Professional Career Development - Assignment

Professional Career
Development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Identification of Skills and knowledge which contributes towards working effectively ..........3
Determining personal strengths and areas of further development ...........................................7
Employment goals and Professional development plan.............................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................1
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................2

INTRODUCTION
Professional career development can be defined as procedure which includes
identification of suitable career, self assessment and development of career plan by
implementing preliminary employment strategies. It is also considered to be as life long
procedure for managing learning in order to get good job opportunities. The professional career
development can assist an individual in advancing their career in particular field. Career
development can also be referred to as procedure of learning as well as improving skills so that
an individual can perform their roles as well as responsibilities in systematic manner. Career
development planning is very much essential as it assist people in determining the career
development objectives. It also assist an individual in identification of different activities which
are needed in order to accomplish desired career goals. An effective career development plan
assist employees in increasing their level of motivation as well as productivity. It is very much
essential for an individual to emphasize on increasing knowledge as well as development of
skills as it will make significant contribution to learning opportunities.
The report will have identification of suitable ways for finding job after completion of
graduation. Study also emphasizes on determination of skills as well as knowledge require for
performing the role of Human resource manager in retail organisation.
MAIN BODY
Identification of Skills and knowledge which contributes towards working effectively
Skills and knowledge are two important variables which are very much essential in order
to capture good employment opportunities. There is specific requirement for getting the job
opportunity to work in particular sector such as retail , banking , hospitality etc. It is the set of
skills as well as core competencies which assist an individual in performing their duties in an
appropriate manner. There are few core competencies as well as skills set as well as knowledge
which are very much essential to be developed by an individual for exercising in working
environment. The skills set and knowledge is also required in order to perform best practices
and to make significant contribution to the achievement of business goals (Heath, 2019.). After
completion of graduation , each and every individual intends to search for a job in particular
sector, at this phase of career it is very much important for person to first conduct self
assessment. It is the technique which will assist an individual in identifying their strengths as
well as areas of interest on the basis of which they can start exploring the job opportunities. Self

assessment is considered to be as initial phase of career planning or development. It is the
technique which also supports an individual in identification of the different factors which can
influence their career development. Before selecting specific career to pursue or entering into a
particular job sector, it is required by an individual to identify the skills set , knowledge and
experience required for performing the roles as well as responsibilities in particular career field.
Developing understanding about the job roles in specific sector is considered to be as good
tactics as it will assist an individual in determining the knowledge as well as core competencies
required for performing the best practices in particular field (Choy and Chua, 2019).
Human resource manager has important role to play in an organisation .It is very much
crucial for an individual to develop the understanding about fact that the success and growth of
firm is completely based on the performance of human resource manager. Role of human
resource manager in retail sector is to recruit as well as hire talented candidates for performing
specific duties within an organisation. It is the duty of human resource manager in an enterprise
to manage people as well as various operations within an enterprise. The main role of human
resource manager in an organisation to ensure smooth functioning of business. In addition to this,
other important duty of human resource manager is to allocate work, set performance, define
roles as well as responsibilities of workers, create and maintain good environment at workplace.
The various skills, experience and knowledge needed by an individual for
performing the roles as well as responsibilities as a Human resource manager in retail sector are
interpersonal skills, an effective communication , analytical , strategic as well as problem solving
skills. Interpersonal skills will help human resource manager in developing the good relationship
with workers which is very much essential in order to manage different activities within an
organisation in systematic manner. An effective communication skills will assist an individual as
human resource manager in positively influencing people to make their valuable contribution in
accomplishment of objectives. Analytical skills is applied by human resource manager for
analysing the business situation and for making suitable decisions. It is type of skill which is
required by human resource manager in retail sector for analysing the knowledge as well as core
competencies required for performing specific job role within an organisation. By utilising the
strategic skills an individual can formulate effective strategies for supporting firm in fostering
growth.

In addition to the above skills, other core competencies that an individual seeking for
getting employment as human resource manager in retail sector required to develop are self
awareness, empathy, confidence, self awareness as well as motivation etc. An individual desire
to get the employment opportunity to work as human resource manager in retail sector need to
posses problem solving skills which will assist them in addressing the best possible solution for
different issues faced by workers or business. A person intends to get the job of human resource
manager in retail industry is required to be more ethically string , they must be aware the way to
interact with employees. In addition to this, an individual wish to get the job role of human
resource manager in an organisation need to have strong negotiation skills which will help them
them in reaching to mutual agreement at the time of dispute. An individual planning to get job
opportunity for human resource manager need to develop conflict management skills, as it is the
skills which will assist them in managing as well as resolving disputes or conflicts among
employees.
Management is considered to be as one of the most crucial skills that required to be
posses by person planning to apply for the post of human resource manager in retail
organisation. High influencing power will help an individual as human resource manager in
inspiring people to improve their performance at workplace. In addition to this, it is considered
that human resource is a field where an individual might need to perform number of tasks
simultaneously, therefore, having a multi tasking ability is very much essential. Employers while
appointing an individual also looks for the technical skills in candidates applying for the job role
of human resource manager in an enterprise (Jackson, Regis and Bennett, 2019.). Technical
skills are needed by the human resource manager for storing as well as managing information
related to employees. In addition to these skills, an individual interested in making application
for the post of human resource manager in an organisation is required to have good decision
making power. They should have complete knowledge about market, business , industry,
competitors and also about the products or services offered by the company (Bridgstock, 2019).
As development of such knowledge will assist a person acting as a human resource manager in
providing appropriate training to employees.
Along with skills, an individual is required to have the complete knowledge about the
different roles as well as responsibilities of human resource manager. In addition to this, an
individual making application for the job of human resource in retail firm need to have

knowledge about laws related to management practices. They also need to have knowledge
about the different techniques of motivating managing workers and motivating them to increase
their participation in business activities. It is very much crucial for an individual to develop the
leadership qualities while ap[plying for the post of Human resource manager in retail firm.
Leadership qualities are required by human resource manager for directing the people and
providing workers with proper instruction as well as guidance. All the above mention skills will
help an individual in performing their roles as well as responsibilities as human resource
manager in retail fitrm.
Addressing the ways to find better jobs
An individual planning to get employment after completion of their graduation can get
the information about the job vacancy in retail firms through online as well as offline sources.
Online sources means an individual can search for job by using different websites on internet.
In addition to this, a person can registered themselves on the different job portals, as this tactics
will help them in getting the notification about the employment opportunities in different retail
companies (Rubens, Schaffer and Leah, 2018.). A candidate can search job using career
websites. They can also utilise online search engines for finding the job opportunities in
particular field. In addition to this, a person can have access to the firms website in which they
have desire to get the employment. LinkedIn is the social media channel which has been
especially designed for professionals as well as Job seekers. By utilising the Like din job seeker
can connect to the employers around the world.
It is advice able to an individual to visit the job fairs , as by doing so a person will be able
to explore the number of employment opportunities in respective fields. Job fair is considered to
be as one of the popular source where firms seek to recruit graduates. By attending the job fair
an individual can increase their chances to get recruited. An individual can also find job using
the Facebook or twitter, as many of organisation give job advertisement on social media
platform so that they can get the pool oh highly skilled as well as talented employees. In addition
to all above sources, a person can seek support from the recruitment agency in order to get the
suitable job (McKeown, 2019. ). It is the recruitment agency which will assist candidates in
finding the job on regular basis. An individual can have an access to the job advertisement in the
newspaper. By responding to the job advertisement in the newspaper a candidate can increase
their chances of getting recruited by reputed firms.

The main drawback of the online job search is that it will not help an individual in
accessing to the hidden job market. In relation to networking as well as referrals, a person can
ask their friends or family to inform them about the job vacancy in their organisation. An
individual can ask their relatives or friends to recommend them for specific job role in their
company.
Determining personal strengths and areas of further development
Swot analysis is considered to be as best strategic technique which can be applied for
analysing own internal strength , weakness , threats and opportunities. It is the technique which
assist an individual in determining a best possible ways for overcoming weakness. Self
assessment is the fits phase in context of career planning. It is the strategic tool which supports
an individual in determining the area of interest which is very much crucial in order to make the
best career choice (Maniyar, 2019). As I have desire to get the job opportunity to work as
human resource manager in retail organisation. I have gathered the detail information about the
skills , knowledge and expertise which are required to perform the management role in an
organisation and on the basis of the same I have performed the swot analysis in order to identify
the skills which I lack.
Strengths:
 I have good written communication
skills.
 I can easily influence other.
 I Have creative mind.
 I have strategic skills.
 I posses analytical skills.
 I have friendly nature which assist me
in developing good relationship with
employees.
 I show empathy towards others.
 I am multi tasker.
 I poses good leadership qualities.
 I am effective listener.
Weaknesses :
 I lack negotiation skills.
 I have difficulty in speaking in fluent
manner.
 I depend on other for making decision.
 I don't have technical skills.
 I don't have depth knowledge about the
laws and also about the retail industry.
 I get highly stressed during uncertain
situation.
 I face difficulty in completing my
work on time. In simple words I lack
time management skills because of
which I face issue in maintaining

 I am ware about myself .
 I have knowledge about the market.
balance between work and life.
Opportunities:
 I have an opportunity to work as paid
intern in retail organisation.
 I have the chance to develop the core
competencies and skills which I lack.
 I can get a chance to work with
multinational retail organisation.
Threats:
 Increase in competition at workplace.
 Lack of certain skills can have adverse
effect on my performance at workplace.
 Lack of planning can create hurdles in
my professional career development.
 As I don't have knowledge about the
legislations related to the humans
resource management because of which
an organisation might have to face legal
issues. It could be one of the reason
because of which I may not get selected
as HR manager in Multinational retail
organisation.
From the swot analysis I have realised that there are many core competencies which I
poses matches with the skills required for performing the role of human resource manager in
retail companies. In addition to this, I also found that there are many skills which I need to
develop or improve in order to get the job of my choice (Stewart and Brown, 2019). After
completion of the swot analysis I found that some of effective skills which I have are good oral
communication, analytical, problem solving skills, friendly nature , strategic skills which I
perceive that will assist me in getting employment opportunity to work in multinational retail
organisation.
I can utilise an effective written communication skills for drafting the business letters for
company. By utilising the influencing power I can encourage other people to make their
valuable contribution in accomplishment of desired business objectives. I can apply my strategic
skills for formulating business plans for organisation. It is my friendly nature which will help me
in developing the strong relationship with other workers which is very much crucial for
inspiring people to improve their performance at workplace (Lundgren, Poell and Kroon,

2019.). From the swot analysis I also found that there are some of the factors which can create
the hurdles in my professional growth as a human resource manager One of the factor is intense
competition . It is considered to be as one of the biggest threat as there are many people who
might have more unique qualities that suits for performing the job role of human resource
manager in retail organisation because of which I might not get recruited in the firm I desire to
work. I also have fear that if I get to fail in interview procedure it might lead to the decrease
in level of mine confidence as well as motivation level.
Employment goals and Professional development plan
Employment goal statement-
To get the best position as HR manager within retail organization is one of the
employment goal which need to achieve by person. As human resource manager there are
several short term and long term goals required to achieve for providing business many benefits
and competitive advantages. Assure maximum development of Human resource and effective
utilization, maintains and achieves high morale among workers, satisfies and identified needs of
individuals and helps company reach their goals is considered as short term goals of HR
manager.
On the other side, ensuring quality of employees performance, industrial peace,
maintaining low workers productivity cost, succession planning, keeping health and overall
morale of workers high, maintaining CSR, keeping management updated about changes in retail
industry including technology changes, compensation trends, employer branding and manpower
supply is defined as long term goals.
Professional development plan-
PDP is the valuable and useful document that established for both career development
goals and strategy for meeting them (Black and et.al., 2017). It is formal means by which the
person sets out goals, outcomes and strategies of training and learning. Professional development
plan is in alignment with professional programmes of study, it is often prepared to meet needed
from statutory or regulatory bodies around continuing professional developing. PDP is created
for improving HR manager weaknesses and help to strengthen it which is beneficial for personal
as well as professional career growth and development. Professional development plan must
clearly define activities, time frames and results to meet specific dates and defined goals for

meetings and review with supervisor (Dong and et.al., 2017). It has been created by management
within company to determine required skills and knowledge to help HR manager career goals
and company business needs.
Required skills Why skills is important to
improve?
Strategies for betterment Time frame
Negotiation skills Negotiation abilities is very
essential for HR manager as
it help to prepare plans
related to HR management
and support to make better
decisions. With the help of
negotiation skill Human
resource manager can be
able to take better decisions
and solve any problem
within organizational
structure effectively. It is
important to have
negotiation skills which
make human resource
manager capable to deal
with difficult situations.
In order to improve or
develop negotiation skills,
HR manager need to make
all preparation related to it,
take suggestions from
senior authorities and
efforts to communicate
with others at workplace.
7 days
Oral communication
skills
Oral communication skills is
the required for working as
Human resource manager in
retail company. It is the
procedure of verbally
transmitting data or
information and shares ideas
from one person to another
In order to developed oral
communication skills,
human resource manager
must attend video
conferencing and face to
face meetings as it help to
develop confidence among
them for talking to other
5 days

one. With the help of good
oral communication ability
HR manager communicate
with its team members
effectively as well as other
peoples in workplace.
Developing this ability is
significant for human
resource manager, its make
them able to perform
effectively and create
positive working
environment around work
area.
person. With the help of
communication skills
manager will be able to
share their thoughts and
ideas with other easily and
also identified issues via
good oral communication
ability.
Decision making
abilities
Human resource manager
need to develop and
improve their decision
making abilities which help
to make them able to take
better decisions individual
without dependency.
Decision making is act of
selecting between two or
more course of activities. In
large procedure of problem
solving, good decision
making skills include
choosing between suitable
solutions to the issues. It is
essential to improve
decision making skills for
To develop or improve
decision making skills,
Human resource manager
must create plan before
taking decision based on
situational analysis. They
must communicate with
high authority as well as
staff members in HR
department to determine
that decision is going on
the way.
8 days

manager as it support to
solve any sudden problems
arise within organizational
structure.
Technical skills Technical abilities is the
knowledge and skills need
to develop by HR manager
to perform specific task
within company effectively
and efficiently. It is practical
and often relate to
information technology,
mechanical, scientific task
or mathematical. Human
resource manager need to
develop their technical skills
more which is beneficial for
its professional as well as
personal career growth and
success. It help to use
software easily and feed
data in context of employees
daily activities.
Human resource manager
take training for improving
and developing their
technical skill more than
before. With the help of
having good technical
skills they can be able to
managed essential
information via online.
20 days
Stressed
management skills
It is very important for HR
manager to develop their
stressed management skills,
with the help of this ability
they can be able to handle
uncertain situation easily
and also provide directions
Exercise and relaxation
activities is one of the best
strategies which has been
implement by HR manager
in its life styles.
8 days

to other as well. After
Managing and reducing
stress human resource
manager leads to improve
their health and manage any
situation.
Lack of legislations
knowledge
In order to run business
effectively and retain
talented people with firm for
long time, HR manager need
to develop their knowledge
more and more in context of
employment legislations and
others as well which is
beneficial and useful for
organization. Knowledge
about legislations allows
manager to protect business
and workers against
discrimination and tyranny
and its also permit them to
make assure that
organization is acting
lawfully at all times. The
knowledge about law and
rules provide the appropriate
frame work for how to
operate and act.
Reading old case studies
and make discussion with
legal adviser human
resource manager can
develop their knowledge
related to essential
legislations.
20 days
Time management
skills
Time management is one of
the best and most essential
With the help of making
plans and setting time
15 days

ability while working as HR
manager. It is use one time
productively or effectively,
especially at work. HR
manager need to develop
their time management
skills in order to accomplish
given task on time and
provide better services when
it is required in firm.
limits on each activities,
human resource manager
can develop their time
management skills.

CONCLUSION
Present report concludes that professional career development forms an integral part of an
individual and which can help in achieving the career objectives in effectively. For an individual
to develop professionally it is important to identify it's skills as well as knowledge which can
help developing a professional development plan. In order to identify its skills an employee
make use of skill audit which is an effective way for identification of skills. It can also be
concluded from the report that an individual may posses and lack many skills and knowledge and
it is important to develop a professional plan accordingly. Also, it is important for and individual
to address the proper ways of finding the job according to their qualification, skills and
knowledge and for this individual can search jobs by using various websites from internet. Also,
present report concludes that in order to develop professionally an individual should set a
professional goals which is to be achieved by an individual. Furthermore, with the help of
professional development plan human resource manager will be able to improve their
weaknesses and develop required abilities which is essential for their role in company.
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5 Essential Human Resources Skill. 2019. [ONLINE]. Available
through:<https://www.villanovau.com/resources/hr/essential-skills-human-resources/> .
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