BMS502 Work-Related Learning: A Reflective Piece on Career Development

This report is a reflective assessment of work-related skills, career prospects, and progression opportunities. It begins with an evaluation of key competencies using a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report then explores realistic career pathways in the short, medium, and long term, considering industry experience, entry-level management, project management, senior project management, and directorial roles. Finally, it discusses potential progression activities, such as self-development courses, continuing education, and participation in industry events, alongside potential barriers like lack of direction and budget constraints. The goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of career development strategies and challenges for graduates.

Reflective Piece
TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................2
1.Key competencies:....................................................................................................................2
SWOT analysis:...........................................................................................................................2
2. Career Prospects......................................................................................................................4
Developing career pathway in the short, medium and long term:...............................................4
3. Progression Opportunities.......................................................................................................6
Progression opportunity:..............................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
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INTRODUCTION
Every individual need to get education to develop their career in effective manner, not only
education but career development plans play vital role in the process. Every graduate need to
have work related skills such as communication, decision making and team and time
management (Hargie, Dickson and Touris, 2017). This report will discuss effectiveness of work
related skills in meeting the job requirement. Later this report will discuss personal SWOT
analyse to examine strength and weakness. Later this report will discuss career pathways in
short, medium and long term as a graduate. At last this report will discuss progression activities
and barriers associated with career progression.
MAIN BODY
1.Key competencies:
SWOT analysis:
Strength: every individual have strength which allow them to stand alone and become more
effective in their personal and career life. Strength lies in uniqueness which an individual carry,
these uniqueness allow them to achieve career goals. My strength lies in uniqueness which I
have, for example I have uniqueness in type of personality. I tend to engage myself in developing
unique personality allowing me to be different from others. Apart from this, my strength lies in
effective communication skills with sense of active listening skills, these basic skills allow me to
reach people with confidence and easily analyse their message (GURL, 2017).
Communication help me to solve half of problem faced in their pathway of career, with
the sense of active listening, I can understand communicator in one go. Apart from these basic
skills, I carry leadership skills and ability allowing me to manage and lead myself and others.
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This skill is not common and found in some individual only, leadership is most required skill in
every business organization..
Weakness: every individual have weakness which push their growth speed back and disturb
their smooth flow of gaining career advantage, weakness are biggest barrier in career
development and pathway. My weakness lies in lack of confidence, when it come to address
large sum of people and provide speech in front of group, my confidence tend to get low
resulting in nervousness (Phadermrod, Crowder and Wills, 2019). This weakness do not suit with
leadership quality as leaders are the one who have confident, lack of confidence is my biggest
weakness.
Another weakness lies in my patience level, in tough situation my ability to think tend to
decreases resulting in aggression and low patience level. Sometimes too much confusion and
tough time become very challenging for me to keep maintain my patience level. Another
weakness is connected with patience level which is lack of focus, in tough time my focus tend to
shift and I can not process reliable thoughts to overcome that tough situation. All these weakness
of mine need to be improved to overcome any failure in career development and pathway as
project manager.
Opportunity: opportunity lies in identification of weakness, when an individual have ability to
identify their weakness then they can craft opportunity out of it. These opportunity are booster
which boost the growth speed of career development, I can craft various opportunity to become
more effective in career pathway. With my leadership skills, I can apply in certain organization
who are looking for those individual who can manage and lead people with leadership skills and
ability.
I have effective communication skills which will unlock various doors opportunity for me
in career pathway, many large business organization like Tesla required their employee to be
more effective while having communication and listening skills (Sarsby, 2016). It is very clear
that every project manager need to have effective communication skills to understand their
employee in the workplace, apart from this basic skill, I have time management skills allowing
me to manage task in time, I have opportunity to surpass my competitors with time management
skills.
Threat: threats are external situation or event that disturb an individual and become biggest
barrier in their career development process, movement of peers or subordinate become another
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major threat for person. I am facing threat from external tough situation which is impacting me
in different ways, high level of stress because of ineffective performance become biggest threat
for me impacting my performance (Teoli, Sanvictores and An, 2019).
Another threat I am facing and I will going to face in manager pathway is festiveness and
performance of my peers who tend to perform more better than me. There is too much
competition in role of project manager, every individual is apply for managerial position in
business organization increasing competition in the role. These individual also have basic skills
with leadership and decision making skills making them more suitable for manager role in
business organization. I will be going to face competition from these peers who are more
effective than me in manager role.
2. Career Prospects
Developing career pathway in the short, medium and long term:
Working in the industry: in short term career pathway, working in the industry is first and the
most important step, every manager performs as worker in industry. As per my skills, I can
perform non managerial roles in these industries on short term basis; I can work as consultant in
consultancy business organization to explore further career development opportunity in selected
organization (Hedge and Rineer, 2017). With a short term working with these industries, I can
sharpen my management skills. Every manager starts their journey with basic level so I need to
start working in business firm to gain knowledge. Gaining experience in short term pathway is
one of the most important thing for an graduate, this step can explore those area of development
which will fuel the growth of long term pathway.
Entry level manager: after gaining experience in short term pathway by performing as working
in the industry, next step is continuous improvement and applying for entry level project
management. I can develop my career through gaining experience and knowledge in entry level
manager, this second step in career pathway highlight that I need to keep gaining knowledge
about project coordinator or assistant as this will increase my chances of development as project
manager of business organization. This step fall under short term career pathway where I still
need to understand roles and responsibility of manager in the workplace. I need to gained enough
knowledge as coordinator in project management to apply for project manage position in
medium term career pathway.
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Project manager: becoming project manager of chosen business organization is my medium
term career pathway goal, after successfully completing role of project coordinator, next step
highlight role or position of project manager. This medium term goal is one of the most
challenging for me in career pathway because becoming project manager need skills and ability
of leader which I need to develop, it is very clear that project manager not only execute project
but they also lead and manage people under them. Skills like effective communication and
decision making will be pushed while performing this role. medium term pathways help
individual to put stepping stone in their career success, medium pathways help person to not only
gain experience and sharpen their knowledge but this also allow person to develop a sense of
leadership and understand the value and importance of responsibility.
Senior project manager: in the pathway of project manager, next position is senior project
manager who is in charge of every project manager of business organization. This position is one
of the most difficult hence it is not very easy to get, senior level need years of experience with
most successful projects. In my medium term career pathway, becoming senior manager will be
difficult as this report years of experience with wide range of knowledge and skills. I need to
apply for this position which needs enough knowledge in project manager and I need to perform
successful project under role of project manager. I want to become senior project manager in
medium term career pathway.
Director of project management: becoming director of project management is my long term
career path way, this step in pathway is most challenging because this not only required years of
experience with project management skills and ability but this position required critical thinking
skills with decision making skills allowing director to craft strategy in success of intended
projects of business organization (Stipanovic, Stringfield and Witherell, 2017). Director of
project provide blueprint of goals and objective which whole organization have to achieve in
intended time frame. I am sure that this long term goal of mine is not very easy to achieve, I need
to have years of experience with ability to handle any failure in project and I need to set larger
goals for myself as well as business organization.
Apart from this long term pathway, the last or end of this pathway will be on getting
position of vice president of whole project management department allowing me to not only
manage project but to become important stakeholder of the company as well.
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3. Progression Opportunities
Progression opportunity:
Progression activities: progression activities means those action taken by individual to improve
their skills and ability in career path, it is very clear that every graduate need to have those
activities which can boost their effectiveness in career life and help them to identify and analyse
barriers in progression of career, I have developed certain progression activities which allow me
to improve weak area and help me to be more better, these progression activities are:
Self development course: self development course are one of the best thing to improve
performance of an individual, this allow person learn new skills and develop new ability to
become more effective (Kassymova and et.al., 2018). In my career progress, I have joined
various online self development courses which allow me explore those area of development in
my career pathway. This activity of joining online course will increase my knowledge and expert
in these courses provide effective guidance to overcome any barrier in career progression. These
online course are timely based that allow me to sharpen my skills and ability.
Continuing education: even after completely graduated in some course or degree, a person
should not leave education because education can be best key to unlock doors of better
progression opportunity. I need to continue my education even after I get the desired job,
education in other field will allow me to explore those area of improvement which will be
beneficial for me in career pathway.
Participation: participating or volunteering in different events of business organization is best
way to improve career progress, it is very clear that working as volunteer in large scale business
organization allow individual to explore those area of development which benefit them in career
future and life. After the end of my studies, I can participate in these events to gain enough
knowledge and experience.
Barriers in progression:
Lack of direction: lack of direction become the biggest barrier in career progression, many
graduate can not successfully achieved the desired goals of career because they do not have
direction where to go after completing education (Nagashibaevna, 2019). I my career
progression, lack of direction can become biggest barrier. Although I stay focused throughout
my career development and process but at some point not getting right direction can lead me to
failure of career development.
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Lack of budget: lack of budget is very commonly found in career life of many student,
insufficient budget not only slow down the development progress but this also frustrate student
and affect their ability to think (McCarthy, 2016). Lack of budget can become barrier in my
career progress, it is very clear that budget unlock various doors of opportunity mainly in getting
education. My progression activities such as continuing education is connected with budget so it
can become barrier in smooth flow of progression activities.
CONCLUSION
This report has discussed effectiveness of work related skills and its importance in meeting
the requirement of job or any position in business organization. Later this report has discussed
personal SWOT analysis to analyse strength and weakness which help in meeting the
requirement of job. Later this report have discussed career pathway in short, medium and long
term as graduate. At last this report has discussed progression activities and barriers associated
with progression in career path.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
GURL, E., 2017. SWOT analysis: A theoretical review.
Hargie, O., Dickson, D. and Tourish, D., 2017. Communication skills for effective management.
Macmillan International Higher Education.
Hedge, J.W. and Rineer, J.R., 2017. Improving career development opportunities through
rigorous career pathways research. RTI International.
Kassymova and et.al., 2018. Self-development management in educational
globalization. harmony, 3(4), pp.171-176.
McCarthy, C., 2016. Provide effective professional development programming on a tight
budget. Student Affairs Today, 19(8), pp.1-5.
Nagashibaevna, Y.K., 2019. Students' Lack of Interest: How to Motivate Them?. Universal
Journal of Educational Research, 7(3), pp.797-802.
Phadermrod, B., Crowder, R.M. and Wills, G.B., 2019. Importance-performance analysis based
SWOT analysis. International Journal of Information Management, 44, pp.194-203.
Sarsby, A., 2016. SWOT analysis. Lulu. com.
Stipanovic, N., Stringfield, S. and Witherell, E., 2017. The influence of a career pathways model
and career counseling on students' career and academic self-efficacy. Peabody Journal
of Education, 92(2), pp.209-221.
Teoli, D., Sanvictores, T. and An, J., 2019. SWOT analysis.
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