CMDBST104 Reflective Journal: Personal & Professional Development

This reflective journal documents the author's personal and professional development journey, utilizing Gibbs' Reflective Cycle to analyze experiences, feelings, and skill development gained during university studies. The journal highlights improvements in communication, teamwork, time management, ICT skills, and research abilities. It addresses challenges faced due to lacking competencies and the strategies employed to overcome them, including seeking support from peers and tutors. The author reflects on the impact of these developments on their confidence, performance, and future career prospects in marketing, emphasizing the importance of continuous skill enhancement and strategic action planning for achieving academic and professional goals. The journal also identifies areas for further development and outlines specific approaches for improvement in ICT, time management, teamwork, and research skills.

INDIVIDUAL
PRESENTATION PAPER
1000 WORDS

Table of Content
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL..............................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
In order to reflect experience, feeling, emotions, effectiveness and skills, I prefer to
utilize specific model or framework, which is quite beneficial. In the world of business and
education systems, there are varied forms of models and strategic frameworks accessible that has
been utilized by varied people and in the context of individuals for purpose of reflecting their
professional as well as personal experience or journey regarding specific situation and task
(Gibbs' Reflective Cycle, 2021). I prefer to use Gibbs reflective cycle, which encompasses key
six stages among each stage provide opportunity to me to express my feelings and achievement
of employability & study competencies that I have developed while attending university.
I want to describe my achievements in term of skills development regarding employment
and study areas, which in return provide me a lot of benefits beyond my expectations and plan. It
can be said that while conducting any practice or taking initiative to engage themselves in
specific task, individuals might be learned something new and useful. I can say that with the help
of tacking higher education in the university, I have improved by communication skill even
better than last few weeks or months, in both verbal & written manners. It made me capable to
speak in front of many peoples effectively with full off confidence and allow giving appropriate
answers of each question that others asked me. It is one of those skills that boost confident and
motivational as well knowledge level among individuals in term of giving them chance to
interact and collaborate with those who are highly experienced and gained a lot of understanding
about multiple concepts related to field of marketing as employment profession. In the
university, along with skills improvement, I had developed more competencies that had
contributed to enhance my performance level and boosted morale. Just because of lacking some
competencies or do not posing great understanding about each I had faced challenges as well that
is not beneficial for my career growth and success whether it is in the context of professional or
personal, as it doesn't matter.
I want to share my feeling whether it is bad or good, positive or negative, that have felt
during this module. Before engaging myself and conducting any practice in the university, I was
quite excited. As I had think that I would gain chance to work with many people who are
creative, productive and good in behaviour. I am happy and relaxed and curious to know more
about others performance, and initiatives that they tend to conduct in education institute. My
happiness and excitement vanish away when I had realized and determined that team work is not

that easy as it provide challenges to work with those who are thinking quite differently. The after
experience is not that much better for me. But still I had work harder and deal with overall
situation that had put direct impact on my performance level. I had felt positively, when other
students supported me to make myself comfortable as we all are sharing our pass experience
with each other. With support from others and tutors as well, now I am feeling good and had
confidence to achieve desire outcome in term of achieving great scores while attending
university, where I had grabbed several chances to develop those skills that I want to develop
such as ICTs, team work, time and self-management as well as research. With communication
power and problem solving skill, I have gained expected result in effective manner. Both
competencies had provided benefits to me in form of driving my attention toward collecting
information about sources and approaches for further skills development.
It is fact that success and career growth is not that as people think. it requires a lot of hard
work and effort. Individual person could conduct any activity related to academic or employment
career, when they have set of skills. I had also worked harder to develop lacking competencies
and improving current that has provided desire result to me. After development of my skills and
utilization of existing, everything is well and going according to my expectations. When I do not
have any knowledge about ICT, time management, and team working skills, I had faced a lot of
challenges that lead to decrease my effectiveness and morale. I had felt demotivated and because
of this I had never make any commitment regarding my work and career. But now everything is
ok, because I have determined that skills development is possible when the method to do so is
appropriate. By interacting with all the people who are attending the module I have improved my
verbal communication skill that has provided benefits in terms of developing better
understanding about key methods and approaches that enable me to develop varied skills. The
information provided by the others had put positive impact on my confidence and behaviour as I
have decided to take the best actions to achieve my aim, whether it is long, short or medium.
While attending the University I have achieved study skills such as communication. I
have also improved my problem-solving skill that is related to both career such as academic and
employment. These two abilities have provided me power to obtain better score than other
candidates who are also taking interest to reach expected outcomes. Along with about description
I also want to describe things that have contributed to make me a better candidate and also the
factors or things that hinder my performance. I want to share my personal experience regarding

components that have hinder my effectiveness. By posing good knowledge about the skills I had
feel good, but just because of not posing better understanding about teamwork self-management
and advanced technologies as key skills, due to not having these I had deled with negative
situations. All these skills have hindered my work and productivity that is not beneficial for me. I
want to work like others and also gain benefit that they have gained. I had experienced worst
situation ever because of lacking competencies that enable me to grow rapidly. My negative
experience had driven my attention and efforts toward skills development, in term of ICTs, self-
management and research as well as networking. Each skill plays important role to make me
capable to grab the best employment chance in the future and also contribute to make my dream
comes true.
From above description it has been concluded that I have builds strong relationship with
other attendees that are also attending university for varied purposes. As they have gained benefit
of increasing aim and developing better comprehending about varied concepts that would
provide edges to them in the future. I have obtained benefit of gaining trust of tutors who are
capable to teach and enhance capabilities of others. Employability and study competencies cater
key advantages to everyone in term of boosting their morale, increasing productivity and
performance as well as commitment level that is quite important for them to do so. Along with
above analysis, I want to express or share my overall assumption that I have assumed while
attending university. I have collected information about skills that I do not have so, but need to
develop for grabbing further opportunities related to academic and professional career that I tend
to build in field of marketing. It is one of those beneficial and progressive field that give me
chance to grow rapidly. I have also identified that skills development is essential and I want to
make it more useful for myself in term of taking action to develop plan among which each stage
will help to boost my confidence, enhance performance, and power to perform as effective
candidate in a company.
In the recent era, there are different techniques, methods and approaches exist that has
been utilized and considered my many people, in order to gain benefit of skills improvement or
development. For example, action plan is the best method that I would use here, for purpose of
developing key four skills.
Development areas Approaches Success criteria Time frame
ICTs I want to develop my By analysing my 6 months

knowledge about
advanced
technologies and
techniques to solve
technical IT issues. In
order to do that, I
would take approach
to join coaching
sessions, which play
important role in my
growth. During each
session, skill and
experience person is
available who are
effective and capable
to provide appropriate
directions.
performance during
facing technical issue
that would solve by
applying my
knowledge for solving
that.
Time management I also need to develop
this competence for
which specific method
is needed. I would
prefer to create
schedule and take
suggestion from
experience holder as
key method.
By managing my
daily work and
activities.
15 days
Team working I would take use of
particular method and
that is collaboration.
By achieving team
aim and objectives.
1 month
Research skill I will develop this
skill by taking support
By achieving goal and
objective specific
2 months

and help from well-
known researchers
who are capable to
conduct varied
researches based on
multiple topics.
study in the future.

REFERENCES
Online
Gibbs' Reflective Cycle. 2021. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-
reflective-cycle>
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