University Report: Personal Development Plan and Goal Setting

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of personal and professional development, addressing the core concepts and their practical applications. It begins by defining personal and professional development and then delves into the significance of short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals, providing personal examples for each. The report emphasizes the value of goal setting in facilitating skill enhancement and competence. Furthermore, the report explores the construction and importance of a Personal Development Plan (PDP), outlining its role in clarifying objectives and providing a roadmap for achieving them, with a practical example included. The report is a comprehensive resource for students seeking to understand and implement effective strategies for personal and professional growth, aligning with the requirements of the BMP3001 Academic Skills and PDP module.

Personal and
Professional
Development

Contents
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
Define the concept of personal and professional development................................................................3
Describe and discuss the value of short-term goals, identifying at least three personal examples...........4
Describe and discuss the value of medium-term goals, identifying at least three personal examples......5
Describe and discuss the value of long-term goals, identifying at least three personal examples............6
Describe and discuss the value of a Personal Development Plan and construct an example using your
identified goals........................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Personal and professional development is a concept that facilitates skill enhancement and
amplifies the level of competence within individuals. It serves the foundation for learning
procedure wherein individuals can aim to grow and develop themselves in a prominent manner
so as to accomplish their career or personal aspirations to a great extent. Professional and
personal development allows people to look upon the potential opportunities within their
respective environment and optimise upon the same with the best of their skills and capabilities
in order to acquire great results and outcomes (Pugh and Broome, 2020). In the current era, it has
become very essential for each and every individual to concentrate upon building advance and
optimum knowledge, understanding and skills so as to lead their personal as well as professional
development in relevant and optimal mannerism. The proposed report will demonstrate the
significance of short term, medium-term as well as long-term goals with the appropriate personal
examples. In addition to that, the report will also demonstrate the necessity and significance for
incorporation of a personal development plan with a relevant example of the same as well.
Define the concept of personal and professional development
The concept of personal and professional development allows individuals to facilitate a
systematic examination and evaluation of their present level of skill and knowledge so as to lead
growth towards betterment and improvisation. Their existing capabilities and achieve higher
skill optimisation and leverage in the long run.
The professional development less concern over the idea that individuals must participate into
activities and processes that can elevate as well as accelerate their overall professional and career
growth. The objective of professional development is to inculcate productive and necessary
knowledge and understanding as well as skills and characteristics within an individual that can
assist him or her towards achieving his desired goals within the field of interest.
Personal development mainly focuses upon helping and assisting individuals to develop their
personality traits, qualities in order to facilitate personal growth in a defined manner (Partridge,

2021). The purpose of personal development is to allow individuals to introspect within
themselves and identify their true inner potential and work to words the optimisation and
capitalisation of the same in order to achieve various goals and aspirations in life.It can be stated
that personal and professional development are the factors that can compel an individual to
succeed and grow in a continuous and consistent manner. The respective concept helps people to
become more assertive and motivated towards their future goals and invest their time and effort
into various plans and activities that can facilitate them forward towards the acquisition of the
same in the near future.
Describe and discuss the value of short-term goals, identifying at least three personal examples.
Short-term goals are formulated by individuals so as to take a step forward towards the
achievement of their long-term aspiration in a productive manner. The major goal behind the
incorporation of short-term objectives can considered to be the requirement of the individuals to
examine their current abilities and enhance the same so as to achieve their future goals more
stable and competent manner. It is quite evident that if an individual aligns its energy and efforts
towards the optimisation of long-term goals, he or she may only be caught in the entire process
without any further possibilities for regulation of other goals and aspirations (Iskakova and
Esmuratova, 2021). It can be said that the short-term goals facilitate an appropriate overview
about the possible long-term objectives to the individuals that they would like to strive for in the
coming future.
 The development of interpersonal abilities and to coordinate and communicate better and
with more flexibility can be considered to be an important short-term goal. In order to
work in teams and groups in an effective manner, it is very necessary for individuals to
have the right kind of collaboration, cooperation and understanding with other peers.
 Working upon my critical thinking abilities can also be termed as a short-term goal. I
would like to accomplish the same so as to allow myself to critique and assist the
complex and conflicting surroundings and environment in a more systematic and advance
manner.

 Leadership quality can be termed as a significant trait and individual characteristic that
allows the same to emerge as an effective and efficient leader within a particular work
setting. I would like to participate into various potential activities in order to boost my
leadership skills and ensure that I am able to provide guidance and mentor my team in the
right direction.
Describe and discuss the value of medium-term goals, identifying at least three personal
examples.
The significance of medium-term goal is to provide an opportunity to the individuals through
which they can keep an eye upon their long-term goals as well as also progress towards it with
the utilisation of short-term goals as a building step towards the achievement of their desired
future goals (Ward and van der Mars, 2020). It has been examined through various studies that
the degree of progress as well as accomplishment associated with the medium-term goals is
relatively high in comparison to the other forms of goals and objectives. The reason for the same
can be stated as the time orientation, reach and specifically of the concerned goals which allows
the individuals to achieve the respective goals in a more flexible and effective way.
 My first medium-term goal is to acquire a stable position within an organisation that
could exercise my potential in the right manner and can facilitate me with optimum
opportunity through which I can advance my career path and goal in a desired manner
and achieve greater outcomes through the same. Capitalisation of a stable position within
a successful and renowned business enterprise can considered to be a very important
objective. It can help me to build myself financially independent, strong and also deposit
adequate savings for my future as well.
 I have an extreme passion for adventure and travelling. I would also like to incorporate
my travelling desires within my medium-term goals. I like to travel and explore new city
and surroundings in order to elevate my existing experience and learn about new cultures,
traditions and languages across the globe.

 Also, one of my necessary medium-term goal is to manage my time in a productive
manner. I believe that time management skills are immensely important when it comes to
accomplishment of goals and objectives within an individual personal or professional life.
The formulation of advance time schedule and working and conducting day to day
activities in accordance with the same can provide enhanced advantages to the individual.
Describe and discuss the value of long-term goals, identifying at least three personal examples.
Long-term goals are taken into consideration by the individuals in order to lead towards their
future path and dreams. In order to strive for the accomplishment of future and long-term
objective, systematic and organised plans and procedures needs to be conducted in a deliberate
and consistent manner so as to move towards the realisation of the same. Also, the long-term
goals are very rigid in nature and they cannot be easily modified as per the personal requirement
in a flexible manner (Efu, 2020). Moreover, the acquisition of long-term goals is not limited to a
short period of time and major contributions and efforts needs to be executed for a longer time
frame so as to obtain the concerned goals thriving manner.
 The first and foremost long-term goal that I aspire to achieve would be to learn the
French language. I believe that being multilingual has several perks and benefits within
the society as well as the career. Hence, I would like to strive for acquiring knowledge
about the French language as I am really interested within the same. I would like to
facilitate my participation within French programmes and language classes in order to
build my knowledge and skills within the particular domain. I believe that learning
French can provide me with a essential leverage within my particular field of interest and
would also accelerate my value as a working individual within my chosen career in a
significant manner.
 Decision making is a very important and valuable skill that is appreciated and given
utmost priority within every domain. Long-term goal would be to shape my mindset and
assessment capabilities in such a manner that I am able to formulate implement the right

decisions. It can be said that decisions are the guiding factors something that impacts
upon their daily lives and routine of an individual. In context to professional
development, decision making tends to affect the potential capitalisation of various
opportunities and ignorance of some of the same. I would like to build my decision
making skills in a manner that I am able to formulate the appropriate decisions and
anticipate the impact associated with the same as well as identify the result that it could
lead within my everyday life as well.
 In addition to that, I would also like to buy a house for my family in order to provide
them with standard living and satisfy their requirements in appropriate manner.
Describe and discuss the value of a Personal Development Plan and construct an example using
your identified goals.
Personal development plan is a statement that demonstrates the particular skills, knowledge,
understanding and objectives that a person would like to achieve through the course of time.
Personal development plan provides information about the resources as well as the action plan
that are taken into consideration by an individual in order to achieve his or her goals. It also
demonstrates the time frame within which a person is likely to achieve the respective goals and
objectives (Hinojosa-Pareja and García-Cano, 2020). It is a potential statement that appropriately
describes the entire action plan that has been undertaken by an individual to strive better for the
realisation of one’s goals and objectives.
Personal development plan provides advance clarity to the individuals about their future vision
and aspiration. It clears out the unnecessary confusion and dilemma within one’s mind and
facilitates the same to become more focused and dedicated towards the achievement of the goals
(Safari and Barabadi, 2020). It can be said that the incorporation and development of a personal
development plan can increase the willingness and degree of motivation within an individual as
well as persuade the same to become more assertive an aligned to the goal prescribed within the
respective plan.

The overall significance associated with the personal development plan is to encourage the
individual to consistently work hard and devote their time in the direction of the prominent goals
and aspirations that can help them to succeed within their professional and personal life in a
proficient manner.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above assessment that and personal development is a lifelong
journey that allows individual to work words betterment of their skills and knowledge persistent
way. The short, medium and long-term goals play a vital role in helping people to take a step
ahead towards the achievement of their desires, dreams, aspirations and future plans. It can be
said that personal development plan also provides enhanced assistance to the individuals in
identifying the areas in which they would like to excel and acquire prominent results.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Pugh, M. and Broome, N., 2020. Dialogical coaching: An experiential approach to personal and
professional development. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 72(3), p.223.
Partridge, E., 2021. Getting On in the Creative Arts Therapies: A Hands-On Guide to Personal
and Professional Development. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Iskakova, L.M. and Esmuratova, G.Z., 2021. Development of intelligence as the basis for
personal and professional development. In Шамовские педагогические чтения научной
школы Управления образовательными системами (pp. 49-54).
Ward, P. and van der Mars, H., 2020. Confronting the challenge of continuous professional
development for physical education teacher educators. Journal of Physical Education,
Recreation & Dance, 91(1), pp.7-13.
Hinojosa-Pareja, E.F. and García-Cano, M., 2020. Excellence is not an island: team-based
professional development in Higher Education. Professional Development in Education, pp.1-19.
Safari, S. and Barabadi, H.A., 2020. Identifying of the professional-development factors of
students in the humanistic group counseling course. Biannual Journal of Applied
Counseling, 10(1), pp.43-64.
Efu, S.I., 2020. An evaluative inquiry into continuing professional development: understanding
faculty perceptions. Teacher Development, 24(5), pp.688-708.

Appendix
Goal or Objective Resources Plan of Action Time Period
Time management
Skills
Alarm
Clocks
Timers
Alerts
Journal
Time Table
Calendar
Schedules
Formulation of
systematic and
competent timeline
for the daily routine
work.
Optimisation of time
management
techniques in order
to elevate the
productiveness
efficiency to a larger
extent.
6 months
Learning French
Language
French Books
French Program
Dictionaries
Documentaries and
movies
French Classes
The enrolment into
French learning
program and classes.
Facilitating
assistance from
French tutor.
12 months