Skills Audit and Developmental Plan for Business Development Career

This report details a student's skills audit and personal development plan, focusing on a career as a business development manager. The student identifies desired companies, essential skills (including leadership, communication, and time management), and the UK job application process. The report includes an analysis of UK work culture, emphasizing the importance of communication, punctuality, and individualism. A skills audit, conducted using MindTools.com, reveals areas for improvement, leading to the formulation of long-term and short-term goals, along with a detailed personal development plan. The plan outlines specific actions, timelines, and resources needed to enhance skills in leadership, problem-solving, communication, and time management. The student aims to become an entrepreneur within five to seven years and secure a business development manager position within two years. The report underscores the need for thorough planning, self-assessment, and continuous development to succeed in the competitive UK job market. The report concludes with a table that provides a clear picture of the skills gap analysis and future goals.

Running head: SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
Skills Audit and Developmental Plan
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
Introduction
Setting goals and planning a career path is mandatory if I want to become successful
in this competitive market (Smith 2017). My long term goal is to become an Entrepreneur for
which I need to gather enough experience and industry knowledge within the next 5 years.
The business I want to start in future could be a service company or a production company
(Lussier and Hendon 2017). Due to my lack of industry and market knowledge I have not
been able to decide on my final goal. In order to prepare for my entrepreneurial future, I need
to get appointed as business development team manager as this post provides me with vital
knowledge about business, development if business management, corporate governance,
people management, leadership and personal development towards entrepreneurial skills
(Szczepańska-Woszczyna and Kurowska-Pysz 2016). This report contains my desired
companies to pursue my targeted career, the skills that are needed for securing a job that I
want and the application process that I have to follow to secure the job. Moreover, the
preparation needed for pursuing the desired career and the analysis UK work culture and
practice has also been provided. Finally, a skills and competencies audit has been performed
and a personal development plan has been prepared based on the previous understanding and
reflection.
Discussion
Identification of desired companies, skills needed for job, application process and
preparation for the desired job
In pursuit of my dream to become an entrepreneur, I want to gather four basic
knowledge from the industry. These are managerial skills, leadership skills, business and
industry knowledge and people skills. In order to be able to do that I need to develop my

2SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
personal and professional skills, my organizational and project skills so that running a
company becomes natural to me. The first way to gather all these skills, knowledge and
competencies are to secure a job in well-known companies, where there are enough
opportunity to grow and gather diverse experience that I can use in my future (Hall and
Rowland 2016). On account of the identified career plan and required skills, securing a job as
a business development manager is the best position for me. I have identified two companies
that provide lucrative jobs in this sector. The first is RNIB and the other is Restore Digital,
where presently they are searching for business development manager (refer to Appendix 1).
By analyzing the two jobs and their skills specifications, I have found that in order to
become eligible for these posts, I need to have degree related business management or
financial management. As I am pursuing a management career already, I have the minimum
criteria fulfilled. The skills required by the posts are strategic management skills, negotiation
skills, communication skills, networking skills, interpersonal skills, decision making skills,
problem solving skills, leadership and management skills, people management skills,
relationship building skills and time management skills. All of these skills are more or less
required for my future plans for becoming an entrepreneur.
The application process of these jobs are through online company sites. Each of these
companies are well established in UK and thus have their online portals. Candidates
interested in pursuing these jobs must search the available jobs through job listing sites like
Indeed.com. After locating a job that sits perfectly, they must apply online though the site
which will take them to the company profile (Anele Clement and Don-Solomon 2017). They
must have all the requisite documents, identity proof, educational and skills certificates at
hand, in case they become necessary. After applying for the job, the candidate has to wait for
the interview call. The candidates must be very careful while segregating the jobs as if they
do not match all the criteria, their application gets rejected.

3SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
In order to prepare for the desired job, I need to understand the industry that I am
going to work, the work culture of the company, understand my skills and compare them to
the desired skill level of the employers, set goals according to that so that I can ensure my
personal and professional development and create a Professional developmental plan to
support my growth. The industry analysis tells me that business development manager is a
highly competitive role and the professionals need to be the best of the industry
(Abdrashitova, Mymrina, and Francuzskaya 2017). For that reason, the recruiters want highly
developed communication skills, negotiation skills, decision making skills, people
management skills, self-management skills, project management skills and organizational
management skills. Apart from these, they are also expected to have leadership capabilities
and a drive to prove themselves.
UK work culture analysis
Different countries have different work cultures (Kristjánsdóttir et al. 2020). UK
especially London is one of the most sought after place to work and there are reasons behind
that as well. There are several aspects of British work culture one needs to understand before
embarking on a career. The British are most of the times straight-forward and to the point
when it comes to their business (Wren 2020). They are punctual and dislikes tardiness. They
are also well mannered and thus, they want to complete all the pleasantries before starting a
business meeting. Thus, communication is key in securing a job in United Kingdom and
being able to hold that job.
Britain is high on individualism and masculinity, low on power distance and
uncertainty avoidance in Hofstede’s cultural dimension, thus, making it one of the most
unique culture of the world (Peixoto et al. 2018). In this country, the hierarchy and seniority
matters a lot but there is also a growing importance of team work and flexibility. People

4SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
generally assess success with personal achievements and thus work culture in UK is quite
competitive (Vita and Case 2016). This might sometimes feel contradictory with their modest
manner and behavior, but is necessary to understand in this case, modest does not mean less
ambitious and highly successful people need not be rude.
The work culture of Britain also includes a balance between work and life. Being able
to enjoy the weekends and have holidays are important part of British culture. The British
work culture is also embracing cross cultural aspects and many of the large companies are
multinational and thus people must have an understanding of that. In present times, working
in any company, being able to handle cross cultural scenarios, managing cross cultural teams
and being able to work at different locations where cultures could be different has become a
requisite (Alexander 2016). For this, individuals need to develop their emotional and cultural
intelligence and their adaptability in cross national context.
Skills Audit
In order to understand my job readiness for my desired job roles, I performed a self-
skills audit where I will be able to figure out the skills that I have already developed for the
jobs and the areas I would need to focus on to get selected in the interviews. I used a skills-
audit tool from MindTools.com and the result gives me clear view of my developmental
needs. The skills test examines five aspects of skills, leadership and management, problem
solving and decision making, communication skills, time management skills and personal
mastery (refer to Appendix 2). All of these skills are necessary aspects of a business
development manager.
The test shows that I have scored 42 out of 75. In leadership and management, I have
scored 9 out of 15, in problem solving and decision making I have scored 9 out of 15, in
communication skills I have scored 7 out of 15, in time management I have scored 9 out of

5SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
20 and in personal mastery I have scored 8 out of 10. The score clearly tells that apart from
personal mastery which includes, motivating self and goal setting abilities, I need to develop
all the other four aspects in order to be successful in securing the job that I want and become
an entrepreneur in my future. The skills audit, future planning, job searching and UK work
culture understanding leads to the following long term and short term goals:
Long term goals
 Become an entrepreneur and run my own company after 5-7 years of working life.
 Secure a job RNIB, Restore Digital or other well established companies in the role of
business development manager within 2 years of completing the course.
 Secure an internship or assistant manager position in a medium business organization
to gather experience for a business development manager by the time the course
completes.
Short term goals
 Develop my leadership and management skills so that I score at least 13 in self-audit
within 1 year.
 Develop my problem solving and decision making skills so that I score at least 13 in
self-audit within 10 months.
 Develop my communication skills so that I score at least 14 in self-audit within 8
months.
 Develop my time management skills so that I score at least 17 in self-audit within 6
months.

6SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
Personal development plan
Goals Curren
t status
Timelin
e
Action plan Resources
needed
Expected
outcome
Manageme
nt and
leadership
skills
9 out of
15
12
months
Learn course
material, take
part in activities
and take online
tutorials and
watch videos
about great
leaders.
Support from
teachers, peers
and librarians,
computer and
internet for online
tutorials.
Score 13 out of
15 in the same
test in
mindtools.com.
Be able to
understand the
intricate
difference
between
leadership and
management and
co-relationships
between them,
develop
leadership
competencies,
and develop
managerial
abilities.
Understand
corporate
governance and

7SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
ethical aspects of
business
management.
Problem
solving and
decision
making
skills
9 out of
15
10
months
Learn through
course materials,
conduct
activities of
course, watching
videos and
tutorials online,
join course.
Support from
teachers, peers
and librarians,
computer and
internet for
tutorials,
monetary support
for course fee.
Score 13 out of
15 in the test.
Being able to
identify
problems
beforehand, be
ready in the face
of problems, free
of biases in
decision making,
being able to
understand
situations where
hard decisions
become
necessary.
Communic
ation skills
7 out of
15
8
months
Join language
course for
spoken and
writing skills in
English.
Monetary support
for course fee,
information about
the best courses
available in my
locality from the
Score 14 out of
15 in the test.
Being able to
speak English
fluently, engage
in meaningful

8SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
student help
center and peers.
conversation,
gain confidence
in speaking,
write good
reports and
present in public
settings.
Time
manageme
nt skills
9 out of
20
6
months
Preparing
timelines,
milestones,
schedules for
short term goals,
reviewing and
updating
schedule
regularly,
keeping track of
achievements,
setting reminder
for deadlines,
creating separate
schedule for
each task and
assignment.
Self-regulation
and motivation,
digital planners,
computer and
internet
connection for
tutorials on time
management
strategies.
Score 17 out of
20 in the test.
Being able to
deliver all the
assignments
within deadline,
setting priorities,
keeping track of
progress and
goals, being able
to preplan
activities.
Table 1: Professional Developmental Plan

9SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
Source: Created by the author
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it has been evident that securing a job in a highly
competitive market like Britain needs much planning. I have the goal of becoming an
entrepreneur and for that I need experience of developing business. My job search and
analysis in UK informed me that I need certain skills like management skills, leadership
skills, communication skills, and negotiation skills, time management skills and many others
to secure a job here. I also researched about the UK work cultures which informed me that
UK is highly competitive place for job and one needs to have all the requisite skills to be able
to get their dream job. Through these analysis, I identified the skills requirement, both
transferable and other wise and took a self-audit using mindtools.com which informed about
my skills gap. Using those skills gap I have been able to set some long and short term goals
and create a professional developmental plan for the next 12 months that will help me
achieve my goals and secure the jobs that I want. Thus, if I can follow through the learning of
this assignment and the developmental plan, I will be one step closer to achieving my future
goals.

10SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
References
Abdrashitova, M. O., Mymrina, D. F., and Francuzskaya, E. O. (2017). Enhancing
professional competencies of university managers. In 11th International Technology,
Education and Development Conference (INTED (Vol. 6).
Alexander, C. (2016). The culture question: a view from the UK. Ethnic and Racial
Studies, 39(8), 1426-1435.
Anele Clement, A., and Don-Solomon, A. (2017). Managers’rating Of Managerial Skills
Considered Necessary For Success Of Small And Medium Enterprises For Curbing Social
Vices In Rivers And Bayelsa States. Small, 9(24).
De Vita, G., and Case, P. (2016). ‘The smell of the place’: Managerialist culture in
contemporary UK business schools. Culture and Organization, 22(4), 348-364.
Hall, R. D., and Rowland, C. A. (2016). Leadership development for managers in turbulent
times. Journal of Management Development.
Indeed.co.uk, 2020. Business Development Manager - United Kingdom - Indeed.Co.Uk.
[online] Indeed.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.indeed.co.uk/viewjob?
jk=dbbf6a4effae74db&tk=1e5825jp614bi000&from=serp&vjs=3> [Accessed 6 April 2020].
Indeed.co.uk, 2020. New Business Development Manager - London WC1H - Indeed.Co.Uk.
[online] Indeed.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.indeed.co.uk/viewjob?
jk=ef3d2f766cf3f156&tk=1e582ghdn14bi000&from=serp&vjs=3> [Accessed 6 April 2020].
Kristjánsdóttir, H., Guðlaugsson, Þ. Ö., Guðmundsdóttir, S., and Aðalsteinsson, G. D. (2020).
Cultural and geographical distance: Effects on UK exports. Applied Economics Letters, 27(4),
275-279.

11SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
Lussier, R. N., and Hendon, J. R. (2017). Human resource management: Functions,
applications, and skill development. Sage publications.
Mindtools.com, (2020). Test Your Skills: Find The Resources That Will Help You Most.
[online] Mindtools.com. Available at: <https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/get-
started.htm> [Accessed 6 April 2020].
Peixoto, P. S., Furlong, E., Meaders, M., Abney, D., Parr, C., Becker, H., ... and Nguyen, N.
(2018). ETHICS & HOFSTEDE IN CHILE AND THE UK. Copyright 2018 by Institute for
Global Business Research, Nashville, TN, USA, 253.
Smith, J. (2017). Target-setting, early-career academic identities and the measurement culture
of UK higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 36(3), 597-611.
Szczepańska-Woszczyna, K., and Kurowska-Pysz, J. (2016). Sustainable business
development through leadership in SMEs. Ekonomia i Zarzadzanie, 8(3), 57-69.
Wren, D. (2020). The culture of UK employee-owned worker cooperatives. Employee
Relations: The International Journal.
Appendix 1
Image 1: Job advertisement of Restore Digital

12SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
Source: (Indeed.co.uk, 2020. Business Development Manager - United Kingdom -
Indeed.Co.Uk. [online] Indeed.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.indeed.co.uk/viewjob?
jk=dbbf6a4effae74db&tk=1e5825jp614bi000&from=serp&vjs=3> [Accessed 6 April 2020].)
Image 2: Job advertisement of RNIB
Source: (Indeed.co.uk, 2020. New Business Development Manager - London WC1H -
Indeed.Co.Uk. [online] Indeed.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.indeed.co.uk/viewjob?
jk=ef3d2f766cf3f156&tk=1e582ghdn14bi000&from=serp&vjs=3> [Accessed 6 April 2020].)
Appendix 2
Image 3: answers to the self-audit questions

13SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
Source: (Mindtools.com, (2020). Test Your Skills: Find The Resources That Will Help You
Most. [online] Mindtools.com. Available at: <https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/get-
started.htm> [Accessed 6 April 2020].)
Image 4: answers to the self-audit questions
Source: (Mindtools.com, (2020). Test Your Skills: Find The Resources That Will Help You
Most. [online] Mindtools.com. Available at: <https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/get-
started.htm> [Accessed 6 April 2020].)
Image 5: Score division

14SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
Source: (Mindtools.com, (2020). Test Your Skills: Find The Resources That Will Help You
Most. [online] Mindtools.com. Available at: <https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/get-
started.htm> [Accessed 6 April 2020].)
Image 6: Score division
Source: (Mindtools.com, (2020). Test Your Skills: Find The Resources That Will Help You
Most. [online] Mindtools.com. Available at: <https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/get-
started.htm> [Accessed 6 April 2020].)
Image 7: Score division

15SKILLS AUDIT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN
Source: (Mindtools.com, (2020). Test Your Skills: Find The Resources That Will Help You
Most. [online] Mindtools.com. Available at: <https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/get-
started.htm> [Accessed 6 April 2020].)
Image 8: Score division
Source: (Mindtools.com, (2020). Test Your Skills: Find The Resources That Will Help You
Most. [online] Mindtools.com. Available at: <https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/get-
started.htm> [Accessed 6 April 2020].)