Personal Development in Professional Settings

Personal Development in
Professional Settings
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Table of Contents
Part 1 : Career Goal..........................................................................................................................3
Possible career choices and preferred option.........................................................................3
Part 2: Current Reality.....................................................................................................................3
Personal SWOT Analysis.......................................................................................................3
Part 3: Options for Progression........................................................................................................4
Gaps in my skills, knowledge or experience that need to be addressed.................................4
Opportunities for future development....................................................................................6
Requirements to meet to fit preferred role.............................................................................6
Research around salary, location, and benefits......................................................................6
Part 4: Way Forward........................................................................................................................6
Three “next steps”..................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
Appendix..........................................................................................................................................9
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Part 1 : Career Goal
Possible career choices and preferred option
There are many career options available today that offer a lot of growth opportunities
(Ashcraft and et. al., 2019). To build a successful career, I would choose between a Marketing
Manager, a Hotel Manager or a Supply Chain Specialist. But my preferred option is that of
working as a Hotel Manager. The reason behind this is that the opportunities for growth available
in this job are numerous. I would choose this career option because a hotel manager has an
option of choosing their work environment. Also, the hospitality industry is a lot different from
any other industry and the skills as well as knowledge acquired by an individual while working
in the same allows them to be able to work anywhere across the world. Apart from this, the
benefits associated with the job are exceptional. This is because most hospitality organisations
that employ hotel managers are multinational and leading brand, for example, Marriott
International, Hilton Hotels etc.
Another reason for me choosing to develop a career as a Hotel Manager is that the job
offers a lot of benefits as well as attractive salary. Not only this, there are a lot of opportunities
available for career growth and that too with larger hotels. There are quick promotions that are
performance based. And on top of that, bonus programs are offered by leading hotel chains
(Daniëls, Hondeghem and Dochy, 2019). The bonuses are based on meeting the annual goals in
addition to personal goals. I love travelling and this is another reason why I would choose
working as a Hotel Manager. This is because I get bored while working at one place for long.
And one of the biggest advantages of working as a hotel manager is that I would get to travel to
different places. Lastly, job opportunities at entry level in the hospitality industry are not difficult
to get.
Part 2: Current Reality
Personal SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis can be used to identify the different strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities as well as potential threats that can influence the overall performance of an
individual. A personal SWOT is explained below which is based on the feedback provided by 5
contacts.
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Strengths – My strengths are that I am well educated and have a master's degree in hotel
management. Also, I am proficient in English language, both verbal as well as written. I am a
patient yet confident person who likes interacting with new people. I am a quick learner and can
adapt to a changing work environment. Apart from this, I also possess strong teamwork skills
and seek different opportunities of working as part of a team. Another strength is that I have an
experience of working as a hotel executive at a local hotel.
Weaknesses – One of my major weaknesses is that I get distracted easily and also
procrastinate some of my work at times. I also lack creativity which can be seen sometimes in
my work. All of the five people who filled in my questionnaire, felt that I lack effective
leadership skills. Not only this, they also felt that I usually miss out on asking feedback regarding
my performance on completion of a task. I also don't have a lot of experience due to which they
feel that I might find it difficult to build an initial start as a hotel manager.
Opportunities – My master's degree in hotel management will help me in developing an
understanding of how the industry operates. In order to enhance my creativity levels, I can
collaborate with other people. This will help me in enhancing my overall creativity. Apart from
this, in order to maintain focus, I can watch various talks and motivational speeches online.
There are different online portals which I can use in order to gather feedback from other people
and work on the same in order to enhance productivity level as well as performance on the
whole. Lastly, I can also enrol for different clubs in order to overcome my weaknesses.
Threats – People who are focussed and possess better creativity skills can pose a threat
to me and affect my overall productivity (Fletcher, 2019). Also, not having effective leadership
skills can lower down my chances of building a career in the hospitality industry. Since I used to
work for a small hotel that did not offer professional training, I might find it difficult and take
time to get used to the training provided in a comparatively larger hotel. Introduction of new
technology within the hospitality industry will also act as a threat for my effective growth within
the industry.
Part 3: Options for Progression
Gaps in my skills, knowledge or experience that need to be addressed
To build a career as a hotel manager, I would need to gain experience of the role. This
can be done by attending a training programme and gaining little experience by working as the
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