Planning Your Career in Business: Personal Statement and CV for Marks and Spencer

This report provides guidance on planning a career in business, specifically for Marks and Spencer. It includes a brief overview of the company, reasons for creating a personal statement and CV, and a detailed example of each. The report also includes a self-assessment with a SWOT analysis to identify skill gaps and opportunities for growth.

BMAF00820 Planning
Your Career in Business

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................4
SECTION A.....................................................................................................................................4
Brief introduction to indicate what portfolio contains and the reason for both the personal
statement and the CV that will be presented. ..............................................................................4
A short overview of the Marks and Spencer in a bid to justify peculiar interests in working in
the organisation............................................................................................................................5
SECTION B ....................................................................................................................................7
Personal statement in support of my application for a volunteer/work experience placement in
Marks and Spencer.......................................................................................................................7
A detailed CV designed to support my application for volunteer or work experience placement
in Marks and Spencer...................................................................................................................7
SECTION C.....................................................................................................................................9
Self-assessment reflecting skill gaps (SWOT Analysis inclusive)..............................................9
Action plan tailored towards your skill development (reflecting SMART objectives).............11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Planning career in a business organisation is important for every individual. A strong
career plan can help individuals to guide their professional life successfully. Career planning
include mapping key steps for your professional future and it help to choose the right career and
get job stability and financial security (Hertig, Powell and Richardson, 2020). Every business
require different skills to perform various activities in the business. And it is crucial for
individuals to develop these skills in order to perform different activities in the business. This
report will be based in Marks and Spencer which is a British retailer founded in 1884 by Michael
Marks and Thomas Spencer, now the company is operating in different nations. Mark and
Spencer have its headquarters in London. The report will contain the reasons for both the
personal statement and CV. A short note for the overview of the business and interest in working
will be also present in the report.
MAIN BODY
SECTION A
Brief introduction to indicate what portfolio contains and the reason for both the personal
statement and the CV that will be presented.
It is important for individuals to build personal statements and CV's because it present the
overview of a individual's personality. The personal statement can be defined as a paragraph
which indicate what an individual can bring in the job or a company. Personal statement is also
known as opening statement and executive summery. Personal statement also include
achivements of a person which improve the ability of an individual. Recruiters need this to
evaluate the ability and potential of a candidate. It is also important for individuals to define their
goals and objectives in an effective manner so that companies can analyse if their goals and
objectives align with the company's or not. In order to get the desire jobs and perform various
activities in the business candidates should develop the skills and knowledge and should define
the same properly to grab the opportunity(Datta, 2020). A curriculum vitae is a detail document
which highlight the academic and professional history of a candidate. CV's generally include the
information like past work experience, awards, research projects, course works or scholarships
and grants a candidate has received. Organisations ask for a CV because the document help their

human resource managers to analyse if the candidate is a good fit for the job offered by the
organisation. It is important for candidates to summarise their past work experience as it create
confidence in recruiters mind that the candidate can handle the work pressure and situations
because he/she have work experience.
Reasons why personal statements and CV's are presented in the portfolio.
To match an individual for the job role – Personal statements and CV's allow individuals to
define themselves in front of recruiters which help them to grab the available opportunity. It is
also beneficial for businesses as it help them to get clear understanding about the candidates
(Horowitz, Wu and Kachnic, 2021).
It states the benefits an individual can bring into the organisation – A strong CV help
employees and employers both. Employees get a chance to present their experiences and skills in
front of interviewers and interviewers get a detailed description of candidates which facilitated
them to judge the employees.
It provide the list of candidate's experience and the skills – Personal statement of CV help
individuals to list their experience and skills in a systematic manner. This list indicate candidates
ability to perform different functions within the organisation.
Attract Employers – In today's competitive job market it is important for individuals to create a
well structured CV so that they can attract employers. So many individuals apply for the same
job and in a strong CV a candidate unfold information about their potential which help them to
attract more employers (Wells, Gregory-Smith and Manika, 2018).
A short overview of the Marks and Spencer in a bid to justify peculiar interests in working in the
organisation.
Marks and Spencer is one of the major British multinational retailers with their
headquarters in London, England. The organisation specialises in selling different products such
as clothing, beauty, food and home products. The company is listed in London Stock Exchange
and in is among the FTSE 250 index. It is well known company in the UK which is known for
bringing quality and great value for the food, clothing and homeware. The company was
established in 1884 as a stall in a open market. The business has transformed and evolved in so

many ways and now they have approx 959 stores in the United Kingdom. The company was the
first organisation to generate a pre tax profit of over 1 billion pounds.
Interest in working in Marks and Spencer
The company is well established organisation in the UK and it is a brand with the value
proposition of providing high quality products in the market. Working is such divers company
can help an individual to improve their skills and personality. The company culture provides a
positive working environment which provide a great opportunity for candidates to learn while
working in an organisation. There are many reasons of interest in such a place which are
mentioned below -
 Flexible Working Hours – The company provide flexible working hours which facilitate
its employees to maintain a healthy work life balance. In retail sectors employee have to
work for long hours. Employees in retail industry even work on holidays and Sundays. In
such situation it is important that the organisation provide flexible working hours to make
employees comfortable in the organisation. This generate interest within employees to
work in such organisation (Bridger, 2022).
 Experienced management and employees – The company is operating in the market
from more then a decade. Management and workforce of the company is full with senior
and experienced people who work together to grow as an organisation. Working with
such people can help to learn from their valuable experience. Working in the organisation
with such workforce can enhance decision making and problem solving skills of a
individual.
 Better growth opportunities – As a employer the company provide various growth
opportunities to their employees. The organisation help individuals to pace their
professional growth (Pareek, Mohanty and Mangaraj, 2019). The company have
employee development program which help employees to grow and get higher positions
within the organisation.

SECTION B
Personal statement in support of my application for a volunteer/work experience placement in
Marks and Spencer.
It is crucial for individuals to make a strong and effective personal statement which state
the goals, objectives and detailed information defining the skills and abilities of a individual's
abilities. This help businesses to evaluate the potential of a candidate which help the hire the
right candidate for the organisation (Porter Jr, 2020).
My name is ABC and currently I live in A-1 Carroun Rd, London. Through this
statement I would like to tell my education and qualifications background which also helped me
develop skills and knowledge that I possess. I have completed my MBA degree from London
college of business. The degree makes me a eligible candidate for the role. As a student of
marketing management I have completed various marketing assignments and projects which
helped me develop various skills which can be beneficial for me in my professional career. A led
the a team of six peoples to complete a research project. The project was focused on launching a
beauty product in the market. I led the team to successfully complete the project. The project
helped me to improve my team management, decision making and research skills. I am looking
for the work experience placement in the Marks and Spencer because while working for the
organisation I can also learn and enhance my skills as the organisation also focus on the
professional progress of its employees. Working for the company will be a great opportunity for
me as organisation provide many growth opportunities to its employees. I can bring my market
research skills and communication skill in the organisation by which I can do my bit to help
organisation grow. As a marketing manager I can lead a team to effectively and efficiently drive
sales in the business. I am also good with technology and digital marketing. Nowadays every
company run their digital marketing campaign I can help Marks and Spencer to create a effective
and efficient digital marketing campaign.
A detailed CV designed to support my application for volunteer or work experience placement in
Marks and Spencer.
The CV is a document which has written summery of an individual's qualification, career
and education. For career development a CV plays a major role as it help individuals to grab the

opportunity. It attract employers and present a candidates potential in from of them. It is
important to create a CV in a systematic way to attract the employers (Svistunov, Lobachev and
Manukyan, 2021). The CV to supoprt the application for volunteering or work experience
placement in Marks and Spencer.
Name – ABC
Contact Details – 123456789 / [e-mail]
Personal Profile
D.O.B – DD/MM/YYYY
Nationality – British
Personal Statement – I am a person with strong critical thinking skills which allow me to solve
difficult problems with ease. I believe in solving a problem with innovative ideas if
conventional thinking fails to give result. I can think out of the box to solve and perform multi
task to accomplish business goals and objectives.
Education and Qualification
 Bachelor of commerce from Middlesex University London in 2014 - 2016
 Masters of marketing and management from London University in 2016 - 2018
 Digital marketing & E-commerce certificate from Google – 2019
Work Experience
 Created and managed a successful digital marketing campaign for ABC cafe London.
 Marketing Manager Volunteer for HELP Foundation UK.
Skills
 Good communication skills
 Great problem solving skills
 Team management and supervision skills.
Personal Interest
 Reading Biographies
 Playing Cricket
 Writing Songs
Declaration
I hereby declare that all the information mentioned above is true to my knowledge.

10-10-2022
It is vital for candidates to design a CV which include the a detailed information of a
individual. This help individuals in their career as it reflect the image of a person. It is important
for candidates to create a positive image in front of interviewers which they can do with the help
of a CV (Cleak, Zuchowski and Cleaver, 2022).
SECTION C
Self-assessment reflecting skill gaps (SWOT Analysis inclusive)
SWOT analysis refer to the studying of the internal factors by identifying the strengths,
weakness, opportunities and threats. It is one of the mostly used tool or technique by the
organisations which develops the strategic planning. The personal SWOT analysis is detailed
below-
Strengths Weakness
 My strength is my critical thinking
skills which helps me to improve my
personal development. By developing
my personal knowledge, I can think
innovative and creative ideas and
thoughts easily which helps the firm to
bring innovative products in their
workplace. I work as a Marketing
Manager in the Marks and Spencer
which proves to be a great strength of
mine and because of this, I can easily
provide an opportunity of creativity to
the firm which leads to achieve their
goals in an efficient manner.
 My communication skill is also good
which is an essential element required
by every organisation in today's world.
 As critical thinking skills and
communication skills are the strengths
of mine but I am lacking in my
leadership skills which can we say as a
weakness of mine. I have to mainly
focus on my leadership skills and tries
to develop it. As according to the
knowledge about the leadership skills, I
am experienced in this skill but I can't
able to manage my team in an efficient
manner. As to manage my team, I have
to develop the leadership skill which
can prove to be a vital skill for an
effective store manager.
 I have another weakness which have to
be developed by me that is I am a type
of short-tempered person which can't

Through this skill, I can easily
communicate or interact with the
customers which leads to attract more
number of customers. This skill has
taught me to perform the work in a
systematic manner. Because of this
skill, I can easily interact with my
seniors, or my colleagues which helps
to make a good and reputative image at
the workplace.
handle the work in pressure. As
according to me, it is the most
important issue which I have to mainly
focus and one of the important matter
of concern. To develop the skills, I
have to take work load and perform it
in a given time period which helps to
reduce the mistakes and can achieve the
goals in an efficient manner.
Opportunities Threats
 As because of my strengths, I have a
number of opportunities to build my
career in the retail sector which proves
to be a great opportunity for me.
Through my developed skills and
knowledge, I can able to grab a large
number of opportunities which can
bring success in my career .
 Through these skills and knowledge, I
can able to grab the opportunity which
can develop my career in the
professional as well as in the other
organisations. To bring more growth
and development, I have to develop my
information technology skills which we
can say as an opportunity in today's
world.
 The threat is the competition in the
market which is because of the
advanced technology. As the main
reason of having fierce competition in
the market is as every business want to
hire the talented and skilled workforce
which have the basic as well as the
advanced knowledge about the new
technology.
 The another threat is the peers which is
now seen to be the most common threat
faced by every individual (Shala and
Baliqi, 2018). And it is known to be a
tough and difficult competition which
every person feels. As according to this
threat, the person wants to develop their
skills and knowledge so that they can
avail the best opportunity. To develop
this skill, I have to be aware and active

about the new and innovative ideas
which can attract large number of
customers.
Action plan tailored towards your skill development (reflecting SMART objectives)
SMART OBJECTIVES- As according to an individual, it is an important feature which should
be adopted by them as to achieve their goals in an efficient manner (Sharma, Watve and Pandey,
2020). But to accomplish it, the goals should be-
 Specific- As according to this, the goals should be specific which can develop my inter
personal skills and qualities that helps me to achieve my goals and develops my career in
an efficient way.
 Measurable- To achieve the goals in an efficient manner, I have to perform a variety of
tasks which helps me to measure my goals.
 Attainable- To attain the goals in an efficient manner, I have to practice the various types
of skills and knowledge with developing my personal career.
 Relevant- To make the goals relevant, I have to improve my skills in various types of
organisation which helps me to attain the goals in an efficient manner.
 Time frame- As to achieve or accomplish the goals, the time frame I required is about 8
months.
ACTION PLAN
Skill to be
developed
Current
competency
Desired
competency
Actions to be
taken
Measurement
criteria
Time frame
Leadership
skills
This skills is
not good in me
which leads to
not managing
the team in an
effective way.
It is one of the
most
important skill
which should
be developed
in every
As to develop
this kind of
skills, I have
to practice and
handle the
team in an
To measure
this skill, I
have to ask to
my colleagues
or peers as
whether the
To develop the
leadership
skills, I have
to require a
time frame of
two months.

individual as
to manage the
team in an
effective and
efficient
manner. It can
prove to be a
vital skill
which is
required by
every
individual as
to develop
their career in
the team
leader.
efficient
manner but
under any
supervisor
which can
help me to
realize my
mistakes and
gives the
suggestion or
advice as to
overcome that.
leadership
skill has been
developed in
mine or not.
Or I can ask to
my superiors
or supervisors
which helps
me to examine
it.
Problem
solving skills
(Calicchio,
2020)
At this skills, I
am an average
but I want to
be perfect in
this skill.
As to perfect
in this skill, I
have to
develop an
ability to solve
the problems
in the critical
situations
which is the
most
important
feature for
developing my
career in the
professional
To develop
this skill, I
have to solve
difficult and
critical
problems
which can
help me to
provide a
guidance. I
can also
participate in
various
problem
solving
To measure
this skill, I
have to ask to
my colleagues
or peers which
helps me to
examine my
performance.
To develop
this skill, I
require a time
frame of five
months.

field as well as
the other
organisation.
programs
which
provides me
an opportunity
to try to new
and innovative
ideas.
CONCLUSION
After studying and examining the report, it has been concluded that if the person has an
effective skill and qualities, they can easily develop their career in the professional as well as the
other organisations. To develop the skills and qualities in an efficient manner, the firm have to
concentrate on their workers and have to provide training and development sessions to them. In
this report, the CV and personal statement plays a vital role in developing the career of an
individual. As according to the business organisation, they require a skilled and talented
workforce which can easily accomplish their goals in an efficient manner. CV can be referred as
a written document which defines the detailed and the mandatory information of an individual.
After examining all of this, the report covers the personal SWOT analysis which will provide a
knowledge about the gaps which needs to be developed by them in order to improve their
performance.

REFERENCES
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