Personal and Professional Development: Skills for Success

This report discusses the importance of personal and professional development for learners and the skills required for success. It covers communication, research, ICT, teamwork, time and self management, and problem solving skills. The report follows the Gibbs reflection cycle to reflect on the author's experiences and learning in university. An action plan is provided to improve time management, self management, and problem solving skills.

Personal and
Professional
Development

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Communication Skills..................................................................................................................1
Research skills.............................................................................................................................1
The use of ICTs ...........................................................................................................................1
Teamwork and networking..........................................................................................................2
Time and self management..........................................................................................................2
Problem Solving skills.................................................................................................................2
Description...................................................................................................................................2
Feelings........................................................................................................................................3
Evaluation....................................................................................................................................4
Analysis .......................................................................................................................................4
Action Plan...................................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
A reflective journal is a place for writing or recording personal ideas, experiences and
information that students get in their learning process. The journals help students to keep the data
of their learning and with that the students can take decisions for the betterment of their future
(Daradoumis and Arguedas, 2020). By analysing and tracking their records the students can take
better decisions and can increase their performance. The journals also stops the individuals to
make errors which they have made in past. Their are various benefits of reflective journal that
help individuals in their personal and professional development. Constant personal and
professional development is important for learners because it increase their performance and
productivity. This report will be based on my reflection and experiences throughout my
university life.
MAIN BODY
Communication Skills
Communication skills are very important for personal and professional development of an
individual. Better communication skills increases learners morale and an individual with better
communication skills can perform a task fluently by coordination with others. Almost every job
and business demand proficiency in communication skills and it help learners in their career
growth.
Research skills
Research skills are the ability to find the solution for a problem. This skill allow learners to come
up with a viable solution for the problem (Restuccia and Taska, 2018). People with these skills
can use their resources efficiently and they also stay updated with the trends. Learners with these
skills can adapt to changes easily.
The use of ICTs
Information and communication technology is crucial for development of a learner. Every
industry is using ICTs in their day to day operations and that's why demand of individuals with
ICT skills is increasing day by day.

Teamwork and networking
Teamwork is important to achieve better results in limited time. Students or learners who possess
good networking or teamwork skills can become good managers and team leaders in their career.
Learners with these skills can build strong bonds with their colleagues which can help whole
team to achieve their targets.
Time and self management
Individuals with strong time and self management skills are tend to be successful in their life.
Because these skills allow people to become more productive. These skills help learners to set
better goals and achieve them effectively. These skills bring professionalism in them which help
them to career advancement (Tang, Panchal and Bradshaw, 2018).
Problem Solving skills
Learners face many problems in their personal and professional lives to overcome such problems
every individual should possess problem-solving skills. Learners who are creative often possess
these skills because to solve a problems, sometimes we have to think out of the box. Problem
solving skills help individuals to solve issues quickly. These skills are considered as soft skills
which can be learned by putting ourself in a situation.
Gibbs reflection cycle is a cyclical model of reflection which leads learners through six steps.
This cycle is used below to demonstrate my learning and experiences I have encountered in
university.
Description
After completing my high school, I opted to pursue a professional course from a reputed
university. The university offered many different courses but I choose the course because I
wanted to make a professional career as a project manager. The university also provide many
benefits which allow me to increase many different skills. It is important for students to increase
their skills which can help them to make a better professional career (Secker and Voce, 2022).
By attending the course, I can improve my project management skills and knowledge. Many
students from different countries enrol for the same course in the university which can also help
me to increase my communication and team working skills. The university have trained and

experience faculties who can help me to enhance my skills and knowledge. University also
organised various competitions and activities which also helped me to gain different experiences.
Feelings
Initially, when a started learning in the university I was feeling nervous and alone because I had
no friends with whom I can talk. On first day of our class a professor introduced me to other
students. Within a weak I made some friend and slowly I understood the universities friendly and
supportive culture. Professors and friends made me feel comfortable because they were so
supportive in nature. Initially when our classes started, I was facing problems and feeling that the
classes were too hard but every lecturer guided me and helped me to understand the topics and
clear my doubts. It almost took me a week to gel with other students and at that time I realise that
maybe I lack communication skills. Communication skills are important for everyone in their
academic and professional like and I felt that I need to enhance this skill in university to get
better opportunities in future. The university organised various activities and I participated in
every activity to improve my skills. I also joined a theatre club in university and perform various
activities by which I improved my communication and time management skills. I feel that
joining the club was a very good decision I took because it helped me to overcome my stage fear
and I was feeling self confident after completing my first performance. Everyone in university
started recognising me and appreciated me which made me feel very happy.
Other skill that I have gained from this module is research skill. The skill is very important for
the professional career. I did few research projects under professors to increase my research
skills. To become a project manager this skill is very important because a project manager must
have a better research skills (Jennings, Lira and Ingram, 2021). I was assigned a market research
project by a professor and for this project I collected a data from various sources and then
analysed this data to generate valuable insights. Professor helped me with some suggestions and
feedbacks when I submitted the assignment.
Other skill I gained in this module is information and communication technology skills. This
skill is very useful in professional life but students can also take benefits from these skills. The
university was using latest technology to teach us, the technology was helping students to learn
easily. Students who don't know how to use some basic software were facing difficulties to
operate the university's learning software. I had decent knowledge of technology at that time so I

didn't had issues with the university software but I realised that I need to enhance this skill so
that I can use this skill in the professional life.
I also realised the importance of teamwork and networking in this module, Before university I
never worked in groups or teams. During my professional course I did many group project and
activities in which we have to perform tasks as a group. I felt that performing in a group can be
hard if the group lack bonding and motivation. Team working skills is need for every
professional because every business work as a group. I was also appointed as a team leader in
one of our project. In that project I performed various activities of a team leader which helped
me to increase my teamwork or networking skills.
Time and self management skills is equally important for students and professionals, Students
need these skills so that they can focus on their study and courses while professionals need these
skills so that they can complete assigned tasks in given time. I also tried to enhance this skill in
university by performing various activities which required strong time and self management
skills. I feel that I still lack time management skills because most of the time I submitted my
universities tasks just before deadlines.
Another skill that I should have completely developed in through this module is problems
solving skills. This skill is a must for a manager's profession and lack of this skill can impact my
performance and productivity (Austin, Gilkison and Clemons, 2020). To effectively manage a
project I need to enhance my problem solving skills.
Evaluation
The overall experience of the university was good. University's lecture were very different from
high schools and need of self study was more in the university. Teachers and friends in the
university helped in many ways and my overall personality has developed a lot from the
university. The decision of choosing the university and joining club in the university proved to
be beneficial for me. Different group projects, activities and theatre club helped me in many
ways. I could have focused on developing problem solving and time management skills during
my professional course. So that I could have overcome that weakness.
Analysis
The experience was positive because university staff was very helpful and they supported me in
every situation. My communication skills were improved a lot because I met so many new
friends and professors during the course. Also participating in different activities improved my

self confidence and overall personality. I failed to manage time during my assignments and
always submitted assignments on deadlines . As students the consequences of being late in the
assignments are not hard but in professional life the consequence can be bad. The problem
solving skills are also another skill which I could have developed in university. The university
culture and structure is also designed in such way that it enhance many skills except problem
solving and time management skills of students.
Action Plan
The objective of the plan is to develop time management, self management and problem solving
skills so that I can hone these skills.
I can improve my skills by following points mentioned below -
Determining Priorities – By setting the priorities right I can increase my performance and time
managing skills. A task which is closer to the deadline must be completed before other tasks. By
categorising tasks according to priorities I can improve required skill.
Avoiding Multitasking – Sometimes when I try to perform multi tasking. My performance falls
and that's why I will try to avoid multitasking until I completely master the time and self
management skill.
Learning to Say No – I am someone who loves to take responsibilities and that's why I put
myself under a lot of pressure sometimes. I will only take tasks if I think that I can manage the
time for the task. I will also determine how much workload is ideal for me so that I can manage
my tasks effectively.
Organising the Day – Organising the day is important for professionals and it improves
managerial skills (Marshall, 2018). I will prioritise the tasks and measure the progress regularly
so that I can have clarity about where I stand in the tasks.
An individual can not learn or improve problem solving skills from books to increase these skills
I will follow plan mentioned below.
To improve my problem solving skills I will try to identify and understand the root cause of the
problem. Because only after identifying the root cause of problem I can think for effecting

solutions. Visual representation of problem can help to understand the problems better. I will try
to make a visual representations of the problems which can help me to evaluate the problem and
its cause. Sometimes the problems require creative solutions and that's why I need to start
thinking out of the box for generating creative ideas. A problem can have may solutions but the
managers task is to think of the best solution in the situation (Brown, 2018). To solve problems
and take decisions effectively I need to identify best solution for the situation.
CONCLUSION
From above report it is concluded that recording the experience can help anyone to improve or
track their performance and it can be used for development of individuals. In this report, we have
applied Gibbs reflection model which shows my experience throughout my university life. This
report also shows what skills I learned at university and what I lack on which I can work by
following the action plan which we made above.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Austin, D., Gilkison, A. and Clemons, J., 2020. Turning reflection into learning: a practice
development tool for midwifery students. Reflective Practice, 21(3), pp.301-315.
Brown, L.S., 2018. Soft skill development in the higher education curriculum: A case study. IUP
Journal of Soft Skills, 12(4), pp.7-29.
Daradoumis, T. and Arguedas, M., 2020. Cultivating students’ reflective learning in
metacognitive activities through an affective pedagogical agent. Educational
Technology & Society, 23(2), pp.19-31.
Jennings, C., Lira, M.T. and Ingram, S., 2021. 3 Key considerations for continuing
professional. ESC Textbook of Cardiovascular Nursing, p.55.
Marshall, S.J., 2018. Student time choices and success. Higher Education Research &
Development, 37(6), pp.1216-1230.
Restuccia, D. and Taska, B., 2018, July. Different skills, different gaps: Measuring and closing
the skills gap. In Developing Skills in a Changing World of Work (pp. 207-226). Rainer
Hampp Verlag.
Secker, J. and Voce, J., 2022. EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT DURING THE “DIGITAL
PIVOT”: SUPPORTING TEACHING STAFF TO SUPPORT ONLINE LEARNERS.
In INTED2022 Proceedings (pp. 1744-1749). IATED.
Tang, C.M., Panchal, J.H. and Bradshaw, A., 2018. Project management knowledge areas and
their relevance to today's project managers. Journal of Economic & Management
Perspectives, 12(1), pp.545-549.