Personal Development and Planning Report: A Comprehensive Skills Audit and Action Plan

Personal Development and Planning Report
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Table of Contents
Personal Development and Planning Report...............................................................................1
1.0 Introduction............................................................................................................................ 4
2.0 Personal development planning.............................................................................................4
2.1 Personal skills audit............................................................................................................4
2.2 Skills that individual need to focus......................................................................................5
2.3 Reflection from the above audit of skills...........................................................................14
3.0 Conclusion........................................................................................................................... 14
References................................................................................................................................ 15
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1.0 Introduction
As a student studying in a university, I realise that that reflection upon the learning processes is
a key element of education. Reflection shall help a student analyse the skills and abilities that
he/she has acquired in the course of the education and also evaluate oneself in terms of what
other abilities that need to be cultivated in order to pursue further education or seek
employment. Therefore, reflection forms an essential part of professional growth and
improvement as it allows a student to critically examine one’s own abilities and thus provides
him/her with the opportunity to work upon them (Certo, 2018). In this context, a personal
development plan shall help a student understanding the specific areas that he/she will require
a special focus upon. In this assignment I shall reflect upon the skills that are required of me as
a business student and also evaluate my current position with respect to those skills.
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2.0 Personal development planning
2.1 Personal skills audit
Skills present Present level of
competencies
Required level of
competencies
Communication skill Medium High
Listening skills Medium High
Presentation skills Low Medium
Problem solving skills Low Medium
Leadership skill Medium High
Team working skills Medium High
2.2 Skills that individual need to focus
Skills to be
developed
Ways to develop Evidence of
development
Time frame
Communication skill It is imperative for a
business student to
work on his
communication skills.
As I had mentioned
above that I have a
Good communication
skills shall manifest
itself in the form of
both oral and written
means. In case of
improvement, an
1 to 3 months
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medium level of
competency in
communication, I
shall have to work
upon my language
skills. A firm grasp
over language is
necessary for good
communication both
written and verbal.
Besides I shall also
have to improve upon
my presentation
skills. This would
require a better
understanding and
knowledge about my
subject upon which I
shall have to speak.
employee of an
organization can
explain their ideas
and views to the
management more
clearly. As a team,
communication skills
in the team members
ensures better
coordination and
effective completion
of tasks. In the
situation of a
classroom, a student
will be able to engage
in classroom
discussions and can
enrich the education
process by bringing in
relevant concepts
and ideas.
Listening skills Listening skills are
also very important
for an employee. It is
needless to mention
A student who has
good listening skills
shall be able to grasp
what the teacher
4 to 6 months
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that listening and
understanding go
together. An ideal
employee should
attentively listen to
the instructions of the
management and
seniors and try to
adhere to them.
Listening is also very
important in the
process to
communicating those
instructions to other
employees of the
organization. Only
when a person listens
well can he transmit
the information to
others. In the
classroom too a
student has to listen
to the teacher’s
lecture in order to
increase his
says in the
classroom. Moreover,
the can also critically
engage with the
classroom lecture
and offer valuable
insight to it. This shall
also reflect in the
academic
performance of the
student.
In a workplace too
listening skills are
necessary. The
employee should be
able to understand
what the seniors
have to say and work
carefully according to
those instructions.
Listening skills shall
directly reflect on
communication skills
as they complement
each other. Only a
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knowledge about the
subject. I have a
medium level of
listening skills; I shall
have to concentrate
more in the
classroom. I tried
listening to
audiobooks and that
helped a lot.
good listener can
communicate the
required information
to others in a precise
manner.
Presentation skills Presentation skills
are also important for
both students and
employees. It is
directly related to
communication skills.
A good communicator
will in all probabilities
be a good presenter.
My presentation skills
are not satisfactory
enough. Therefore, I
have to put in more
effort into it. One way
to go about it would
A good presenter
shall combine
relevant slides with
articulate ideas that
shall be readily
understood by the
audience. The main
point would be to
make the
presentation
interesting. The
presenter will not
delve upon redundant
facts and
unnecessarily prolong
7 to 9 months
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be to watch live
presentations of
professors and
analyse them
carefully. Two things
constitute a good
presentation:
1) Clarity of
ideas
presented.
2) Relevance of
the slides
used.
I shall have to notice
in detail the ways in
which our professors
make presentations.
This shall greatly
increase my
employability as an
employee can pitch in
his ideas clearly and
succinctly through
presentations in the
workplace.
the presentation. He
shall be able to
communicate the
maximum number of
ideas in the minimum
time frame. The
slides and the speech
would complement
one another and
deliver an integrated
message that shall
sound appealing to
the audience. A good
presentation always
triggers thought.
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Problem solving skills Problem solving skills
are required by
employees from any
professional
background. It is of
common knowledge
that an employee
shall have to face a
lot of problems in the
workplace. The
employee should the
able to approach a
problem rationally
and analyse it in
order to arrive at
possible solutions.
On top that he shall
also have to make
informed decisions
regarding the solution
as a wrong decision
might seriously harm
both the
organizational work
and also his own
When an employee
can successfully find
solutions to tough
situations that arise in
the workplace then
we can conclude that
he has good problem
solving skills.
Problem solving skills
are contingent upon a
lot of other factors
including work
experience, critical
and analytical
thinking abilities et
cetera. A worker with
competent problem
solving skills can
efficiently manage his
own work with the
intervention of
seniors. He shall
experience high
levels of productivity
as his own skills will
10 to 12 months
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career (Jackson,
2015). Therefore, as
a student with low
problem-solving skills
I shall have to train
my mind in critical
and analytical
thinking and also
increase my
theoretical knowledge
about my subject.
This shall ensure that
I have the proper
prerequisite
knowledge that shall
be required of me in
order to solve a
problem.
minimize the
requirement of
external effort in the
solving of the
problem.
Leadership skill For an organization
to be successful it
must have good
leaders who shall be
able to give the
organization a
direction and vision
A leader is able to
understand the
requirements of the
employees in an
organization. He will
have better insight
into the
13 to 15 months
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(Lussier and Achua,
2015). I am a
mediocre leader and I
understand that I
shall have to improve
upon my leadership
skills. In order to go
about it I shall have
to better understand
the needs of my co-
workers and also my
juniors in the
workplace.
Subsequently I shall
have to address
those needs. For
developing a vision, I
will have to have a
vase base of
knowledge that shall
help me arrive at an
ideal vision for the
organization for which
I shall work.
organizational
operations than
others. Moreover, he
should be able to
arrive at decisions
quickly and make
sure that the
decisions are proper.
A leader inspires and
motivates the staff in
a workplace.
Team working skills An organization A good team worker 16 to 18 months
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requires the work of a
team of employees
who have varied skills
and specialities.
Moreover, there are
various departments
in an organization
that need to work
together in harmony
and coherence for
high levels of
productivity (Dyer and
Dyer, 2013).
Therefore, teamwork
skills is an essential
requirement for any
employee. He shall
be able to
communicate with
other members of the
group and coordinate
with them in order to
make sure that the
work progresses
smoothly. I have an
can communicate
fluently with the other
members of the
team. He will assume
a role that would suit
him the best.
Transparency is also
another important
trait of a good team
member. All
members of the
group shall have
equal access to
information which is
relevant to the
group’s work.
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average level of team
work abilities. I can
improve that by
working together with
my classmates in the
groups that shall be
assigned. I will hear
them out and also
decide a role for
myself depending
upon my unique skills
and abilities and then
try my best to fulfil my
role.
2.3 Reflection from the above audit of skills
I must say that there is still a lot more for me to learn and improve upon both as a student and a
prospective employee of an organization. Apart from problem solving skills and presentation
skills, which are low, I have an average competency in other skills. I regret to realise that I am
yet to achieve a high level of competency in any of the above mentioned skills. The above audit
of skills helped me realize the nature of my flaws and from them I think I shall be able to devise
a plan to improve upon them. Some skills require less time to develop and some more and
therefore time management is also essential in the creation of a plan. Through my course I shall
put in more effort in the coming academic years I shall widen my theoretical base of knowledge.
I shall also involve in classroom simulations in order to have a practical understanding of real
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workplace-like situations. I shall hope that I shall be successful in improving my overall skills
and abilities and subsequently this shall increase my employability to a great extent.
3.0 Conclusion
The above assignment helps me in evaluating my own standard in terms of skills and abilities
and also it illustrates how a personal development audit helps in giving a comprehensive
overview of the skills and abilities of a prospective employee. I hope that this shall help me
understanding my own standard and thus increase my chances of seeking employment.
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References
Dyer, W.G. and Dyer, J.H., 2013. Team building: Proven strategies for improving team
performance. John Wiley & Sons.
Certo, S.C., 2018. Supervision: Concepts and skill-building. McGraw-Hill Education.
Lussier, R.N. and Achua, C.F., 2015. Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development.
Nelson Education.
Jackson, D., 2015. Employability skill development in work-integrated learning: Barriers and
best practice. Studies in Higher Education, 40(2), pp.350-367.
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