Career Reflection: Personal Values, Communication, Teamwork, Project Management, and Customer Service

This career reflection discusses personal values, communication skills, teamwork, project management, and customer service as important aspects of employability. It includes a value audit and capability audit, as well as references to relevant literature.

Career reflection 1
Career reflection
Name
Student ID
Institutional Affiliation

Career reflection 2
Task 1
Value Audit
Ranked List of At Least 5 Personal Values That Influence Your Life Choices
Ranking values is critical to keeping the workplace on track (Warr 2008 p.760). My five
personal values which influence my choices in life are:
Dependability: I can be depended upon by other people to assist in various issues.
Reliability: People can rely on my assistance as I ensure high performance in everything that I
do.
Loyalty: I do what is expected of me and perform my duties as required.
Commitment: I am deeply attached to my roles and responsibilities for success.
Open-mindedness: I critically analyze situations so as to find new ways of doing things.
I want to pursue a career in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry. I have developed
various hard skills including computer skills, data management skills, scheduling skills, research
skills, and financial skills, which will assist me in efficiently carrying out my duties in the
workplace.
Task 2
Capability Audit

Career reflection 3
Demonstrated Capacity to Communicate Effectively
Having good communication skills is critical for employees to perform well in the
workplace (Andrews and Higson 2008 p.413). Good communication skills assist in the
development of confidence and trust within the organization. During my industrial placement, I
demonstrated both strong written and verbal communication skills by effectively communicating
with internal and external stakeholders. Furthermore, I attended the meeting and conducted
brainstorming sessions. It was upon me to communicate effectively with other parties in order to
get the job done well without misunderstanding, as staff member were from diverse cultures,
ethnic and religions. Throughout the period, I regularly liaised with managers in order to get
directives on how to proceed and to get an assessment on my performance, which further
improved my communication skills.
Good Organizational and Administrative Skills
Good administrative and organizational skills are important aspects for all employees as
they provide an effective way of developing and running projects (Ozcelik, Langton and Aldrich
2008 p.188). In my previous role, I kept the ‘to-do’ list and was able to re-prioritize and organize
my work based on urgency and deadlines. As a result, I developed organizational skills that
assisted me in staying on track and scheduling and delivering timely and high-quality work. In
addition, I ensure that my calendar is always kept in a three-ring binder so that I can easily use it
in noting interactions and conversations hence keeping it as a diary. Throughout my industrial
placement, I collaborated with other staff and acquired various administrative skills that assisted
me in successfully completing my placement period.

Career reflection 4
Proven Ability to Work as Part of a Team
Proven ability to work as a team determines whether a person can contribute positively
to a team’s operations and has capabilities of developing working relationships (Hernández‐
March, Martín and Leguey 2009 p.15). In my previous job, I worked as part of the team and I
was mindful of the roles of others in order to ensure the outcomes were successful. Furthermore,
I had been a member of the team that helps in the formulation of action plans as well as taking
problem-solving approaches. Working together as a team and solving our differences wherever
they arise helped me develop my spirit of teamwork as I released that performances were high.
Well-Developed Customer Service Skills
Well –developed customer service means that a person has capabilities of helping
customers effectively; handle customer’s issues appropriately and in a friendly and timely
manner so that they are satisfied (Robles 2012 p.455). In my previous role, I used to be patient,
attentive, use positive language, time management skills, persuasions skills, and empathy.
Furthermore, dealing with customers on a daily basis I had to stay patient, attentive and have
good interpersonal skills of handling their issues as well as showing them maximum respect for
them to revisit. Additionally by engaging in volunteering work with the community and my
workmates assisted me to acquire good customer service.
Proven Ability to Manage Projects

Career reflection 5
Employees tend to seek information about “Proven ability to manage projects” so they
can get evidence of that abilities candidates have acquired from past (Geoghegan and Dulewicz
2008 p.58). I had a job that required my team and me to manage multiple projects and strictly
meet deadlines, and I did that job well with a high degree of competence and by the time project
ended, I had equipped my abilities of managing projects. Therefore, it is clear that the proven
abilities to manage projects mean a person must have a record of accomplishments and skills in
handling projects. I will further recommend students to be involved in part-time and beneficial
activities that will enable them to gain experience and skills of handling multiple projects.

Career reflection 6
References
Andrews, J. and Higson, H., 2008. Graduate employability,‘soft skills’ versus ‘hard’business
knowledge: A European study. Higher education in Europe. 4th ed. United Kingdom: Taylor &
Francis. pp.411-422.
Geoghegan, L. and Dulewicz, V., 2008. Do project managers’ leadership competencies
contribute to project success? Project Management Journal. 4th ed. U.S. A: Sage Publishers.
pp.58-67.
Hernández‐March, J., Martín del Peso, M. and Leguey, S., 2009. Graduates’ skills and higher
education: The employers’ perspective. Tertiary Education and Management. 1st ed. United
Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. pp.1-16.
Ozcelik, H., Langton, N. and Aldrich, H., 2008. Doing well and doing good: The relationship
between leadership practices that facilitate a positive emotional climate and organizational
performance. Journal of Managerial Psychology. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Emerald Group
Publishing. pp.186-203.

Career reflection 7
Robles, M.M., 2012. Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s workplace.
Business Communication Quarterly. 4th ed. U.S. A: Sage Publishers. pp.453-465.
Warr, P., 2008. Work values: Some demographic and cultural correlates. Journal of
Occupational and Organizational Psychology. 4th ed. U.S.A: Wiley Online Library. pp.751-775.