Reflective Essay: Skills, Career Ambitions, and Personal Development

This reflective essay examines personal and professional development within the context of a career in the cleaning industry. The student begins with an introduction to personal and professional development, emphasizing its role in lifelong learning and career advancement. The essay then moves into a self-assessment, including a SWOT analysis to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to a career in cleaning. The student identifies and justifies their ambition to work in this sector, highlighting its growth potential and technical advancements. Skills are matched to career ambitions, and gaps are identified using Gibbs' reflective cycle, detailing a specific experience and its analysis. The essay concludes with recommendations for skill development and a plan for future action. References include academic sources and online resources, such as Gibbs reflective cycle.

PERSONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT REFLECTIVE
ESSAY

Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................1
2. IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION ON OWN SKILLS AND CAREER AMBITION..1
3. CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................................................5
4. RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

1. INTRODUCTION
Personal and professional development aids to manage and learning own growth
throughout the career (Bennett-Levy, 2018). Thus, it helps to continue learn and develop skill
and knowledge and perform continually towards work in safely, legally and effectively. Herein,
personal development in human being is kind of lifelong process. It is helpful in order to access
towards skills and qualities to maximise the potential. Therefore, attracting and keeping
employees engaged is one of the crucial term that help to attain the success of business. Continue
development of the person is very important as it supports to have continuing growth in
professional development (Schrand, Jones and Hanson, 2018). Furthermore, personal and
professional development is very helpful in order to help and manage own learning and to have
better career growth in the process of own learning.
The present report is based on having effective personal and professional develop skill in
order to have better career in cleaning industry. In this report, following things will be cover as
future career essay on cleaning industry, identify and evaluate the skills set as per the career
ambitions and also use appropriate models as Gibbs. Lastly, recommendation is need to be given
in order to have self evaluation and to improve the things in order to get job done in future
career.
2. IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION ON OWN SKILLS AND
CAREER AMBITION.
Evaluation on own skills-
The present report is based on to determine the self evaluation of skills in order top have
better future growth in ambitious career. Thus, I want to make my future in cleaning industry. In
this way, I have conducted my own evaluation on the basis chosen career in following manner
as-
Strength-
 I am good in managing and working
with team.
 I like to do each thing in proper
hygiene manner.
Weakness
 I am not effective communicator and
listener.
 Sometimes, too much work pressure
distracted me.
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 I am patient and careful person.
 My biggest strength is to performing
the each and every job in quality
manner.
 I am not able to perform my things in
very creative manner.
Opportunities
 Cleaning business are successful in
urban locations with high level of
affluence so it aids to have better
growth in the future (Wald and et.al.,
2018).
 In near future, this industry is going to
expand drastically.
 This is the segment that has lot to offer
to the cleaning franchisors this will aid
me to start my own venture in this
industry.
Threats
 It is one of the challenging industry in
which good work goes unnoticed and
one bad thing can get the person in
trouble. Sometimes, it threatens me and
barricade to opt for it.
 There are number of small companies
and that are competing for the both
residential and commercial cleaning
contracts. This can affect the working
and leads to have shortfall in career.
Identification and justification on particular sector to work in future and why?
My future ambition is to work with cleaning industry. I need to work with this sector and
wants to settle my career in this field. The cleaning industry has grown and became mature in
past few years. In the urban location, it is increasing in drastic manner. As per my research, I
have identified that most of the cleaning sector is growing around 20% per year. Thus, there are
number of the respectable cleaning firm that supports to licensing and increased regulations. This
working of this industry aids to have better profit margin growth.
I have also analysed that the trends in this industry is moving towards the better direction
in terms to quality equipments with the longer life-cycles and ergonomically Thus, I have
identified that cleaning industry is working with huge level of technical adaption as in modern
scenario cleaning robots are available as floor cleaning robots, duct cleaning robots and window
cleaning robots etc. Hence, lot of innovation is taking in the cleaning business in order to shape
the future of cleaning and housekeeping. I must say that future of the cleaning industry look
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positive and for me it is typical to find any threats to this business that slow down the rate of this
sector. I have selected this as my future ambition as there is great opportunity to conduct
business with a solid future and very little risk to gong forward.
Matching skills to career ambition.
Matching of the skill in terms to career ambitions-
In the above I have mention my own skill in order to make career in cleaning industry.
Skills required Matching of skill
Time management skill For this industry, it is essential to have strong
time management skill and proven history of
workplace punctuality. Thus, I am capable in
managing my thing in better and effective
manner. I am also good in managing time and
to present my self at given time.
Ability to conduct work To have career in this sector, individual must
have ability to work autonomously (Nathan,
2018). So, proper things can be carried out.
Healthy and safety principles In order to build career in this sector person
should have idea about the all kind of healthy
and safety principles with the wide knowledge
of products and tool and I have good
knowledge about it.
Identification of gap in skills have and required to develop.
Gibbs reflective cycle is on of the effective mode that aids to learning with different
stages to make sense of an experience. Thus, identification of gap within skills defined as-
Description- For some time, I have worked with one of cleaning industry. From there I have
experienced that I have good knowledge-intensive in healthy and safety principles but that time I
was not able to present my self at given time. Due to it, the issues as procrastination used to
come between work. In order to overcome it, I tried my best to avoid distraction and assigned
deadlines to each task so that I can achieve within set and framed deadlines.
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Feeling- At that situation, I found my self unmotivated and unable to focus on my task properly.
My team member and colleagues was also not good with this act. In order to do things rightly, I
prioritised the task and it has actually helped me to get the desired result.
Evaluation- The things were quite good and also I achieved a good quality of work. The bad in
this was that due to unpunctuality I scolded from my senior staff in front of my colleagues and
due to not able to present on time the overall time plan of the group failed.
Illustration 1: Gibbs reflective cycle
(Source: Gibbs' reflective cycle. 2019.)
Analysis- The things went well after prioritising the each task and to by appearing on time. With
the help of division of work within the team all things went well. I have experienced by working
this way the things can be achieved in effective and efficient manner.
Conclusion- As per the above, I learnt that by managing the thinks in time manner and to have
better plan about the each can aids to strengthen performance of work. This aids me to continue
to have and identify the strength as per the things required.
Action plan- when I will work in this sector nest time, I will prioritise the task and set deadline
to each task so that I can able to get it done within the set deadline. I will work as to prepare the
better time-frame by considering each activities and this will assist me to do the things
effectively.
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3. CONCLUSION
Personal and professional development is a formal that means individual can able to
enhancing their skills by contributing effectively in it. It is defined as process by which
enterprise and individual get engaged in the process of learning. The present report has focused
over to enhancing skills in chosen career ambition and that is as cleaning industry. In this, report
the various things has been discussed as SWOT analysis on self evaluation on skills and gibbs
reflective cycle has been in used to identify the gap between skills have and skills that are
required to develop.
4. RECOMMENDATIONS
On the basis of above, the recommendations are to be defined in order to overcome with
skills gap to pursuing career in cleaning industry as-
 In order to be in this career, I must have strong management skill and proven history of
workplace punctuality.
 I must work as to give proper attention to each detail and to have the use of proper safety
measures.
 To work with cleaning industry, I must develop good interpersonal and communications
skills.
 In order to perform things effectively, I should have better and effective knowledge of
healthy and safety principles so that better practices can be conducted.
 In order to deal with this industry, I must have the ability to work quickly under pressure
and problem solving skills also be good so that it can not barricade the working
performance.
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REFERENCES
Book & Journal
Wald, H.S and et.al., 2018. Grappling with complexity: medical students’ reflective writings
about challenging patient encounters as a window into professional identity
formation. Medical Teacher. pp.1-9.
Bennett-Levy, J., 2018. Why therapists should walk the talk: The theoretical and empirical case
for personal practice in therapist training and professional development. Journal of
behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry.
Schrand, T., Jones, K. and Hanson, V., 2018. " Reflecting on Reflections:" Curating ePortfolios
for Integrative Learning and Identity Development in a General Education Senior
Capstone. International Journal of ePortfolio. 8(1). pp.1-12.
Nathan, L., 2018, July. Constantly Learning: Engaging for Action and Activism—A Personal
and Professional Reflection in Four Acts. In The Educational Forum. Routledge.
Online
Gibbs' reflective cycle. 2019. [Online] Available
through:<https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-
reflective-cycle>.
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