Professional Skills Development: Weekly Portfolio & Appraisal

This document represents a student's weekly portfolio, designed for a professional skills development module. It includes self-appraisals, reflections on challenges, and action plans for improvement. The portfolio covers weeks 1 through 7, with specific questions and tasks assigned for each week. Topics include time management, communication skills, commercial awareness, academic writing, and teamwork. The student reflects on their strengths and weaknesses, sets goals, and outlines steps to enhance their professional capabilities. There is also a business email composition and a Belbin test analysis included. Desklib provides access to a variety of study resources and solved assignments.

Introduction:
This portfolio or pre-appraisal document should be completed weekly at the end of each
class. It will then form the basis for the appraisal interview at the end of the module which
will determine whether you have achieved the learning outcomes.
Please note that this module is about developing the professional skills to succeed at
university and in the workplace. We know that in business professionalism is perhaps the
most important skill for a successful career
The use of appraisals is widespread in Business and this assessment tool mirrors the
expectations that will be placed upon you in a professional work environment. So in addition
to assessing your knowledge this module will assess your professionalism in areas such as
time management, team working, planning and preparation, communication inside and
outside class and your engagement with your studies
Most importantly it will take into account your performance and professionalism in the other
modules you are completing this semester
Once the document is completed it will be used in an end of semester assessment meeting
where you will reflect on your performance over the semester and will receive feedback and a
grade for your performance to date.
In addition to this process there will be a 360 degree appraisal where your module tutor will
seek feedback from the other module tutors and from your peers. This will be taken into
account at your Appraisal assessment

If for any reason you miss a class or a week of study then you may reflect on what you have
missed or indeed how you plan to catch up. At various points in the module you will be asked
to produce this document to ensure it is being completed correctly and that it is up to date. It
is not acceptable to complete all of the document at the end of the module, as it loses its
value.
Week 1
Please answer the following question in less than 200 words
What I feel about the challenges of completing this course after the first week?
After the first week, I starting becoming familiar to the processes and dedication that is
required in order to complete this course. After first week I started realising the challenges
serving as hindrances for the successful completion of the course. The completion of this
course is likely to enhance my professional skills which are required at workplace and are
necessary for overall career development. The major challenges that I feel are relevant in
completing the course is constructively practising time management and to work under
pressure while accomplishing tasks and targets within given time frame. This course
should be completed with calmness where I must be able to perform tasks without
hustling and should maintain accuracy and efficiency even in times of pressure and
extreme workload. The completion of this course demands high dedication and desire to
perform all the designed and defined tasks with high efficiency. This course must be
incorporated with time management skill, learning skills, interpersonal skills, analytical
skills and organisation skills for complying with deadlines and to accomplish the assigned
tasks in constructive manner (Berezina Safonov and Babaskina, 2020).

Week 2
What is it about my current levels of professionalism that I would want to
work on over the next 14 weeks ? What are my strengths and weaknesses in
the following areas? Please complete the table below

Student Name:
Student ID:
Date:

Self-
Performance
Review
Please rate
yourself in the
areas below.
Please be honest
as this is a self-
reflection. The
marks are for
honesty and self
reflection and
not your skill in
each area
Please rate
yourself but
putting a tick in
the column
which best
reflects your
skill level at
present
Quality Weak Average Above average Outstanding
Works to full
potential
✓
Quality of work ✓
Productivity ✓
Time Management ✓
Planning skills ✓
Presentation skills ✓
Written
communication skills
✓

Oral communication
skills
✓
Creativity ✓
Leadership qualities ✓
Timekeeping ✓
Attendance ✓
Computer skills ✓
Self-Confidence ✓
Commercial
awareness
✓
Business etiquette ✓
Ability to self-reflect ✓
Motivation to study ✓
Teamwork skills ✓
Honesty ✓
Integrity ✓
Action Plan
Select three
areas where you
feel you need to
develop and
highlight a
minimum of
two action
points for each
area of
development
Area for
Development
Action point 1 Ac
tio
n
po

int
2
Oral communication
skills
In order to develop
effective and strong
oral communication
skills, I am planning to
attend motivational
speaking sessions so
that I would be able to
understand how
influential speakers
deliver speeches and
express their opinions
in constructive manner
in front of audience.
Fo
r
th
e
pu
rp
os
e
of
im
pr
ov
in
g
or
al
co
m
m
un
ica
tio
n
ski
lls,
I
a
m
ai
mi
ng

to
im
pr
ov
e
m
y
vo
ca
bu
lar
y
thr
ou
gh
re
ad
in
g
di
cti
on
ar
y
on
re
gu
lar
ba
sis
.
M
or
eo

ve
r I
w
ou
ld
in
du
lg
e
m
ys
elf
in
re
ad
in
g
bo
ok
s
lo
ud
ly
to
im
pr
ov
e
m
y
co
m
m
un

ica
tio
n
an
d
pr
act
ice
sp
ee
ch
es
on
m
y
o
w
n.
Commercial
awareness
In order to increase my
commercial awareness,
I will start reading
newspaper on a regular
basis in order to stay
updated with business
environment and
market trends.
I
w
ou
ld
fo
cu
s
up
on
ke
ep
m
ys
elf
fa

mi
lia
r
wi
th
th
e
cu
rre
nt
sc
en
ari
o
of
m
y
or
ga
nis
ati
on
w
he
re
I
w
ou
ld
w
or
k
an
d

co
m
m
un
ica
te
wi
th
pe
ers
an
d
co
lle
ag
ue
s
to
in
cr
ea
se
aw
ar
en
es
s.
Time management In order to improve my
time management
skills, I need to be rigid
and ensure that I stick
to my designed
schedule at any cost.
Fo
r
eff
ect
iv
el

y
m
an
ag
in
g
ti
m
e,
I
ne
ed
to
im
pr
ov
e
m
y
sp
ee
d
an
d
eff
ici
en
cy
so
th
at
I
ca
n

ac
co
m
pli
sh
as
sig
ne
d
tas
ks
on
ti
m
e.
Fo
r
ti
m
e
m
an
ag
e
m
en
t I
wi
ll
ta
ke
as
sis
ta

nc
e
of
m
y
m
en
tor
to
pr
ov
id
e
m
e
wi
th
de
ad
lin
es
to
att
ai
n
tar
ge
ts
(K
on
sta
nti
no
u

an
d
Mi
lle
r,
20
20
).
Additional
comments: I am
required to focus
highly on my
professional
skills in terms of
planning skills,
business
etiquette,
creativity, team
working skills as
well.
Week 3
Please answer the following question in less than 200 words
Please design a brief action plan with timelines for your
assessments this semester and summarise any challenges you may
face in meeting those deadlines

Goals Action plan
Improving communication skills For this purpose, I am determined to
increase timings of my reading sessions so
that I would be able to frame constructive
sentences with impressive vocabulary. In
addition to this, I would be indulged in
activity of performing self interview
sessions to practice speech.
Improving time management skills In order to improve such skills, I would
develop a habit of planning routine
activities and maintaining a schedule. I
would ensure that I am meeting all
deadlines planned as per my schedule. I
might face challenges in meeting deadlines
as on completion of syllabus and relevant
topics (Lansdell, Marx and Mohammadali-
Haji, 2020).
Enhancing commercial awareness For this purpose, I will be indulged in
reading business magazines and articles as
well as newspapers on regular basis as this
will enhance my knowledge on business
and market trends. Challenges will occur as
I need to develop better understanding and
retaining such information to perform
constructively during my assessments.
Improving writing skills For the successful completion of
assessments, I will work upon my writing
skills so that I would be able to answer
questions in a appropriate format and style.
I might face difficulties in forming
sentences with accurate use of grammar
and I need to improve my vocabulary to
perform better.

Week 4
Please answer the following question in less than 200 words
Critically appraise your strengths and weaknesses in relation to academic
writing and describe a brief action plan to improve your practice
Strengths Weaknesses
I use diverse vocabulary while performing
academic writing. I ensure usage of
appropriate words in my writing content.
I lack in maintaining organised format
throughout the report and thus I am unable
to ensure logical flow of arguments while
wiring content (Jo, 2021).
I perform high focus in writing content as I
always write what has been asked and try to
avoid unnecessary information
I lack in ensuring proper usage of
punctuations and thus sometimes it makes
sentences lengthy and seems inappropriate.
Action plan: In order to overcome my shortcomings and weaknesses, I will start reading
more and try to learn how writers manage to maintain logical flow of arguments and how
they use punctuation for clarity in reading. I will proofread my assignments in order to
measure my performance and ask assistance of my tutor to correct my practice work so
that I can perform better during my assessment.

Week 5
Please answer the following question in less than 200 words
Compose a Business email to your manager on one of the
following topics
 Asking for a review of your job role and pay grade
 Making a complaint about your working conditions
 Asking for extra annual leave to deal with a family crisis
 Discussing an idea you have to improve the business
To: Manager
Cc:
Subject: Making a complaint about working conditions
The purpose of this email is to inform you about certain working conditions that I am
facing within workplace which is causing issues and is declining my productivity and
efficiency at workplace. I am observed the practice of discrimination and partial
behaviour at workplace. Our team leader is promoting unfair treatment where he is not
paying enough attention and not hearing grievances of other team members. He is only

promoting suggestions and advices of some fellow peers with whom he maintains
friendly informal relations. In addition to this, this partial behaviour is also leading to
issues in approval of leaves. Moreover, Our team leader is delegating work burdening
some peers where rest of the colleagues are delegated minimal work. I am requesting you
to kindly pay attention to my concern and provide solutions for the same.
Week 6
Please answer the following question in less than 150 words
Please complete the Belbin Test and in the box below describe your usual
role in group work and any allowable weaknesses you have
On the basis of my completion of belbin test, I have evaluated my role in group work
which implies that I am highly supportive and works with cooperation with my team

members. While performing group work, I consider issues of others and work while
maintaining collaboration with other group members (Lynch, Lynch and Clemens, 2018).
I understand concerns and viewpoints of others while making any group based decision.
My allowable weaknesses includes that while working in groups, I become hesitant and
resist my thoughts and suggestions in the process of collective decision making. In
addition to this, working within team leads to confusion and lack of clarity due to
unorganized delegation and thus it leads to my unproductive work and delay in
accomplishment of tasks. While working in groups, I become nervous and I tend to
perform with less accuracy when someone is supervising and monitoring my work
constantly.
Week 7
Please answer the following question in less than 200 words
Please reflect on a class you had in the last two weeks in one of your other
modules using a reflective writing style
Following is the reflection on business communication class using the reflective cycle of
Gibbs model:
Description: In the business communication class, I have gained knowledge on various
aspects of as on how communication plays an important role at workplace. I have been
taught that what are the types of business communication and what is the flow of

conversation within workplace (Blewitt, Parsons and Shane, 2018).
Feelings: I feel accomplished after attending this class as I developed better
understanding on the context of business communication which would help me in
performing better within workplace. This class was effective in gaining knowledge
relevant to my career development.
Evaluation: I have evaluated that there are various forms of business communication
including both written and verbal communication. In order to effectively communicate at
business place, one should possess good written as well as oral communication skills.
Conclusion: I have concluded that I am required to work on areas of communication and
improve my vocabulary in order to strongly communicate within workplace.
Action: I will attend listening sessions of business seminars and will practice given
assignments of the class to improve my communication skills (Bass and et.al., 2020).
Week 8/ Week 9 Interim Appraisal
Please answer the following questions in less than 300 words
What are my initial impressions of the course?
I initially presumed that this course will help me in understanding various concepts and
developing knowledge in various aspects. The course provided a detailed description of
weekly classes and thus it seems very organised and appropriate in order to enhance

learning for better career development. I assumed this course to be highly satisfactory for
the purpose of improving both professional as well as personal skills. Also, initially I
supposed there will be various challenges that I have to face in order to complete the
seminar but I will definitely help me in analysing skill gap and enhance those skills where I
am lacking.
What have I learned so far?
So far I have evaluated my skill gap in numerous areas and I have analysed where I am
lacking and how I can make improvements. I have learned the practice of academic writing
and how one can excel in writing constructive content by overcoming weaknesses. I have
learned about the concept of business communication and how should practice it at
workplace.
How am I performing in relation to the criteria set for the assessment for this
module ?
I am performing with high dedication and efficiency to fulfil the criteria of this assessment
through evaluating my skill gap and constructing action plans in order to overcome my
weaknesses. I have attended weekly sessions with discipline and ensured that I am
analysing my performance during every sessions and taking necessary actions in
accordance.
What do I need to do in the remaining weeks of this semester? (My action plan)
In order to ensure my constructive performance during the remaining weeks of the
semester, I am determined to pay attention on weekly sessions and maintain consistency in
attending all the sessions with discipline. In remaining sessions, I will maintain focus and

would evaluate myself by analysing skill gap in the relevant areas. I will note down my
strengths and weaknesses according to the sessions and will make effective use of those
strengths to overcome weaknesses.
Week 10
Please answer the following question in less than 100 words
Commercial awareness is an important part of professional skills. Please
describe in just a couple of sentences what you understand by the term
commercial awareness and list some places where you might go to improve
your commercial awareness other than Google !!
Commercial awareness refers to the knowledge and understanding of the operations of an
organisation where an individual work. It refers to the familiarity and awareness that one
must have in relation with general practices and the course of revenue generation of the
workplace. It implies that an individual must know about the course of activities and
operations of their organisation and how it makes money (Sharma, Nazir and Ernstsen,
2019). I will visit my company's LinkedIn page and official website where I can find
relevant data. Moreover reading in general from business pages about the same field of
organisations would be helpful.

Week 11
Please answer the following question in less than 250 words
Business Etiquette is the key to success in Business. Please write a self-
reflection on what are your strengths and weaknesses in relation to the
perception you create in a work environment
Strengths Weaknesses
My strengths in relation with business
etiquette includes my tendency to say
please and thank you very often which is a
good gesture. It creates good impression to
say these words while making requests or if
someone appreciates you.
One of my weaknesses is that I am tend to
interrupt conversation of others when I
have to resolve a query. I am tend to ask
questions in case of confusions and thus I
interrupt others in middle of conversation
(Shumko, 2018).
I maintain utter politeness and
professionalism in my speech which is
highly important within workplace. It
reflects formal attitude and is important
within workplace.
I often forgot to greet everyone at
workplace and I am tend to avoid eye
contact while communicating a fellow
colleague or manager. While
communicating, it is extremely important
to maintain eye contact and greeting
mangers and colleagues regularly implies
professional attitude within workplace.
I will ensure that my emails are free from
grammatical errors and typos as I pay
attention to little details. Moreover, I am
tend to proofread my content before hitting
send button.
I may tend to present myself late at work or
in meetings due to my lack of command on
time management. Being punctual and on
time is one of the major aspect of business
etiquette which should be prat iced.

Week 12
Please answer the following question in less than 100 words
If you had to work remotely what would be the 3 most important key
benefits for you and what would be your 3 greatest challenges
Challenges Benefits
1 While working remotely, I may have to
deal with challenges of communication
barriers which would leads to confusion
and chaos.
Remote working would allow me to
manage my schedule while performing
personal tasks at home.
2 Remote learning leads to individualism
and would restrict my interpersonal
skills and social growth (Delany, 2022).
Remote working would help me in
attaining high concentration without
workplace disturbance.
3 Remote working might leads to
unproductive work due to lack of
supervision.
Remote working will allow to me develop
tendency of taking initiative on my own
and thus will enhance my creativity.

Week 13
This week your challenge is to review this portfolio, tidy it up so
that it looks professional and upload it to Turnitin on your
Blackboard in accordance with the assessment guidance. You
should also rate yourself out of 10 (1 being weak- 10 being
outstanding) for the following areas for your assessment appraisal
interview
*** Note that the most important aspect of this table is the ability to self-reflect honestly
and not to get top marks for each area
Professionalism criteria Rating (out of 10)
Timekeeping 6
Attendance 9
Contribution to your classes 8
Professional attitude 8
Self-motivation to study and meet deadlines 5
Communication skills 6
Teamwork skills 6
Ability to self-reflect 8
Honesty and Integrity 9

Check all of the spelling, grammar and layout and make sure
there are no huge blank spaces. Creating a positive impression is
important and this portfolio will be viewed by other assessors who
do not know you.
You will need to bring a copy of the portfolio with you to your
assessment appraisal interview, so please ensure that it looks
professional !

References
Bass, J. and et.al., 2020. Midwifery students’ experiences and expectations of using a model
of holistic reflection. Women and Birth, 33(4), pp.383-392.
Berezina, S.L., Safonov, V.A. and Babaskina, L.I., 2020. Student research skills development
at University. Opcion, 36(S26), pp.1331-1347.
Blewitt, J.M., Parsons, A. and Shane, J.M., 2018. Service learning as a high-impact practice:
Integrating business communication skills to benefit others. Journal of Education for
Business, 93(8), pp.412-419.
Delany, K., 2022. What challenges will organisations face transitioning for the first time to
the new normal of remote working?. Human Resource Development International, pp.1-9.
Jo, C.W., 2021. Short vs. extended adolescent academic writing: A cross-genre analysis of
writing skills in written definitions and persuasive essays. Journal of English for Academic
Purposes, 53, p.101014.
Konstantinou, I. and Miller, E., 2020. Investigating work-integrated learning and its
relevance to skills development in degree apprenticeships. Higher Education, Skills and
Work-Based Learning.
Lansdell, P., Marx, B. and Mohammadali-Haji, A., 2020. Professional skills development
during a period of practical experience: Perceptions of accounting trainees. South African
Journal of Accounting Research, 34(2), pp.115-139.
Lynch, D.S., Lynch, M.J. and Clemens, C.M., 2018. Belbin Team Roles. The Handbook of
Communication Training: A Best Practices Framework for Assessing and Developing
Competence.
Sharma, A., Nazir, S. and Ernstsen, J., 2019. Situation awareness information requirements
for maritime navigation: A goal directed task analysis. Safety Science, 120, pp.745-752.
Shumko, E., 2018. BUSINESS ETIQUETTE. In ProfMarket: Education. Language.
Success (pp. 305-307).