Essentials of Employability: Personal Development Plan

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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