 3 Y Problem Solving 3 Y Working with others Group Working With peers 3 Y Collaboration and negotiation With peers 3 Y Leadership skills 3 N Motivating others With peers 2 N Adaptability 3 Y Detailed Analysis Of My Personal Assessment I have been able to assess my skills on the basis of my previous experiences. I have strong writing skills and it is evident from the good marks that I get in my projects, assignments and reports as well. My business writing teacher also nominated me as the “Best Academic Writer” of our program and I was awarded the second best position. Likewise, I have the ability of developing good presentations on PowerPoint. I am also proficient in learning all the computer skills and I can easily work with all the Microsoft Office tools. Whenever we are given a project, I am given the opportunity of working on the visual aspects of the presentation. However, I get nervous when I have to give presentations. I need to work on my presentation skills so that I can give all types of presentations with confidence. I believe that I cannot work effectively in the form of team as I don’t have the patience to listen to what others have to say and I strongly feel that given the career that I want to pursue, I definitely need to overcome my weakness and develop good listening skills. Besides that, I also need to develop the skill of motivating others; as a marketing manager I will have to lead by example and will also have to overcome my language barrier. I personally believe that I am very weak in communicating within the group as I cannot convey my ideas properly and face a lot of difficulty in making people understand my point. While working on Human Resource Project, I had lots of problems in working with my group members as they were unable to understand my point and some conflicts arose because of difference of opinions. Hence, I need to develop the skill of working in collaboration with other teams. The most significant weakness that I possess is time management problem; I am never organized and punctual and that is why most of the time I am unable to meet my deadline. However, in the real world, time management is the most important thing as multiple works will need to be handled simultaneously. Hence, considering my career path, I need to work on four most important skills i.e. time management, communication, interpersonal, presentation and team working skills. MY SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths: 1. Excellent writing skills such as report writing and projects writing. 2. Good idea generation ability. 3. Ample ideas about innovating new things. 4. Enthusiastic about trying out new things. 5. Good interpersonal skills and cordial relationships with people in surrounding. 6. Self-motivated and can motivate others to get the work done. 7. Analysis of data can be done promptly. 8. IT skills are excellent and can handle computer softwares efficiently. Opportunities: 1. Attend seminars and workshops. 2. Seek assistance from the teachers and professionals. 3. Attend training programs. 4. Get enrolled in English language and communication courses to improve English speaking and self-confidence. 5. Learn how to work in teams and motivate others to get the work done. 6. Learn how to manage times; set priorities for each task and then make schedules so everything is completed on time. 7. Get additional qualification by getting involved in volunteer work and get certificate courses as well. Weaknesses: 1. Limited qualifications. 2. Poor time management skills. 3. Face difficulty in team working. 4. Fair communication skills, conveying idea gets difficult. 5. Difficult in adapting to different situations. Threats: 1. Changing demands of organizations for marketing managers. 2. Introduction of new courses for marketing managers. 3. Additional and high qualifications requirement for the marketing managers. 4. Economic recession may impact the cost of the courses for improving the skills. Development Plan Name: Student No: Covering the period from: To: Planned Outcome What do I want or need to learn? What will I do to achieve this? What resources or support will I need? What will my success criteria be? Target dates for review and completion? Communication skills need to be learnt to have good interpersonal and written skills. Get enrolled in English language courses and attend seminars and workshops. Guidance from the tutors and professional experts. Improved communication skills and confidence in giving presentations. Review will be done monthly by tutor and completed by June 2012. To develop positive attitude with my team workers. Attend seminars and workshops on team working. Seek help from colleagues to highlight my weaknesses. Feedback from team members and my self-reflective approach. Review will be done weekly and completed by July 2012. To develop the habit of listening to what others have to say Listen attentively to team members while group discussions More team working in the form of projects and volunteer work Cordial relations with the team members Review will be done weekly and completed by August 2012. To make a list of my tasks, to make sure that the obstacles that affect my studies are taken care of and to prioritize and complete important tasks first. Notebook will be maintained so that everything is organized, attend seminars and workshops on developing time management skills. Manage the notebook and seek assistance from the tutor. I will be able to complete all my tasks on time and improve my time management skills. Review will be done weekly and completed by July 2012. To do preparation before presentation, to improve my communication power by dedicating more time for presentation and to review myself before the final day. Giving voluntary presentations in the class and taking extra classes for improving the presentation skills Guidance from the tutors and professionals. Seek help from online sources as well. Feedback from teacher, friends and my self-reflective approach. Review will be done every two days and completed by July 2012. REFERENCES All Business Schools, 2010. Marketing Career. [online] Available at: http://www.allbusinessschools.com/business-careers/marketing/marketing-career [Accessed 25 April 2012]. Bailey, S., 2006. Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students. 2nd ed. Oxon: Routledge. Barnett, R., 2007. A Will To Learn: Being a Student in an Age of Uncertainty. Berkshire: Open University Press. Brennan, J. and Shah, T., 2003. Report on the implementation of Progress Files. [online] Available at: http://oro.open.ac.uk/324/1/ProgressFiles.pdf [Accessed 25 April 2012]. Eller College, 2010. Careers in Marketing. [e-book] Available at: http://marketing.eller.arizona.edu/docs/Careersinmarketing.pdf [Accessed 25 April 2012] Moon, J., 2009. Making groups work: improving group work through the principles of academic assertiveness in Higher Education Academy:1 Subject. London: The higher education and professional development. Price, G. & Maier, P., 2007. Effective Study Skills: Unlock your potential. Essex: Pearson Education Ltd. APPENDIX-1:SELF-ASSESSMENT OF SKILLS Assessing Communication Skills ON a scale of 1-6, give a rating to each statement; 1=Mostly, 2=Frequently, 3=Occasionally, 4=Sometimes, 5=Rarely and 6=Never Score I don’t listen to people attentively. I don’t hesitate to tell negative aspects about someone upfront. My interaction with people is very limited. In a group, I don’t feel that my contributions have much impact. I tend to argue with people if they don’t see my point of view. I may sound defensive if people give me negative feedback although it may be because they haven’t understood my reasons. I find it difficult to focus on nonverbal communication when people are speaking. I find other people boring. People seem not to hear what I am saying. I feel comfortable in social or group work situations. It is difficult for me to give good impression in first meeting. I am very straightforward and give reply instantly before listening to them. Total: File for future reference Date completed: Assessing time management skills: Make an assessment sheet of your last week and review how you managed your time for various activities. Repeat the self-assessment twice to review the progress. How clear was I about my approved objectives? How successful was I in achieving my objectives? How many hours did I work every day? How many of these hours were spent directly on the tasks aimed at achieving my objectives? What were the obstacles that affected my time management skills? How many works did I work effectively? Why was I ineffective during my designated time? What was the reason for not completing the task on time? What should be done to improve time management skills? Date of this assessment: Assessing Presentation Skills: Before giving the presentation, I will assess myself on these attributes and will ask others to give me feedback at the end of the presentation as well. On a scale of 1-4, I will do my assessment. 1=Excellent, 2=Good, 3=Need Improvement, 4=Poor Aspect Rating Comment 1 Introduction 2 Sticking to the topic 3 Range of information covered 4 Usefulness of visual aids 4 Number of visual aids 6 Speaking style 7 Overall pace 8 Dealing with questions 9 Encouraging audience involvement 10 Summary and conclusion Strengths Areas that need some work APPENDIX-2: LEARNING LOG AND ACTION PLAN FORMAT Learning log Name………………… Period……………… Date Learning ‘event’ Learning points and notes for future action Event and date Reason for doing What have I learned from this? What am I going to do as a result and when? Action Plan Name:………………………….. Overall Goal: Target date: Sub goals: Target dates: Actions: Target date: Completed: Comments: Further Action Needed: Read More