Career Planning and Employability: A Reflective Commentary & CPD Plan

This report provides a reflective commentary and a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) plan based on the results of a 16 Personalities online test, focusing on career development and employability. The author identifies as an ENTJ-A (Commander) and discusses the strengths and weaknesses associated with this personality type in relation to career goals. The report explores the impact of digital technology on recruitment, the importance of prior work experience, and the relevance of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. It also addresses personal skills, opportunities, and threats, including the potential impact of artificial intelligence on employability. The chosen career path of a care home manager is analyzed for suitability, and SMART objectives are created to facilitate personal and professional development. The report highlights the increasing emphasis on people management skills in the care home sector.

Planning
Careers and
Employability

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1: REFLECTIVE COMMENTARY....................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................10
16 Personalities Test Results.........................................................................................................10
PART 2: CPD Plan........................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Participating in reflective practice to understand personal capabilities, personality traits and
future action which supports career development is essential for attaining career advancement of
students. This report provides reflective commentary, CDP plan with SMART objectives on the
basis of 16 personalities online test which are also provided in this report.
PART 1: REFLECTIVE COMMENTARY
My personality according to the 16 personality test results is commander which is also called
ENTJ- A. Individuals with this personality type have extraverted, intuitive, thinking and judging
personality traits (Ma, Guo and Fang, 2021). The first trait of the personality type showcases that
I enjoy spending time with others and gain energy through interaction. I like to share my ideas
and opinions with others through verbal communication as it helps me directly interact with
others. I am also future oriented and most of the time I am thinking and preparing for attaining
my desired future goals. This is also reflected in my personality trait as I use thinking for making
decisions and coping with emotions. I seek adventurous experiences which is reflected in my
high level of intuition. Finally, I utilize I have high level of judging personality trait which means
that my approach to dealing with world and organizing is planned. I like to follow schedules and
seek order in my daily life.
I believe that one my tendency to make quick decisions and build future plans to gain
specific outcomes is the main factor which will attract employers. The current corporate
environment requires quick decision makers who are able to give the company competitive
advantage by making correct decisions in the time of crisis (Wickam, 2018). This demand for
effective decision makers will help me stand out from others candidates and support me impress
recruiters to gain employment in reputed organization.
As an ENTJ I have effective communication skills. I am able to effectively communicate
with individuals and interact with group. Individuals who are good communicators in all
situations are rare in the current labour market and business firms are looking for such
individuals who are able to communicate with clients and employees efefcfitvelly. In this way
my extraversion and ability to communicate with groups an individual will give me priority
during recruitments and help me gain attention of employers.
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I am goal oriented and plan ahead to ensure timely completion of various objectives. This is
related characteristic is also related to my 16 personalities profile. ENTJ personality types are
given the name commander as they have the capability to project authority ion a way which
draws crowds together behind a shared goal (Sari and Bashori, 2020). My rationality, planning
and leadership qualities will surely attract the attention of employers in the current time as every
business firms is looking for potential leader who is able to ensure long-term success of the
organization.
One of the most recent development in recruitment is the usage of digital technology to
determine the suitability of individuals and select candidates who have digital presence suitable
for the company culture and vacant position of the company. The positive impact is that through
information about the digital activities of candidate business firms are able to understand their
complete personality. Using digital information of employee candidates also has the negative
impact of breaching privacy of individuals as their personal data is being assessed.
The recent development in requirements for employment is that previous work experience in
the field increases the priority of candidates ad they are familiar with the corporate environment
of that specific sector. The positive impact of the employment requirement is that it helps
businesses knowledgeable firms with experience in the corporate sector. This development in
employment requirement negatively affects newly graduate students as they need previous
working experience to gain competitive edge in the labour market.
The sixteen personalities online test is based on the Myers Briggs type indicator. This is
popularized framework for understanding personality and helps individuals identify their
personality on the basis of decision making, ways in which they process information and interact
with others (DeVries and Beck, 2020). The dimensions provided in the sixteen personality test
are introversion vs extroversion, sensing vs intuition, thinking vs feeling and judging vs intuition.
This is relevant tool for assessing personality of individuals because it helps individuals not
only understand their personality but also look at the various aspects of their personality and its
impacts on their daily life. With the help from the sixteen personalities test I have been able to
develop profound understanding of my personality. This has improved my understanding about
my personal strengths and weaknesses to create roadmap for achieving personal and professional
life goals.
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The overview of my sixteen personalities profile is that the dominant aspect of my
personality is extroverted sensing which means that I make quick judgements. I also take
decisions on the basis of rationality and logic and focus on making objective decision. I have
introverted intuition as a cognitive function. As per this function individual make instinctive
decisions and are forward thinking in their planning. I have extroverted sensing as a tertiary
person which is part of my ENTJ personality type. Individuals with extroverted sensing as their
tertiary cognitive function seek finer things in life and enjoy gaining adventurous experiences
(Goetz and et. al., 2020). Besides this as ENTJ my inferior function is introverted feeling. This
means that I usually struggle with the emotional side of my personality. This is correct result as I
usually feel uncomfortable in situations which require an emotional response.
My strengths include my ability to make quick decisions and efefcfitvelly plan for the
future. This strength provides me competitive advantage in every scenario as I am able to plan
for future possibilities and take action to gain the best possible result for myself. In addition to
this I have the strength of being energetic and thriving in leadership role. I have the ability to
unify groups to attain specific objective and I am satisfied while facing challenging situations as
a leader. My strategic thinking skills are another important strength which support me in
achieving success sin various situations.
The primary weakness I have is my intolerance which affects my ability to handle
inexperienced individuals. This is because I am not risk taker and do not enjoy implementing
unconventional ideas. This increases my intolerance towards experimentation as I believe that
following pre-determined schedules is more beneficial for completing goals. ENTJ personality
types are impatient due to their goal oriented nature (Ware, 2019). In addition to this my
impatience is another weakness which affects my leadership capabilities and nature while
working in teams. I believe in gaining results in timely manner and if the desire results are not
attained by specific time I become impatient and arrogant. This not only affects my performance
but also directly reflects on the performance of the team with whom I am working to
accomplishes completion of specific assignments.
The main opportunity I have is to improve my weak areas specifically lack of patience in
order to secure employment at the position of care home manager. This position will help me
attain my career aspirations. I also have the opportunity to expand my skill set by gaining project
management credentials and improving my employability for the position of care home manager.
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In order to exploit this opportunity, I need to enhance my ability to handle my emotions and
practice patience.
I face the threat of Artificial intelligence reducing my employability in the near future
because of my lack of. I need to build this higher skill set in order to ensure that my employment
capabilities cannot be replaced in the near future. In terms of my personality I need to develop
my emotional intelligence as it is important to develop my emotional intelligence. This will not
only help me deal with consumers in the care home management industry but will also reduce
the threat of AI replacing my skill set. Artificial intelligence technology which will not be able to
replicate human emotions and replace management level employees in care homes is not
possible in the near future (Dixon, Hong and Wu, 2020).
In addition to this I face the threat of high level of competition in the labour market.
Currently because of high level of unemployment many candidates are decision same job
positions. I have to eliminate this threat by increasing my skill set, gaining credentials for
reputed institutions and improving work experience. This will help me standout from competing
candidates for vacancy at the position of care home manager and attain my professional
aspirations.
I have chosen the career path of home care manager for my future. This is a suitable career
option for me as management level role requires extroverted personality and high leadership
abilities. ENTJ personality types succeed and thrive at managerial level roles as they have
natural leadership attributes and enjoy creating and managing high performing teams
(Shirkhodaie and et. al., 2020). In this way my decision to seek managerial level role in care
homes is suitable decision and matches my personality and current skill level.
As an ENTJ my main workplace habits include subordinating tasks to individuals and
supervising completion of activities in a leadership role. I feel more comfortable in this role as
my planning skills help me manage teams even during high pressure situations. The extroverted
nature of the ENTJ personality type makes such individuals highly social. I feel energetic in
sharing my ideas and opinions as a part of team discussion to determine the most suitable
solution for various issues. In addition to this, I am able to build suitable strategies and allocate
responsibilities according to their capabilities. I believe that these habits are sufficient to depict
my effective management capabilities and suitability in executive roles.
4

The main skills I have ae people managing skills, presentation, teamwork skills,
communication and problem solving. I have certain experience in these skills but there is room
for improvement. In case of my professional aspiration at the role of care home manager develop
of effective people management teamwork and communication skills and problem solving skills
is essential for handling service users in home care and collaborating with employees to provide
them best care services. Development of problem solving and presentation skills will help me
deal with various care home management challenges and finding quick, practical long-term
solutions to barriers which reduce effectiveness of the care home services.
I have no experience in project management and networking skills which are also important
to my career advancement. I need to develop networking skills in order to gain quick promotions
during my employment. The project management skills will also benefit me in implementing
projects for care users as a care home manager which is the reason this skill need to be
developed. Providing high quality services in care homes involves undertaking innovative
projects to eliminate barriers to quality care (Mozley and et. al., 2017). Improvement in my
project management skills will help me oversee effective implementation of project and
delivering exceptional outcome to the clients of care home at which I will be employed. It is
important that I develop project management skills so that I am able to ensure attainment of
objectives of various projects and care home establishments.
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Figure 1: Care Homs Job description, 2021
(Source: Care Homes Job Description, 2021)
I have created SMART objectives to attain personal development objectives and ensure skill
development because creation of SMART goals helps me take immediate action for skill
development. The SMART goals are specific in nature and will also help me assess progress in
various skills. These goals can also be attained in a timely manner which means that I will be
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able to reach determined goals in specific time period. The current development in recruitment in
relation to care home management is the increasing emphasis of people management skills in
hiring employees. I need to develop high level people management skills because recruiters will
be looking for such skills in new employees.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that identification of personality trait helps individual
understand their capabilities and areas for improvement. In addition to this, conducting SWOT
analysis and understanding current changes in recruitment and employability helps individuals
plan their future direction for career advancement and reaching career aspirations.
8

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bjerke, M.B. and Renger, R., 2017. Being smart about writing SMART objectives. Evaluation
and program planning, 61, pp.125-127.
DeVries, D. and Beck, T., 2020. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Profile of Undergraduate
Therapeutic Recreation Students. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 54(3). pp.243-258.
Dixon, J., Hong, B. and Wu, L., 2020. The employment consequences of robots: Firm-level
evidence. Statistics Canada.
Goetz and et. al., 2020. An Examination of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Personality, Gender,
and Career Interests of Ontario Veterinary College Students. Journal of veterinary
medical education, 47(4). pp.430-444.
Ma, L., Guo, H. and Fang, Y., 2021. Analysis of construction workers’ safety behavior based on
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Personality Test in a bridge construction project. Journal
of construction engineering and management, 147(1). p.04020149.
Mozley and et. al., 2017. Towards Quality Care: outcomes for older people in care homes.
Routledge.
Otto, C.N., 2018. Communication Skills for Leading and Managing Others. American Society
for Clinical Laboratory Science.
Sari, E. Y. D. and Bashori, K., 2020. Predicting Managerial Styles: Is the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator Still Useful?. Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), 14(4). pp.617-
622.
Shirkhodaie and et. al., 2020. Comparative study of memorable tourism experience among
different personality types based on Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Journal of Tourism
Planning and Development, 8(31). pp.1-17.
Taylor, J.E., 2020. The Emperor's Weavers: SMART Objectives and the Ethical Hazard of
Doing Bad Philosophy. In Handbook of Research on Ethical Challenges in Higher
Education Leadership and Administration (pp. 92-111). IGI Global.
Ware, K. B., 2019. Relationships between myers-briggs type indicators and NAPLEX
performances. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 83(1).
Wickam, M. J., 2018. Using service-learning to enhance employability skills in graduate
business capstones: A dissertation overview. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and
Engagement, 22(1). pp.163-174.
Online
Care Homes Job Description, 2021. [Online] Available through
<https://studylib.net/doc/8460516/care-homes-%E2%80%93-job-description-job-title->
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APPENDIX
16 Personalities Test Results
10

PART 2: CPD Plan
What do I
want/need to
learn and why?
What will I do to
achieve this?
What resources
or support will I
need?
What will my
success criteria
be?
Target dates for
review and
completion
Managing and
self people
I will strengthen
my decision
making skills as
this will help me
in making the
important
decision while
fulfilling my
required role at
the job. A
management
related module
I will require few
situational based
case studies so
that I can improve
my decision
making skills
which directly
contributes my
improvisation in
the management
skills.
I would go
prepare a time
table for the
required learning
and further build
another skills of
time
management.
This will help me
in managing my
activities and
resources both at
15/03/2022
11

will be helpful in
making me learn
this skill.
the work as well
as in the personal
life.
Presentation and
communication
To achieve
command over
this skills, I will
regularly
communicate
with my friends
and classmates on
several interesting
topics, this will
help me in
gaining
knowledge and
effectively
presenting this
knowledge (Otto
2018)
To effectively
learn the
communication
and presentation
skills, I need to
gather
information on
the preferred
topic so that I can
present those
topics in my way
and effectively
communicate
them.
If I am able to
effectively
present the
information
related to several
topic to my
classmates and
friends then they
will easily be able
to comprehend
what I conveyed
to them.
Comprehension
of the listening
end is the criteria
on which my
success of
completion would
be measured. This
will help me in
serving the role
care home
managers as I will
be able to
effectively
communicate and
present my end to
the other people.
01/03/2022
12

Communication
is also effective in
the personal life
as it helps in
resolving
problems.
Project
management
skills
I can achieve this
skills by doing an
internship in the
company as the
real time projects
and their
management
would give me an
real life
experience.
I would require
the essentials
resources that are
needed to
complete the
goals that are
related with the
project.
The success
criteria of project
management is
that I should be
able to plan and
execute the
project along with
meeting the
objectives that I
need to
accomplish in the
specific project.
15/04/2022
Problem solving
skills
This skill can be
achieved by
coming into real
life experiences
as that will help
in dealing with
real life problems.
I would require
case studies as
they help me in
dealing with the
real life problems
related to care
management.
Success criteria of
this skill would
be that if I am
able to solve
problems that are
related to the my
job and personal
life. Problem
solving is one of
those skills that is
extensively
required in my
02/03/2022
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job and personal
life.
Team work I should work on
different projects
with my team as
this will help me
learning the tasks
that I need to
perform by taking
my team with me.
Co-operative
team and
understanding
team helps in
establishing the
grounds on which
I have to work in
order to make the
team effective.
If my team is able
to achieve the set
goals and
objectives then
this can be
measured as my
success criteria of
learning skills.
15/03/2022
Networking Networking is
one of those skills
that can only be
achieved if I have
good relation with
people. I need to
connect with
people who are in
my field of
occupation and
connect with
them so that I can
get further
opportunities in
my life.
Networking can
be achieved if I
have good
connection with
people over my
social media.
Social media is
one of the great
resource to
effectively
establish the
network. Few
examples of such
resources are
Linked In,
Facebook etc.
Success criteria of
my effective
networking can
be measured on
the fact that how
many good
connections I
have in the
industry in which
I need to make
my career in.
30/03/2022
Further to more effectively learn the above stated six objectives, SMART criteria is applied
below:
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Specific- The goals and objectives that are need to be accomplished must be specific, it shouldn't
be vague. This above stated six skills are specific which helps me in effectively delivering the
goal.
Measurable- The goals that are stated above should be measurable which means that the
outcome and the efforts that the person is putting in it must be quantified by some number or
type (Taylor, 2020). In case of the above the six skills, I have specified the time in which I need
to attain the set skills.
Attainable- The goals that I have set must be attainable, I shouldn't exaggerate the degree of
things that I need to achieve. The goals shouldn't be far set means It should be created by seeing
the capabilities of the person. The above listed skills that I am looking to achieve is highly
attainable and the deadline that I have given for the specific skills gives me enough time to
achieve.
Relevant- The goals and objectives that is the skills must be relevant with the overall perspective
as this helps in fulfilling the core purpose (Bjerke and Renger, 2017). These skills that I am
learning are going to help me in my professional and personal life and hence the time and the
energy that I am putting in learning these skills are worth it.
Time bound- These skills must be performed in specific time and I shouldn't waste time on an y
skills. Time is one of the major component that helps in attaining the goals. The time to achieve
the specific goals must be set according to the capability and the objective. The above stated
skills have set timing which helps me in keeping an track on how much part of the goal I have
achieved.
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