EMSK5012 Employability Skills: A Detailed Career Reflection

This report provides a detailed reflection on employability skills, focusing on self-awareness, sector knowledge, and personal branding. It includes a professional development plan with objectives related to understanding oneself, knowing the industry, and effectively presenting oneself to potential employers. The report assesses current skills, identifies career goals, gathers relevant information, and evaluates professional competencies. It emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and strategic planning for career advancement, supported by practical examples and references to career development theories. Appendices include evidence of event attendance, a job description, a tailored CV, a LinkedIn profile screenshot, and the professional development plan.

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

1EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
Employability skills enable the individuals to get the job. They also help them to stay
in the job and perform their way to the higher positions. The individuals will be asked
questions regarding their employability skills as well as job specific skills. In simpler terms, it
refers to the skills of the employees to keep and find a stable job in the given institutional and
economic context (Akkermans et al. 2015). Moreover, it conveys a great sense of the
individual’s long term capacity for building the career in the dynamic labor market. In
addition to this, employability helps in implying the qualities of adaptability, flexibility and
resourcefulness.
Furthermore, it has the potential of the long term signal and the qualities, which are
needed for success and not only for paid employment. In addition to this, there are other
domains of life as well. It relates to both employed people who seek for better jobs and the
unemployed ones seeking work. The employability can also be referred to the capability of
moving into or within the labor markets in order to realize the potential through accessible
and sustainable employment. The employability skills help in increasing self awareness
within the range of contexts in order to demonstrate the commitment to lifelong career
development learning.
Know Yourself
Employability skills have enhanced my communication skills, which is an important
part of the career. Depending on the requirements of the job, communication is all about
being a great writer or talker. Moreover, it highly involves being confident about how a
person speaks to other, be it face to face or say, over the phone. In addition to this, it also
involves writing good enough, which can be understood over memos and emails as well.
Common examples of the ways that can help me in developing or improving my
communication skills are;

2EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
 Writing reports or assignments as the part of my studies,
 Updating or blogging over social media,
 Making oral presentations at class,
 Working in the customer services be it face to face or over the phone,
 Volunteering to host some community radio programs.
After critically analyzing the theories of career development, it can be said that the
individuals differ in their personalities, abilities, needs, values, traits, self concepts and
interests. In addition to this, they are highly qualified by the virtue of their characteristics and
for a number of occupations. I believe that each and every occupation requires some
characteristic patterns of personality traits and abilities. In addition to this, the vocational
competencies and preferences and moreover, the situations where people live as well as work
often lead to the change in time as well as experiences. Furthermore, the career pattern nature
can be determined by the level of the individual’s socio-economic level, education, mental
abilities, skills, career maturity, characteristics as well as opportunities to which he/she is
exposed.
Know Your Sector
Through the career development skills, I have gained huge knowledge regarding sales
and marketing, purchasing, pricing, inventory control, handling telephone calls and much
more. In addition to this, I am also able to understand several things, which will prove to be
beneficial for me, in the near future. Moreover, I have assisted at both corporate as well as
public sector sales and therefore, I feel that through this practical and theoretical knowledge,
my employability skills have enhanced. Furthermore, success depends upon the readiness of
an individual in coping up with the demands of every stage. It is also important to mention

3EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
that the career maturity can be referred to the constellation of psychological, physical as well
as social characteristics.
According to me, it is highly important to analyze as well as evaluate the sources of
regional, local and global opportunities that are highly relevant to the career ideas, ambitions
and interests. It can be done by initiating participatory procedures or inclusive processes.
Moreover, it will enhance awareness of the engaged stakeholders’ collaboration for achieving
the targets and goals. In addition to this, it is important to monitor and evaluate the
participatory processes as it helps in raising awareness and promotes clear local leadership.
Let Them Know Me
As per my opinion is concerned, thinking about the motivations and interests can be
considered to be the key stage at the career exploration area. It will help the individual to
formulate his/her ideas regarding various factors, like motivations, interests and others. These
factors are considered to be the key stage of the career exploration. Not only this, but also the
individuals will be able to formulate their own ideas regarding the job roles, which will suit
them as well as their personality. Moreover, it is highly important to use the online
questionnaires as well as personality tests in order to explore various aspects of the
individuals. Once the individuals have a clear idea of their motivations and interests, they can
utilize that in order to start building their career profile.
In reference to this, I have developed a current professional development plan which
includes detailed objectives of three key themes. Being a student of hospitality, entertainment
and tourism management, I have sound experience in my own field. I have gained experience
as a customer manager, assistant manager, tourism destination manager as well as in
marketing communications. It is very important to frame a professional career development

4EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
plan in order to assess where the individual is present currently and what is his/her career
aspects. Moreover, it helps in identifying the specific goals of an individual’s career.
In addition to this, it will help in gathering more and more information and identifying
the professional skills, which the individuals have already and in which they have to work.
Moreover, it will help in selecting the areas of improvements and accomplishing the goals.
Furthermore, the careerists should develop a clear timeline for accomplishing the targets and
specific goals. It is immensely important to write them down, in a clear manner. Evaluating
the plans will also help in measuring the progress.
Career Development Plan
1. Assessing where the person is standing now;
It is highly important to understand the place where the individual is now. It is important
to understand how their career is currently progressing. In addition to this, assessing the
career situation is actually a good strategy to start. Moreover, the individuals should ask
several questions to themselves, like what have they done over the past three to five years and
where do they see them in the next ten to twenty years (Agarwal et al. 2018). This is an
important phase of professional development. Personal development plan is a great way of
starting a new beginning which will help them in achieving their future goals as well. They
can avail these opportunities in order to reflect on their actions as well as perceptions. It is
important to be as much honest as possible. Furthermore, they can help themselves by
identifying their goals, writing them down and work on their actions for their professional
development.

5EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
2. Identification of the career goals;
It is important for the individuals to have an idea of their future goals and objectives,
where the individuals want to be and what they want to achieve (Agarwal et al. 2018).
Answering these questions is a long term procedure and it can take a lot of time. However, it
depends upon the individuals’ thinking capabilities and how they are able to take decisions
about their career. It is a good thing to carve the ideas in about thirty minutes, by sitting
calmly and not rushing. Therefore, in order to get started with the career goals, it is important
to ask oneself the following things;
 How you define success and what does it mean to you?
 Which activities you love the most?
 Do you even love your current job?
 Are you satisfied with your current job position and what is your version of success at
your current job?
 Where do you like to see yourself in the next ten to twenty years?
However, it is important for the individuals to make sure that their goals and
objectives are SMART or not.
3. Gather Information;
It is important for the individuals to gather sound knowledge and information regarding
their future hopes and aspirations (Osborn and Zunker 2015). Moreover, after identifying the
long as well as short term goals, researching is highly important to achieve the next steps.
These skills will help in impressing the interviewers and getting marked as an ideal
candidate. However, the candidates should take some time to break these long term goals
down to more manageable forms. For instance; if the long term goal of a person is to become

6EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
the CEO of any company, it is important for him/her to understand the manageable steps,
which he/she may require to reach the destination.
4. Evaluation of the professional skills;
After identifying the skills, it is important to gain an understanding of the professional
skills which are desirable for their ideal career path. Moreover, it is important to tick off the
ones, which the individuals are already proficient (Botham et al. 2017). In addition to this,
knowing the competencies, in-competencies, strengths and weaknesses are also important. It
will enable the individual to distinguish clearly, what they are strong at and what are their
areas of improvement.
5. Measuring the progress
Last but not the least; it is highly important to decide on the strategies and make a
prominent checklist of that. Moreover, developing a timeline is also important in order to
plan and schedule the activities for professional development (Osborn and Zunker 2015).
Writing the points will also prove to be beneficial for the candidates seeking for developing
their career. Furthermore, evaluation of the plans and measuring the progress will also ensure
development in the career. Learning is a never-ending process and therefore, it is immensely
important to continue professional development in order to ensure success in the career
(Akkermans et al. 2015).

7EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
References
Agarwal, S., Spiekerkoetter, E., Austin, E.D., de Jesus Perez, V., Dezfulian, C., Maron, B.A.,
Ryan, J.J., Starks, M.A., Paul, B.Y., Bonnet, S. and Perman, S.M., 2018. Career Development
of Young Physician–Scientists in the Cardiovascular Sciences: Perspective and Advice From
the Early Career Committee of the Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, and Resuscitation
Council of the American Heart Association.
Akkermans, J., Brenninkmeijer, V., Schaufeli, W.B. and Blonk, R.W., 2015. It's all about
CareerSKILLS: Effectiveness of a career development intervention for young
employees. Human Resource Management, 54(4), pp.533-551.
Botham, C.M., Arribere, J.A., Brubaker, S.W. and Beier, K.T., 2017. Ten simple rules for
writing a career development award proposal. PLoS computational biology, 13(12),
p.e1005863.
Cook, E., 2017. Career Development, Employability and Entrepreneurship Academic Action
Plan for Science.
Diao, J., 2018. Teaching Occupational Outlook Handbook for Students in Career
Development: A Lesson Plan.
Gould, J., 2017. Career development: A plan for action. Nature, 548(7668), pp.489-490.
Hanson, B.J. and Casey, M., 2017. Creating a Career Development Curriculum: Facilitating
Transition to Professional Practice. The Health Professions Educator: A Practical Guide for
New and Established Faculty, p.11.
Huang, L.S., 2016. Tips for getting a Career-development award.

8EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
Huang, L.S., Carlson, D.E., Wang, W.C. and Scott, J.D., 2016. Want to Get a Career
Development Award? Start Early. The FASEB Journal, 30(1_supplement), pp.883-1.
Mazzotti, V.L., Rowe, D.A., Simonsen, M., Boaz, B. and VanAvery, C., 2018. Steps for
Implementing a State-Level Professional Development Plan for Secondary Transition. Career
Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 41(1), pp.56-62.
Neil, A., 2016. Volunteer Groups: Early Career Team.
Osborn, D.S. and Zunker, V.G., 2015. Using assessment results for career development.
Cengage Learning.

9EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
Appendix
Appendix 1: Confirmation of Attendance

10EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
Appendix 2: CV
Mario Antonio Robinson
Hospitality and Tourism Management
Mobile: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
PROFILE
A graduate of the Montego Bay Community College with an Associate Degree in Hospitality,
Entertainment and Tourism Management, I have developed a good knowledge of CPR,

11EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
Information Technology, Customer Service and Event Coordinating. Avid reader of Nature
and Wildlife literature, artistic, creative, solution oriented, and enjoys outdoor activities and
Science Fiction movies. Over the years, I have developed the ability to interact with different
types of people, and works well as a member of a team, or individually.
QUALIFICATIONS:
ASc (Associate Degree) Hospitality, Entertainment and Tourism Management 2006 – 2008
Caribbean Examinations Council Certificate (CXC - O-Level equivalent) – English
Language, Geography, Social Studies, Principles of Business, History – Cornwall College
High School - 2006
Computer Skills Certificate Course which included Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel,
PowerPoint and Outlook to intermediate and advanced status) and Internet Explorer.
First Aid/CPR Certificate
Customer Service Certificate
Last six Months:
Customer Experience Manager
William Hill Knightsbridge April 2011 to Present
Supervised a team of five cashiers, operated electronic equipment such as Roulette machines
of various models, EPOS systems and Gantry systems, had responsibility for the keys to over
20 William Hill shops in the London West End area, provided vending services, had training
in Health & Safety, communicated shops’ profit and turnover to my District Operations
Manager (DOM), accounting activities, data collection for customer monitoring, handling
customer queries, and planned various events with manager for staff appreciation. I gained
invaluable supervisory and management experience, improved my customer service and
administrative skills, and increased my event planning and organizing competences.