Planning Your Career in Business: Professional Portfolio

This report is based on Marks and Spencer, a listed British multinational retailer, which is founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. The report includes a professional portfolio which comprises of personal statement and CV along with skill development action plan. It also discusses an overview of business organization along with personal SWOT and action plan with SMART objectives.

Student Assessment Submission and Declaration
When submitting evidence for assessment, you must sign a declaration confirming that the work is
your own.
Student name:
ESL ID No
BSU ID
NO
Campus
Submission date:
Module name and code Planning Your Career in Business (BMAF008-20)
Assessment No 1
Title / Topic
A professional portfolio comprising a personal statement, completed
application for a volunteer/work experience placement with a relevant
C.V. and a skills development action plan.
Lecturer’s name
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a form of cheating. Plagiarism must be avoided at all costs and students who break the
rules, however innocently, may be penalised. It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand
correct referencing practices. As a university-level student, you are expected to use appropriate
references throughout and keep carefully detailed notes of all your sources of materials for the
material you have used in your work, including any material downloaded from the Internet. Please
consult the relevant unit lecturer or your course tutor if you need any further advice.
Student declaration
I certify that the project submitted is entirely my own work. I fully understand the consequences of plagiarism. I
understand that making a false declaration is a form of malpractice.
Student signature: Date:

No Table of Content Page No
Section A:
- A brief introduction to indicate what the portfolio contains and the reason for both the personal
statement and the CV that will be presented.
- You may also want to consider writing a short overview of the chosen organization in a bid to
justify your peculiar interests in working in such a place.
1. Introduction
1.1 Overview of the chosen Organisation
Section B:
- Personal statement in support of your application for a volunteer/work experience placement in any
organization of your choice.
- A detailed CV that has been carefully designed to fit purpose.
2.0 Personal Statement to support your application
2.1 Detailed CV
Section C:
- Self-assessment reflecting skill gaps (SWOT Analysis inclusive)
- Action plan tailored towards your skill development (reflecting SMART objectives)
3.0  A personal SWOT analysis
3.1 Personal Skill Audit
3.2  SMART objectives for skill development (short-term, medium/long-
term career objectives)
Professional Development Plan and training
4  Conclusion
5  References (Harvard System only)

A professional portfolio comprising a personal statement, completed application for a volunteer/work
experience placement with a relevant C.V. and a skills development action plan.
Section A:
1. Introduction
Business entity is an organization which is created by one or more individuals. It
describes the structure of the business and its operations, which produces different goods and
services to meet the need and requirement of customers. Business organization are
differentiated depending on how business is established, owned and operated (Dietz and
Mulder, 2020). The report is based on Marks and Spencer ,is a listed British multinational
retailer, which is founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. The company has
its headquarter in Padding-ton, London, England. It is specialists in selling clothing, beauty,
home products and food products. The organization has its stores all around the globe and
retain a good brand value. The job role selected for this professional portfolio is operational
executive. This report includes a professional portfolio which comprises of personal
statement and CV along with skill development action plan. It also discusses an overview of
business organization along with personal SWOT and action plan with SMART objectives.
1.1 Justification
The reason for which I want to join this organisation is because it is a well reputed
and large organisation, which offers a lot of opportunities to their workforce. It holds a brand
value all around the globe. In addition to this I want to gain employment at role of operations
executive because it will develop my knowledge in field of operations management, where I
would like to pursue my career. The key reasons which drives my focus to work in this
organisation at the role of operational executive are discussed below-
 Flexible business structure: Marks and Spencer have flexible business structure
which makes organisation adaptive to the changes quickly and respond effectively.
The organisation has different shifts for their workers which provide convenience and
comfortable environment to their employees.
 Global reach: The company holds a brand name and has its multiple stores all around
UK and other countries, which allow the company to have a great customer base and

wide range to market their product and services. It enables the organisation to explore
other market and determine the needs and preferences of the customers which leads
the organisation to hold a competitive advantage.
 Growth opportunities: I will be able to improve my knowledge in case of operations
management by working at large scale organization such as Marks and Spencer. This
will provide me suitable professional experience and credentials to gain promotions in
the field of operations management and achieve my ambition of securing high level
role in operations management. In the current competitive job market experience in
international organizations is essential for career growth (Simmonds, 2018).
 Working with experienced professionals: Marks and Spencer has lot of experienced
professionals which manage different departments of the firm. Working at the role of
operational executive I will learn about the latest technology, practices, approaches
and methods used in the field of operations management. This will help me
understand the ways of practically implementing my management knowledge for
overseeing various operations in a global firm.
Section B:
2. Personal Statement
Personal statement is a statement which determines and discuss the account of your
achievements, talents, interest and goals. It is provided along with Curriculum vitae which
showcases an individual professional and academic skills. It is an important document, which
suggest the recruiter whether they should be suitable for a job opportunity for not and is of
crucial importance to reflect the personality of an individual (Balasubramanian and Balaji,
2021).
PERSONAL STATEMENT
I am an enthusiast and hard-working person who is passionate about the professional field
of operations management because it plays an important role in delivering products and

services to the consumers. I have been looking for an opportunity to work in prestigious
institution and would like to work with Marks and Spencer in order to upscale my
knowledge and skills. In order to determine whether I am suitable for the job of operational
executive would like to put a glance at my skills. I am a skilled and flexible operational
executive and possess the potential to work under pressure to meet the deadlines and
targets. I am very coordinative and cooperative with my team and colleagues which will
help the organisation to meet their targets within specialised period.
I have all the skills which are required to conduct any activity and operations and does not
required additional training to learn the given job assignments. The skills which I possess
and which are suitable for this the job role of operational executive are:
 Good communication skills
 Team management skills
 Innovator
 Coordinative and collaborative skills
 Effective planning skills
All this skill will help an organisation to attain their desired goals and results. I will try to
do put the best of my skills and knowledge at the role of operational executive and deliver
excellent results to various stakeholders of the company. I believe that my values and
beliefs towards ethical behaviour will help me raise operations management standards at
Marks and Spencer. Ethically driven candidates are valued by international firms because
they help promote core values of the company on global stage (Vargo, 2019).
I request you to review all my documents and provide me with the answers as per your
convenience. Thank you for time and consideration.
2.1 CV
Curriculum vitae is a document which provides a summary about an individual in areas
of their professional and academic knowledge that are being possess by them (Tiwari
and et.al, 2020). This document is required by an individual to attain a particular job
role and designation in which field they are expertise into in order to gain growth and

success in their future. It is important to make impression on the recruiters and
committee which are going to appoint the candidates (Breeze, 2019).
Curriculum Vitae
Name- XYZ
Contact Details- 123456789
Personal Profile
DOB- XXX
Nationality- British
Professional Summary- I am an innovator person who likes to develop new ideas that
will help me to gain competitive edge. I am flexible and love to work under pressure on
different tasks and projects. I am coordinative and cooperative person who can easily get
engaged with my workforce which will help an organisation to attain growth and success.
I am dedicated towards the operations management because I believe that operations
management is often overlooked but significant part of managing supply chains
specifically in global businesses.
Education & Qualification
 Management
Work Experience
I am currently a fresher but have the skill and dedication to provide best results to any
employer. I am strong willed professional with ability to work in high pressure situations.
Skills
 Flexibility with operations
 Cooperative and Coordinative
 Planning skills
 Risk management skills

 Strategic thinking skills
Personal Interest
 Reading books
 Listening music
 Playing basketball
Your career Operational executive
List of your Skills
to meet the career
goal
Why those skills are important
Leadership skills It is the most crucial skills which are required in an operational
executive because it helps plan and oversee various complicated
tasks related storage of products. Leadership skills helps the
individual to assign the roles and tasks to individual as per their
competency and capabilities which will help in accomplish of tasks
within prescribed time limit (García-Tejero and et.al, 2018).
Time
management
skills
It is the most significant skills which an individual should possess. It
helps in timely completion of tasks with optimised utilisation of
resources. Time management helps an individual to remain
competent in their tasks and make them motivated and boost their
morale towards their task which is being assigned that will improve
overall productivity and profitability. It is needed to complete tasks
in operations management field.
Innovator Employees in operations management field must be competent and
should possess the capability, that helps them to bring new ideas and
innovation in the business organisation that would help the
organisation to attain a competitive edge in the marketplace (Zhang,
Crant and Weng, 2019).

Section C:
3.0 SWOT ANALYSIS
It is very important to conduct the personal SWOT analysis in order to identify the
strength and weakness for the future opportunities and to be aware of the threats. It is an
analysis that will help an individual to analyze the skills and qualities that are being
possessed by an individual that will help them to make different strategies and plans in order
to remain competitive and holds more potential then others. Swot analysis helps an individual
to get the desired role and designations it helps an individual to overcome their weakness and
make appropriate strategies and plans to deal with the threats that may arise in the
organization at any time (Succi and Canovi, 2020).
 Strength: It helps an individual to remain competitive than other candidates, it is the
those skills and qualities which the individual are proficient and helps to acquire
opportunities that are available to attain growth.
 Weakness: These are the skills that can lead an individual to remain ineffective in
their roles and tasks. It need to be overcome by individuals by adopting different
strategies and plans.
 Threats: These are the factors that can have a negative impact on the career and
growth of an individual.
 Opportunities: It is essential to hold those skills that will help an individual to
maximize their strengths and helps them to overcome all the challenges and problems
that may arise.
Strengths Weakness
 The one of the biggest strength which I
have is good communication skills.
This is the strength which help me to
practice and develop a communication
between the staff members..
 The one of the skill in which I am
lacking is critical thinking. As in
today's world it is very important to
have a different mindset in order to
perform the task. I need to improve my

 I am good at team management skill.
This is one of the most effective and
efficient part which I consider. My
team members are happy with the
working style and I am able to manage
the work on time.
critical thinking skills.
 I am weak at understanding the
concepts in a immediate way. It takes
time for me to grab the new things. I
am not able to accept the changes in a
quick manner which is the one of the
biggest issue in this dynamic world
(Kurmanalina and et.al, 2020).
Opportunities Threats
 I have carious opportunity to explore
the new ways in order to elan about the
technology. I need to enhance my
interpersonal skills.
 The another opportunity which I have
is that I can lead the team in an
effective way which can help me
developing my future.
 The peers and the competition is one of
the biggest threat for me.
 The another threat is that because of the
increase and advancement in
technology it is very important to keep
my self updates with the new ways to
perform task.
3.1 PERSONAL SKILL AUDIT (Gap analysis)
Personal
Skill Audit
List of
Knowledge
Rating List of Skill Rating List of
Behaviour
Rating
Technological
skills
3 Communicatio
n skills
4 Punctuality 5
Managerial skills 4 Team
management
skills
4 Attitude
towards others
5
Operative skills 5 Leadership 3 Cooperative 5

skills
3.2 SMART OBJECTIVES
Smart stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound. It
helps to achieve the goals and defined objectives within a specified time period (Gkoltsiou
and Mougiakou, 2021). These objectives are used widely in different industries which attain
high efficiency and objectivity. The action plan which is being made by an organization in
order to regulate their tasks and to accomplish their desired objectives are discussed as below:
 Specific: I will put my core focus on the areas and skills which are relevant and are
crucial for an individual. I will make suitable plans and strategies to deal with my
weaknesses. I will make plans to make my critical thinking skills that will help me to
deal with all the changes and challenges. In addition I will also makes strategies to
make become pro efficient in taking prompt decisions that would regulate the efforts
of workforce towards goals and objectives. This will help me improve my skills for
becoming operational executive.
 Measurable: It is important for an organization to set goals which are measurable and
being able to determine the progress which is being achieved. It involves measuring
the acts and work of different individuals. It involves monitoring the unproductive
and unproductive efforts of the employees that will help the organization to become
efficient and effective in their business operations. I will measure my goals by
monitoring changes I my skills.
 Achievable: This component of smart objectives suggest that goals and objectives
which are being set by the organization must be achievable with different strategies
and plans (Zhang, Dai and Vasarhelyi, 2018). These are achievable goals because
there is relevant study material available for improving various skills on the internet.
 Relevant: The goals and objectives which are being set by the organization must be
relevant and appropriate in accordance with the structure and functionality of the
organization. It is relevant to my goal of becoming operational executive.

 Time bound: The objectives must have some prescribed time in which they should be
achieved, which will help an organization to attain growth and success. The time
period which is required to attain the set goals is approximately 6 months.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND TRAINING
Skills
Required
for
Profession
al
Developme
nt
Training /
Method
Duration
(Short, Mid and Long term
plan)
How they relate to
employability
Informatio
n
technology
skills
This is very important
for me to develop for
the professional career
and working in an
effective manner.
There are various
training methods
which can be utilised
such as different
courses related to
information
technology which can
help in enhancing
information
technology skills.
In order to develop the
information technology skill
the plan is to develop this
skill within 6 months
(Moghaddass and et.al,
2019). The short term plan is
to know of the various
methods of using excel. The
mid term plan in to practice
the working over the
computer and the long term
plan is to conduct all the
business meeting and have a
understanding of the
technology effectively.
It is very important to
develop the skill as in
today's world the
technology plays vital
role. The information
technology helps in
employability and
improves the working
efficiency. It will help
me in understanding
technology used for
operational management.
Problem
solving
skills
In order to develop
the problem solving
skill I can practice
the various
The duration is to develop this
skill within 3 months. It is very
important to plan for the mid
term goals which is to solve the
This is related to
employability because in
an organisation it is very
important to enhance the

situation based case
studies. Also I can
develop this skill
by getting trained
from the various
professionals who
are expert in
problem solving.
problems in the effective way
(Tran and et.al, 2019).
problem solving skills
which helps in having the
future growth opportunities
for an individual. I will be
able to resolve daily
problems as operational
executive.
Critical
thinker
In order to develop
critical thinking
skills, I will engage
myself wit more
puzzles and
situations where I
can develop my
mind and add more
skills to potential
that will enable me
to solve different
challenges and
problems that may
arise.
The duration required to
develop these skills will
comprise of approx 6 months. In
context to Short term plan , I
will involve in different puzzles
and practices. For mid term , I
will engage in different
situations that may arise in a
business environment and find
out ways to solve them and in
long term I will try to solve the
challenges and problems ion
real time by making efficient
strategies and effective decision
making.
Core authorities ae
required to make effective
and efficient decisions that
may help an organisation
to attain positive results
(Grigg, 2020). Operational
executive need to have
critical thinking skills to
support core authorities of
operations management
deliver best results.
Decision
making
skills
Business operates
in an uncertain and
dynamic
environment and
hence it is
important to adopt
those changes
frequently to
eliminate the
negative impact of
In order to build this skill of be
quick with the decisions will
take about 2-3 months. It
requires a short term planning
as with regular analysis and
evaluation of different factors
will help an organisation to
attain the knowledge to deal
with the changes and
uncertainties that may arise in
Decision making is
important for any
employee in the current
age (Soeiro and Bochar,
2021). As a operational
executive I will be able
to handle high pressure
environment through
effective decision
making skills.

those changes on
business
functioning.
the organisation and in the
marketplace.
4 Conclusion
From the above report it is being concluded that business organisation provides great
career boost in individual lives. They contribute an individual to attain growth and success in
the long run. This report discusses about the important of personal statement and CV and how
it plays an important role in reflecting the personal abilities and capabilities of n individual.
These document are the most significant document for an individual because it depicts the
education qualification and professional skills that an individual hold in a specialised area.
This report includes a brief introduction of personal portfolio and how it helps an individual
to gain potentials role and job designation from other candidates. It makes a personal SWOT
of individual and how it is reflective for an individual to evaluate and analyse their skills and
the areas where they need to focus. It also discusses the role of skills and its role in grasping
the different opportunity of employability in an individual. In the last it also suggests a action
plan that help an individual to accomplish all the skills and knowledge that help them to
attain growth and success in their careers.
5 References
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