FY027: Preparing for Success: Portfolio on Self-Development Skills

This portfolio, created as part of the FY027 module "Preparing for Success: Self-Development and Responsibility" at the University of Buckingham, presents a student's journey in developing key skills for academic and professional success. The portfolio includes reflections on mini-project workshops, highlighting their contribution to employability by enhancing skills such as identifying strengths and weaknesses, improving efficiency and productivity, and developing communication skills. The student's project focused on "What Makes an Effective Student," leading to the identification of essential academic skills like time management, planning, and accountability. The portfolio also features examples of academic writing, a CV, and demonstrates an understanding of the global context of higher education and employment. The student faced initial challenges but successfully completed the project, meeting several learning outcomes related to communication, academic and professional development, and understanding global contexts. The portfolio concludes with a detailed CV designed to attract potential employers, emphasizing the importance of a well-crafted resume in securing desired job opportunities. The student's work underscores the significance of self-assessment and continuous improvement in achieving both academic and career goals.

Preparing for
Success: Self-
Development
and
Responsibility

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.................................................................................................................................................3
Mini-project workshops...........................................................................................................................3
Portfolio...................................................................................................................................................4
Summary.................................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Self-development and responsibility is required in order to ensure that one obtains the
desired success in the future time period (Abrahamsson and et.al., 2017). Both of them are
required in an individual so as to make sure that the required success is achieved. In this report,
specific analysis will be made on demonstration of communication skills, identification of
academic and professional development needs. Also, analysis will be done on the demonstration
of awareness of global context of higher education and employment.
MAIN BODY
Mini-project workshops
The mini-project workshops have been quite helpful in development of skills which are
required for getting employed in the future. This is so because the needs and requirements of the
companies are ever-changing in nature and in order to meet these dynamic needs and
requirements it is required from a student that he/she attends these mini-project workshops so
that the required knowledge can be gained.
Contribution made by these workshops in developing employability skills-
 Identification of strengths- These workshops help a lot in identifying the strengths a
student has while studying in the university (Aguinis and Glavas, 2019). This is quite
helpful because it helps in developing them further so that a good job can be obtained
after passing out of the university.
 Identification of weaknesses- While a student studying at the university may have
various types of strengths, there may be also certain weaknesses. These weaknesses are
also required to be studied because certain steps are required to be taken to make sure that
they are eradicated fully before a person can be employed.
 More efficiency- Attending these workshops can be very helpful for a student as they
allow improving the overall efficiency. Thus by improving the overall efficiency a
student can gain new skills which are so crucial for being employed in any company.
 Productivity- Higher level of productivity can be ensured by using the workshops
because they teach a lot on development of the required skills to be employable. Thus for
the students attending these sessions can be highly productive to gain the necessary skills
required for employment.
 Identification of talent- Every student has some talent which can be in any form whether
in studies or other activities. This talent is required to be identified. By attending these
sessions, a student can identify the talent where he/she is good at. This is going to help a
lot in the future for being employed in a good company.

 Development of skills- Nowadays employers do not just looks at the academic
qualifications which a student has before giving a job. Different types of jobs have
varying requirements which are required to be fulfilled. Thus it is needed that these skills
are developed so that the employers can consider giving employment to a student who
has just passed out of the university level. Therefore, it is crucial that the skills are
developed using the right approach with due care so that chances of gaining employment
with a decent company can be increased.
Portfolio
Reflection-
My project work involves research on the topic- What Makes an Effective Student. The
reason for choosing this particular topic was that being a student myself I can better understand
the needs and requirements for it.
While starting this project, initially I faced various problems. These problems were faced
by me due to the confusion on where to start the project. However after facing initial difficulties
at the start I started off on the project. After conducting research and properly analyzing it I was
able to complete it successfully.
My project work meets the following learning outcomes-
 Communication skills- By completing this project, my communication skills have gone
to a new level. I feel that I am able to communicate and put forward my ideas in a better
manner than before. Thus, by developing these skills I think that I have increased my
chances of getting the right job (Ferguson, 2018).
 Academic and professional development- After completing this project, I feel that this
has helped me in academic and professional development. This is so because now I am
able to develop myself more in the field of academics. Thus by developing in academics
professional development can be ensured because it straightaway leads to increase in
skills and competencies required for the same.
 Understanding of the global context- Completion of this project has made sure that I
am able to understand the needs and requirements which are in a global context
(Häkkinen and et.al., 2017). It has changed my thinking pattern. I am now in a better
position to understand the global needs and requirements. Thus I can make sure that I
develop my skills accordingly so that I can get the benefit of it in the due course of time.
Therefore, by working on this project I have achieved these learning outcomes with ease.
Example of Academic Writing-

There are various skills which are required to be attained by students at university level to
attain the desired success. These skills are as follows-
 Good Time Management- When a student has good time management it automatically
increases his/her chances of attaining success. This is so because by managing time
effectively a student can make sure that different type of tasks are completed well within
the time-limit set.
 Planning skills- A student should also have planning skills (Jackson, 2017). This is very
important because by proper planning the chances of attaining success in the future time
period increase. Therefore a student who is able to develop proper planning skills will be
able to get a job in a good company after passing out of the university.
 Accountability- There should be accountability on the part of students for the work
which has been done by them (Accountability, 2019). By assuming it, the students can
make sure that they own the responsibility of the work. This will help them in becoming
self-dependent in their work and being active in discharging their required duties.
 Result-oriented- A student needs to be result-oriented. This is crucial because by being
oriented towards achieving the desired results the student can get the success. A student
needs to make the targets which are required to be achieved and should do the hard work
required to attain them effectively. By doing the required work and being dedicated and
committed in efforts the student can make sure that success is attained. This will help a
lot in getting a good job after completing studies at the university level.
 Team-player- A student has to be a team-player (Murray and et.al., 2016). This is quite
important because by being a member of the team there is a lot which can be learnt. Thus
it is required on the part of students that they are able to cooperate and coordinate in the
team efforts. This helps them in performing tasks faster and understanding other
members of the team. This can also help in getting the right job after completing
education as the employers generally prefer those candidates who are team players and
know how to cooperate and coordinate in a team.
 Active understanding- A student has to be a good listener (Setó-Pamies and
Papaoikonomou, 2016). By being a good listener the student can understand a lot by
doing the required analysis and interpretation. Thus on the part of students it is required
that they are able to understand what the speaker is saying.
 Curious- A student needs to be quite curious. This is to make sure that the
inquisitiveness regarding several aspects is maintained. This can help a lot in getting the
desired job after completing education at the university level. Thus curiousness must be
maintained by the students so as to attain success in the future.
CV-
Name- George Smith

Date of Birth- 28/10/1998
Age- 21 years
Educational qualifications- Graduate
Experience- Fresher
Skills-
 Effective communicator.
 Can work in a team with team-spirit.
 Coordination of different types of activities.
 Networking skills.
 Analysis & Interpretation skills
About me-
I am looking for a job in finance department of a good U.K. company. I would like to
work in this department because this will give me an opportunity to grow myself and
understand the wide dynamics of this role. I am looking to work with a company which
can provide me an opportunity to grow and excel in different job roles and also make sure
that my personality is developed.
Place preferred for job-
London, United Kingdom
Summary
From this portfolio, it can be summarized that for attaining success at the university level
a student needs to possess various types of skills. As the topic of the project was- What makes an
effective student there was specific research done in order to complete it.
A reflection has been given which discusses the initial problems which were faced in this
assignment. Also, a number of learning outcomes were met while completing it. These learning
outcomes are quite essential in development of personality and can be quite helpful in getting a
good job after passing out from the university (Shim and Yang, 2016). Also they help in
assessing whether the student has been able to properly understand what was required or not. The
right assessment of a student’s learning approach can be made. This is required for making sure
that they are developing the right skills for completing of various projects and assignments at the
university level.

As the project is related with the requirements of being an effective student there was
absolutely no problem in meeting the learning outcomes. This project was chosen because as a
student it is comparatively easier to find out the various aspects of being effective. Thus a lot of
research, analysis and interpretation work can be done easily and also it gives an opportunity for
self-assessment so as to find out faults in oneself. By finding these faults, it can be made sure
that the right rectifying measures are taken in order to remove them so that the work can be
performed without any problems. The assignment itself is interesting enough and therefore it can
be completed easily within the stipulated time given.
Academic writing has been used to analyze the various skills which a student needs to
succeed at the university level. The skills have been evaluated in detail and detailed explanations
have been provided. This gives a better understanding of the requirements from a student so as to
attain success and get a decent job after passing out of the university.
A CV has been developed which has all the essential requirements to catch the attention
of the recruiters (Yin and Jamali, 2016). It gives all the details about the candidate who is
seeking the job and has sufficient information for the HR department of the companies to make
an informed decision. Thus, for this purpose the CV is quite important. For making a good
Resume, several points have to be kept in mind (ŽivkoviĿ, 2016). It has to be seen that what
impression it is going to put on the recruiters and whether it is good enough to convince them to
hire a candidate. Therefore, after analyzing all this right Resume has been drafted for using for
job-related purposes. A good CV puts the right impression on the mind of recruiter and can help
a candidate in getting the job desired. Thus for this it is necessary that it is drafted carefully
highlighting the key points.
Thus, overall it can be said that the portfolio will make sure that the student is able to
achieve different learning outcomes and also understand the varied needs and requirements.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that for attaining success at the university
level various skills are required. These skills must be present in a student to make sure that the
attention of the employers can be attracted and a decent job is secured. Mini-project workshops
help a lot in developing employment skills. Portfolio can be designed using several elements
such as reflection, academic writing and CV. Also, a summary helps a lot in understanding what
was achieved during the designing of the portfolio.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Abrahamsson, P. and et.al., 2017. Agile software development methods: Review and
analysis. arXiv preprint arXiv:1709.08439.
Aguinis, H. and Glavas, A., 2019. On corporate social responsibility, sensemaking, and the
search for meaningfulness through work. Journal of Management. 45(3). pp.1057-1086.
Ferguson, M. A., 2018. Building theory in public relations: Interorganizational relationships as a
public relations paradigm. Journal of Public Relations Research. 30(4). pp.164-178.
Häkkinen, P. and et.al., 2017. Preparing teacher-students for twenty-first-century learning
practices (PREP 21): a framework for enhancing collaborative problem-solving and strategic
learning skills. Teachers and Teaching. 23(1). pp.25-41.
Jackson, D., 2017. Developing pre-professional identity in undergraduates through work-
integrated learning. Higher Education. 74(5). pp.833-853.
Murray, T. A. and et.al., 2016. A nursing workforce diversity project: Strategies for recruitment,
retention, graduation, and NCLEX-RN success. Nursing Education Perspectives. 37(3). pp.138-
143.
Setó-Pamies, D. and Papaoikonomou, E., 2016. A multi-level perspective for the integration of
ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability (ECSRS) in management
education. Journal of Business Ethics. 136(3). pp.523-538.
Shim, K. and Yang, S. U., 2016. The effect of bad reputation: The occurrence of crisis, corporate
social responsibility, and perceptions of hypocrisy and attitudes toward a company. Public
Relations Review. 42(1). pp.68-78.
Yin, J. and Jamali, D., 2016. Strategic corporate social responsibility of multinational companies
subsidiaries in emerging markets: Evidence from China. Long Range Planning. 49(5). pp.541-
558.
ŽivkoviĿ, S., 2016. A model of critical thinking as an important attribute for success in the 21st
century. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 232. pp.102-108.
Online
Accountability. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/accountability.asp>