Report on Academic Skills and PDP: Personal Development and Goals

This report provides an overview of personal and professional development, defining key concepts and exploring the value of short, medium, and long-term goals. It emphasizes the importance of a Personal Development Plan (PDP) as a roadmap for achieving career objectives and enhancing skills. The report outlines how personal development focuses on social skills, while professional development centers on improving job-related talents. It discusses how short-term goals enhance productivity, medium-term goals bridge the gap between short and long-term aspirations, and long-term goals require planning and dedication. The report concludes that a well-structured PDP aids in improving abilities, acquiring new skills, and increasing efficiency, ultimately contributing to career advancement and personal growth. Desklib provides a platform for students to access this and other solved assignments.

ACADEMIC
SKILLS AND
PDP
0

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................2
Definition of personal and professional development...........................................................2
Description of the value of short-term goals oitlining at least 3 personal examples.............3
Description of the value of medium-term goals listing at least 3 personal examples............4
Discussion of the value of long-term goals identifying at least 3 personal examples...........5
Description and discussion of the value of a Personal Development Plan............................5
CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................6
Reference List:..........................................................................................................................7
APPENDIX 1............................................................................................................................0
Personal Development Plan...................................................................................................0
1

INTRODUCTION
Personal and professional development is an ongoing process which allows people to
define their goals, asses and learn new skills and develop qualities of individuals. Personnel
and professional development help a person to focus on their career and establish career-
oriented goals (Personal and professional development, 2021). Personal development skills
are qualities and abilities which helps a person to target opportunities which will help them
grow personally and professionally. The process of personal and process is also known as
self-development or personal growth which helps an individual in improving skills and
maximizing the potential of people. The personal and professional development plan helps an
individual to understand their shortcomings which will be helpful in shaping career and
enhancing the skills of a person. Personal and professional growth will be defined in this
report. The research will also discuss the importance of short-, medium-, and long-term goals.
The report will detail a strategy for increasing the needed skill set and personality
development, as well as identify the worth of personal and professional development
strategies.
Definition of personal and professional development
Personal and professional development is the approach for improving the skills, knowledge,
talent and potential. Personal development focuses on people and social skills which can be developed
through which career and personality can be shaped (Ways to improve personal development
skills, 2021). Professional development involves developing yourself in your role to entirely
understand the job which needs to be done. Personal and professional development is the approach
which is helpful in enhancing the professional, personal and transferable skills through which career
and personality of an individual can be shaped. Personal and professional development helps an
individual in learning new skills, enhancing the weakness of an individual and enhancing the
confidence of people through which an individual can meet the desired roles and responsibilities.
Personal and professional development is an ongoing and continuous process which is carried
out by developing SMART goals through which skills, knowledge ad talents can be enhanced. A
personal and professional development is based on goals which can be short, medium and long term.
By self-analysing the strengths and weakness of a person, an individual can understand their
shortcoming through which they can set goals and plan innovative strategies which will be helpful in
improving their weakness and strengthening their characteristics through which they can perform the
assigned job roles and responsibilities.
2

Professional development focuses on learning that will improve a person's
professional talents and capacity to perform well at work. Personal development, on the other
hand, is a continuous process that improves a person's abilities and qualities while taking into
account various short, medium, and long-term goals and can help a person reach their full
potential (Lejeune, Beausaert and Raemdonck, 2021). In other words, personal and
professional development encompasses activities that help people build their human capital,
enhance their quality of life, and find better jobs throughout their lives. Personal and
professional development may help you acquire better job prospects by helping you shape
your career, which you can accomplish through studying and developing your abilities. Such
development practices assist healthy career advancement and aid in the formation of
appropriate decisions while executing assigned tasks.
Description of the value of short-term goals oitlining at least 3 personal examples
Short term goals are goals which needs to be achieved in near future. Short term goals
are goals which must be accomplished soon and these goals can be helpful in improving
career prospects by setting goals and planning strategies which must be achieved in specific
time frame. Moreover, short term goals are those goals which must be achieved within the
short amount of time or within 6 months of time period (Cowley and Hyams-Ssekasi, 2018).
Short term goals are helpful in enhancing productivity and efficiency of a person. The
objective of setting short term goals is to work towards success and support the individual for
working towards success and excellence. Short term career goals are helpful in enhancing
motivation of individual and offer sense of direction through which a person can work and
progress into right direction. Setting and accomplishing short-term objectives boosts
motivation and readiness to perform well, as well as interest in reaching medium and long-
term goals.
Short term goals are valuable and helpful to enhance skills and knowledge of people,
some of the importance of short-term goals are listed below:
 To increase productivity and performance- Short term goals are helpful in enhancing the
performance and productivity which will be helpful in shaping career. Short term goals are
the mediums which helps in strengthening the performance through which more effective
opportunities can be attracted.
 To find a balance between work and life- Short term goals are helpful in creating a
balance between the work and personal life through which they can willingly perform
3

their assigned task and activities and offer productive response to the organization
(McGill, Heikkila and Lazarowicz, 2020).
 To enhance skills and competencies- Short term goals helps in enhancing skills and
competencies through which they can a person can make progress towards achievement of
their goals and meet desired outcomes.
Some of the examples of short-term goals which needs to be achieved are listed below:
 To work on my social skills and strengthen personal relationships
 Read more books to enhance listening and communication skills
 Creates a savings plan
Description of the value of medium-term goals listing at least 3 personal examples
Medium-term goals are those that must be met in order to attain long-term goals.
Medium-term goals are an action plan for achieving long-term objectives in which medium-
and long-term goals are interconnected because medium-term goals assist individuals in
making progress toward achieving long-term objectives. Furthermore, medium-term
objectives are designed to be between short-term goals that can be accomplished and long-
term goals that must be accomplished within a specified time frame (Sallati, de Andrade
Bertazzi, and Schützer, 2019). Midterm objectives, on the other hand, can be an effective way
to make progress toward long-term goals. A medium-term aim is one that will take more time
to achieve than a short-term one. The fulfilment of a medium-term objective ensures that the
company continues to grow.
Among short and long-term objectives, medium-term goals help people improve their
abilities and knowledge. Some of the benefits of medium-term goals are given below:
 Medium term goal offers best of short- and long-term goals which helps in making
significant progress towards the achievement of objectives within a specific time
period.
 Medium term goals are flexible as such goals can be created easily and time frame
can be selected as per the circumstances and evaluations.
Some of the medium-term goals which will be focused are listed below:
 Focus on enhancing work skills
 Look for a right job
 Volunteer in some activity of interest
4

Discussion of the value of long-term goals identifying at least 3 personal examples
Long term goals are goals which needs to be accomplished in the future. Such goals
require planning and long time period of more than a year. Moreover, long term goals can
also be stated as accomplishment which requires significant time, effort and planning which
needs to be achieved (Sasson and Miedijensky, 2020). A long-term goal is a long-term goal
that is designed to be attained over time through a series of smaller and medium-term
objectives and needs consistent effort.
Long term goals are valuable and supports in increasing skills and knowledge of
people, some of the importance of long-term goals are listed below:
 Long term goals are goals which can be achieved in a longer period of time span.
Such goals require hard work, effective planning and dedication of a person which
will be helpful in meeting their desired objectives.
 Long term career planning helps in securing, developing personal and professional
life and working towards gathering continuous learning through which skills can be
enhanced and objectives can be achieved (Spector-Cohen and et.al, 2019). This will
be helpful in bringing more stability in life.
Some of the long-term goals which will be focused are listed below:
 Learn a new language
 Get promotion in job
 Start a business
Description and discussion of the value of a Personal Development Plan
A personal and professional development plan is a map that outlines career objectives
and methods for achieving short, medium, and long-term objectives. A personal and
professional development plan, to put it another way, is an action plan that describes the
skills, knowledge, and strategies that will help in the advancement of knowledge and
competencies as well as the attainment of desired goals and objectives. Personal and
professional development plans are essential for improving skills and knowledge (Watkins
and Smith, 2018). A personal and professional development plan allows you to improve your
current performance and abilities that need to be improved, as well as design methods to
improve those skills. Personal and professional development plan is a blue print of all the
strategies which will be used for enhancing the skills, knowledge and shortcomings. Through
the personal development plan, an individual can meet their desired objectives and can
5

enhance their skill set as per desired roles and responsibilities which will be helpful in
shaping personality and career of an individual.
The following are some of the values of personal and professional development plans:
 Personal vision is clearer.
 Helps to improve existing abilities.
 Aids in the acquisition of new skills and information.
 Increases an individual's efficiency.
 Assists in re-igniting motivation and increasing pleasure.
 Assists in increasing self-esteem.
 Assists in the improvement of performance and productivity.
 Provides new chances for career and professional development.
 Enhances and enhances current skills and weaknesses.
CONCLUSION
Based on the information presented above, it is possible to conclude that personal and
professional development is a method that assists an individual in improving their abilities
and competences so that they can execute the required tasks successfully and efficiently.
Personal and professional development may aid in the enhancement of skills and
competences, resulting in increased knowledge and competencies and increased productivity.
It can be observed that a personal and professional development plan aids in the creation of
short-, medium-, and long-term goals through which an individual may improve their abilities
and competences that will be useful in completing the given job and meeting deadlines.
6

Reference List:
Cowley, P. and Hyams-Ssekasi, D., 2018. Motivation, induction, and challenge: Examining
the initial phase of international students’ educational sojourn. Journal of
International Students. 8(1). pp.109-130.
Lejeune, C., Beausaert, S. and Raemdonck, I., 2021. The impact on employees’ job
performance of exercising self-directed learning within personal development plan
practice. The International Journal of Human Resource Management. 32(5). pp.1086-
1112.
McGill, C. M., Heikkila, M. and Lazarowicz, T., 2020. Professional development,
performance expectations and academic advisors’ perceptions of relational skills: a
sequential explanatory mixed methods study. New Horizons in Adult Education and
Human Resource Development. 32(4). pp.50-69.
Sallati, C., de Andrade Bertazzi, J. and Schützer, K., 2019. Professional skills in the Product
Development Process: the contribution of learning environments to professional skills
in the Industry 4.0 scenario. Procedia Cirp. 84. pp.203-208.
Sasson, I. and Miedijensky, S., 2020. Transfer skills in teacher training programs: the
question of assessment. Professional Development in Education. pp.1-38.
Spector-Cohen, E and et.al., 2019. Towards English for academic purposes curriculum
reform: Linguistic, educational or political considerations?. In Innovation in
Language Learning and Teaching (pp. 153-176). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Watkins, H. and Smith, R., 2018. Thinking globally, working locally: Employability and
internationalization at home. Journal of Studies in International Education. 22(3).
pp.210-224.
Online
Personal and professional development, 2021 [Online]. Available through
<https://wethrive.net/guides/personal-professional-development-guide/>
Ways to improve personal development skills, 2021 [Online]. Available through
<https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/improve-your-personal-
development-skills>
7

APPENDIX 1
Personal Development Plan
Skills to be
Developed
Development Plan Resources Target Date
To work on my
social skills and
strengthen personal
relationships
In order to work on my social skills, I will focus
on interacting with other people through which I
can exchange words and create strong
relationships with them.
For strengthening my social skills, I will focus
in improving my interaction level, boost
confidence and will take full interest in others
activities.
With the help of cultural activities
and through taking part in
workshops will be helpful in
increasing interaction and will be
helpful in strengthening my
personal relationship.
Before December, 2021
Focus on enhancing
work skills
I will focus on enhancing my work ethics and
skills which will be helpful in performing the
assigned job roles and responsibilities
effectively.
I will focus on learning and enhancing technical
skills through which performance standards can
be met and assigned job role can be done within
desired time frame.
In order to enhance my work
skills, training and development
sessions offered by the company
will be helpful in enhancing such
skills and competencies which
will support in performing
accordingly and meeting all
required objectives within specific
Before May,2022
0

time frame.
Learn a new
language
In order to learn new language, I will engage in
courses through offline and online mediums
through which certified degrees can be
collected. This ill be helpful in enhancing skills,
knowledge and attracting more employment
opportunities.
In order to learn new language
and wok on linguistic skills,
online course and applications
will be helpful to grasp
knowledge and make progress
towards personal and professional
development.
Such skills can also be enhanced
through registering in a
specificized course which will be
helpful in shaping career and
attracting greater number of
employment opportunities.
Before December, 2022
1