BM562 Consultancy in Practice: Skills Audit and Development Report

This report reflects on the skills gained from a consultancy project, the new knowledge acquired, and the improvement in confidence levels. It details the skills enhanced, such as analytical, teamwork, and leadership skills, along with the application of business studies knowledge. The report identifies a lack of interpersonal and self-management skills, proposing a personal development plan to address these gaps through targeted activities like online courses, goal-setting practices, and emotional intelligence development. Furthermore, the report includes a CV, job description, and an updated LinkedIn profile to demonstrate employability and readiness for graduate-level jobs. The reflection emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement and leveraging gained skills for future career success, highlighting the role of effective communication, critical thinking, and business acumen in achieving organizational goals.

Consultancy in
Practice
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Reflection and evaluation of learning and skills development...............................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
Personal Development Plan for improving skills...................................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
CONCUSION..................................................................................................................................8
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................9
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................10
CV.........................................................................................................................................10
Job Description.....................................................................................................................11
Updated LinkedIn profile.....................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
Students need to be ready for their employment and career progression and determining
skills gaps is an important part of becoming ready for future employment and career
development. This report provides information on the skills gained from the project along with
new knowledge gathered by the end of the project. The extent of improvement in confidence is
provided in this report along with the usage of learning in future career is provided in this report.
Apart from this skill gaps are determined and plan of action for further development of the skills
is provided in this report. Job description, CV and table mapping present skills against skills
required for the job are provided in this report. Updated LinkedIn profile is also included in this
report.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
Reflection and evaluation of learning and skills development
The project involved leading team of employees and ensuring that accurate financial and
accounting data is collected to support future decision making. In addition to this I also was
tasked with overseeing completing financial analysis of the collected accounting data and present
it in an easy to understand manner. Participating in the project provided I experience at
leadership position and understand the intricacies of leading a team. I was able to utilize my
business studies knowledge to manage the team and ensure that the objectives of the project are
achieved in a timely manner.
The main skills which I improved because of the project are analytical skills. In order to
effectively analysis the collected financial and accounting data I had to utilize my analytical
skills and also supervise the financial analysis conducted by other individuals under my
leadership to produce accurate, precise and easily understandable results. In addition to this my
business studies knowledge was also improved because I had to apply various concepts and
theories of business studies to lead and manage the team. The real life application of this
knowledge helped me understand the ways of effectively using this knowledge in a team setting.
I was also able to improve my teamwork and collaboration skills and practice my leadership
skills with the help of this project. I was able to enhance my communication and critical thinking
skills during the project.
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The new knowledge which I was able to gain through this project was related to leading a
team successfully and ensuring that every individual collaborates with each other and contributes
their skills in team effort. My knowledge of business studies prepared me for taking leadership
roles yet I did not understand ways for effectively applying my leadership knowledge to attain
objectives under specific time constraints. This project helped me attain better understanding of
how to apply my leadership skills and knowledge. In addition to this previously is was not aware
about using critical thinking and analysis to find effective solutions for various challenges. This
experience helped me improve my critical thinking skills and understand effective ways of using
critical thinking skills. This is another knowledge which I developed because of the project.
I have been able to develop better confidence level because of this project as it provided
me experience of dealing with various challenges related to managing and leading a team and
accomplishing team objectives under a limited time period. In addition to this I have gained
positive results from my leadership skills and knowledge as the tasks of the project were
completed in time. I was also able to develop my critical thinking and effectively utilize my
communication skills which further improved my confidence. My confidence of working in
teams and maintaining high performance of the team also reached a higher standard as I was able
to utilize my communication and teamwork skills to provide successful outcome. My confidence
in retention of business studies knowledge was also enhanced because of the project. The reason
behind this is that I was able to successfully apply theoretical knowledge and concept to real life
situations during handling teams and delivering high quality outcome. The improvement in my
critical thinking skills through this project improved my confidence in gaining success in the
corporate world and achieving my career ambitions. This is because I was able to use my critical
thinking skills in an effective manner and remove obstacles faced by my team. My ability to
communicate with each member of the team effectively and influence them to make joint efforts
for accomplishing tram objectives helped me gain confidence that I will become a good
corporate leader and will handle leadership roles in my career very successfully.
I will utilize my communication skills to influence, persuade and inspire other members
of my team in the future. I will utilize my critical thinking and analysis skills to face various
corporate challenges and identify unique solutions for various obstacles in my future career.
These skills will help me become a better leader and contribute more effectively to
organizational success. In addition to this I will utilize my business studies knowledge to
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determine the best course of action in challenging situations and guide my team towards success.
This will facilitate my career progress as I will demonstrate that I can utilize my skills and
knowledge for continuous organizational success. My effective leadership and management
skills will provide me success in future workplace as I will be able to create high perfuming
teams. My team working and collaboration skills will facilitate initial progress in my career. This
is because these skills will help me collaborate with my team embers to produce exceptional
results and gain quick promotions.
The main skill which I was not able to improve during the curse of the project is my
interpersonal skills. This is because I was able to influence my team members I did not create a
strong bond with them. An example for the lack of this skill is my inability to create professional
networks. I was also not able to enhance my self-management skills. This is because I was
dependent on my team members to initiate plans and did not inspire my team members by
putting my actions as example and showcasing self-management. An example of my low self-
management skills can be seen by my inability to develop implement unique ideas without taking
second opinion of my seniors and taking their help in implementing such plans.
TASK 2
Personal Development Plan for improving skills
Skill Current
ability
(Out of
5)
Target
Ability
(Out of
5)
Development
opportunity
Criteria for
success
Time
Critical
thinking
skills
3 5 I will be able to develop
my critical thinking
skills by taking online
courses on critical
reasoning. This will help
me understand ways of
making sound arguments
and dissect arguments
and statements of others
The criteria
for attaining
success in this
skill is ability
to utilize
every piece of
information to
understand
situations and
3
months
5

to make effective
reasoning. I will be able
to utilize statements,
facts and other data to
reach accurate
conclusions and adopt
the best course of action
for my team.
reach
appropriate
conclusions.
Self-
management
skill
2 4 I will adopt goal setting
practices to set and
achieve gaols for daily
tasks which involves
taking self-initiative. I
will also practice priority
setting so that I am able
to supervise completion
of important task and
improve my self-
management skills. I
will learn how to
regulate my emotions so
that I have confidence
during collaging
situation to take
initiative and move
forward with
implementing innovative
ideas and plans.
The criteria
for success for
this skill is the
ability take
risky
situations
effectively
and become
the one in
team tasks to
take initiatives
in handling
challenging
circumstances,
implementing
change and
introducing
new plans.
6
months
Interpersonal
skill
2 3 I need to enhance my
emotional intelligence
and knowledge of
The criterion
for achieving
success for
4
months
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various culture to
improve interpersonal
skills.
this skill is
developing
ability to firm
strong bonds
with others.
TASK 3
Skills required CV
Critical thinking skills Business Studies knowledge
Team working skills able to lead teams, help them grow, and
maintain full control over their business
Problem solving skills maintain full control over their business and it
´s performance at the same time.
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CONCUSION
From the above report it is determined that the practice of reflection helps view past
experience and evaluate the actions completed in that experience. This helps evaluate the past
experience and understand personal weaknesses. Reflecting on past projects helps identify the
skills gained during the project, determine what new knowledge is gained from the project and
level of confidence improvement because project. In addition to this, the reflection helps
evaluate the personal skill gaps. Identification of skill gaps helps take action to improve such
areas and enhance employability. Developing CV and upgrading LinkedIn profile are important
for gaining job according to specific job description.
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REFRENCES
Books and Journals
Belwal, R., Priyadarshi, P. and Al Fazari, M. H., 2017. Graduate attributes and employability
skills: Graduates’ perspectives on employers’ expectations in Oman. International
Journal of Educational Management.
Bhagra, A. and Sharma, D. K., 2018. Changing paradigm of employability skills in the global
business world: A review. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 12(2). pp.7-24.
Fahimirad and et. al., 2019. Integration and Development of Employability Skills into Malaysian
Higher Education Context: Review of the Literature. International Journal of Higher
Education, 8(6). pp.26-35.
Nisha, S. M. and Rajasekaran, V., 2018. Employability skills: A review. IUP Journal of Soft
Skills, 12(1). pp.29-37
Osmani and et. al., 2019. Graduates employability skills: A review of literature against market
demand. Journal of Education for Business, 94(7). pp.423-432.
Sisodia, S. and Agrawal, N., 2019. Examining employability skills for healthcare services in
India: A descriptive literature review. International Journal of Service Science,
Management, Engineering, and Technology (IJSSMET), 10(3). pp.63-79.
Suarta and et. al., 2018. Employability skills for entry level workers: a content analysis of job
advertisements in Indonesia. Journal of Technical Education and Training, 10(2).
Tran, L. H. N., 2017. Developing employability skills via extra-curricular activities in
Vietnamese universities: Student engagement and inhibitors of their engagement. Journal
of Education and Work, 30(8). pp.854-867.
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APPENDIX
CV
 PROFILE
 Business Studies has a unique appeal for me. I would relish the opportunity of developing my skills
through a Management programme and satisfying my curiosity about this fascinating subject. My
appreciation of the subject would make me an ideal candidate, since I would be truly committed and
enthusiastic about every aspect of my learning and student life.
 EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS
 New University - Bachelor`s degree Business Management 2023
 WORK EXPERIENCE
 Team Leader | Swan Staff Feb 2019 to Present
 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
 Languages – English; Romanian; Spanish
 Technical skills
 INTERESTS
 to be able to lead teams, help them grow, and maintain full control over their business and it´s
performance at the same time.
 REFERENCES
 Kirsty Evans | Swan Staff Recruitment
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Job Description
Job Description
Job Title:
Management Associate
Job summary: This job involves participating in fast paced environment and becoming part of
entrepreneurial team with young and motivates employees.
Roles and responsibilities:
 Driving projects
 Executing strategies
 Supporting expansion
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Skills:
 Team working skills
 Collaboration skills
 Critical thinking skills
 Problem solving skills
 Self-management skills
Updated LinkedIn profile
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