University Employability Skills Journal: Self-Assessment and Planning

This assignment is a journal entry exploring employability skills from a Human Resource Management perspective. The student, aiming for a Human Resource Executive role, reflects on the required knowledge and skills, including recruitment, policy development, and employee engagement strategies. The journal utilizes the Gallup StrengthsFinder assessment, identifying key strengths like responsibility, strategic thinking, deliberative nature, consistency, and significance, and how these traits align with the HR executive role. The student compares the Gallup Strengths Tool with the Johari Window, acknowledging the latter's advantage in incorporating feedback from others. The journal entries detail how the student's strengths will contribute to various aspects of the HR executive role, such as policy design, employee management, risk assessment, and fostering a fair and consistent work environment. The assignment concludes by emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and continuous development in achieving career goals. The references used are also provided.

Running head: EMPLOYABILITY SKILL
Employability Skill
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1EMPLOYABILITY SKILL
Table of Contents
1.0 Journal entry 1 ‘Know yourself’................................................................................................2
2.0 Journal entry 2 ‘Know your sector’...........................................................................................3
3.0 Journal entry 3 ‘Let them know you’........................................................................................4
Reference List..................................................................................................................................6

2EMPLOYABILITY SKILL
1.0 Journal entry 1 ‘Know yourself’
My course in the college is Human Resource Management and the job designation for
which I have aimed in my initial stage of my career is Human Resource Executive. In the role
of the human resource executive, I have to attain the knowledge base for recruitment, induction
and on-boarding process, preparing HR policies and manuals, maintaining attendance and leave
recordings, implement strategies for employee engagement and performance management. My
role as a HR executive will also allow me to administer workforce management, setting
compensation and benefits and designing exit policies.
Moreover from the psychometric test of Gallup strength, I have obtained five areas of key
strength in me- responsibility, strategic, deliberative, consistency and significance.
Responsibility- Macaskill (2012) stated that a responsible person takes psychological ownership
of the work that is assigned to them. The outcome of the work seems to be extra-ordinary as
responsible people feel more bound with the work and they also make commitments that are
aligned with the personal values. I think this will help me in designing organizational policies
with proper justification.
Strategic- Schreiner (2013) depicted that a strategic person is able to take more firm decisions by
sorting the situation quickly, determine the best route forward and avoid any obstacles.
According to me this will help me in selecting reliable and talented people for the organization.
Deliberative- Sorenson (2014) explains that deliberative people are careful and vigilant in
decision making. This quality helps in identifying any risk of a situation that my organization

3EMPLOYABILITY SKILL
will plan to obtain. This quality will help me to management the employee engagement in the
organization and plan for their incentive or motivational sessions.
Consistency- The executive theme of consistency has the ability to find fair and equitable
process among many. Soria and Stubblefield (2014) stated that these people work emphasize
more on balanced system, fair methods and equal laws. In think for the designation of HR
executive the strength of consistency will help me in designing effective policies and manuals.
Significance- Tomkovick and Swanson (2014) stated that a significant person is like by everyone
as they think a person is reliable for the job and is perfect in performing their job roles.
Moreover, this strength helps me to be heard by everyone and keep pulling me upward from
mediocre toward exceptional.
2.0 Journal entry 2 ‘Know your sector’
The assessment tool that I have used is Gallup Strength Tool. The main aim for utilizing
the Gallup Strength Tool is to focus on the positive traits that a person is having. There are
mainly four domains under Gallup Strength Tool that are- executing themes, influencing
themes, relationship building themes and strategic thinking themes. Owens et al. (2016) stated
that each of the four themes helps a person to identify strength in one particular direction. Taken
for instance, the executing theme is for representing the hardest working of the bunch and the
nine themes under them highlighting the ways a person achieves their goals and plan to attain
their developed objectives. On the other hand, the influencing theme shows that how a person
convinces others to agree on their significance or the ideas that they have suggested (Asplund
and Blacksmith 2012). MacKie (2014) furthermore describes that in relationship building
themes, a person consider other people as a main component and include them to complete the

4EMPLOYABILITY SKILL
work. Moreover, under the strategic thinking themes, creation of the new plans is focused in a
person’s personality. However, Tomkovick and Swanson (2014) argued that the only
disadvantage of this theory is that it does not highlight any negative traits on which an individual
can work to improve their weaker traits. This theory is not applicable for assessing the traits of
others.
The other theory that is considered is Johari Window Theory hat omit the disadvantages
of Gallup Strength Tool. Johari Window assessment highlight mainly four themes- open area,
blind area, hidden area and unknown area (Asplund and Blacksmith 2012). Soria and
Stubblefield (2014) stated that open area highlight the traits that known to oneself and others;
while, the blind areas focuses on traits that is known to others but not known to oneself.
Moreover, the hidden area focuses on areas is known to self but not others and the unknown area
reveals the area that is not known to oneself and others (Tomkovick and Swanson 2014). The
implementation of Johari Window allows a person to determine factors for self-awareness and
disclosure. This theory will also have the area of taking feedback from others and this is not
present in Gallup Strength Tool.
3.0 Journal entry 3 ‘Let them know you’
The Gallup Strength shows that I have the ability to get committed with my work and
focus on the loyalty, trust and sense of completion. The persuasive and influential nature also
comes through the sense of responsibility that will help me to accomplish my responsibility. The
quality of responsibility helps me to select realizable person for the job in the organization and
maintain their morale to get associated with the work.

5EMPLOYABILITY SKILL
The deliberative nature in me shows that will be careful for all the people working for the
organization and help me in making policies of employee retention and reward system This
nature will also help me to take necessary steps for the employees, who face challenges in the
workplace.
The nature of being strategic helps me to identify risk in a orbicular situation especially
when it is related with the employee of the organization. Taken for instance, the kind of people
allocated for new projects, people selection of re-assessment of projects and the chances for the
turnover rate will all be my responsibility.
The traits of being significant help me to gain the monopoly fir the designation that I will
perform. This nature will help me to grow as an example for helping others, understanding the
present situation of the human resources to design new policies for the company.
The last trait is being consistent and keeps consistency in my nature. Fairness in nature
and work help me in gaining trust of the employee and the management. I can also know
everyone’s concern to develop policies. This will also help me generating reward policies in
which all the employees can participate.
The Johari Window will help me to assess the nature of others and what they think of me.
I can also take feedback through internal employee survey and work on it so that all the
employees and the management people can see my effort to development myself for others.

6EMPLOYABILITY SKILL
Reference List
Asplund, J. and Blacksmith, N., 2012. Strength-based goal setting. Gallup Management Journal
Online, 1.
Macaskill, A., 2012. A feasibility study of psychological strengths and well-being assessment in
individuals living with recurrent depression. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(5), pp.372-
386.
MacKie, D., 2014. The effectiveness of strength-based executive coaching in enhancing full
range leadership development: A controlled study. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and
Research, 66(2), p.118.
Owens, R.L., Motl, T.C. and Krieshok, T.S., 2016. A comparison of strengths and interests
protocols in career assessment and counseling. Journal of Career Assessment, 24(4), pp.605-622.
Schreiner, L.A., 2013. Strengths-based advising. Academic advising approaches: Strategies that
teach students to make the most of college, pp.105-120.
Sorenson, S., 2014. How employees’ strengths make your company stronger. Gallop Business
Journal.
Soria, K.M. and Stubblefield, R., 2014. First-year college students' strengths awareness: Building
a foundation for student engagement and academic excellence. Journal of The First-Year
Experience & Students in Transition, 26(2), pp.69-88.
Tomkovick, C. and Swanson, S., 2014. Using Strengthsfinder to identify relationships between
marketing graduate strengths and career outcomes. Marketing Education Review, 24(3), pp.197-
212.