BMAF008-20: Business Career Portfolio - Skills, CV & Action Plan

This business career portfolio showcases a personal statement, CV, SWOT analysis, and action plan aimed at securing an operational manager position at McKinsey & Company. The portfolio details Peter's background, including his education, work experience, and skills. The personal statement highlights his strengths, interests, and career aspirations. The CV summarizes his qualifications and accomplishments. The SWOT analysis identifies opportunities and threats in the job market, along with his strengths and weaknesses. The action plan outlines steps for improving skills, such as communication. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wealth of study resources, including past papers and solved assignments, to support students in their academic pursuits.

Planning Your Career in Business

Table of Contents
Section-1:.........................................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Section-2..........................................................................................................................................2
Designing my personal statement portfolio in detailed manner......................................................2
CV( Curriculum Vitae)....................................................................................................................4
Section C..........................................................................................................................................5
Conducting my personal SWOT analysis........................................................................................5
Designing the action plan for improving skills by using frameworks like SMART Goal..............6
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11

Section-1:
Introduction
This portfolio will be designed for conveying my skills as well as knowledge that will
enable me to grab a operational manager position in one of the famous global consultancy
organisation McKinsey and company. The job portfolio which I will be designing contains my
personal statement that can enable me to describe about my capabilities and type of skills that I
posses. In addition to this, I will also explain the parameters that can help me to stand out from
other competitors present in the job market. Apart from this, the portfolio will also illustrate my
CV which will be accurately formulated for the purpose of drawing attention from HR manager
of McKinsey company in effective manner(Halberstadt and et.al., 2019). Moreover, this portfolio
will demonstrate my strengths and weaknesses along with opportunities and strengths. After
undertaking SWOT analysis, I will also undertake formulation of suitable action plan so that the
skills in which I lack can be improved within the decided time frame. Furthermore, I will also
make the proper structure of personal development plan that will be included in the part of my
action for solving my weakness in proper manner.
The activities attached with CV along with designing personal statement will assist me to
tell my skills and knowledge for the purpose of introducing myself in the detailed manner. In
addition to this, it can also enable me to stand out from the crowd of other business students by
paying attention on the forces that can make me unique and more appealing with the demands of
professional recruiters of McKinsey and company. The CV can benefit me to convey my
educational background as well as work experience in proper manner. If the CV made is creative
and covers relevant information then it can support me to persuade my interviewers to select me.
I have selected the McKinsey and company to perform the job of a operational
manager(Hamidi and Chavoshi, 2018). The McKinsey and company is recognised as the global
business consulting organisation which was founded in the year 1926 by the professor of
University of Chicago James O. McKinsey. This firm provides number of professional services
to the well known corporate bodies, government as well as other parties. In relation to this, it also
one of the oldest as well as largest firm in terms of management consultancy company. It also
record third position as one of the grandest business strategy consulting firm in terms of revenue.
Moreover, the main business function of company is to meet with operational and financial

needs of clients. The McKinsey and company also provide appropriate environment for boosting
professional development as well as optimising learning opportunities by providing best class
training sessions along with unlimited access for E-learning courses. It can support me to further
develop my skills and knowledge in best manner. Furthermore, the McKinsey company also
provide various incentives that includes benefits like comprehensive medical cover, bonus on the
basis of annual performance and other best in class benefits. Apart from this, the firm also have
healthy working environment and also promote positive work-life balance. These are the factors
that motivated me to give job applications in this company(Holzweiss, Walker and Conrey,
2018).
Section-2
Designing my personal statement portfolio in detailed manner
Introduction about myself
My name is Peter and I was born in Romania. I am a extroverted and friendly person who
loves to take part in open discussions and give opinions for the purpose of solving current and
critical problems of society, businesses as well as economics. I am also curious to know
information that is crucial for my success in business field. I am honest in what I do as well as
punctual in doing important tasks. Apart from this, I possess good observation skills along with
capable of working in both scenarios that is in alone or in teams. In relation to this, I am also
well organised and make sure to manage time in proper manner. I have high level of interest
related to the diverse type of business like finance, operations, marketing and much more.
However, among them I have more interest in the operational and production field of business
that inspires me to achieve greater position in this selected field. When it comes to my hobby, it
is singing, playing instruments of music as well as travelling(Pitura, 2022). In relation to this, I
also have hobby to read business related article or journals which assist me to gain necessary
information about what are the current corporate trends of business. My future aim is to become
a well known person in the field of operation management. I will attain this by being open
minded to learn new things and adopt flexibility for complying with external changes.
Education
I have completed my schooling from General School from September 1975 to June
1983. After this, I have done my graduation degree as well as MBA in operation management
from National College Vasile Alexandri from September 1983 till June 1987. This business

degree has supported me to gain deep information of several business concepts and theories by
participating into real life case studies. In addition to this, the opportunity of studying in London
Business School has allowed me to upgrade my academic and professional skills in the effective
manner. It gave me chance to work on improving my communication skills, problem solving
skills along with decision making skills by engaging in performing diverse projects and case
studies. I am positive that I can qualify the McKinsey' s company interview round as I have
given maximum time to develop relevant skills for dealing with complex business challenges by
taking use of crucial business formulas as well as theories. The London business school has also
helped me to develop leadership skill by working as a leader in various college project
events(Fissore and et.al., 2020).
Work experience
I have a work experience of eight years in the field of Real estate as Real estate agent. I
have also gained proper knowledge of communicating with customers in proper manner by doing
job as Sales Agent for a period of nine years. This professional job has allowed me to upgrade
my listening skills as well as also improve ability to pay necessary attention for meeting
customer demands and wants. By performing this job, I have honed my customer service skills
and problem solving skills. These skills can benefit me to perform better in my job role as
operational manager in McKinsey and company. Moreover, I have also gained experience by
becoming self-employed from the last six years.(Oliver and Jorre de St Jorre, 2018). This
experience can benefit me to give my best performance in the future job role as operational
manager in McKinsey and company. The reason is that I have grasp the strong skills and
knowledge related to various operation management tools like Enterprise resource planning
system, Customer Relationship software as well as six sigma tool. Moreover, I can say that I
have honed my decision making skills which can assist me to give solutions of business issues on
urgent basis. Furthermore, by working as the assistant operation manager I have give opportunity
to lead my staff members from this I understood that what factors are effective for driving
motivation level of workers leading to higher productivity.
Conclusion
From my above described personal statement, I can conclude that my educational
background and higher work experience can support me to deal with tough sides of job duty in
the field of operational manager. The suitable skills and knowledge which I have gained by

working as customer service representative as well as assistant operation manager can enable me
to give my business performance in best possible manner. Moreover, I can also evaluate that I
can properly meet the condition given by McKinsey company for embracing new skills in fastest
way as I am open minded as well as curious enough to learn critical skills in effective manner.
Furthermore, I can also evaluate that I have also honed my decision making and problem
solving skills by taking effective participation in the real life business projects(Succi. and
Canovi, 2020).
CV( Curriculum Vitae)
Curriculum Vitae
Name-Peter
Address- -41 Elliston Avenue ,B448TG,BIRMINGHAM 01-02-2017 to 15-10-2020
-149 Appleton Avenue,B435LX,BIRMINGHAM 15-10-2020 to present
DOB- 23-12-1968
Nationality-British
Summary
Self motivated professional having great skills in managing group of staff members. I have the
quality to communicate effectively with workers and retain their loyalty base by listening their
feedback in better way. I am open minded and risk taker that enables me to adopt with market
changes in fastest manner. I am always ready for improving my skills along with finding
opportunities that can lead me to greater growth and development.
Skills
 Decision making skills.
 Leadership Skills.
 Good observation skills
Accomplishments
I have successfully managed a group of 40+ employees on business event which was held in
Birmingham. In relation to this, I have also collected best employee reward for giving
outstanding performance in completing team task in most efficient manner.
Experience
2000-2008- Real estate agent
2008-2017 –Sales agent

04-2017-present- Self employed
Education
General School“ September 1975 – June 1983
National College Vasile Alexandri September 1983– June 1987
Hobbies and Interest-Reading, writing articles, travelling, watching movies, playing musical
instruments.
Declaration
The above mentioned data is true to my knowledge and faith
Date- XX-XX-XXXX.
Section C
Conducting my personal SWOT analysis
The usage of SWOT analysis tool assist me in evaluating my internal capabilities as well
as weaknesses(Cuervo and Solórzano, 2022). In relation to this, it can also allow me to gain
information about what are the skills in which I am lacking that cab negatively effect my future
professional performance.
Opportunity
 The launching of Ed-tech platforms can
benefit me to upgrade professional
skills and knowledge by engaging in
taking specialised type of certificates
and licenses through which I can
improve my future job performance in
proper manner. I can also acquire opportunity of taking
participations in the various personality
development courses for the aim of
improving professional skills in
effective manner(Cuervo and
Threat
 The increasing competition level is the
become threat for me. There are high
number of talented work professions in
job market that can give me tough
competition when joining the
McKinsey and company. In relation to
this, the high volume of multi-lingual
professionals can also pose a big risk to
my future professional career.
 The other threat that can occur can be
due to discovery of new study theories
and new computer technology that can

Solórzano, 2022). force me to re-study those new
technologies that can be crucial fro me
in performing duty as operation
manager in appropriate manner.
Strength
 I have experienced that I have good
listening skills that allows me to make
effective conclusion as well as adopt
key take ways that is crucial for me.
This type of skill can enable me to
understand the view point of my
subordinates and leader in proper
manner. In relation to this, I have also realised
that I am good in making better
decisions and also solve any type of
problems by getting into root cause of
it. This can allow me to find proper
solutions to business issues that I can
experience as my job role of operation
manager. This can benefit me to gain
higher professional position in
appropriate manner.
Weakness
 I have gain understanding from my
previous experience that I am not good
in holding effective communication
with other person as I often get
nervous. Due to this, I was not able to
interact with my team members or also
not perform well when giving speech to
large number of audiences. This
condition has negatively effected my
professional career as because of this I
have experienced low respect and
slower promotions(Keinänen, Ursin and
Nissinen, 2018).
 I have also evaluated that I posses weak
critical thinking skills that does not
enable me to lay attention on both the
side of discussions positive or negative.
Designing the action plan for improving skills by using frameworks like SMART Goal
SMART Goal:
In order to polish my skills, I will formulate the effective suitable action plan that will
satisfy all the necessary requirements of SMART objective(Aleksandrova and Parusheva, 2019).
The following table represents my action plan with the support of SMART analytical tool. These
are:

Skills to
improve
Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound
Communicati
on skills
This goal of
mine will be
specific as I
will engage in
the personality
development
classes from
where I can
upgrade my
communicatio
n skills. I will
give best to
convey my
opinions by
participating
in sessions of
group
discussion(Do
yle, 2018).
This goal will
be measurable
as I will
compare and
check my
current
performance
with my past
performance. I
can also
engage in
team work
practises
through which
I can monitor
my
improvements.
The skill will
be attainable
as there are
various
communicatio
n enhancement
classes in
which I can
enrol. His can
support me
improve this
skill in proper
manner.
This goal is
important as
the
upgradation of
communicatio
n skills can
benefit me to
give positive
impression to
my recruiters
thus increasing
my chance of
selection. It
will also allow
me to form
effective
relations with
my society
and family
members.
This is time
bound as this
will take
around 3
months for
developing my
communicatio
n skills.
Computer
skills
This goal will
be considered
as specific as I
will make
registrations
into famous
computer
training centre
This objective
will be
measurable as
I will take
steps for
attending
various
computer
This goal is
achievable as
there are
various
computer
coaching
centres that
has recently
This objective
will be critical
for me as
attaining
computer
skills or
knowledge can
allow me to
In order to
better my
communicatio
n skills, I will
need at-least 6
months of
time.

from where I
will upgrade
my suitable
technological
skills that can
inspire me to
give best
performance
in my future
career option
as operational
management.
literacy classes
under-which I
can appear on
tests as well as
practical
exams. By
doing this, I
can gain deep
information
about what is
my current
level of the
computer
knowledge.
Through this, I
can
appropriately
improve my
performance
after knowing
about my
weakness in
the timely
manner.
opened in the
London. In
addition to
this, I can also
participate in
taking online
computer
classes by just
sitting from
home with
support of
laptop. This
can benefit me
in attaining the
suitable
technological
skills in the
most
convenient
and cost
effective
manner(Cheng
, 2019).
stand out from
the large pool
of candidates
of job market.
This can also
support me to
gain positive
response from
interviewers as
they will see
relevant
computer
certificates on
my CV.
Moreover, it
will also allow
me to perform
my operational
management
job in most
proper
manner.
Critical
thinking skills
This objective
will be
particular as I
will hone or
improve my
critical
thinking skills
This goal will
be measurable
as I can
analyse my
performance
by adopting
critical
This objective
will be
attainable as
there are many
options
available
through which
The
development
of critical
thinking skills
will be crucial
for me as I can
become a
I will need 4
months for
improving my
critical
thinking skills
in proper

by engaging in
to number of
seminars
connected to
different
concepts such
as social,
business and
other. This
activity will
force me to re-
think the
problem by
taking into
consideration
both the side
which can be
positive or can
be negative. In
addition to
this, I will also
do
brainstorming
games and
other brain
boosting
games like
Chess or
puzzle that can
become an
advantage for
reasoning test
and through
participating
in group
activities I can
provide my
ideas or
opinion in
both positive
and negative
manner.
I can upgrade
my critical
thinking skills.
The first I can
try is giving
critical
thinking
assessment
test or by
playing chess
or other
brainstorming
exercises. This
can allow me
to become
better in
proper
manner(Krsko
va and et.al.,
2020).
good problem
solver through
which I can
give effective
solutions for
complex
business
problems(Bez
anilla and
et.al., 2019).
manner.

me in boosting
critical
thinking skills.
Conclusion
It has been concluded from the above portfolio that improvement of professional skills is
important for ensuring achievement of greater success in the field of business related job
positions. It can also be assessed that the professional skills like communication skills can allow
me to effectively perform my future professional job as I can make emotional and deeper
relations with my managers and other team member. In relation to this, I have also constructed
my personal statement document and also CV under which I have demonstrated about myself,
educational degree and licenses along with work experience details. Moreover, I have also
gained insight about my strengths and weakness along with opportunities and threats by
performing personal SWOT analysis. This allowed me to improve my skills in which I was
lacking into by designing the suitable personal development plan with the support of SWOT
framework.

References
Books and Journal
Halberstadt and et.al., 2019. Skills and knowledge management in higher education: how service
learning can contribute to social entrepreneurial competence development. Journal of
Knowledge Management.
Hamidi, H. and Chavoshi, A., 2018. Analysis of the essential factors for the adoption of mobile
learning in higher education: A case study of students of the University of
Technology. Telematics and Informatics, 35(4), pp.1053-1070.
Holzweiss, P.C., Walker, D.W. and Conrey, M., 2018. Preparing new professionals for
administrative leadership in higher education: identifying specific skills for
training. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education.
Pitura, J., 2022. Developing L2 speaking skills in English-medium EFL higher
education. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 16(2), pp.118-143.
Fissore and et.al., 2020, November. Development of problem solving skills with Maple in Higher
Education. In Maple Conference (pp. 219-233). Springer, Cham.
Oliver, B. and Jorre de St Jorre, T., 2018. Graduate attributes for 2020 and beyond:
Recommendations for Australian higher education providers. Higher Education
Research & Development, 37(4), pp.821-836.
Succi, C. and Canovi, M., 2020. Soft skills to enhance graduate employability: comparing
students and employers’ perceptions. Studies in higher education, 45(9), pp.1834-1847.
Cuervo, R.H. and Solórzano, M.V., 2022. How were the socio-affective skills of higher
education students addressed in the pandemic?. Texto Livre, 14.
Keinänen, M., Ursin, J. and Nissinen, K., 2018. How to measure students’ innovation
competences in higher education: Evaluation of an assessment tool in authentic learning
environments. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 58, pp.30-36.
Aleksandrova, Y.G. and Parusheva, S.S., 2019. Social media usage patterns in higher education
institutions–An empirical study. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in
Learning (Online), 14(5), p.108.

Doyle, T., 2018. Helping students learn in a learner-centered environment: A guide to facilitating
learning in higher education. Stylus Publishing, LLC.
Cheng, V.M., 2019. Developing individual creativity for environmental sustainability: Using an
everyday theme in higher education. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 33, p.100567.
Krskova and et.al., 2020. The skill of discipline–measuring FIRST discipline principles in higher
education. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 11(1), pp.258-281.
Bezanilla and et.al., 2019. Methodologies for teaching-learning critical thinking in higher
education: The teacher’s view. Thinking skills and creativity, 33, p.100584.