Plan Your Career in Business: CV, Personal Statement, SWOT Analysis, and Action Plan

This report provides guidance on planning a career in business, including creating a CV and personal statement, conducting a SWOT analysis, and developing an action plan for skill development. It includes an overview of a family-owned restaurant and a painting and decorating business in the UK, as well as a personal statement and CV example. The report also covers self-assessment and skill gap analysis through SWOT analysis, and an action plan for skill development.

Your Career in
Business

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
SECTION A.................................................................................................................................3
Brief introduction to indicate what does portfolio contains as well as reasons for both CV and
personal statement.......................................................................................................................3
Overview of company..................................................................................................................4
Interest in working at such place.................................................................................................5
SECTION B.....................................................................................................................................6
Personal statement in support of your application for a volunteer/work experience placement
in any organization of your choice..............................................................................................6
A detailed CV that has been carefully designed to fit purpose....................................................7
SECTION C.....................................................................................................................................8
Self-assessment reflecting skill gaps (SWOT Analysis inclusive)..............................................8
Action plan tailored towards your skill development (reflecting SMART objectives).............10
Action plan.................................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
It is crucial for an individual to plan their career in business enterprise. There are various
business functions such as Marketing, Finance, Human Resource and Production which
contributes in fulfilment of goals. To run business enterprise effectively and efficiently, it is
needed to have relevant skills so that competitive advantage can be taken within target market.
Polishing skills through training and development sessions results in enhanced productivity and
efficiency. This project report is based on family owned restaurant and in hospitality industry
along with painting and decorating business within UK. This project report will cover various
reasons for C.V. and personal statement. Further, it will cover am overview of business
organisation and interest while working. In addition to that, it will cover SWOT analysis along
with an action plan which tailored towards skill development.
TASK
SECTION A
Brief introduction to indicate what does portfolio contains as well as reasons for both CV and
personal statement
It is crucial for individual to draft effective CV and personal statement which contains all
competencies of individual and employer can get deeper understanding about candidate. In
simple words, CV and personal statement contains an overview of personality that an individual
is carrying (Chapman, Miles and Maurer, 2017). The term personal statement can be defined as
the summary or content of skills and knowledge that an individual has gained over a period of
time. It encompasses with various achievements and qualification that enhances capability and
competencies of an individual. It is required by company in making recruitment decision through
analysing potential and competencies of a candidate. It helps company in deciding whether
candidate have potential to attain organisational goals or not. It is imperative for company to
define mutual objectives so that both employer and candidate can be benefitted. Skills plays vital
role in business function as it directly links to productivity and performance of candidate. Each
candidate possesses different set of skills which can utilised within business function and leads to
effective attainment of goals (Cathro, O’Kane and Gilbertson, 2017).
CV can be referred as the document which highlights on individual’s detail. It
encompasses with professional as well as academic skill which has been achieved by individual

in his career. It involves key competencies, achievements and skills in order to deeply understand
candidate’s potential. It helps company in identifying whether candidate is suitable for job
position or not. Hiring a wrong candidate can be drastic for company’s success. So, it is
important to deeply analyse key skills and competencies so that it becomes easier to accomplish
objectives. By summarisation of qualification and work experience, company can get to know
about candidate and in making hiring decision. Following are some importance of personal
statement and CV within jib portfolio.
 Match individual with job role- CV and personal statement helps individual in defining
themselves in front of interviewer and can capture job opportunity. In context to business,
CV helps in better understanding of candidate and his potential.
 Showcase benefit of candidate towards organisation- It defines how candidate can
contribute its efforts in making company successful. As CV contains all key skills,
competencies and qualification, by this employer can analyse what efficiency does
candidate bring within organisation. It facilitates in showcasing of benefits that an
individual brings within an organisation.
 Listing of skills and experience- CV contains all work experience in a systematics
structure which helps employer in get to know about candidate’s achievement. It defines
ability to perform various business functions. Listing of work experience helps manager
in matching required skill with current skills and how it can be benefitted to company’s
performance.
 Capture attention of employer- A well-structured and designed CV facilitates in
attracting employer’s attention and enhance chance of hiring (D’Alessio, Avolio and
Charles, 2019). Poor drafted CV leads to avoidance of candidate’s skills. So it is
important for candidate to form eye catching and structured CV and personal statement
so that employer’s attention can be captured.
Overview of company
Bold restaurant is a family owned restaurant which operates within United Kingdom.
It offers various food options such as Chinese, Italian, Mexican and Continental for all
segments of people. It has more than 230 employees working in restaurant and chefs
were well skilled and prepares delicious food. The quality of food offered by restaurant is
unbeatable and it emphasise on making organic food. The demand of organic food has

raised over past few years and company farms ingredients such as fruits and vegetables.
The pricing strategy of company is competitive and despite of providing organic food
option, the cost of food is lower. It is due to high supply food and lowering down of
production cost. All the employees are skilled and aware of roles and responsibilities. It
offers organic pizza, pasta and various fast food options available in organic category.
The main reason behind restaurant success is its workforce and their valuable efforts.
Employees plays an important role in making company successful and efficient. Hiring of
skilled and talented staff helps in lowering down of overall cost and in delivering quality
customer service experience (Marques Remington and Bazavliuk, 2020). Along with this,
interpersonal skill also vital in attracting customer as better relation with customer’s
increase return chances.
Interest in working at such place
Working as a Human resource manager is such a great experience and there are various
skills I have gained while working. This company helps me in polishing existing and in
acquiring new set of skills by which I can enhance my career. It was a great opportunity
for me to work in such a great place. Due to its food quality and extraordinary customer
service experience, it can able to attract larger customer base. Following are some reason
of interest while working at restaurant. Available in various location- Restaurant is located at three distinct part of UK by which
it can capture larger customer base. It is imperative for company to take advantage of
multiple location and gain competitive edge. Working in different location develops new
feeling and by this I can interact with different employees and customers. Flexible working hours- Company focus on quality rather than quantity and it provides
flexible working hours to its key people, in case of emergency. Flexible working hours
results in maintaining work life balance between personal and professional life. With this,
I can work from home someday and this approach helped me very much. It also offers
flexible location duties by which employee can interact with one another of its other two
restaurants. Working with experienced people – There are various individuals who possess
extraordinary skills by which I can learn new things. It would be great opportunity for me

to work with skilled and experienced workforce. They are very supportive and shares
skills in order to make other more productive. Growth and promotional opportunities- There are various growth opportunities while
working as Human Resource Manager at restaurant. I have gained many skills while
working and I can apply in my future career. Adding to this, company has introduced
various promotional and growth opportunities by completing milestone.
SECTION B
Personal statement in support of your application for a volunteer/work experience placement in
any organization of your choice.
It is imperative for an individual to draft effective personal statement which consist of
achievements, objectives and detailed information about a person (Hardy, Powell and
Pharris, 2020). It will help employer in analysing key competencies and in deciding
whether candidate has potential to attain objectives or not. It is done because one wrong
hiring can negatively impact on company’s performance and diminish overall
profitability. Hiring right candidate is one of the crucial task of HR manager as it
involves various recruitment levels that an individual has to clear. In addition to that,
personal statement should be well structure and well-defined so that candidate can grab
opportunity within organisation.
My name is ABC and I a living in B-58 garden Street, London. In my personal
statement, I would like to tell about my qualification and achievement in both academic
and professional career. I have completed my masters (MBA) having specialisation in
Human Resource as I have keen interest in this field. I want to be great HR in my
professional career so I have opted this course in order to acquires relevant skills required
by job position. After completion of my MBA, I have joined a family owned restaurant as
a Human Resource Manager. The main reason for choosing restaurant is because of its
popularity and to grab various opportunities. In initial stage, I was bot nervous but I was
confident enough that I will surely contribute in making restaurant successful. As I was
working as a Human Resource Manager and I have been provided with various roles and
responsibilities that I have to perform. The core responsibility while working in
restaurant are identification of potential candidates, taking interview, performing on-

boarding and relieving, payroll and to maintain positive work culture within workplace. I
was curious to work with company and acquired various skills which helps me in
enhancing my competencies. In my job role, I was provided with laptop on which I have
to scrutiny resume and CV of various candidates and after analysation, I have to take
interview. The main reason behind my work success is my Public Relation skills and it
helps me in maintaining healthy relation with candidates and with other staff. I have to
make sure all employees are working effectively and contributes in making restaurant
successful. Along with this, I have to evaluate performance of employees and based on
that makes strategic plan for training and development sessions. I have come to know
about importance of performance management and there are various performance tools
and techniques which helped me in evaluation of employee performance such
Management by objective, Balance scorecard and 360-degree feedback. All this
technique makes me different from other and I always seek for capturing of opportunities.
In my career, I have captured almost every opportunity by which I become confident
enough in my work. With this, I have polished my public relation skill and this helped me
in foster positive working environment within organisation. Apart from hospitality
industry, I have keen interest in bringing creativity within business interior. Having great
ambience and decorative walls attracts customers and in delivering better service
experience. Along with restaurant job, I have started working as a business decorator.
A detailed CV that has been carefully designed to fit purpose.
It can be defined as a short summary of an individual’s academic career, qualification and
education (Khomokhoana and Nel, 2021). It is found crucial while seeking for job opportunities.
In business career, CV plays vital role in making personality attractive and to present
competencies in a precise manner. It is important to draft CV in a well-mannered which captures
attention of recruiter.
Name- ABC
Contact Details- 9876543210
Personal Profile
DOB- XX-XX-XXXX
Nationality- British
Personal statement- I am a person who like to face challenges and to make innovative

decision by thinking out of box. With my skills, I can resolve problem and can maintain
positive working culture. I am hard working and a multi-tasker by which I can
accomplish multiple task simultaneously.
Education & Qualification
 Masters of Business Administration from London university in 2012-2014
 Bachelors of commerce from St. George University of London in 2013-2015
Work Experience
 Worked as a Human Resource Manager at a restaurant for 11 years.
 Worked as a painter and business decorator for about 12 years.
Skills
 Good communication skills
 Excellent at conflict resolving skill
 Training and development skills
Personal Interest
 Reading business articles and journals.
 Listening music
 Playing Football and basketball
Declaration
I hereby declare that all the above information are true to my knowledge.
14-09-2022
It is imperative for me to design CV as it will help me in gaining job opportunities and it
contains all essential information regarding academics, qualification and achievements
which enhances ability. It represents true image of an individual by which recruiter can
make effective hiring decision.
SECTION C
Self-assessment reflecting skill gaps (SWOT Analysis inclusive)
SWOT analysis can have defined as a strategic tool which helps in identifying strengths
and weakness and how opportunities can be captured and threats can be avoided (Aldilax

and Pfoertsch, W, 2020). It will help me in analysing those areas in which I was lacking
and how can I overcome form those weaknesses. Personal SWOT is discussed below.
Strengths Weaknesses
 I have observed that I am good at
communication skill and with this I
can effectively influence with my
conversation. This skill plays an
important role in enhancing my
career. I can effectively convey
message and can influence their
decision too.
 The another strength that I have is
time management skill and I have
habit of making schedule and to
track activities with time. I allocate
time to all task and ensures that all
activities are accomplished within
given time.
 I have observed that I lack in
leadership skill and it is important
to take corrective action so as to
enhance this skill. In addition to
that, I have experienced that I
cannot effectively manage team and
it negatively effects on company’s
performance. In order to become
effective HR manager, it is needed
to have this skill.
 The another skill that I lack in is
critical thinking. As a HR manager,
it is needed to possess this skill as
business is full of uncertainties and
any conflict may arise among
employees. So to address this issue,
I needed to enhance this skill so
that I can solve personal and
organisational problem.
Opportunities Threats
 There are various opportunities that
I can grab as HR manager or in
business decorator. Due to my
effective public relation skills, I can
get advantage of referral and can
communicate with people in order
to enhance further career.
 As I have experience or more than
 There can be seen intensive
competition in market and due to
emerging technology, it becomes
difficult to capture opportunities.
Free courses are available on
internet and individual have access
to all knowledge and thy can take
advantage of it.

11years in hospitality and in
business decorator and I have
deeper understanding of this
industry and many companies are
seeking for making building
decorative. I can take advantage of
this and can show my skills by
presenting earlier work.
 There can be seen threat in peer
competition as they can polish
skills and take benefit of it. Apart
from this, reduction of human
interference due to digitalisation
can be threat.
Action plan tailored towards your skill development (reflecting SMART objectives)
SMART objectives- In order to enhance skills and knowledge, one has to frame effective
action plan which help in overall development of an individual (Ashutosh, Sharma and
Beg, 2020). SMART objectives in relation to my weakness are discussed below.
 Specific- To overcome from my weaknesses based on SWOT analysis.
 Measurable- This objective can be achieved by taking corrective action and to
practice in lacking area.
 Attainable- this objective can be attained by reading business articles and by
practicing more in weak areas.
 Relevant- It is highly relevant to professional career and holds vital position
within organisation.
 Time frame- I want to achieve this objective within 5 months.
Action plan
Skills which
needs
improvement
Current
proficiency
Desired
proficiency
Actions
needed
Measuring
criteria
Time to
accomplish
Leadership
skill
In this skill, I
was not good
and needs
further
improvement.
I want to
acquire this
skill so that I
can
effectively
In order to
enhance
this skill, I
need to
manage
In order to
evaluate
effectiveness
of this skill,
I will take
3 Months

manage team
and can
directs
towards
fulfilment of
both personal
and
organisational
objectives.
small
team and
practice
by taking
feedbacks.
I have to
take
feedback
in a
positive
manner
and tries
to
improve
action
based on
feedbacks.
suggestion
and real time
feedbacks
from my
peers and
subordinates
and will take
corrective
action to
enhance
more.
Critical
thinking
skill
I am average
at this skill.
I want to
enhance this
skill so that I
can
effectively
solve
business
problems. It
is crucial to
have this skill
so that I can
mitigate
negative
impact of
To
enhance
this skill, I
will take
help of
internet
and will
read
business
articles
and
journals. I
will try to
solve
In order to
ascertain
effectiveness
of this skill,
I solve
problems of
my peers
and if
problem
resolves,
performance
can be
measured on
the basis of
4 Months

problem. business
problems
from
cases.
outcome.
CONCLUSION
From the above project report, it was concluded that there are various opportunities within
business which can be captured by developing relevant skills and knowledge. CV and personal
statement helps recruiter in decision making as it summarise skills, competencies, knowledge,
achievement and qualification which can be used at recruitment time. In addition to that,
individual has to emphasise on enhancing current skills so that promotional advantage can be
taken. It is important to have a well-structured CV and personal statement so that recruiter can
get to know about individual’s achievements and qualification. Along with this, it is imperative
to analyse SWOT so that individual can get to know about areas in which it is lacking. After
analysation of weaknesses, one should frame action plan in order to enhance skills. Action plan
facilitates in guiding and instructing individual by which it can overcome from weakness within
specified time period.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Aldilax, D. and Pfoertsch, W.A., 2020. Application of Combined SWOT and AHP for Strategy
Development: A Case of Slow Fashion Brand in Bandung, Indonesia. The Asian Journal
of Technology Management, 13(3), pp.213-228.
Ashutosh, A., Sharma, A. and Beg, M.A., 2020. Strategic analysis using SWOT-AHP: A fibre
cement sheet company application. Journal of Management Development.
Calicchio, S., 2020. Swot analysis in 4 steps: How to use the SWOT matrix to make a difference
in career and business. Stefano Calicchio.
Cathro, V., O’Kane, P. and Gilbertson, D., 2017. Assessing reflection: Understanding skill
development through reflective learning journals. Education+ Training.
Chapman, E., Miles, E.W. and Maurer, T., 2017. A proposed model for effective negotiation
skill development. Journal of Management Development.
D’Alessio, F.A., Avolio, B.E. and Charles, V., 2019. Studying the impact of critical thinking on
the academic performance of executive MBA students. Thinking Skills and
Creativity, 31, pp.275-283.
Hardy, M.M., Powell, J.W. and Pharris, L.J., 2020. A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TIME
MANAGEMENT SKILLS AMONG BUSINESS MAJORS AND ACADEMIC
CLASSIFICATIONS. International Journal of Education Research, 15(1).
Khomokhoana, P.J. and Nel, L., 2021, July. Mapping the Problem-Solving Strategies of Novice
Programmers to Polya’s Framework: SWOT Analysis as a Bottleneck Identification
Tool. In Annual Conference of the Southern African Computer Lecturers'
Association (pp. 132-148). Springer, Cham.
Marques II, I., Remington, T. and Bazavliuk, V., 2020. Encouraging skill development:
Evidence from public-private partnerships in education in Russia’s regions. European
Journal of Political Economy, 63, p.101888.