Employability Skills Report: Experiences and Professional Development

This report, focused on employability skills, delves into the author's experiences and professional development within the context of a Human Resource Management degree from GSM London College. It highlights the importance of networking, commercial awareness, and effective communication, drawing on the author's participation in events such as an Alumni Meeting and a workshop. The report explores how these experiences have shaped the author's understanding of the field and contributed to the development of essential skills. The author also reflects on past customer service and recruitment roles, and discusses current career aspirations, including becoming a Human Resource Manager in a multinational company. The report includes a STAR method interview response example and references relevant literature on employability skills.

Running head: EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
Employability Skills
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Know Your Sector...........................................................................................................................2
Know your sector.............................................................................................................................4
Let them know you..........................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................8
Appendix........................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The employability skill refers to the professional efficiency of the individuals that is
needed to achieve any organisational goal. The courses and the degree programs offered by
various universities strengthen these employability skills of the students to prepare them for their
career prospects (Jin, Liu and Austin 2014). I have acquired the degree on human resource
management. In this study, I shall share my learning experiences and the effectiveness of the
overall degree program. The elaborative structure of exploring the employability sector would
provide us the insightful knowledge about the necessary professional skills for the future.
Know Your Sector
 Effectiveness of the Networking Process in improving Commercial Awareness
Networking is an integral part of the Human Resource Management. Networking process
in human resource management generally refers to the activities of the external consultants who
seek collective information for improving the work quality. According to Eggins and Slade
(2012), establishment of the networking process helps in gathering the information from a
collective source that eventually helps in obtaining enriched knowledge regarding any specific
area of concerns. Today’s world of professional sectors seeks more advanced method of
performing necessary functionalities (Lindenmayer, Piggott and Wintle 2013). Team work has
thus become the major focus to determine the achievement of the organisational goals. The
establishment of the extensive networking with the various people helps in generating the
broader knowledge and innovative ideas of the business technicalities. In the human resource
field, commercial awareness is much essential for the associated professionals. A broader

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networking group helps in identifying the diverse techniques of the business dealings and
provides the clear insights regarding the job specifications. Over the last few years, commercial
awareness has become a buzzword (Seys et al. 2013). Employers usually seek to understand the
better techniques of dealing with the dynamic world of business. The individual belongs to the
human resource field requires having the updated knowledge regarding the industry, competitors,
current advancements, business practices, fruitful decision-making, and networking process to
develop the commercial awareness. Networking process helps in developing the interpersonal
skills and more professional efficiency to deal with the situational incidents (Deery and Muskat
2014). Most of the successful business marketers use the effective networking skills to improve
their commercial awareness in a significant way.
 Reflection of the Networking Experiences
In past few years, I have attended two major events that helped me in learning diverse
professional and personal skills beneficial for my career prospects. First was an Alumni
Meeting, which was a grand event, organized by my company. In this event, the professionals
from different branches were gathered together for celebrating the organisational success
together. Every year, this event is held in which the business stakeholders including
shareholders, investors, and employees gathered together. The board members and the
shareholders provide the inspirational speeches and discuss about the future business objectives.
During this event, I received the opportunity to communicate with various people belong to
diverse work culture and background. It was a nice experience since it helped in enhancing my
knowledge regarding the different traits and professional attributes. Moreover, the experiences
and motivational speeches shared by the senior professionals also helped me in generating more
confidence to improve my professional and personal attributes.

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Another event I attended was the workshop based on a particular educational project. While
pursuing my human resource degree, I attended this seminar in which the professors, lecturers,
educational inspectors, and students from diverse universities were present. Our university
arranged this workshop to demonstrate the organisational employability courses and practices via
visual presentation. I took the part as a volunteer in this seminar and I was appointed to resolve
the queries of the associated people. I received the opportunity to develop the effective
communication skills. Moreover, I needed to be an active listener and I needed to be patient
enough to communicate with the people from different universities. It was a greater experience
for me amidst of every challenging incident that I faced during the workshop. It helped me in
developing my professional and personal attributes in a significant way.
Know your sector
I acquired the human resource degree from GSM London College. I aspire to become a
successful employee in human resource management field. My prior experience as a customer
service providers and recruiter helped me to communicate with various people from diverse
culture and lingual background. I am currently working as one of the team members in an
organisation where I have to perform the dynamic role to provide sound customer services.
Moreover, when I took participation in these two events, I got the opportunity to communicate
with people from diverse people. I faced the enormous challenges when I needed to resolve their
queries. Eventually, it helped me in improving the communication, listening skills, and patience
level. I want to establish my career as a successful Human Resource Manager. The improvement
of these skills would help me in achieving my desired goal.

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I have acquired degree on cost accounting and customer service alongside my primary
course on human resource management. These two courses helped me in acquiring the adequate
knowledge in the professional techniques and administrative level as well. When I am focusing
on achieving my career ambition, I need to be capable enough to deal with the administration
field. The cost accounting course would help me in understanding these administrative
documents associated with the field of human resource management. On the other hand, the
course on the customer service helped me to resolve the queries of the customers and establish
the greater communication skills. It would help me in achieving the desirable career ambition.
Improvement in my communication skills would provide me the confidence in dealing
with the international companies. When I visited these two events, I learnt about the importance
of communicational proficiency that can shape my future of being a successful human resource
manager. Going forward, I would like to see myself as a part of the multinational company in
which I would deal with the employees from diverse background. Moreover, the proficient
communication skills and greater confidence would help me in cracking the difficult interview at
the multinational level. Hence, this professional efficiency is necessary for me to acquire for
achieving my desired ambition.
Let them know you
Currently I am working as a service provider in a food delivery sector and I have to
perform a dynamic role in this sector. I am a part of a team that pays attention towards the
preparation of foods and ensure the high quality product delivered to the customers. I am
improving my communication and customer dealing skills to become a team leader in which I
can lead my team with more efficiency.

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Currently, I want to be promoted as a team leader since I have considerable experience in
customer services. I think I have the capability of leading a team and addressing the concerns of
the customers in order to provide the better customer service experience. I have fluency in
Microsoft word and few languages. Therefore, I desire for the greater opportunity in the next
level of my career.
I appeared for an interview session in which I was asked few questions that shaped my
knowledge accordingly. The interview questions are presented by using the STAR method.
Q.1: Do you have any prior experience in customer dealing or customer service?
S (Situation) I worked in few companies where my job role was to resolve the customers’
queries and deal with the clients directly.
T (Task) At first, I was a part of an ambassador service providing company in which I
needed to provide the face-to-face customer service standards to worldwide
passengers. Then I was the part of the best customer service providing team in
KFC restaurant where I also used to look after the cash counter. I was then
appointed as the security officer in a company called TSS, in which I was
responsible for ensuring the safety of the building and investigating the
disturbances. I was appointed as the service provider in other two companies and
currently working as a part of service provider team.
A (Action) Previously, I needed to deal with the clients and their requirements. I even used
to monitor the security surveillance and other customer service department.
Currently I am also a part of a team where I need to take care of the food
delivery services as per the requirements of the customers.
R (Result) I get the appreciation from my supervisor for providing effective services to the

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customers. I maintain cohesiveness while performing with other team members.
Table 1: STAR Method
(Source: Created by Author)
I have learnt that in order to reach to my desired career, I need to be more prompt and
need to strengthen my decision making skills. I can participate in the debates or in the group
discussion process. It would be helpful enough in developing my attribute and gaining
confidence within me. If I am aspiring to become more successful eventually, it is necessary for
me to gather the enriched knowledge on professional attributes. I visited two events that helped
me in gaining experience regarding the diverse working culture. Today’s world of professional
sectors seeks more advanced method of performing necessary functionalities. Team work has
thus become the major focus to determine the achievement of the organisational goals.
Moreover, I have understood that a broader networking group helps in identifying the diverse
techniques of the business dealings and provides the clear insights regarding the job
specifications. Therefore, this journey was much experiencing and promising for me that helped
me in enhancing my personal and professional attributes.

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References
Cottrell, S., 2015. Skills for success: Personal development and employability. Palgrave
Macmillan.
Deery, M. and Muskat, B., 2014. Strategic event manager: Leader and group orinetated practices
of knowledge transfer. CAUTHE 2014: Tourism and Hospitality in the Contemporary World:
Trends, Changes and Complexity, p.809.
Eggins, S. and Slade, D., 2012. Clinical handover as an interactive event: Informational and
interactional communication strategies in effective shift-change handovers. Communication &
medicine, 9(3), p.215.
Jackson, D., 2015. Employability skill development in work-integrated learning: Barriers and
best practice. Studies in Higher Education, 40(2), pp.350-367.
Jin, Y., Liu, B.F. and Austin, L.L., 2014. Examining the role of social media in effective crisis
management: The effects of crisis origin, information form, and source on publics’ crisis
responses. Communication research, 41(1), pp.74-94.
Laferrière, T., Allaire, S., Breuleux, A., Hamel, C., Law, N., Montané, M., Hernandez, O.,
Turcotte, S. and Scardamalia, M., 2015. The Knowledge Building International Project (KBIP):
Scaling Up Professional Development Using Collaborative Technology. In Scaling educational
innovations(pp. 255-276). Springer, Singapore.

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Lindenmayer, D.B., Piggott, M.P. and Wintle, B.A., 2013. Counting the books while the library
burns: why conservation monitoring programs need a plan for action. Frontiers in Ecology and
the Environment, 11(10), pp.549-555
Patti, E., Acquaviva, A., Jahn, M., Pramudianto, F., Tomasi, R., Rabourdin, D., Virgone, J. and
Macii, E., 2016. Event-driven user-centric middleware for energy-efficient buildings and public
spaces. IEEE Systems Journal, 10(3), pp.1137-1146.
Seys, D., Scott, S., Wu, A., Van Gerven, E., Vleugels, A., Euwema, M., Panella, M., Conway, J.,
Sermeus, W. and Vanhaecht, K., 2013. Supporting involved health care professionals (second
victims) following an adverse health event: a literature review. International journal of nursing
studies, 50(5), pp.678-687.
Stewart, C., 2014. Transforming professional development to professional learning. Journal of
Adult Education, 43(1), p.28.

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Appendix
CV:
AVILA CRISTY
BARRETO
Mobile: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Personal Summary
An effective, reliable and efficient individual with excellent teamwork with organizational
skills. In addition possesses well- developed communication and interpersonal skills along
with a high degree self-motivation, competence and commitment towards quality of work
produced. Now seeking a challenging position with a proactive organization where these
skills and achievements’ can be utilized and developed to maximum effect.
Career History
 Itsu LTD. - Team Member Westfield Shepherds Bush March 2017 - ongoing
This role is very dynamic, involving the creation of our food and delivering
outstanding customer service. You will be responsible for preparing our delicious
food in the kitchen and serving our customers whilst working as a team to ensure
the shop and kitchen is the best it can be as a Team Member.
 Sodexo Prestige - Lounge operative Heathrow London January 2016 – December
2016

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Responsible for Managing a team of service, cleaning and kitchen staff as well as the
other
Resources (i.e. employee working hours, staff training, stores management) in close
Collaboration with the Qatar lounge team to deliver a superior product and services
that
Delight all customers, and to ensure a smooth lounge operation.
 Omniserv – Ambassador Heathrow London July 2015 – March 2016
Responsible for greeting passengers, answering passenger enquiries and giving
directions,
and delivering high standards of customer services.
 TSS (Total Security Services) – Security officer London May 2015- June 2015
Responsible for ensuring the safety of the building, investigating disturbances.
Monitor and
authorize entrance and departure of employees, visitors, and other persons to
guard
against theft and maintain security of premises. Write reports of daily
activities and
Irregularities, such as equipment or property damage, theft, presence of
unauthorized
person, or unusual occurrences.
 KFC Restaurant – cashier/ customer service London June 2014- April 2015
Responsible for treating all customers with the best customer service practices.
Including
dealing with any customer comments and complaints.
 Face2Face Recruitment – Ambassador Heathrow London November 2012-
November 2013