Continued Personal and Professional Development

Continued Personal and
Professional Development

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
Personal Skills Audit:..................................................................................................................1
Personal Development Plan:........................................................................................................3
Learning Style:.............................................................................................................................6
Learning goals and Wider Professional Development:...............................................................7
Continuous Professional Development Theory:........................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
In the following project report, an attempt has been made to prepare a personal development
plan with respect to my future learning goals and career ambitions. In the report, personal
development plan is prepared to demonstrate the learning style and its implication on my
learning goals and linkage with the importance of peer involvement. The plan also demonstrates
the skills which are to be developed and how they are connected with my professional
development and career aspirations.
MAIN BODY
Personal Skills Audit:
For the preparation of a personal development plan, it is important to assess the personal
skills and undertake an assessment which helps in getting insights into what the development of
skills in future is going to be like (Power, 2012). A personal skill audit is essential for
understanding the current strength and weaknesses which helps in determination of future
learning program. Here is my personal skill audit which will form the basis of my SWOT
analysis.
Skills Personal audit questionnaire 1 2 3 4 5
Management To manage the time in effective manner *
Computer Good to perform task as per time *
Microsoft office and its use *
Microsoft windows and use of it *
Communication Verbal communication *
Written communication *
Presentation in front of people *
Non-verbal communication *
Leadership To come up with creative ideas and
suggestion
*
Good making people to follow *
Inspiring people *
Teamwork Good to work with people *
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Receive and send of ideas *
To participate in teamwork *
Problem solving Good to come up with solution and
problem
*
To handle situations *
Self-motivation Open-minded and positive *
Good to take initiative *
Cheerful and helpful *
SWOT Analysis refers to the process of identification and determination of personal
strengths and weakness with an objective to further determine areas where there exists a need of
development and improvement (Gürel and Tat, 2017). On the basis of the above personal skills
audit, I was able to determine my personal strengths and weakness which can help me in
preparation of a comprehensive personal development plan.
Strength Weakness
 I have a good written communication
skill which helps me write and properly
draft important documents.
 I am good in making people follow and
inspiring themselves.
 I am open to criticism and follow an
optimistic approach which keeps me
motivated.
 I have basic communication skills and
I am not very confident about giving
presentations Infront of a group of
people.
 I am not very much familiar with MS
Office and application of its fools
which is a skill that I sincerely want to
develop.
Opportunity Threats
 As a result of self-motivation, it is
easier for me to complete a task in an
effective manner.
 My strong written communication
skills can also help me in enhancing my
verbal communication skills.
 As a result of poor verbal
communication and lack of proper
presentation skills, I might face
difficulty in my professional career.
 I can be more susceptible to any
potential risks of not being familiar
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with modern day application of MS
Office tools.
Personal Development Plan:
Personal Development Plan can be defined as the process of road mapping the goals and
career ambitions and identifying the skills or qualities which are required to achieve those career
goals (Ireland, Cure and Hopkins, 2009). On the basis of my personal skill audit and SWOT
analysis, here is my personal development plan:
Learning Goals Timeline Activities for
learning
Current
Situation
Process of
Monitoring
progress
Importance
Fluent
Communication
In the
next 6
months
Be more social
and taking
opportunities
to improve
public
speaking
Basic
communication
skills
Effectiveness
in expressing
myself and
communicating
Infront of
many people
It will help me
in my personal
as well as
professional
life as
communication
is an important
aspect of
human life.
Time
Management
In the
next 3
months
Using outlook
and Google
calendars and
fixing my
schedule
Ineffective use
of time
Better and the
most
productive use
of my time
Time
management is
important for
me to invest
my time in
productive
activities
which will help
in my personal
as well as
professional
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growth.
Advance
Microsoft
Office
In the
next 6
months
Taking classes
and online
lectures to
learn various
MS tools such
as Word, Excel
& PowerPoint.
Application
and using these
tools on a
regular basis to
gain advanced
knowledge.
Intermediate
knowledge of
different MS
office tools
Level of
effectiveness
and
optimisation in
using various
tools of MS
Office
Advanced MS
Office has a
wide range of
tools which are
necessary for
me to learn as
it will help me
in improving
my
employability
and also in
various aspects
of life such as
using MS
Word to create
a report in the
best manner.
Research Skills In the
next 6
month
Making use of
various internet
sources to
conduct an
effective
research
Lacking an
effective
research skill
Ability to
conduct
research and
draw
conclusions
using reliable
and accurate
information
It will be of
vital
importance for
me to conduct
future market
researches at a
managerial
level position.
Leadership
skills
In the
next 12
months
Learning
motivation
theories and
understanding
the concept of
Effective
leadership
skills
Ability to
influence and
inspire team
and group of
people
I aspire to be a
manager in the
future and it is
important for a
manager to
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leadership have
leadership
skills which
helps in
influencing
and motivating
the employees
Problem
Solving
In the
next 12
months
Developing a
solution-
oriented
approach
Limited
problem
solving
abilities
Being able to
focus on
seeking better
and innovative
solutions
Having
problem
solving skills
is essential for
me to build a
platform for
professional as
well as
personal
growth.
Software
Proficiency
In the
next 6
months
Learning and
taking online
classes for
implementation
of various
software used
for
management
Limited
information
about
management
information
systems and
technological
integration
Ability to
make the most
effective use of
various
software which
helps in
database
management
and making
conclusions.
It will help me
improve my
employability
and also
personally
develop myself
with respect to
key changes
and
innovations in
technology
which has
influenced
every
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dimension of
human life.
Learning Style:
Learning style of an individual can be defined as the preferential manner in which a person
is able to absorb, process, comprehend and retain the information in a much effective manner
facilitating his personal as well as professional development (Rohrer and Pashler, 2012).
According to me, every individual has his own learning style and it has a major influence on the
learning goals for the individual. Factors which influence and impact the learning style of an
individual include cognitive, environmental and emotional factors, and also the previous
experience of an individual. Out of the seven learning styles which have been identified that are:
visual (using pictures or images), aural (using music and sound), verbal (using word of mouth),
physical (using sense of touch and body), logical (using logic and reasoning), social (learning in
groups) and solitary (learning alone and in solitude), I think I have a logical learning style
(Schmeck, 2013). I have observed many times that logic is important for me to comprehend
things and understand any concept in a better manner and I am able to understand the things in a
more logical manner. Using logic to understand different things and concepts helps me sharpen
my memory and retain that information and concept for a very long duration. Having a logical
learning style has a major influence and impact on my learning goals. It will help me in
improving my time management skills by clearly identifying the logic and rationale behind doing
or not doing any particular activity and task. With the help of using my logic power and learning
style, I will be able to differentiate between what activity requires my time and is more
productive for me and helps me in a better way. Logical learning style is based on rational
thoughts and I think it will encourage me to learn advanced level MS Office tools in a better way
and these will help me in my future. However, logical learning style might impact my learning
goal of Advance Microsoft Office in somewhat a negative manner as well because it might get
difficult for me to understand the logic behind various tools and elements which exist in
Microsoft Office and might increase the time required for me to develop and achieve this
learning goal. As a key part of my personal and professional development, I want to develop and
inculcate good leadership skills which can help me in influencing people and better management
of resources. Logical learning style will have a significant impact on inculcation of leadership
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skills in me as it will help in understanding and comprehending the process of human motivation
and influencing someone’s behaviour and by understanding the logic, I will be able to apply
those principles and techniques with more effectiveness in real organisational and professional
context. Research skills and problem-solving skills also get influenced by my individual learning
style and method (Willingham, Hughes and Dobolyi, 2015). As a key logical learner, it will
make more sense for me to analyse the problem and focus on obtaining more innovative and
creative solutions which can also help in sustaining the solutions for a longer period. Along with
logical learning style, I also believe I have a preference for social learning style and that my
ability to learn things increases when I’m involved in a group exercise or a social activity. It will
impact my learning goals also as communication skill can only be developed by having an
interaction and actively engaging in social avenues and my social learning style will encourage
me to take leverage of such opportunities and I will be able to achieve my learning goal in a
more effective and better manner. Social learning style is imperative for me to develop key
communication skills and enhance my leadership potential (Yang, Hwang and Yang 2013).
Without effective engagement and interaction with my community and society, it is not possible
for me to pratices leadership and my favourability towards social engagements will encourage
and motivate me to take part in such activities where I get a chance to take charge and
responsibility and guide my team or peers for accomplishment of a goals. Hence, I can conclude
that my learning style is more logical and social and it is in alignment with my future learning
goals and will have a large influence on my future learning cycle.
Learning goals and Wider Professional Development:
Professional development can be defined as the process of constant and continuous
training and education which might be conducted in a social environment as well as explicitly by
an individually with an objective to inculcate skills and qualities which are essential for the
career of the person (Moon, 2013). According to me, professional development aims at
improving the employability of an individual with the help of development of key skills essential
for a person to be employable. It is very important to realise that learning goals and persona
development plan should be in complete harmony and alignment with the professional situation
and future aspirations of an individual. Learning goals which have been prepared or sought by
me are with respect to my current professional situation and academic background as well as
future professional and career aspirations (Reeves, 2012). For example, I have been a student of
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mechanical engineering hence it is important for me to have basic knowledge of various
technology and its effective implementation. I have a vision to complete my studies and gain a
decent work experience in a relevant industry which will establish the platform for me to start or
established a business venture in the coming 10 or 15 years and become an entrepreneur in a
relevant field of engineering and business integration. My learning goals are helpful for me to
accomplish this vision. Here is an analysis and evaluation of my learning goals with respect to
wider professional and personal development:
Communication Skills: One of the most important skill which I aspire to develop is
fluent communication skills. Considering my academic background and current professional
experience of marketing engineer is a business organisation which involved conducting market
research and reporting the managers about the key improvement areas and help them in the
process of strategic formulation, communication skills is primarily the most important skill to
acquire. In future, I wish to establish a business venture which will require development of a
strong network and meeting various investors and stakeholders, all these activities are based on
effectiveness in communication. Having strong written communication skills will help me to
enhance my verbal communication skills in a much easier manner. Communication skills are
very essential in today’s competitive era considering both personal as well as professional
development and every individual should be able to effectively express himself (Iksan, 2012).
For the development of communication skills, I have to undertake various online classes and also
focus on improving my vocabulary and terminology. It will help me to make the best choice of
words in order to express myself. Other than online classes and videos, communication is a skill
which can only be practiced and as a result, I need to engage myself in meaningful and
productive communication with my friends, family and my peers. I plan to develop excellent
communication skills within the coming six months and then constantly enhance them. It will
help me in significantly improving my communication ability. Hence, it can be concluded that
communication is a social skill which is largely influenced by the peer involvement and social
engagement and participation.
Time management: Time management is also one of the most important learning goal
which is a part of my personal development plan. Time management is crucial to ensure that I
am engaging myself in activities which are productive and in some way contribute to my
professional development. Having a vision of becoming a businessmen in the future based on my
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engineering, it is imperative for me allocate my time into useful and productive activities.
Without effective time management, I will not be able to undertake and execute other activities
also which will help in my comprehensive personal development. I plan to master the art of time
management within the next three months with the help of using modern day technology such as
Google Calendars and Outlook. Applications are also designed which helps in outlining daily
schedule and ensures most productive use of time. I have moderate skills of time management
and have been able to complete my various tasks and assignment within the timeline. Online
learning and tracking my progress is one of the key strategy which I have prepared for mastering
time management. Effective time management will allow to me to learn more in a shorter period
of time and get the maximum advantage of learning opportunities which I have (Rapp, Bachrach
and Rapp, 2013). With the help of time management skills, I will be able to complete various
tasks and requirements of my current job in proper time and also in future.
Advanced MS Office: Whether it is making spreadsheets in Excel or preparing a report in
Word, MS Office has now become a software with universal applicability which has
significantly made tasks related to computers easier for us. During my secondary education and
my initial job experience, I worked on developing my Microsoft Office skills and as a result,
have intermediate skills related to the productive and effective application of various MS Office
tools. I want to develop advanced MS Office skills which will be of vital importance and
significance in my professional and personal development. With the help of using MS Office
tools, I will be able to run better analytics and manage large databases of market research and
survey responses (Kuriakose, 2016). In context of my career aspiration of becoming an
entrepreneur, MS Office proficiency has major application such as writing reports, running
business analytics etcetera. I plan to learn Advanced level MS Office since I have intermediate
and basic knowledge about it with the help of online courses and video lectures. The duration of
the online course is six months which covers every aspect of MS Office at an advanced level
with theory as well as application modules. It will be an essential additional skill which will
remarkably enhance and nourish my employability.
Research Skills: Research skills are important and essential for any individual as it
enables people to identify any particular problem, obtain relevant information from reliable
sources using various tools and undertake the comprehensive process of problem solving and
solution development. I have a goal of developing research skills as it will be of utmost
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importance in my entrepreneurial journey. It will also help in my existing academic studies and
my current professional situation (Willison, 2012). As I have prior experience of conducting
market research, I believe developing an advance research skills and learning how to use primary
and secondary data of information to solve a problem is very beneficial for me. There are various
online courses and video lectures on websites such as YouTube which provides training about
the essential steps and guidelines for conducting any form of research and with the help of going
through these lectures, I have a goal of taking my research skills to a higher level in the coming
six months.
Leadership Skills: Leadership refers to art of influencing someone’s behaviour and
getting desired actions. I wish to become a businessmen in future and hence, leadership skills are
very essential for me to motivate my employees and workforce and achieve operational
efficiency. With an objective of developing leadership skills, I have started understanding and
reading about the concept of leadership and how the process of human motivation works. I have
been able to manage team works and inspire my team to effectively accomplish the team goals
and objectives (Schoemaker, Krupp and Howland, 2013). Various kinds of leadership styles
prove to be effective in different contexts and I wish to understand the basics of leadership and
improve my leadership skills with the help of above activities in the coming 12 months where I
reach a point to take charge of any situation and achieve good results. Leadership skills are very
essential in the context of my professional development since it will help in making the most out
of the opportunities I get.
Problem-solving skills: Having a solution oriented approach is important for my
professional development and with respect to my future career aspirations. I have a goal of
gaining a decent work experience and establishing a business venture after some time on the
basis of my field of study. In the course of my employment, I will encounter many problems and
issues and having a solution-oriented approach will certainly help me in coming up with
innovative and creative solutions. Similarly, business journey is full of problems in various
aspects which needs to be tackled by the entrepreneur and having problem-solving skills and
ability to seek creative solutions is of utmost importance. Hence, with the help of various
approaches and modern models of strategic business management, I wish to develop and
improve my problem-solving skills and develop a solution oriented-approach in the next twelve
months (Hesse, 2015). Problem-solving is more of a practical skill and it requires me to make
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significant changes in day-to-day life and identify possible innovative methods of performing my
routine tasks.
Software proficiency: It can be argued that this decade has witnessed one of the biggest
waves of technological changes which have influenced every dimension and aspect of human
life. With the drastic technological changes, many software and programs have been developed
which can help an individual in carrying out the tasks assigned to him in the most optimum and
effective manner. Learning various project management software will be of great help in
improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the task which are carried out by me. It will also be
essential for my personal development with respect to future business venture and
entrepreneurship (Ahmed, Capretz, and Campbell, 2012). I have prepared a plan to learn and get
trained about various software such as Basecamp and Trello for project management in the
coming six months for my professional development. Adding certification of these courses and
skills on my resume will also improve my employability. Being familiar with latest innovation
and technology is essential for personal and professional development in today’s digital era.
Hence, these are my learning goals with respect to my wider professional development and my
education and professional background.
Continuous Professional Development Theory:
CPD refers to the Continuing Professional Development. It alludes to the way toward
following and archiving the aptitudes, information and experience that you increase both
officially and casually as you work, past any underlying preparing. It's a record of what an
individual experiences, learns and afterwards applies (Kjaer, Vedsted and Høpner, 2017). The
term is commonly used to mean a portfolio reporting your improvement as an expert with respect
to various skills and qualities contributing to professional development. Continuous Professional
Development should be a documented process and should come as a self-motivated process. As
per the theory of CPD, an individual should make constant efforts to develop himself with
respect to inculcation and cultivation of various skills which are essential for personal as well as
professional development. The process of CPD includes preparing a document, keeping a
learning log, reflecting on the learning experiences and applying these scenarios to future
learning and development of skills. First step in the process includes recording past learning
experiences and identifying the current situation and strength of various skills and qualities. It is
extremely important to assess the current skills (DiPaola, and Hoy, 2013). In order to review my
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current position as a part of my continuous professional development, I undertook my personal
skills audit and SWOT analysis to reflect upon my current situation. The next step in the process
includes listing down and thinking of future goals with respect to both changes in personality and
professional development. It helped me to reflect on my goal of becoming a businessmen after
gaining a work experience. The last step in the cycle includes comparison of current skills and
the skills which are required to reach or accomplish future goals and objectives. It helps in
preparation of a comprehensive plan of future personal and professional development (Collin,
Van der Heijden and Lewis, 2012). With the help of an assessment and comparison between my
current professional situation, individual skills and my career aspirations, I was able to determine
the skills which I am required to develop and will be of significant importance in my life. The
process of learning and development should be continuous and constant efforts need to be made
for ensuring comprehensive and sustainable development of skills. In this regards, I keep
updating my learning logs and charting out new skills and qualities which I envision to learn
during my life. Professional situation and individual learning has a major role to play in the
development of a CPD plan (Frost, 2012). For example, based on my past professional situation
of marketing engineer at a company, I developed moderate research skills as it was essential for
me execute the tasks which were assigned to me. It can be argued that the learning goals of an
individual are largely influenced by his current, past or future professional situation because he
desires to develop the skills which he thinks are essential for him to execute his tasks in a better
and more effective manner in the short-term and medium-term. Individual professional
circumstances affect the CPD plan. For example, during my marketing engineering job, it was
important for me improve my written communication skills for preparation of reports and hence,
at that point, improving written communication skills was the most important learning goal of
my continuous professional development. Similarly, individual learning skills also impact the
overall continuous professional development. Hence, in this manner, integration of the theory of
Continuous Professional Development is a key aspect of my personal and professional
development plan.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above project report, it can be concluded that personal skill audit and SWOT
analysis helps an individual to prepare and formulate his personal development plan. Every
individual has his own learning style which influences the learning goals and the elements of
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development plan. It can also be observed that various skills such as communication skills, time
management skills, research skills etcetera are very important for an individual to develop who
wants to establish a business venture. At last, it can be concluded that continuous professional
development is a theory which should be integrated in the preparation of personal development
plan and it is also affected by individual learning and professional circumstances to a great
extent.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ahmed, F., Capretz, L.F. and Campbell, P., 2012. Evaluating the demand for soft skills in
software development. It Professional. 14(1). pp.44-49.
Collin, K., Van der Heijden, B. and Lewis, P., 2012. Continuing professional
development. International journal of training and development. 16(3). pp.155-163.
DiPaola, M. and Hoy, W.K., 2013. Principals improving instruction: Supervision, evaluation,
and professional development. IAP.
Frost, D., 2012. From professional development to system change: Teacher leadership and
innovation. Professional development in education. 38(2). pp.205-227.
Gürel, E. and Tat, M., 2017. SWOT analysis: a theoretical review. Journal of International
Social Research. 10(51).
Hesse, F., Care, E., Buder, J., Sassenberg, K. and Griffin, P., 2015. A framework for teachable
collaborative problem solving skills. In Assessment and teaching of 21st century
skills (pp. 37-56). Springer, Dordrecht.
Iksan, Z.H., Zakaria, E., Meerah, T.S.M., Osman, K., Lian, D.K.C., Mahmud, S.N.D. and Krish,
P., 2012. Communication skills among university students. Procedia-Social and
Behavioral Sciences. 59. pp.71-76.
Ireland, B., Cure, R. and Hopkins, L., 2009. Perfecting your personal development
plan. Vital. 6(2). pp.40-41.
Kjaer, N.K., Vedsted, M. and Høpner, J., 2017. A new comprehensive model for continuous
professional development. European Journal of General Practice. 23(1). pp.20-26.
Kuriakose, S., 2016. Introduction to MS Office.
Moon, J.A., 2013. Reflection in learning and professional development: Theory and practice.
Routledge.
Power, J., 2012. Promoting employability skills through active learning.
Rapp, A.A., Bachrach, D.G. and Rapp, T.L., 2013. The influence of time management skill on
the curvilinear relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and task
performance. Journal of Applied Psychology. 98(4). p.668.
Reeves, D.B., 2012. Transforming professional development into student results. Ascd.
Rohrer, D. and Pashler, H., 2012. Learning Styles: Where's the Evidence?. Online
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Schmeck, R.R. ed., 2013. Learning strategies and learning styles. Springer Science & Business
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Schoemaker, P.J., Krupp, S. and Howland, S., 2013. Strategic leadership: The essential
skills. Harvard business review. 91(1). pp.131-134.
Willingham, D.T., Hughes, E.M. and Dobolyi, D.G., 2015. The scientific status of learning styles
theories. Teaching of Psychology. 42(3). pp.266-271.
Willison, J.W., 2012. When academics integrate research skill development in the
curriculum. Higher Education Research & Development. 31(6). pp.905-919.
Yang, T.C., Hwang, G.J. and Yang, S.J.H., 2013. Development of an adaptive learning system
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of Educational Technology & Society. 16(4). pp.185-200.
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