Employability Portfolio: Human Resource Assistant

The study is aimed at understanding the employability portfolio of a student that aspires to become a human resource assistant. The various aspects for the development of goals for getting recruited for the role and performing efficiently has been discussed. The DOTS model has been utilized in order to analyze and evaluate the employability skills of the student. The various strengths and weaknesses of the student towards achieving the career goals have been discussed.

Running head: EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
Abstract
The study is aimed at understanding the employability portfolio of a student that aspires to
become a human resource assistant. The various aspects for the development of goals for getting
recruited for the role and performing efficiently has been discussed. The DOTS model has been
utilized in order to analyze and evaluate the employability skills of the student. The various
strengths and weaknesses of the student towards achieving the career goals have been discussed.
The analysis has taken into consideration SMART goals and other frameworks for the evaluation
of planning and progress. The focus of the study is towards understanding the essential
implications of career goals and career planning.

2EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Summary of portfolio......................................................................................................................3
Employability portfolio preparation................................................................................................4
Critique on Employability...............................................................................................................5
Personal development plan..............................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8
Appendix........................................................................................................................................10

3EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
Introduction
Portfolios for employability are effective tools for guiding a graduate towards achieving
essential career goals. There are many essential factors that can affect the professional goals of a
person. Hence, it becomes important that an individual weighs his/her important skills and their
significance towards realizing future developmental opportunities in a given work. A portfolio is
important for both a job aspiring graduate and an organization. The graduate can present the
essential skills and employability mindset he/she possesses and the organization can select the
most eligible candidate based on the portfolio. It is also an essential platform for showing one’s
effective professional skills.
Summary of portfolio
The graduate wants to take up the job role of assistant HR in the future. According to the
advertisement, the employee much possess experience in SAP-PH1. The company is engaged in
operations in the constructions business. The hiring is for a location in Sydney. The job roles will
require the candidate to organize meetings, both internal and external. Checking the conducts of
employees for adherence to procedures (Stone and Stone 2013). The HR assistant also has to
take part in maintenance and update of procedure files. Managing HR officers and supervising
the functional operations of the HR department is a much important requirement. Maintenance of
marketing budgets and liaising across the various levels is much important for the job role (Peet
2016). The assistant HR is also required to maintain timely reports. However, these are not the
complete requirement and there are other extra roles that the job position might require.
The knowledge and skills required will have to be integrated with effective multitasking
abilities. The role requires the graduate to have strong HR experience. The graduate is much

4EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
inclined towards managing people. The graduate also has effective communication skills that
will help him to effectively carry out his roles as an HR assistant. The graduate has performed
well in co-curricular activities. Especially in team roles the person was very active and thrived
due to his coordinating abilities. This will make sure that he will be an efficient team worker.
Employability portfolio preparation
The DOTS model focuses on some essential aspects of development concerning the
career path of an individual. The crucial aspects of the model are pointed towards achieving
crucial future goals for the graduate. One of the crucial elements of the model is Self-awareness.
This is a much important ability as the rest of the professional journey of the graduate will
essentially depend on this element (Taber and Blankemeyer, 2015). Self-awareness is an
important criteria and it includes abilities such as understanding ones essential strengths and
weaknesses, ability to develop self-improvement paths and effectively utilizing the skills
generated (Dacre Pool and Sewell 2007). The other crucial factors that govern this model are
decision making, awareness of opportunities and transit learning.
It is important to study and get a degree with regard to the job role that a graduate must
pursue in the future. Then there are other elements such as career, work or life experience,
emotional intelligence and essential required skills. The graduate is proficient in the aspect of
self-awareness and naturally this helps in effective decision making (Plant 2014). The graduate
however has significant limitations when it comes to opportunity awareness. This is due to the
fact that lesser experience in the HR field has not given enough exposure to be able to
understand larger opportunities. This also creates an essential limitations with regards to
transitional learning. However, the self-awareness and decision making efficiency of the person
can be effectively used towards overcoming these limitations (McCash 2006). This is mainly

5EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
because as the graduate will continue to grow with regards to the profession the exposure that he
is bound to get will provide him with excellent growth opportunities. The graduate is a quick
learner and is aware of the general aspects that tend to govern the essential job roles of an HR.
The thing that is mostly required at the moment is a bit of more exposure. The graduate can use
his self-awareness potential to optimize his abilities towards achieving significant employability
goals. With time his limitations in opportunity awareness and transitional learning can be
effectively tackled (Creed and Hood 2014).
Critique on Employability
The aspect that has been identified as a positive strength of the graduate with regards to
the DOTS model is self-awareness (Dacre Pool and Sewell 2007). It is much important for the
all-round development of the graduate that this essential capability is optimized. Self-awareness
is a very important criteria with regards to effective professional development. It helps people to
develop a confident approach towards gaining their crucial organizational and life goals. Self-
awareness means being confident about the capabilities and weakness that are possessed by an
individual. It is important to develop high levels of self-awareness as according to the model, it is
the very basic step that helps in the achievement of the other three essential elements that govern
employability levels within individuals (Sultana 2013). The other key steps are opportunity
analysis, decision making and transition learning.
In order to achieve significant progress with regards to the other three essential
developmental areas being significantly self-aware is much required. This is mostly due to the
fact that as the foundation to effective employment growth self-awareness guides the initial
perceptions of the individual (Plant 2014). Self-awareness can be said to be the essential step
towards optimal career development. It guides the way the graduate will perceive the path he has

6EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
to travel in order to gain optimal development in his career. As an example it can be said that the
job profile being considered for the study is that of assistant human resource. It is very important
that the HR manager effectively handles all the essential job roles that are assigned to him
(Waheed and Zaim 2015). The job role requires, just like most other roles, a person to know the
strength and the limitations that he has hence it becomes important that by becoming self-aware
a person efficiently carries out his roles and achieve significant goals. The quality of self-
awareness thus, has the essential elements within it to guide the entire career endeavor of the
individual. The graduate can improve his skills with regards to transitional learning through the
help of greater self-realization. Moreover, experience can help the graduate to understand
opportunities and capture them in better ways.
Personal development plan
The graduate needs to achieve significant goals in order to realize his full potential in
regards to the job role of the HR assistant. The aspirations of the graduate are high and this
essentially means that effective strategies need to be formed in order to address the crucial career
related challenges. It is easy to say what the strengths and weaknesses of individuals are with
regards to employability. It is important that the motivation, skill, knowledge and capability
oriented factors are considered in accordance with their technical requirements (Boxman and
Flap 2017). It is essential that the graduate develops systematic growth paths in order to
effectively tackle the challenges that come in the way of becoming a human resource assistant.
The tools that will have be used is a SMART approach tool. This is important towards the
creation of significant goals and progress paths to efficiently achieving the objectives. Since the
role of an HR manager requires the candidate to manage more than one job functions, it is
important that the candidate creates good SMART goals that are significantly achievable (Renn

7EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
et al., 2014). The graduate is at certain times outgoing and at other times somewhat introvert.
Thus, the graduate needs to develop the crucial goals considering how he will interact with the
team members and other people that he will either have to work with or report to. The SMART
goals will be provided later on in order to understand the greater significance of the same in the
professional developmental life of the graduate. The goals have to incorporate effective
communication with peers, subordinates and managers (Hirschi, Herrmann and Keller, 2015).
The developmental plan will be extremely necessary as it will require proper planning that is also
feasible to implement. Implementation feasibility can ensure that the development plan can be
effectively utilized at the ground level. It is much important that the plan incorporates the
essential objective of the job role of the HR assistant.
Conclusion
The graduate has been able to understand the significance of career goals and job oriented
developmental plans due to the portfolio. The graduate has identified the crucial areas that will
have to be focused in order to be a successful HR assistant. The requirement of the HR
organization pointed out towards the exact job roles that the graduate has to manage in order to
be efficient is in the role of an HR assistant. It is essentially realized that the job role is
multifaceted. The candidate is to manage roles that will require high levels of organization skills
and effective levels of communication. The DOTS model has pointed towards the strengths and
weaknesses of the candidate. Self-awareness was identified as a crucial strength and opportunity
awareness was a significant weakness. The candidate has a character that is sometimes extrovert
and at other times introvert. Hence, it was understood that a certain level of communicational
efficiency is required for the development. The formation of SMART goals can help in the

8EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
effective achievement of future goals. The candidate is poised towards better future development
if the development plan can be effectively incorporated.
References
Boxman, E. and Flap, H., 2017. Getting started: the influence of social capital on the start of the
occupational career. In Social capital (pp. 159-181). Routledge.
Creed, P.A. and Hood, M., 2014. Disengaging from unattainable career goals and reengaging in
more achievable ones. Journal of career Development, 41(1), pp.24-42.
Dacre Pool, L. and Sewell, P., 2007. The key to employability: developing a practical model of
graduate employability. Education+ Training, 49(4), pp.277-289.
Hirschi, A., Herrmann, A. and Keller, A.C., 2015. Career adaptivity, adaptability, and adapting:
A conceptual and empirical investigation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 87, pp.1-10.
McCash, P., 2006. We're all career researchers now: breaking open career education and
DOTS. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 34(4), pp.429-449.
Peet, M.R., 2016. Transforming students' beliefs: Developing employability skills and generative
identities through the Integrative Knowledge Portfolio Process. Journal of Transformative
Learning, 3(2), pp.15-36.
Plant, P., 2014. Beyond DOTS: Theory and model development. Journal of the National
Institute for Career Education and Counselling, 33(1), pp.44-48.
Renn, R.W., Steinbauer, R., Taylor, R. and Detwiler, D., 2014. School-to-work transition:
Mentor career support and student career planning, job search intentions, and self-defeating job
search behavior. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 85(3), pp.422-432.

9EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
Stone, R.J. and Stone, R.J., 2013. Managing human resources. John Wiley and Sons.
Sultana, R.G., 2013. Career management skills: Assessing for learning. Australian Journal of
Career Development, 22(2), pp.82-90.
Taber, B.J. and Blankemeyer, M., 2015. Future work self and career adaptability in the
prediction of proactive career behaviors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 86, pp.20-27.

10EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
Waheed, S. and Zaim, A.H., 2015. A model for talent management and career
planning. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 15(5), pp.1205-1213.
Appendix
Appendix 1: Required knowledge and skills
Graduate Role
Introduction
The role being discussed is that of an Assistant HR. The portfolio has been
created by the graduate in order to understand the essential job roles of an HR
manager. The student is highly motivated, mostly extrovert but introvert at
times. The portfolio contains the essential qualities of the students that have
been considered on the basis of the job requirement. The student is self-aware
and this is an essential strength that can help him to realize his potential towards
the role that is being considered for the portfolio. The portfolio contains the
significant areas that need to be understood for the better planning of
developmental goals. The portfolio has been adjusted in accordance with the job
requirement.
the role Summary The job role that is being discussed is that of a Human Resource Assistant. The
graduate wants to apply for this role in a reputed organization. The roles will
require the organization of meetings, both internal and external. Checking the
conducts of employees for adherence to procedures. The HR assistant also has to
take part in maintenance and update of procedure files. Managing HR officers
and supervising the functional operations of the HR department is a much
important requirement. Maintenance of marketing budgets and liaising across
the various levels is much important for the job role. The assistant HR is also

11EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
required to maintain timely reports. The role will require the candidate to have
optimal levels of understanding in regards to the various functional areas of the
job role that need to be addressed. The graduate has effective self-awareness and
decision making abilities. However, the major weakness is the lack of
understanding opportunities because of lesser amount of organizational
exposure. Career planning is guided mostly by experience, knowledge of the
subject or role obtainable through educational degrees, individual skills and
emotional intelligence. The career objectives can be approached through the
DOTS model that focus on self-awareness, decision making, analysis of
opportunity and transitional learning.

12EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
Appendix 1A: Advertisement

13EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
Appendix 1B
Learning The job role will require the candidate to have significant knowledge of
the basics of Human Resource management. The aspirant has to be well
versed with the important concepts in the field of study.
Teamwork The job role requires the organization of meetings. Teamwork is
required more as the job requires liaising across all levels of the
organization.
Technology Database management technology is required. The candidate much
know how to use data management systems and other technologies.
Technical Skills Technical skills will require the candidate to have effective budget
making skills and organizational skills
Communication Optimal levels of communication is required as the role will require the
coordination of various departments and handling of employees.
Problem Solving Problem solving attitudes will be required in order to solve various
employee related issues.
Enterprise and
Creativity
Creativity lies in how effectively the assistant human resource can
manage complex organizational employee situations.
Organization and
Planning
Meetings need to be planned effectively. Thus, organization and
planning functions are much required attributes.
Self-management Self-management is crucially required as budget creation, record

14EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
keeping, supervising and many other roles will require the candidate to
manage job roles efficiently.
Appendix 2A: SMART goals
Specific- The goal is to get the job of the HR assistant by developing essential skills that
consider all of the required aspects. The goal is to become and efficient Human Resource
assistant and within one year become a senior human resource assistant.
Measurable- In order to measure the effectiveness of strategies targets will be set that will be
focused towards achieving. The measurement of capabilities will be based on how far the
candidate can grow his multitasking efficiency
Achievable- Achievable targets will be set. The candidate will focus on gaining effective levels
of communication. The task management skills will be developed in order to primarily be able to
meet the normal business requirements. The focus will be towards systematic improvement of
skills.
Relevant- The HR assistant candidate will focus on relationship building capabilities as this is a
much required Human Resource function. Organization skills are highly required. Moreover,
technical data management skills have to be developed.
Timely- The candidate will have to develop timely strategies. The development of the major
skills need to be achieved in one or two months. The data management technical skills need to be
enhanced in less than a month.
Appendix 2B:

15EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
Goal To be recruited as a HR assistant
How will I
measure
goal
success?
The goal success will be measured through my course learning outcomes and the
ability to apply the concepts at ground level
Planned Activities Date Required
resources
Support
evidence
Comments
1. Communication
training
Skill
development
training,
communication
medium
Communication
skills need to be
enhanced
through the same
2. Technical
training
Computer
Systems
Data
management
requires high
levels of
computer
knowledge
3. Organization
training
Business and
HR
Organizational
structures have

16EMPLOYABILITY PORTFOLIO: HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT
management
training
to be understood
4. Management
training
Planning,
organization
and execution
training
This will help in
understanding
work
organization
Reflection
on goal
attainment
The goal attainment will mean not only getting the post of the HR assistant but
also effectively achieve job role expertise.
Future
plans
The future plan is to grow through the organizational levels. The major aim is to
become the senior HR manager of the organization.