Career Development: Portfolio Assessment - Essay Example

Career Development: Portfolio Assessment CAREER DEVELOPMENT: PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT Understanding of personal skill This institution has acted as a great influence and guidance towards my understanding of personal skills, and in particular, it has assisted me to identify my weaknesses and set up my personal objectives. In essence, my first personal skill involves demonstrating a good communication and relation with the people and groups that I constantly interact with on a daily basis. When I communicate, I usually ensure that I am confident, articulate and above all, demonstrate the ability of carefully listening and understanding the other party in the conversation. I know that demonstrating an understanding of personal skills through good communication is imperative in both my personal and professional life. Through good communication, I have been able to develop healthy relations with my peers, and I have avoided some common situations, which usually involve getting in heated debates that are driven with emotions. I understand that a communication that is based on facts and reality builds and strengthen relationships both in a personal and professional level. The second personal skill that I can demonstrate is making a good decision. I understand that a good decision does not always involve taking steps towards defined goals. An individual can decide to take a particular course of action because he or she contemplates some victory, but in reality, that little victory can turn out to be seeds of problems and failures. Essentially, I have learnt that a good decision entails taking a step that will guide towards a path that has multiple options towards the desired goals. The third personal skill is problem solving both in personal and professional levels. In a personal level, problem solving is applied in two situations; in personal management and relationship with peers. As an individual, I usually face conflict with the inner-self involving the actions that I should take and the actions that I should avoid. I demonstrate my personal problem solving skills, by applying a method in which I take the action that will produce positive results and add value in my life. Similarly, when solving a problem that involves my peers, I do not let emotions take control of the situation. I weigh the available options and after which I take up the course of action that will lead me on a positive path and value in my life. Lastly, when it comes to solving problems on a professional level, I understand that a lot of caution should be observed. This is because on a professional level, a lot of politics is involved, and colleagues are always up to competitions, and this can make one emotional; a state that is detrimental when it comes to problem solving. This kind of situation calls for all my personal skills in terms of composure, intellect, good communication and decision making in order to endure. I identify my weaknesses through the actions that I am afraid to take. I am afraid to take these actions because I see myself as failing in them. I also identify my weaknesses as the habits that I have developed, which do not add value or positivity in my life. My biggest weakness is being afraid of assuming a leadership role, even though, I know that deep within I have leadership qualities. It is also my weakness because I have developed the habit of taking a backseat when my colleagues strive to take the leadership role. I have learnt to leave within my limits, and from this fact, I have also learnt to set my objectives in accordance with my personal skills. Through the above, I ensure that I meet my goals, without any frustrations or failures, which I would have experienced if I would set up my goals above the personal skills that I have. 2. Common errors in CVs and importance of having multiple CVs A CV is a vital document when it comes to professionalism since it shows an individual’s qualifications and experiences in the job market. However, CVs are bound to contain common errors, which can damage an individual’s reputation. The first common error in a CV entails spelling and grammatical errors. These errors in most cases come about because the owner of the CV failed to double check for errors or proofread the document before printing the final draft. The second error entails the failure of a CV to focus on a specific vacancy in a profession. The third error is the individual failing to document some part of his or her history because the individual was out of employment. The fourth error is including acronyms and terminologies that might be difficult for the recipient to understand. The fifth error is failing to document the responsibilities that were associated with the previous employment. Additionally, having multiple CVs is imperative. First, having multiple CVs is a faster and easier way of replacing a lost or damaged CV. Secondly, through multiple CVs it is possible to compose different CVs that are related to different vacancies. Thirdly, multiple CVs ensure that an individual can have CVs, which are of different language versions or different formats. 3. Criteria and technique for sifting through jobs Acquiring a job depends on my career choice, which in particular, has been developed by the course I studied in college. Moreover, the criteria and technique for sifting through jobs is guided by my needs and skills. Firstly, the criteria and technique of sifting through jobs is driven by stating the kind of job that I enjoy and suits my profession. Secondly, I ask myself the important things regarding a job and the duties I am willing to perform in that job. The things that I will ask myself, pertains to the motivation and ambition that I have towards a definitive type of job. Thirdly, the criteria will involve choosing an accommodative work location; this will entail choosing to work in the corporate headquarters, a regional office or from home office. Fourthly, the criteria and technique for sifting through jobs, will call for, either choosing to work in a fixed environment that has tight deadlines or working in a flexible environment that has open deadlines; I prefer a job with a fixed working environment and tight deadlines because I perform well under pressure. Fifthly, the sifting will involve determining if I prefer working in a group or as an individual, and this depends on the workload, deadline of the given project and motivation of the group. Finally, the criteria and technique for sifting through jobs will entail determining the balances between work and life demands. The two graduate jobs that are appropriate to my needs and skills are management consultancy and recruitment consultancy. I prefer to work as a consultant because of the flexibility that is associated with this type of job. Firstly, if I work as a management consultant, it means that I will be my own manager working independently with both private and public organizations by providing them with technical advice pertaining to the management of their organizations. I would make a good management consultant because of my confidence, good communication skills and my strong determination to succeed in the field of management consultancy. I understand that the job of management consultancy calls for giving advice to corporate firms on matters pertaining to project management, sales and distribution, personnel management, organizational structure and development and system analysis and design. Secondly, if I work as a recruitment consultant, my services will be directed to a recruitment agency that matches the employer’s vacancies and professionals looking for jobs. I prefer this type of job because I have good communication, persuasion and negotiating skills, which are essential in the field of recruitment. 4. Importance of Business communication Communication is paramount in any form of organization, whether simple or complex. Essentially, communication entails transmitting information from a sender to a receiver through actions such as writing, speaking or by sending signals. In a business environment, communication involves the organization’s management, its employees, suppliers and clients. Business communication can be either internal, in the sense that the management and the employees communicate with one another, or external, in the sense that the management communicates with external parties such as clients and suppliers. An internal business communication entails the management of an organization conducting meetings through formulating an agenda and recording the procedures in minutes. The individual who chairs a meeting comes up with the agenda. The agenda is important since it is the issue that is put up for discussion during a meeting. Minutes are important because they are the recordings that are taken during a meeting. Additionally, business communication has been advanced by ICT this is where (Information and Communication Technology) is used to make communication easier and efficient through using the internet and telecommunications. An organization that has fostered effective communication will thrive and survive in a competitive business environment. ICT is important in that it aids a business organization in competing in the global market. For instance, through the internet business organizations have been able to develop websites in which they have put advertisements, products, catalogues, and ordering information. ICT is also important since it has enhanced internet banking. A particular case that pertains to business communication is a case from “Balt Healthcare Corporation”. The case involves two employees from the company who failed to cooperate with each other. Their differences derailed one of the company’s projects, and it forced the company’s organization development specialist to intervene. However, the OD specialist failed to bring the two employees to an understanding since she favored one employee on the expense of another. The case is a good example depicting that if an organization’s management fails to conduct an effective communication that sorts out problems between employees, then the whole organization will suffer. 5. Interview Interviews are conducted with the objective of collecting information pertaining to a specific issue from a group of defined individuals. In order for an interview to be successful, there must be an interviewer, interviewee and an interview schedule. In essence, the interviewer collects information from the interviewee using the data-collecting tool, which is known as an interview schedule. An interview can be said to be either good or poor after analyzing the preparation process of the whole interview. Firstly, from the perspective of the interviewer a good interview starts by clearly defining the objectives of the interview. This is through answering the questions of “why, who, where, how and when”. An interviewer who has clearly answered the above will surely have an objective-oriented interview. On the other hand, if an interviewer fails to generate clear answers to the “why, who, where, how and when”, then the interview will lack direction and importance. Additionally, an interviewer should be able to formulate an interview schedule that has questions that can be answered easily by the interviewer. For instance, a poor interview will entail an interview schedule that has questions, which the interviewee feels, are judgmental, embarrassing, invading privacy and hard to understand. However, a good interview will entail an interview schedule that addresses issues of confidentiality, purpose of the interview and questions that are not biases, leading or ambiguous. Above all, a good interview will end in, the interviewer collecting the information he or she wanted and the interviewee providing answers, which are true and relevant to the asked questions. The mock group interview The mock group interview was an amazing experience because I learnt both theory and practice aspects of an interview. Through the mock interview, I discovered that there are some errors, which can be included in the interview schedule unknowingly, and they can only be seen when an individual is conducting an actual interviewing process. For instance, one of the common errors is constructing interview questions, which are ambiguous, biased or leading. These questions can make an interviewee feel judged, embarrassed, confused or have the opinion that his or her privacy is being invaded. I also discovered that it is important as an interviewer to make the interviewee understand that the whole interviewing process is a confidential matter. That is, explain to the interviewee that all the information that is being collected will be handled in a private manner, and third parties do not have any access to that information. Ultimately, the mock interview increased my confidence and understanding of the whole preparation process of an interview, and it also removed the biases I had regarding interviews as a data-collecting tool. Reference Kroth, Michael & Christensen, McKay. Career Development Basics. New York: American Society for Training and Development, 2009. Read More