Retail Career: Action Plan and Self-Reflection for Career Growth

This report outlines a career action plan focused on the retail sector, emphasizing the importance of self-reflection for identifying strengths and areas for improvement. The personal analysis highlights the need for enhanced communication, leadership, and technical skills to excel as a marketing manager. The action plan includes strategies such as joining coaching classes, researching leadership styles, and pursuing technical training. A Curriculum Vitae (CV) and LinkedIn profile are developed to showcase qualifications, skills, and career aspirations. The report concludes that a well-defined career action plan, coupled with self-awareness, is crucial for achieving professional goals and attracting potential employers.

CW2- Career Action
Plan and Self-
Reflection

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
Personal Analysis........................................................................................................................3
Career Action Plan......................................................................................................................4
CV...............................................................................................................................................5
LinkedIn Profile..........................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
Books and Journals:....................................................................................................................8
Online:.........................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
A career action plan defines as the roadmap that will take an individual from
selecting the occupation from obtaining a job or level up the career in the respective area
or field. This will help a person to reaching their career goals. Self-reflection enables an
individual to take time to think about, evaluate, mediate on and offer serious thoughts to
cognition, demeanour, motivations, ideas and desires (Delauzun, 2020). This project will
be relied on individual analysis to assess the strengths and the areas of improvement. It
will also draw a career action plan to ameliorate or develop fundamental skills in chosen
industry i.e. retail industry. At the end, Curriculum Vitae and LinkedIn profile will be
made.
TASK
Personal Analysis
As I wish to grow my career in the retail sector, I have learned and studied for assorted
marketing courses through which I have gained the knowledge, ideas, ability and so forth. I have
got a chance to be occupied in one of the top retail organizations named Marks and Spencer. It is
diversified its business in merchandising of food, home and much more home items. It has been
analysed by me that there is a requisite of evolution or improvement of some fundamental skills
that will be needed by me to carry out my employment and job as a marketing employee. It has
been explained below:
 Communication skills: I have realised that communication skill is very crucial to being
a groovy marketing manager. Being on such position, I have to pass on thoughts with
various people such as clients, other employees, customer service representatives and
much more. I have to be great at expressing the marketing aims and goals to my team-
mates, to resolve the customer problems and issues and much more. It is sensed that I can
grow better in this skill to become an effective marketing manager.
 Leadership Skills: It want grow up my leadership skills with an intent to efficaciously
influence, guide, direct and lead my team and other members. It will aid me in aligning
the group goals with business goals.
 Creative skills: I have realised that I am groovy at creative thinking as well as innovative
skills. It aid to develop various new ideas and perspectives to lead the team, to create

something new in the existing products and services or even to deal with creative
solutions to the customer's difficulties.
 Listening skills: I have a strength of having good listening skills through which I can be
competent to listen and hear the difficulties, involvements or any problem of customers
or employees. This helps in making great dealings with others. Also, it assists me to make
new bonds which lasts long time.
 Technical skills: It is a threat of me to not having a corking technical skill. I want to
develop this skill for my enterpriser so that I can be competent to operate advanced tools,
machineries, software programmes and so on that are needful in dealing with marketing
activities.
Career Action Plan
As I have analysed from the above section about the strengths and weaknesses of being a
marketing manager in the chosen organization. In order to acquire my job in an effective manner,
I will produce an action plan for my career which will aid in me to evolve in the key areas of
marketing. These action plan is below:
Skills, knowledge or
abilities
Importance of key
area
Action to develop or
improve key areas
Time-scales
Communication Skills It is important to get
the marketing job in a
right way so that
overall aims can be
attained. By
effectively
communicate, I will be
fit to give answer and
measures to diverse
difficulties raised in
the marketing
functions.
I will join coaching
classes where lots of
members will interact
with me to share
different kinds of
opinions. I will also
meet new people to
enhance my
knowledge.
Eight to nine months
Leadership skills It is vital to have good I will do research on Two to three years

leadership skills to
effectively guide,
motivate and ordinate
the team-members.
This will help in
becoming role model
for others if I have
significant leadership
skills.
various popular
leaders to know about
their styles of
leadership used in
their organisation. I
will try to grab
opportunities to lead
people to show my
abilities.
Technical Skills It is important to have
high skills of
technicality to work on
advanced models,
tools as well as
equipment so that flow
of marketing activities
can be enhanced.
I will focus on reading
books, take online
tutorials to enhance
my technical
knowledge. I will take
subscription to
technical magazines.
One and half years.
CV
Curriculum Vitae
(Marketing Manager)
Contact details:
xxx,UK 1456
(780)567-892233
[e-mail]
Aims of Career:
The aim of my career is to become a marketing manager in a well-reputed organisation where I
can look-forward to deal with many types of marketing activities. To learn several professional
techniques to do marketing projects effectively and efficiently. To evolve and turn in
professional working environment for a good period of time.

Work Experience:
 I have done my professional internship with a well-known organisation.
 I have attend numerous seminars, together with webinars associated to marketing to
grow my knowledge in technicality.
 I have performed many marketing operations for a recruiting company.
Qualifications:
 Bachelor's degree in marketing management.
 Done post graduation in marketing.
 PHD degree in marketing.
Skills:
 Influencing as well as inspiring skills.
 Communication skills
 Time-management skills.
 Critical thinking.
 Technical skills.
LinkedIn Profile
Olivia Johnsons
Marketing Analyst at Tesco
Talks about #techmarketing #techservices #customerexperiences
Contact info: London, UK
About: This profile reflects my background, interests, knowledge, skills and experiences and
much more of my work life. I am basically from London, UK where I matured up and learned
courses. I am super funny, energetic and enthusiastic to deal with challenging things. I have my
dreams and passion to get my dreams fulfilled in the respective field. I also love to read books
and travel. I circumnavigated around the globe to more than 5 nations, I volunteer regularly and
passionate about social work and technology.
Presently, I am working for a local marketing outlet as a market analyst. My job is to handle
with diverse situations of marketing and related activities. I have to make marketing intentions
and targets for the team-mates. I need to examine the current needs and tastes and expectations

of customers and then, convey same to the organization to work accordingly. I want to work on
current tools that can be utilised in the marketing procedures while should have the knowledge
of various tools of marketing where the products or services can be promoted.
I love my job, but I like to look into something fresh and contrastive where I can grow and
develop myself towards the next level or step of my career. I like dealing with challenges and
the people who are passionate about their work and jobs. It helps me in knowing what things I
can attain and how it can be attained.
I have good technical skills, creativity skills, communication skills, critical thinking skills and
so on through which I can show my competencies and passion in the related work.
This is how I sum up my job. I also like to help people fall in love with the brands, helps
agencies with new businesses. I am able to build trust with customers and clients to help the
brands. I am effectively advertise the brand and its offerings to bring the customer attention
towards brand.
CONCLUSION
From this report, it can be sensed that an effective career action plan help a person to
develop in the key areas or skills which further helps in attaining the professional goals. With the
help of personal analysis, a person is able to identify his or her strengths and weak points which
are important for their professional dreams and career. CV helps in reflecting the person's
education, qualification, skills, competencies, experience and expectations for a certain profile.
LinkedIn profile is created for the job role of marketing manager in a well-known organisation. It
helps in attracting the employers.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Date, R.O.S.S., Academic and Career Advising Number. Policy, 6, pp.5-12.
Delauzun, A., 2020. Change it up, change the system! Exploring career development learning
and social justice through action research. Journal of the National Institute for Career
Education and Counselling, 44(1), pp.13-20.
Homsey, B.O., 2021. An Action Plan for Artistic Identity and Career Development. Dance
Education in Practice, 7(1), pp.19-25.
Mattingly, A.N. and et.al., 2020. Implementation of a pharmacy technician career
ladder. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 77(9), pp.709-712.
Moses, M.P., 2021. The Perceptions of Minority College Students Toward a Career in Law
Enforcement (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University).
Oğuz, E. and Kasacı, K., 2019. Career journey: Career and life design. In Vocational identity and
career construction in education (pp. 122-140). IGI Global.
Savickas, M.L., 2019. Career-style counseling. In Adlerian counseling and psychotherapy (pp.
201-225). Routledge.
Wehrle, K., Kira, M. and Klehe, U.C., 2019. Putting career construction into context: Career
adaptability among refugees. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 111, pp.107-124.
Online:
14 LinkedIn Profile Summaries That We Love (And How to Boost Your Own), 2022. [Online]
Available Through:
<https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/product-tips/linkedin-profile-
summaries-that-we-love-and-how-to-boost-your-own>