Challenges and Skills Faced by Graduates: A Reflective Report

This report evaluates the different learnings from the graduation period in which the students learn about various skills such as time management, meeting skills, teamwork, presentation skills, emotional intelligence, use of spreadsheets and many more. It further elaborates the challenges which are faced by the students during their graduation period and highlights the various challenges such as analysis of each challenge which creates an impact on the business angles like finance, branding and operating operations during the graduation period. Moreover, it contains an action plan which helps to make a detailed outline of the actions which are required to reach the one or more goals.

The Graduate
Challenge

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Challenges..............................................................................................................................1
Skills.......................................................................................................................................2
Action plan.............................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
This report is going to evaluate the different learnings from the graduation period in which the
students learn about various skills such as time management, meeting skills, teamwork,
presentation skills, emotional intelligence, use of spreadsheets and many more. The reflective
report further elaborates the challenges which are faced by the students during their graduation
period. The concerned reflective report highlights the various challenges such as analysis of each
challenge which creates an impact on the business angles like finance, branding and operating
operations during the graduation period. Moreover, it contains an action plan which helps to
make a detailed outline of the actions which are required to reach the one or more goals. It is a
sequence of steps that are considered for a strategy to succeed.
Task 1
Challenges
 Apprenticeship challenge - In order to develop professional skills in my career field I
was given apprenticeship challenge by my institution. I was provided effective training to
develop several skills and I was also given with various tasks and responsibilities in order
to learn desired skills. I was not fully prepared for the challenge, so I took guidance from
my seniors and professors and they supported me very well. My apprenticeship sessions
were helpful for me as it facilitated me with an opportunity to apply my theoretical
knowledge in a practical manner. During the apprenticeship session, I collaborated with
various new individuals who were highly skilled and qualified. I took the much needed
guidance and inspiration form the same. I developed several skills such as time
management, leadership and problem solving during the apprenticeship programme. I
completed all the tasks on time with the precise help of my team members and
management.
 Presentation challenge- During my academic sessions, I was given responsibility of
giving presentation in front of the whole class. This was a major challenge for me to
develop presentation skills in a professional manner. I was very confident for the
presentation but I was lacking with communication skills. It was very important for me to
develop communication skills in a set period of time for giving the presentation. I took
help of internet and saw many different videos to develop communication skills so that
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my presentation goes well. Another challenge for me during the presentation challenge
was lack of public speaking skills. In order to develop the public speaking skills, I took
advice of my colleagues and batch mates. Giving presentation in a systematic manner
was my first priority and things went very well with the support provided by my batch
mates and colleagues. I will use the learnings for future and try to develop professional
presentation skills in order to develop career path.
 T- Shirt Challenge-In the concerned challenge, I was provided with a task of creating an
innovative T- Shirt. It was creativity led challenge wherein I and my peers had to come
up with innovative ideas for projecting our T-Shirts in the most creative and attractive
manner possible. The major and crucial part of the given challenge was to design the logo
and patterns of the T-Shirt. This allowed me to identify and optimize upon my existing
creative thinking abilities. We conducted an online research about the current trends and
patterns took necessary reference form the same to design the T-Shirt. The T-Shirt
created by our group was highly acknowledged by everyone as we facilitated extra efforts
in order to enhance the desirability and appeal of the same. This challenge was the most
stimulating and exciting out of all the challenges conducted during the graduation period.
It assisted me to determine the significance of marketing and promotion in order to
elevate the sales of a product in the market domain.
Task 2
Skills
 Time Management- In order to perform better and save time in the competitive work
environment time management is required to lead the smooth functioning of the above
mentioned challenges. The involvement in these challenges improved my time
management skills. I learnt how to prioritize my work and setting boundaries by saying
no to irrelevant things. I gained relevant knowledge in relation to production and
promotion of products by learning new things. I have always wanted to improve my time
management skills with relevant ways in order to sustain in the continuous development.
I became more punctual on the events, start my day early and try to make most use of
time in the best manner possible to me.
 Communication skills- I developed communication skills while doing this graduation
degree. I got the opportunity to interact with new students through the various given
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tasks. My way of communication has improved by working on these challenges. I believe
that communication skills are important to encourage, create ideas, inform, connect the
ideas which are important in overall development to be more expressive and confident. I
feel these challenges made my communication skills more fluent and clear which can
benefit me in future.
 Business skills- I developed business skills while doing that T-shirt challenge. My team
members and I got appreciated by using tips of marketing tools to retain the customers of
market which helps in enhancing the attractiveness of the targeted products. I got to learn
about the various ways to approach the market and learn the marketing process to achieve
the advantages of the concept of marketing. I started listening to other people while
 Meeting skills- I learned about the rules of meeting skills, how to plan the meeting, what
is the agenda, matter such as tasks, information and standard time to fulfil the agenda. I
also learned how to open the meeting, welcome everyone and how to go through the
agenda step by step. Meeting has a particular procedure and points to gather the
information to make sure that the meeting run smoothly. I learned how to apply the
various ideas on the workplace at all levels to strengthen the meeting and make it more
productive.
Task 3
Action plan
Action plan is a written document which is an essential part of the strategic planning which helps
in improving the team work planning in order to work upon the attainment of specific goals,
skills and competencies within a limited duration of time. The action plan made by me in order
to enhance my skills to gain higher standard of proficiency and be more expert within the same
are explained below-
Goals Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time
Oriented
Improvement in
time
management
skills
Time
management
is a system to
plan and
The time
communication
skills can be
measured
The concerned
skill can be
attained
through proper
Time
management is
relevant as it
can assist me
6 months
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organise
which can
help me to
increase my
level of
productivity
and help me
to get my
work done
which brings
better results.
through the
tasks assigned
to me whether
I have
completed or
not. Secondly
by checking
the quality of
the work done.
planning, good
management,
delegating the
tasks and by
building a
systematic
way.
taking less
stress which
can improve
my level of
confidence to
plan my work
accordingly.
Communication
Skills
This skills
will assist me
to acquire
my future
career goals
as it very
essential in
the current
corporate
domain to
interact and
communicate
effectively
with the
colleagues,
peer groups
etc.
The review
facilitated by
my mentors
and individuals
with whom I
communicate
on the regular
basis can be
considered as
one of the
necessary
source from
which the
effectiveness
of the specific
skill can be
measured
appropriately.
Proficiency
within the
communication
can be attained
through
facilitating
group
discussion and
participating in
communication
workshops and
webinars etc.
Communication
skills are very
relevant in the
present day
perspective as it
can assist an
individual in
building
grounds of
various other
essential skills.
I feel that these
skills allow an
individual to
optimize upon
several
optimisable
opportunities
8
Months
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which exist in
the market.
Business Skills In order to
survive
successfully
and combat
the obstacle
in the
unpredictable
business
environment,
it is
necessary to
learn and
practice
business
skills .
These skills
can be
measured by
the results
obtained
through the
application of
the same in the
real world
business
scenario.
Business kills
can be attained
through
application of
business
concepts,
enrolment in
business
courses etc.
The concerned
skills are
significantly
relevant in
order to survive
and provide a
tough
competition to
the rival’s firms
in the
environment.
12
months
CONCLUSION
From the above reflection it can be concluded that the various skills are required to learn for the
improvement in the performance of the individuals. It can be summarized that to increase the
business skills and competencies an action plan is required to monitor and analyse the various
factors such as time management, meeting skills, communication skills, teamwork and emotional
intelligence.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Sandri, O., Holdsworth, S. and Thomas, I., 2018. Assessing graduate sustainability capability
post-degree completion: Why is it important and what are the challenges?. International Journal
of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Mason, P.K., 2019. Financing graduate medical education: challenges for training the next
generation of electrophysiologists. Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology, 56(2),
pp.143-150.
Lawler, E., 2020. Human Resources Skills. In Effective Human Resource Management (pp. 110-
119). Stanford University Press.
Böcskei, E. and Kis, V., 2020. INTERPLAY OF ERP AND CONTROLLING: FUTURE
BUSINESS SKILLS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION. Journal of Entrepreneurship
Education, 23, pp.1-16.
van der Vleuten, C., van den Eertwegh, V. and Giroldi, E., 2019. Assessment of communication
skills. Patient education and counseling, 102(11), pp.2110-2113.
Bullington, J., Söderlund, M., Sparén, E.B., Kneck, Å., Omérov, P. and Cronqvist, A., 2019.
Communication skills in nursing: A phenomenologically-based communication training
approach. Nurse education in practice, 39, pp.136-141.
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