Employability Skills: Self-Assessment and Career Development Journal

This assignment is a reflective journal exploring the student's employability skills and career aspirations. The journal begins with an analysis of the student's Gallup Strengths, identifying key strengths and how they align with the goal of becoming a manager in a multinational organization. The assignment then delves into the application of the Johari Window and Donald Super's career theory, critically appraising their relevance to self-understanding and career development. The student reflects on how these theories and assessments can inform future career planning, including areas for improvement and the development of specific skills, such as communication and influencing. The journal concludes with a discussion of how the student plans to leverage their strengths and address weaknesses to achieve long-term career goals, including entrepreneurship, and mentions plans to take additional psychological tests and pursue relevant learning resources to enhance their skills. The assignment also includes a reference list and an appendix with the student's Gallup Strengths certificate.

Running head: EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
Employability Skills
Student’s name:
Name of the university:
Author’s note:

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Table of Contents
Journal entry 1: Know yourself.......................................................................................................3
Identifying key aspects of the Gallup Strengths..........................................................................3
Applying these to achieve career aspirations...............................................................................3
Journal entry 2: Know yourself.......................................................................................................4
Critically appraise two of the theories.........................................................................................4
Donald Super Career theory........................................................................................................5
Journal entry 3: Know yourself.......................................................................................................5
Reflection on application elements of these theories to future career development...................5
Reference List..................................................................................................................................7
Appendices......................................................................................................................................8

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Journal entry 1: Know yourself
Identifying key aspects of the Gallup Strengths
Each of the individuals has their unique set of strengths, Gallup strengths find out most
successful and diverse array of strengths (Dyes et al. 2017). The first factor of Gallup strength is
Executing theme, these factors of individuals are based on hardworking and they try to get the
work done on time. Executing factors are associated with the qualities of speed, accuracy and
precision. The second theme is Influencing, there are eight themes in this group and these themes
help the people to sell the things. If the individuals have these qualities, they can speak up, hear
properly and take charge of the things. The third theme is about Relationship, there are nine
themes or qualities associated with this. These themes help the people to be associated with other
individuals and they build innate ability to make the people fit into bugger picture. Last of the
strengths is strategic thinking, these qualities help the people to create new ideas to solve the
issues and there are eight themes associated with this. This strategic thinking capability helps to
solve the current problem and set the ideas to overcome issues of future.
Applying these to achieve career aspirations
I have gone through the Gallup Strengths test and I have identified my five strengths.
First one is Includer; this one is the part of Relationship building theme. Includer strength makes
me help to accept the others and I can show awareness of those who can feel left out. This
strength makes me standout as I can find something good in each person. I want to be a manager
in a multinational organisation in near future and Includer ability will make me help to be a
likeable individual. Responsibility is my second strength and it is part of the Executing theme.
This strength of me shows that I am psychologically strong and I make thing done as I am

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committed to stable values with loyalty and honesty. My dream is to be a manager can be
fulfilled as this strength shows that I am a dependable person. Developer strength is the part of
Relationship theme and it shows that I can cultivate the potential qualities of others. This
strength will help me to spot the signs in each of the small improvement within me. My intuitive
will help me to be a manager in my career. Positivity is also a part of the Relationship theme and
positivity means the enthusiasm and courageous to get a thing done. I will be able to motivate the
people and that can get the others in team excited. My capability to point out the evidence in
someone's development will help me to reach the desired role of the manager in the multinational
organisation. Empathy is the strength of mine and it is also a part of relationship building theme.
Empathy helps me to bring the emotional awareness (Low et al. 2017). I can sense the feelings
of other people and many people love to talk to me.
Journal entry 2: Know yourself
Critically appraise two of the theories
Johari window
The Johari Window is a useful technique that assists the individuals to understand
themselves and their relationship with other people. This communication diagnostic tool was
created by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham. Primarily it was used as the self-help tool and
later it has been using as understanding the communication tool (Berland 2017). In this
technique, the individuals who take the test need to pick five or six adjectives that can describe
their personality. The individuals’ peers have to choose from adjectives from the same list that
describe the individual. Johari Window has four quadrants; Open quadrant is about the adjectives
or qualities those are selected by the individuals and the peers ( ). These are the qualities or

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qualities that individuals and peers both consider. Facade quadrant is about the qualities that are
chosen by the individual only, therefore the peers are unaware of these. The blind spot is about
adjectives chosen by the peers; therefore, the individual is unaware of this (Jackson 2014).
Lastly, the Unknown quadrant is about adjectives that neither individual nor peers are known to
these. These are the collective ignorance of the traits.
Donald Super Career theory
Donald Super contributed his idea about career development that puts emphasis on the
self-concept towards a career. As stated by Ramani et al. (2017), self-concept can be changed
over the time as this can develop with the experience in this field. Super talked about
occupational preferences along with people’s life situation. Super also developed the idea of
vocational maturity and that may not be matched with chronological age and people's cycle.
Super developed a Five life and career development stages that start with growth (before 14
years of age). This stage is the development of self-concept. Exploration stage (15-24) is the
choice of skill development and work hobbies Patton and McMahon (2014). Establishment stage
is the entry-level development of skills and stabilisation of work. Maintenance stage is the
continual adjustment of process position in career and improvement of career. Lastly, decline
stage is the preparation of retirement.
Journal entry 3: Know yourself
Reflection on application elements of these theories to future career development
I want to be a manager in a multinational organisation in near future and in long-run; I
want to be a successful entrepreneur. I want to take the Johari Window test so that I can identify
my own area of strengths and what people think about me. The concept of emotions can offer the

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possibility of identification of motivation. I can identify the meta-emotional analysis of myself
that will help me to improve my communication skills. Gallup strengths found out that I have
good relationship building skills; however, I have to improve my influencing and strategic
thinking skills. In this scenario, Johari Window can help me to identify my weaknesses in
communication and strengths found out by my other peers. In addition, Super's five career stage
analysis will help me to understand in which stage I am in. In the next stage, I will continue to
follow the skill development so that I can be stable in work experience. Getting started with
chosen field needs work experience and knowledge in that particular field.
I want to do short courses on communication where I will gain the knowledge to
communicate with others and influence them. Influencing will help me to reach the broader
audience. In my workplace in future, I can meet the bigger goal internally within me and with the
teams and subordinate. In addition, I will take a few Psychological tests like Big Five Personality
Test and Myer’s Briggs tests to understand the internal barriers and my underlying leadership
skills. I will start reading books on motivation, leadership and self-help where I can gather
knowledge.

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Reference List
Berland, A., 2017. Using the Johari Window to explore patient and provider
perspectives. International Journal of Health Governance, 22(1), pp.47-51.
Dyess, S.M., Sherman, R., Opalinski, A. and Eggenberger, T., 2017. Structured Coaching
Programs to Develop Staff. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 48(8), pp.373-378.
Jackson, D., 2014. Testing a model of undergraduate competence in employability skills and its
implications for stakeholders. Journal of Education and Work, 27(2), pp.220-242.
Low, C.H., Bordia, P. and Bordia, S., 2016. What do employees want and why? An exploration
of employees’ preferred psychological contract elements across career stages. Human
Relations, 69(7), pp.1457-1481.
Patton, W. and McMahon, M., 2014. Career development and systems theory: Connecting theory
and practice (Vol. 2). Springer.
Ramani, S., Könings, K., Mann, K.V. and van der Vleuten, C., 2017. Uncovering the unknown:
A grounded theory study exploring the impact of self-awareness on the culture of feedback in
residency education. Medical Teacher, 39(10), pp.1065-1073.

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Appendices
A) Provide Gallup Strengths certificate with top 5 strengths
My five Gallup Strengths are:
1. Includer
2. Responsibility
3. Developer
4. Positivity
5. Empathy