Reflective Journal on Skills Development for Employability and Academic Career

This reflective journal discusses the skills needed for employability and academic career development. It explores the stages of learning from experiences using Gibbs reflective cycle and emphasizes the importance of communication, research, information technology, teamwork, time management, and problem-solving skills. The journal concludes with an action plan for skill development.

Reflective Journal

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Reflective Journal............................................................................................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7

Introduction
This report consists of a reflective journal which discusses various skills which are
needed to be developed for achievement of employability and academic career. The reflection is
described with the help of Gibbs reflective cycle (Salerni, 2020). Gibbs reflective cycle was
developed by Graham Gibbs in 1988. It explains the structure of learning from various
experiences. The following report also describes the action plan which is last type of cycle for
development of skills like communication skills, research skills, use of information and
communication technology, teamwork, time and self-management and problem-solving skills.
Reflective Journal
There are six stages of learning from experiences included and Gibbs reflective cycle.
Below mentioned are the stages:
Description: While completion of this project there were a number of skills I came across
that are needed to be polished and develop within myself. As the project was conducted and we
worked in a team I came to know that I need to develop my communication skills in order to
make sure that everyone in group is able to understand my point of you. It was also necessary for
us to develop research skills. This included both primary as well as secondary researchers.
Primary research included meeting people and taking their views through questionnaires and
interviews. Communication skills played important role while carrying out primary research. I
made sure that I am communicating properly with all the respondents in order to take their views
on research. It was also necessary for me to develop skills related to information and
communication technology. Due to costs involved it was necessary to use technology in order to
communicate with the respondents and between team members. Other than this I worked on my
team management skills and also Time and self-management skills. These are some of necessary
skills for professional and academic working (Cheng, 2020). Development of all the skills is
necessary and individual and for me it will help me to successfully set up my career
professionally and also fulfill all the requirements of my academic career.
Feelings: My feelings my completion of this project were very mixed up. There were
times when I thought that I was up to the mark in order to complete this project. There are a

number of skills like leadership skills which I developed and which helped me to make sure that
everyone is working together. Leadership skill helped me in resolving a number of conflicts
which occurred between group members while completion of this project. Whereas there were a
number of times when I felt that there are a number of skills I need to develop. It took me a lot of
time to understand what are the skills I need to develop and how to use my feelings positively for
my benefit and benefit of my group. I made sure that my feelings do not work negatively and
create differences and conflicts and team members. Even if I was against any opinion of my team
member I put up my point of view in a positive manner keeping others’ feelings into
consideration. This helps me in successfully communicating my views to all the group members.
Evaluation: There were a number of times when team members could not understand
their duties in group and same work was done twice. It was necessary for me to develop time
management skills which helped does in distributing all the task related to project successfully
along the time required to complete them. We made sure that we are first prioritizing in the task
according to their importance (Markkanen and et. al., 2020). It was made sure that more time is
spent on the task which is more important and the task which is less important should be done in
less amount of time. I also made sure that I develop problem-solving skills while continuing with
the task. There were a number of problems which arise two while completion of the task. It was
necessary for every team member to come up with a solution and then we sat together to look for
the best solution. The benefits and drawbacks of all the solutions available were listed and the
solution which was most feasible was selected for solving the problem. In this way everyone and
team evaluated the current situation and made out their own solution for the problem.
Analysis: The situation in the group was made complicated a number of times by all the
group members. Every group member wanted control of the group and no one was making effort
towards teamwork. In order to deal with situation it was necessary that every group member is
agreeing to one group leader and following the decisions which are taken by group leader.
Acting as a leader in group I analyse the situation well and made sure that I am using democratic
style of leadership. Before taking any decision I made sure that all the group members are
involved in decision making process. Following autocratic leadership and imposting the
decisions on group members could have been a negative attitude for problem-solving. I made
sure that communication between all the group members is affected. Regular team meetings were

held where every group member was required to come up with their actions and their
performance. Each team member was independently asked for their advice and everyone in team
was listening to those advices and implementing which ever advice they thought feasible enough.
I also made sure that mistake of any team member is not highlighted and rather than blaming
anyone for mistake everyone and team work together to correct the mistake. In this way it was
easy to complete the project and successfully used strengths of all the group members in a
positive manner.
Conclusion: When looking at completion of the project I would have made sure that a
number of task were attempted differently (Austin, Gilkison and Clemons, 2020). There were a
number of times when conflicts arise in group due to cultural differences. It was necessary in
beginning to make sure that all the group members are communicating effectively and sharing
their point of views. It was also essential to make everyone a group understands the importance
of diversity. One could not impose their own thoughts on others. However the task was
completed successfully even after all these barriers. Other than this the research method used for
completion of task could also have been improved by using available secondary data. The group
relied upon primary research and did not look into already existing data about the report. It is
necessary to develop reading skills and problem-solving skills in order to use secondary data for
research purpose. Proper use of secondary research could have made the research better. Also
discussing on time required for each task could have made the project easy and smooth to carry
on with. I can successfully use this experience in future whenever working in a team to carry on
with my future tasks easily attaining all the goals and objectives in stipulated time period.
Action plan: In order to make sure that I am successfully incorporating all the skills
required for employment and Academy career there are a number of actions which would be
taken by me from now onwards. In order to develop my communication skills I will start
communicating well with my peers and also asked them to correct me if I’m wrong. I need to
work on my return skills for which I need to practice various formal communications through
written format. In order to develop my research skill I can take help from professionals and my
mentors (Djudin, 2020). There are a number of online classes which can successfully help me to
develop information and communication technology skills. With technological development and
advancement in today’s era it is necessary for me to develop my information and communication

technology skills. Working in team is a difficult task and I need to make sure that I am
promoting diversity to work in a team. Learning about various culture and multicultural
knowledge will help me to work in a team successfully. For self and time management I will
work on time scheduling. It is necessary for me to make sure that I am creating a timetable and
schedule before starting any task. For development of problem-solving skills I need to practice. It
is necessary to list down all the solution for a problem and look for benefits and drawbacks of
each option available. In the following manner I can work on myself and all the skills required
for academic and professional career.
Conclusion
With the help of above reflective journal it can be concluded that there are a number of
skills which are required by every individual which helps them in achievement of their
employability and academic career. There are a number of ways which individual users to
identify the skills they lack in and create an action plan through which they can successfully
attain all those skills. The report also explains that in order to develop the skills it is necessary
for individuals to continuously make efforts and it is a continuous process.

References
Books and Journals
Cheng, T.L., 2020. Student Teachers' Perception of Reflective Journal Writing in Placement
Practicum: Experience from a Hong Kong Institution. Asia-Pacific Journal of
Research in Early Childhood Education, 14(2).
Markkanen, P. and et. al., 2020. A reflective cycle: Understanding challenging situations in a
school setting. Educational Research, 62(1), pp.46-62.
Salerni, A., 2020. 9. Learning to learn from experience. Traineeship as a training model to
enhance learning. Psycho-pedagogical research in a Double-degree programme, 53.
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.
Djudin, T., 2020. Writing Reflective Journal and Corrective Feedback: The Endeavors to
Increase Students’ Physics Achievement of Dynamic Fluids. JIPF (Jurnal Ilmu
Pendidikan Fisika), 5(3), pp.141-150.