Personal Reflection: Management Consultant Employability Report

This report is a personal reflection on employability, focusing on the skills and attributes necessary for a management consultant career. The student analyzes their strengths and weaknesses using the DOTS model, identifying key skills such as analytical thinking, problem-solving, and communication. The report details the required knowledge, skills, and abilities for a management consultant, including project management, business analysis, business strategy, and change management skills. The student sets SMART goals to improve negotiation skills and overall professional development. The paper discusses the student's aspirations and the steps they plan to take to achieve proficiency in graduate employability skills, highlighting a commitment to continuous improvement and career advancement in the field of management consultancy.

Running head: PERSONAL REFLECTION: EMPLOYABILITY
PERSONAL REFLECTION: EMPLOYABILITY
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Discussion....................................................................................................................................................2
Details of the course....................................................................................................................................3
Employability analysis through DOTS Model...............................................................................................7
SMART goals................................................................................................................................................9
Explanation................................................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Employability can be defined as a set of achievements, skills, understandings and personal
attributes that prepares a candidate to more likely get an opportunity of getting employed and to
be successful in their selected professions which not only benefits themselves holistically, but
also the workplace where he/she is employed, the community as well as the economy (Sarkar et
al. 2016). An employability report is a report which outlines the employability of a candidate,
his/ her attributes, both professional as well as personal, as well as the skills he/ she possess
which would contribute towards his/her opportunity in gaining employment in a particular
sector. The respective paper is a personal reflection of my employability, along with the aspects
of DOTS model in order to deliver my employability to a prospective employer and a SMART
goal and personal development plan about how I would be able to strategize my capabilities to
achieve proficiency in Graduate Employability Skills. The respective paper would be presented
in a report format.
Discussion
Specific role chosen
After I complete my degree, I would like to select the professional degree of management
consultant. I have specifically chosen the mentioned professional degree course of management
consultant because I believe that the mentioned course has a plethora of prospects in the national
as well as international business arena, especially in Australia. Many students and graduates of
Australia are opting for the respective professional course as Australia is productive and an ever

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evolving economy in the Asia Pacific region with introduction of different new, innovative and
complex businesses and enterprises. As a management student, I believe that I have the streaks
of a quintessential management professional. I prefer to take up challenging roles and feel
graceful to get myself involved into brainstorming tasks which demands patience and
perseverance that I possess. As a management student, I have learnt the theoretical as well as
pragmatic discourses and dynamics of management, its principles, approaches and models and I
believe that I am capable enough to join the course of management consultant as I am already
well versed in management arena. With the help of the management consultant certificate, I
would be able to enter into reputed (small/ big) organizations where I would get the golden
opportunity to depict my capabilities and provide something new to the respective organization.
Details of the course
The professional course of management consultant is a postgraduate professional course
that is provided by the management and business institutions of Australia. To become a
management consultant, the candidate must have to complete a degree in commerce, business or
business administration and a major in the field of management, entrepreneurship or human
resource management is always encouraged and appreciated. Sometimes, the candidates who
have done major in Economics might as well consider joining the course. The course demands
for a sound knowledge in primary and basic subjects like English and Mathematics.
Knowledge, skills and abilities required
The skills required for management consultants according to the course are provided hereafter.
The respective skills are based on graduate employability skills framework framed by Business
Council of Australia (BCA) and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).

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1. An exceptional and outstanding ability to understand, comprehend, analyze and solve
problems. The candidate must be having an analytical bent of mind and would be able to
introspect deeply in the statics as well as dynamics of any managerial situation given to
him/ her. The analytical bent of mind is needed for addressing the problems and issues
that the management might be facing and ideas/ approaches that might be taken to
enhance the managerial situation.
2. Logical and objective thinking: The candidate must possess the capacity of logical and
objective thinking in order to understand the management situations well and with the
help of logical calculations and evaluations, the candidate would be able to deduce
correct and rational decisions for the respective management.
3. Organizational skills: The basic organizational skills the candidate must possess are the
capabilities of identifying, realizing, prioritizing and executing the important/ urgent
tasks one after the other. The basic organizational skills include planning, organizing and
teamwork. The candidate needs to possess such skills in order to give proper consultancy
to the managerial situation so that the management objectives are accurately met.
4. Commendable communication skills: The candidate needs to have great communication
skills to excel in the respective profession. The candidate must possess an ability to listen
actively to understand the problems that the management situations might be going
through in order to provide a proper feedback and consultation to the clients.
5. Interest in people, processes and resource management: The candidate is required to
possess a deep and keen interest in people, behavioral science of the individuals of the
organizations, processes and resource management so that he/she would readily be able

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to understand the statics and dynamics of the organizational structure and culture
thereafter.
According to the advertisement mentioned in the website www.payscale.com (reference has
been provided in the appendix section), the expected tasks and requirements along with the
expected salaries for the respective profession of management consultancy is provided
hereafter.
The popular skills that a management consultant is expected to have are:
1. Project management skills: Project management skills are of utmost importance for the
management consultants as project management skills are highly aligned with the
organizational skills, such as planning, organizing, securing, controlling, leading and
managing resources and tasks to achieve business goals. A consultant requires possessing
such skills because he/she would be responsible, in his/her professional life, would be given
multiple tasks to be handled. The tasks of the consultants are often broken down into smaller
fragmented projects. To carry out such tasks, project management skills are of utmost
importance. Project management skills also require relationship management capabilities
which are also an important soft skill that a management consultant requires.
2. Business analysis skills: A business analyst is also a management consultant. Management
consultants and business analysts solve problems and issues that the business and an
organizational paradigm often faces. With the understanding of challenges and opportunities
in a business, the candidate would be able to develop executive skills required for
organizational purpose. Therefore, business analysis skill enhances strategic abilities in a

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management consultant. Business analysis skills need a high expertise in the subjects of
business and the consultants also need to have an excellent expertise in the area where he/she
should be consulting. Therefore, such skills would provide the candidates with exceptional
analytical and in-depth outlook towards knowledge.
3. Business Strategy skills: Management consultants help the organizations to solve problems,
create and add to the value of the organization, maximize growth and improve the
performance of the organization. However, the capabilities that are entrusted in business
strategy are also aligned with the skills such as analysis, problem solving, evaluation for
maximizing the business growth and performance. Therefore, business strategy skills would
be highly encouraged in the management consultant candidates while entering into the
corporate sector.
4. Change management skills: Change management skills are needed by the management
consultants because a management consultant is expected to utilize innovative and creative
ideas and approaches to initiate change in the management systems. Bringing in change is an
inevitable part of the management consultancy because managerial situations often need
amendments and modifications in order to run smoothly and perform differentially well.
Therefore, change management skills are of utmost importance for the candidate who would
be willing to enter into an organization as a management consultant (Payscale.com.2019).
1. Popular skills for management consultants in Australia are:
a. Project management skills : Popularity: Premium Expected Salary: AU$88,739
b. Business Analysis. Popularity: Premium. Expected Salary: AU$84,789
c. Business Strategy skills. Popularity: Premium. Expected Salary: AU$90,318

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d. Change Management Skills. Popularity: Above Average. Expected Salary: AU$95,827
(Payscale.com.2019)
Employability analysis through DOTS Model
Taking the aspect of Self awareness into consideration, I think that I would be able to
decipher the prospective employer about my employability and capabilities so that he is able to
assess me well in case of hiring candidates who would be interested in management consultancy
(Rothwell 2015).
I believe that I have a keen interest in the introspective, analytical and interpretational
abilities as a part of my soft skills in the arena of professionalism. I believe that I have the
potential to carry out any kind of task which is analytical, has certain issues and needs to be
introspected and evaluated. With the help of outstanding creativity and exceptional ability of
team building and decision making, I am confident that I would be able to carry out problem
solving in any kind of situation provided to me. Effective problem solving may also require
industry or job-specific technical skills. As a candidate who is aspiring to become a management
consultant, the technical areas of my profession, which are management strategies, change
management and communication skills are the areas where I believe I am best in. Therefore, I
find myself to be apt to become a successful management consultant. As an aspiring
management consultant, I would always like to initiate changes in the managerial situations
which I would be provided in my workplace. The clients who would come to me for consultancy
would always be gifted with heretic and unconventional managerial strategies and consultations

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that would also be beneficial for the employer who would hire me because I would ensure that I
deliver the best and the most innovative consultation and counsel that would not only enthrall my
clients, but would also build a reputation inside my workplace. The areas where I am moderately
proficient are the negotiation activities. As a consultant, I would have to analyze a particular
managerial situation and in order to give consultation to change it, I would be requiring certain
skills on negotiation so that I am able to communicate and come to an agreement about the
consultations I would give and changes I would want to inculcate. However, I lack in such area
and I believe that through pragmatic experience, I would be able to capture the skill.
As far as self awareness is concerned, I believe that through self awareness techniques
and methodologies, I am able to decipher my skills and abilities and understand what is deficient
in me and what the areas of my strengths are. I have selected self awareness aspect because as a
candidate who is aspiring to become a successful and renowned management consultant in the
near future, self awareness is important to me as it will provide me with a deeper insight of
myself, my strengths and weaknesses, the personality which I carry (whether it is charismatic or
callous), the outlook which I have towards the world and my exceptional abilities and
capabilities (Rothwell, A.T., 2015). All such aspects are important because they would, by and
large, affect my opportunity to climb the ladder of my career and excel in the same. All such
aspects are significant because they would deduce to me where I stand in the professional arena
and would also highly influence my employability in the corporate world. Through a thorough
self awareness assessment, I have been successfully able to identify, realize and understand my
capabilities, which are analytical problem solving skills, innovative skills and communication
skills as well as my fallacy, which is my inability to carry out negotiation skills as I am not able
to keep my emotions in check. Going through a thorough self awareness assessment, I am

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confident enough that with practice, both theoretical and pragmatic, I would be able to enhance
my capabilities and learn to tackle my fallacy effectively and efficiently.
SMART goals
Goals Explanation
Specific I would want to learn how to be proficient in negotiating while working
as a prospective management consultant in a firm.
Measurable I would be able to measure the rate at which I am being proficient in the
process of negotiation while practicing consultancy by creating a
personal and professional journal to check my progress in the area.
Achievable I would be taking up the steps such as taking up pragmatic and practical
lessons, audio visual lessons, theoretical as well as academic
consultations in order to be proficient in the area of negotiation in
consultancy.
Relevant The goal that I have set is realistic, though the process might seem to be
cumbersome in the beginning. The goal I have set is relevant because
proficiency in negotiation would help me achieve my goal to be an all
round developed prospective management consultant that would be
beneficial for my future career growth.
Time The goal that I have set is cumbersome and might as well take months,
not just weeks, to achieve it. I have taken into consideration of 6 months

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as the official deadline for my goal to be accomplished.
Explanation
The respective SMART goal would ensure me to achieve my goal, which is proficiency
in negotiation skills as the SMART goals make my objectives specific, measurable, relevant,
realistic as well as time bound. SMART goals would ensure me to organize my priorities and
ultimately, be successful in achieving the goal (Bjerke and Renger 2017). The personal
development plan that I have constructed (which is in the appendix) would also ensure me to
achieve the respective goal (proficiency in negotiation skills) because personal development plan
gives me a step by step algorithm to carry out the activities to develop my abilities and caliber.
The personal development plan that I have built would identify the areas of my strength and
weakness and guide me to optimize and capitalize my existing skills and capabilities in the
appropriate direction for a holistic professional development.
Conclusion
The respective paper has been an employability portfolio for me who is an aspiring
management consultant. The paper has exhibited the importance of employability portfolios in
the twenty first century business scenario where skills have become a personal and human
capital. Nowadays, employers are searching for multidimensional and multifaceted skills among
the candidates. The employability portfolio that has been presented in the respective paper is
significant for me because it has been able to make me identify and realize my capabilities,
possibilities and weaknesses/ threats that can have a significant effect on my opportunity to get

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employed in an organization. Employability portfolio presented in the paper has given the details
about the areas of my core competency, the skills which I am proficient in as well as the skills
which I need to be proficient in with other intrinsic details about the course that I have selected.
The respective paper concludes to be a personal reflection of my employability, along with the
aspects of DOTS model in order to deliver my employability to a prospective employer and a
SMART goal and personal development plan about how I would be able to strategize my
capabilities to achieve proficiency in Graduate Employability Skills. The SMART goals, along
with the personal development plan have provided me with a realistic outlook of achieving the
goals which I have set for my career. The respective paper has been presented in a report format.