Career Development and Skill Gaps

This assignment delves into the crucial aspects of career development, emphasizing the impact of skills and qualities on job performance and business success. It stresses the significance of employees aligning their career choices with their strengths and addressing any skill gaps. The document outlines effective performance management techniques, strategic planning, learning from others' experiences, and utilizing the SMART model for goal achievement. Recommendations are provided to help individuals navigate career development challenges and reach their full potential.

Personal and Professional
Development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..............................................................................................................................................3
1. Evaluation of the skills set...................................................................................................................3
2. Identify and Justify Career Ambitions.................................................................................................4
3. Matching skills to career ambitions.....................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................................5
RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Development is a continuous process which creates growth, progress and positive
change. It is an essential part of universe. Personal Development is the continuous process of
learning and growth opportunities of individual to become better person. Personal development
takes place over the whole life of individual. Professional Development is the process of
learning, maintaining and raising the professional credentials to take a level up. It focuses on the
skills and current job of employee. Both personal and professional development is essential for
the employees’ growth and job (What is Development, 2018). Sales are the activities of
transferring ownership of goods and services to another person in exchange of some monetary
value. Sales are an industry which is growing and earning profits (Cottrell, 2015). Report will
evaluate the skills using Kolb’s Learning Styles model. Report will also identify and justify the
career ambitions in sales sectors and related jobs. Report will also appraise the skills regarding
career ambitions.
MAIN BODY
1. Evaluation of the skills set
Kolb’s learning styles model is a model that focus on experiential learning, personal
development and professional development. This model has 4 learning stages. By
learning, employees get expert in his work which helps in his personal and professional
development (Smith, 2016). By using this model, some skills and qualities are found out
by me. These 4 stages are as follows -
1. Concrete Experiences – In this stage, I learn from self experiences. I learn from
management games and role playing games. In this stage, I find out about the problem
finder skills, problems solving skills and communication skills. These skills will help me
to find out that why sales are reducing, reason behind the reduction in physical selling
and store selling and attract customers for buying goods, services, technologies and
advance devices.
2. Reflective Observers – In this stage, I learn from another person’s experiences. I find
out that I have high patient level, solving problems skill. These skills will help me to deal
with customers patiently and solving their problems quickly with logical approach. This
will lead customers to be satisfied with selling qualities, me and my company. This will
enhances the goodwill for my company (Kolb's learning cycle and learning style, 2012).
3. Abstract Conceptualizes – In this stage, I learn from theories that are given in books.
These theories help me to build my brain storming skills and logical thinking skills which

help me to create new ideas which can be helpful in solving problems which is facing by
sales industry and companies. Also, this will give me full knowledge of industry and
sector. This will lead to grow company and industry and earn profits.
4. Active Experimenters – In this stage, I learn by doing new experiments, trying new
things and apply new practices. This stage builds risk taking skill and makes me initiative
and achiever. These skills will help me to achieve my sales targets. This will lead
company to fulfill its sales targets and become profitable. This also boosts my confidence
and career at new heights (Evers, 2017).
2. Identify and Justify Career Ambitions
According to the skills and qualities of mine, I would like to make my career in selling
sector in future, where all these jobs will be there –
1. Real Estate Agent – In this job, high patient level and communication must be needed as
well as a full knowledge of market and houses. This will help me to find out best house
for my client according to his requirements.
2. Sales Engineer – In this job, sale engineer sells products to business and technological
consumers. To sell the products, communication, logical thinking and initiate skills must
need (Kroll and Dussias, 2017).
3. Financial Services Sales Agent – In this job, I need to tell my clients about the current
financial conditions and suggest them to invest their surplus in some investment products
which help in creation of wealth. This required a full knowledge, logical thinking,
initiative, achiever and communication skills (DaviD, 2016).
4. Software Sales Representative – This job required initiatives, finding new ideas, doing
new experiments, take risks skills because in this job, I need to work on technology,
technical jargon and computer technology. Also, I need to innovate new-new
technologies which helps company to solve problems and grow in competitive
environment (Lanning and et.al., 2018).
5. Consumer Packaged Goods Sales Representative – In this job, I need to sell products
to retailers, groceries stores, small business and end-users. For this job, communication
skills, achiever quality and high level patient quality are required.
6. Medical Device Sales Representative – Medical device sales industry is growing
industry due to advancement of technology. In this job, I have to sell new technologies to
private practices and public hospitals. For this job, a full knowledge, high level patient
and achiever quality. Also communication skills and finding out new approach for selling
these technologies skills are required.
According to me, these jobs are perfect for me as I have above required skills and
qualities which help me to accomplish my tasks on time. This will make me expert in current
job. This will beneficial for me and my company both. Accomplishing tasks will lead to
complete the target of company which helps me to get chances for promotions where I will take
new and challenging tasks where I will experience new things and learn new things. This will

lead to personal development as well as professional development. These two developments help
me to become better employee for company and better person for my life. This will help me to
gain recognition which boosts confidence level.
3. Matching skills to career ambitions
i. MATCHING WITH CAREER AMBITIONS – All skills and qualities like High level
patient, achiever, risk taker, communication skills, logical thinking, problem solving
skills etc. will help me to sell products, services, devices and technologies which help me
to achieve my target. This will help the company to earn profits. It can be a great source
of incentive building making it a great career mode for me. All this will lead to personal
and professional development along with reaching greater heights in my work graph.
ii. IDENTIFICATION OF GAP – My career needs more qualities which I don’t have. This
lead to creation of gap. By adopting following qualities, this gap can be mitigated.
1. LEADERSHIP QUALITY – A good leader have following traits – Vision setting,
Accountability, Motivating others, Adopting changes and changing strategies
according to the current situation. These all traits help my career to reach at new
heights (Hargittai and Shaw, 2015).
2. LACK OF KNOWLEGDE – This can be fulfilling by education or slide-line
experiences of supervisors. For this, I can take coaching or a short duration degree or
diploma course.
3. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE – It is an ability to monitor the emotions of others
as well as own too. It should be adopted by me so that I can be able to attract and
connect the customers by emotions. This will lead customers to buy products,
services, devices etc (Miletzki and Broten,, 2017).
CONCLUSION
From the above study, it has been summarized that personal development and
professional development is an essential part of successful employees. Without learning and
experiencing new things, no one can become experts. Without learning, no development is
possible. For the development, employee need to have full knowledge of current fields in which
he is doing job, related field which can impact the job and business, high level of patient and new
thinker. Also, employee has to become achiever and risk taker which builds his career stronger
which can help in development of him as well as his profession. Potential employees should
choose their career according to the skills and qualities, he have. This will lead to boost his
career as he will become expert in his tasks if he uses his skills and qualities correctively. If there
is any gap between skills you have and required skills, employees should focus on mitigating this
gap otherwise this gap will become constraint in personal as well as professional development.

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Employee can achieve objectives by doing effective performance management. This
will enable manager to evaluate and measure the performance done by employee and
compare it with the decided standard of performance. By doing this, employees can
get to know about his performance closeness with objectives. Accordingly, he will do
change in his current strategy and try to achieve his objectives.
2. Employees can do strategic and systematic plans to achieve objectives by prioritizing
these objectives and goals with deadlines.
3. Employees can learn from another employees, employers, supervisors, leaders and
managers mistakes and take guides from them which help employees to gain
knowledge and achieve their target without any or fewer mistakes.
4. Employees can use SMART model to achieve his goals. SMART model represent -
S – Specific – Objectives and goals should be specific and understandable so that
employees can plan accordingly.
M – Measureable – Objectives and goals should be measureable. It means employees
can use various metrics to determine the goals.
A – Achievable – Objectives and resources which is being used in achieving the goals
should be feasible.
R – Relevant – Objectives should be match with organizational objectives, mission,
vision, core values and goals.
T – Time Bound – For achieving the objectives, there should be enough and right
time. Also, employees should complete their tasks within given time.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cottrell, S., 2015. Skills for success: Personal development and employability. Macmillan
International Higher Education.
DaviD, S., 2016. Beyond goals: Effective strategies for coaching and mentoring. Routledge.
Evers, A., 2017. Assessing learning at the workplace.
Hargittai, E. and Shaw, A., 2015. Mind the skills gap: the role of Internet know-how and gender
in differentiated contributions to Wikipedia. Information, Communication & Society. 18(4).
pp.424-442.
Kroll, J.F. and Dussias, P.E., 2017. The benefits of multilingualism to the personal and
professional development of residents of the US. Foreign language annals. 50(2). pp.248-
259.
Lanning, K., and et.al., 2018. Personality development through natural language. Nature Human
Behaviour. 2(5). p.327.
Miletzki, J. and Broten, N., 2017. Development as freedom. Macat Library.
Smith, A., 2016. Experiential learning. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.
Online
Kolb's learning cycle and learning styles. 2012. [ONLINE]. Available through: <
http://www.managingforimpact.org/tool/kolbs-learning-cycle-and-learning-styles>
What is Development. 2018. [ONLINE]. Available through: <
https://www.sid-israel.org/en/Development-Issues/What-is-Development>