Essentials of Employability: Personal Development Plan

This report highlights the importance of personal development plan for self-introspection of individual strengths and weaknesses. It focuses on opportunity awareness, professional network, self-awareness, interpersonal communication skills, and creativity.

ESSENTIALS OF
EMPLOYABILITY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Opportunity Awareness...............................................................................................................3
Professional network...................................................................................................................4
Self-awareness.............................................................................................................................5
Interpersonal Communication skills............................................................................................6
Creativity.....................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
Personal Development Plan.........................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
This report highlights the importance of personal development plan for self-introspection
of my individual strengths and weaknesses. This is done on the basis of the Future Me report that
illustrates my personal experience, ability and attitude. The SMART objectives have been set for
the five areas namely opportunity awareness, communication, creativity, self-awareness and
professional network.
MAIN BODY
Along with experience and education, certain skills have to be developed over time in
order to become employable (Huisman, Kiviaho-Kallio and Lyon, 2019). These soft skills are
deemed essential for getting jobs in various sectors and are often termed as “employability
skills”. The five areas of my individual interpersonal assessment have been described as follows:
Opportunity Awareness
Objective: To improve awareness of opportunities as a graduate through research and exploration
of alternative options and prospects
Time scale: Within 6 months
My first objective is to improve the skill of opportunity awareness by researching within
6 months prior to my graduation. It aims at understanding generic structures of work including
career possibilities, potential opportunities in the job market and alternative pathways which are
in sync with the current trends, economic conditions and market requirements. Improvement can
be done by exploring options, conducting researches, finding what other graduates do and
consider the job market (Fleuren and et.al., 2018). The knowledge of various occupations in
different sectors of economy relevant to my career prospects has to be done using trusted and
authentic sources. This will give me an insight on my needs and wants from the specific career
and if it’s an appropriate match for me. The next approach is to conduct a thorough research
about careers. It can be done by expanding my knowledge using sources for career information
and guidance like Prospects website. This can help to get details about hundreds of occupations
and careers available for undergraduates and the relevant skills needed in the particular job. It is
also essential to know how other graduates are operating and doing in their respective careers.
Talking to people is also a way to gather first-hand information as they can give me feedback,
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professional opinions and a realistic picture. I also have to think about various alternatives and
decide among options like getting an internship, going for a Post graduate degree for further
education, self-employment, getting work experience etc. According to the Future Me report, my
present strength in this area is on slightly lower side of 83%. Therefore, I have to focus upon this
primarily (Nghia, 2019). The hindrances that have led to this are: lack of a 360˚ perspective
about job opportunities due to weak networking, personal hindrances, lack of trustworthy sources
etc. There are multiple possibilities that can happen in the initial stages of selection of a career,
which has to be carefully evaluated. For example, if I decide to go for a post graduate degree, it
would mean further investment of funds, a time period of around 2 years for completion and then
going for work experience. All the opportunities have to be evaluated before final decision-
making.
Professional network
Objective: To build a professional network and increase connections among employers,
professionals and Alumni
Timescale: On a continual basis for 1 year before graduation
Building a professional network opens up doors, opportunities and possibilities for
increasing my awareness about the jobs and education by getting primary information about the
current situation, availability and requirements of the market, prospects of higher education and
return on investment. This has to be done on a regular basis as it is a long-term process and the
aim is to build connections before graduation when decision-making has to happen. To improve
this area, I have to build my online presence and make a LinkedIn profile, connect to informal
social media sites like Facebook to connect to college/school Alumni. An online portfolio can be
built as well. Communicating with professors and teachers on campus to gain insights from their
teaching experiences can help in getting a basic view about the future (Suleman, 2018). It is also
important to get involved in campus affairs like study clubs, sororities and fraternities, campus
media, honour societies, business fests and attend professional or learning workshops. Getting
business cards, Email Ids and contact information from people by attending networking events
like exhibitions and job fairs. The aim is to build an efficient resume and passing it out on these
networks to gain opportunities (Hesk and et.al., 2016). My score in this area is 87% which has to
be continuously improved. The major hindrances are unavailability of trusted sources, lack of
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responsiveness, inefficient engagement on media, and not enough involvement and participation
on campus. Therefore, I need to counter these hindrances by following the above plan and
become more extraverted and making the first move when it comes to communicating and
maintaining connections. I also have to carefully observe relevant advertisements and
recruitments of particular industry and get well-versed with key people. Another way is to do an
internship and get references from the employers. Recommendations are major component of
building networks and keeping in touch with relevant people either friends, family or seniors. By
focussing upon all these, I can efficiently build networks.
Self-awareness
Objective: Using Self-assessment techniques to conduct in-depth self-introspection
Time scale: On a quarterly basis during 3 years of graduation
Career choices, personal growth and career advancement depends upon self-assessment,
individual aspirations, skill assessment, identification of areas of improvement etc. It will
basically allow me fulfil my potential. Higher levels of self-confidence have been
shown to correlate with improved results. Self-assessment would help me in understanding my
strengths, weaknesses, underlying motivation, values and preferences. I have to analyse my key
areas of development and find out ways to improve it. It is also important during normal
conversations while networking and professional job interviews. An employer gains the initial
insights about a candidate through aptitude tests and personal interviews (Rowe and Zegwaard,
2017). If the candidate is self-aware and he would automatically know what to speak about. It
forms the basis of intelligent communication and helps to reflect upon skills and abilities. I can
assess myself using various diagnostic techniques to do this such as MBTI personality test, Big 5
or OCEAN personality test, strength assessments like Value in Action test and the most common
individual SWOT analysis. My current score in this area is 87% and I need to improve it by
getting more self-aware. The major hindrance in this area is inaccuracy of personality tests, mind
deviation or unstable personality traits that are not easily detectable as they are moderate in
nature. To counter this, I have to find well-established tests used by professionals and do it on a
regular basis to find concurrency of results. I have to carefully examine my attitudes and know
my strengths and weak areas after working on improvements to check if I am able to drive a
change. Also, in order to dive into my conscious I can also practice mediation techniques, yoga
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and Japanese management techniques of Kaizen and Naikan therapy (Nor and et.al., 2019). The
most important aspect of this whole process is to become aware about myself and know what I
want in life. Once I know myself properly, it would help me to set my career objectives in short
and long-term and reduce any possibilities of backing out or any dissatisfaction in future.
Interpersonal Communication skills
Objective: To improve overall communication
Time scale: 3 years and beyond
Interpersonal communication is the way in which an individual exchanges feeling,
information and meaning via verbal and non-verbal methods to other individuals or groups. It is
of primary importance as it helps to build networks and reflect social skills in daily life.
Employers usually check this trait through personal interviews as for most jobs it is a basic skill
which is needed for effective daily operations (Sharma, 2018). Once a person is self-aware,
communication becomes easier. It mainly consists of three skills namely- Verbal communication
which constitutes language proficiency, Non-verbal communication which consists of body
language, kinetic movements, voice modulation and Listening skills which means successful
interpretation of messages. All these areas can be improved by listening with empathy to get
what the other person wants to say, taking initiative to speak up, thinking before speaking instead
of blurting out randomly and saying unnecessary things, speaking smartly by summing up
message in less words with simple format for easy understanding, learning and practicing verbal
language to increase proficiency and grammatical accuracy by reading newspapers, articles,
business blogs, current affairs, improving speaking skills by joining language clubs and debate
clubs in the college campus. My score for this area is 87% which means I need minor
improvements. Major hindrances in communication are lack of feedback, noise, language usage
etc. I have to enhance my leadership skills via proficient communication to work efficiently in
teams in college projects and future work projects (Guilbert and et.al., 2016). I have to learn how
to talk in a motivational way to inspire other teammates or group members to complete any task
in coordination effectively. I have to develop ability to be a good listener, study non-verbal
communication by carefully reading body language, facial expressions, disagreements, pitch and
tone of the voice, eye contact and posture and improving the same things myself, develop
questioning skills in order to gather more information out of any person while networking and
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conversating for creating opportunities. Overall, I have to focus upon minimising the stress and
maintaining a positive attitude. The key to enhancement of communication is practice (Mishra
and Mishra, 2019). It is not a one-time learning skill, but has to be used and improved regularly
as it is developed over a period of time. Therefore, it cannot be changed suddenly and reflects
majorly on usual behaviour. It has to be continuously improved.
Creativity
Objective: To enhance existing creativity by engaging in idea generation and creative practices
Time-scale: 1 year
Creativity is the ability to think about a problem, conflict, issue or a task in a new and
innovative way by using imagination and generating ideas (Harries and Lewis, 2017). Employers
of top organisations in today’s world prefer employees with innovative thinking along with
quality work and ability to meet deadlines. Employers see creativity as an approach to
performing a task from a different perspective to find innovative endeavour and positive
outcomes which either changes the time, method or quality of work or may lead to an out-of-the-
box approach to critical thinking and problem solving. There are various careers where creativity
is highly valued like copyrighting, social media manger, digital marketing, research scientist,
lawyer, public relations manager, software architect, graphic designing, interactive art direction,
product/brand manager and many more. My overall score in this interpersonal creative skill area
is relatively the highest therefore such careers could suit me. The methodical approach to do
brainstorming is to suspend judgements, thinking freely without restrictions, taking inspirations
and tagging on. To effectively do it, one must record it in writing or audio format, organise the
chaos, add and evaluate and conduct further exploration. The factors that should be undertaken
into consideration are essence, origin, purpose, significance and outcomes (Batistic and Tymon,
2017). I have a high score of 93% in this area and with my existing creative ability, I have to
utilise this for further enhancement and create something that will help me in future. For
creativity enhancement I need to excel in networking, asking questions, experimenting, and
making connections and observations. Grit, curiosity, drive and discipline are the key
components of creativity. I have to improve my technical knowledge in order to become more
innovative with achieving realistic outcomes. The major use of creativity can be in enhancing my
resume where I can attractively list all kinds of creative work I have undertaken during my
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college (Wilton, 2020). The best ways in which I can boost my creative thinking are: establishing
inspirational rituals, creating something new every day like writing, drawing mind maps,
developing business models, creating blueprints.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that all the essential five areas of employability
are important in finding good opportunities and improving career prospects. According to the
individual report, the key area of development is opportunity awareness with 83% score. Other
areas which need enhancements are self-awareness, communication skills and professional
networking with 87% score. The highest score of 93% is achieved in the area of interpersonal
creative skill which has to be continually developed further.
Personal Development Plan
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
NAME From To
What do I want
to learn?
What will I do to
achieve this?
Resources/
Support needed
Success criteria Target
dates
1. To
improve
awareness of
opportunities as
a graduate
through research
and exploration
of alternative
options and
prospects.
Increasing research
capabilities, use
authentic sources to get
information on career
websites, talking to
people, searching
alternatives like higher
education and overall
ROI
 Authentic and
trustworthy
websites like
Prospects.
 Guidance from
professors and
alumni
Decision-making
done
successfully,
selecting
appropriate
option for career,
knowledge all
relevant
opportunities
Within 6
months
2. Using Using MBTI and Big 5  Online sources Becoming self- On a
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Self-assessment
techniques to
conduct in-depth
self-
introspection.
personality tests, kaizen
techniques, strength
assessment, NAIKAN
Therapy
 University
sources
 Career and
educational
counsellors,
aware by
knowing
personality type-
ENFP or high in
Extroversion and
openness.
quarterly
basis
during 3
years of
graduation
3. To build
a professional
network and
increase
connections
among
employers,
professionals and
Alumni
Use of career websites,
social media to connect
with Alumni.
Participate in activities
to engage with
professionals and
employers to increase
networking.
 LinkedIn,
Facebook
groups &
other social
media.
 Business
fests, trade
fairs, study
clubs, family
or friends’
recommenda
tions.
To achieve more
than 1000
connections on
LinkedIn, to get
recommendations
for internships/
jobs in selected
career.
On a
continual
basis for 1
year
before
graduation
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Batistic, S. and Tymon, A., 2017. Networking behaviour, graduate employability: A social
capital perspective. Education+ Training.
Fleuren, B.P., and et.al., 2018. Handling the reflective-formative measurement conundrum: a
practical illustration based on sustainable employability. Journal of clinical
epidemiology.103. pp.71-81.
Guilbert, L., and et.al., 2016. Employability: review and research prospects. International
Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance. 16(1). pp.69-89.
Harries, S. and Lewis, S., 2017. Formative evaluation of the Employability Skills Pilot
programme.
Hesk, G.C.O., and et.al., 2016. Collaboration project to embed skills for employability.
Huisman, J., Kiviaho-Kallio, P. and Lyon, D., 2019. Enhancing Employability through
Experiential Learning and Reflective Learning. In Conference Proceedings: The Future
of Education International Conference. Filodiritto Editore.
Mishra, S.K. and Mishra, P., 2019. Functional Aspects of Communication Skills for
Employability. DYNAMICS OF LANGUAGE, LITERATURE & COMMUNICATION.
p.93.
Nghia, T.L.H., 2019. Building soft skills for employability: Challenges and practices in Vietnam.
Routledge.
Nor, M.S.M., and et.al., 2019. Generic Skills: Concept and Importance of Students
Mastery. Development. 8(2). pp.515-524.
Rowe, A.D. and Zegwaard, K.E., 2017. Developing graduate employability skills and attributes:
Curriculum enhancement through work-integrated learning.
Sharma, V., 2018. Soft skills: An employability enabler. IUP Journal of Soft Skills. 12(2). pp.25-
32.
Suleman, F., 2018. The employability skills of higher education graduates: insights into
conceptual frameworks and methodological options. Higher Education. 76(2). pp.263-
278.
Wilton, N., 2020. Do employability skills really matter in the UK graduate labour market? The
case of business and management graduates.
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