Personal Development Plan

Task: Write a Personal Development Plan.

Part 1: Career Goal - Identify three possible career choices and select your preferred option. Explain the reason for your choice.

Part 2: Current Reality - Identify and explain your strengths (skills, experience and personal qualities) and weaknesses, using the Personal SWOT completed in class, and feedback from 5 contacts using the “Ask 5 People” exercise.

Part 3: Options for Progression - Identify and explain any gaps in your skills, experience or knowledge that you would need to address to successfully achieve your career goal. Identify and explain options that might help you bridge the gap between your current situation and your career aspirations. You may include making the most of opportunities and managing threats to your progression (from your Personal SWOT), engaging your current network, and putting a plan in place to develop it. Consider how you might use the professional profile you developed in class.

Part 4: Way Forward - Identify three “next steps” that are SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ATTAINABLE, RELEVANT and TIME BASED.

You must include the following to support your discussion:

• Your personal SWOT

• 5 completed feedback questionnaires (“Ask 5 People”)

• Your Professional Network Profile, completed as part of your course work. Resources: You are expected to carry out independent research outside of these resources, but you should refer to Rook, Cottrell and the Career Zone as  a minimum.

Trought, F. (2017) Brilliant Employability Skills. 2ndEdition. Pearson Education. (available electronically through the ARUL Library)

Anglia Ruskin University London Career Zone resources, available through the VLE.

To successfully complete this assignment, you must undertake the following activities in class as you will be referring to information from them in your personal development plan:

• Your personal SWOT

• 5 completed questionnaires from the “Ask 5 People” exercise

• Your Professional Network Profile

These MUST be included in the appendices of your Personal Development Plan. A penalty of 2 marks will be deducted for each activity missing from the Appendix. A minimum of 3 ‘Ask 5 People’ questionnaires should be present. Examples given below are to ensure clarity of understanding and must not be reproduced in your assignment:

Part 1: Career Goal - Identify three possible career choices. Briefly explain your first two choices and why they are no longer suitable for you. Your main career choice must be elaborated on in terms of the following;

· your motivation for this choice

Part 2: Current Reality

· an overview of the health of industry (job opportunities in the current market)

· the physical, psychological, educational and emotional characteristics and demands of the role, ie. Person specifications

· geographical location

· remuneration, opportunities for personal development and benefits

Part 2: Current Reality - Identify and explain your strengths (skills, experience and personal qualities) and weaknesses, using the Personal SWOT completed in class, and feedback from 5 contacts using the “Ask 5 People” exercise. These should be supplemented by research carried out into your strengths and weaknesses completed throughout the course. Explain your current role and any relevance this has to your choice of degree and your future career goals. Finally, offer an explanation of your understanding of what your degree entails and which aspects of this excites you the most.

For example: According to a survey completed on MLWR (2018), my key strengths are...

All five people who completed my questionnaire commented that I was... My experience includes... Referring to my personal SWOT, my weaknesses...

Part 3: Options for Progression - Identify and explain any gaps in your skills, experience or knowledge and the steps needed to be taken to close these identified gaps in order to secure your chosen career. REMEMBER, THIS SECTION

You need to show specific and targeted solutions, which is only possible by showing that you have identified tangible results through research - (ie. Hilton Hotels have an apprenticeship programme that you plan to apply for.)

Identify and explain options that might help you bridge the gap between your current situation and your career aspirations. Factors to consider include:

· linking back to Part 1 where you identified the requirements and personal specifications of your career choice

· explaining how you will bridge that gap

· creating a LinkedIn profile and a sample Network Profile template and assessing its strengths and weaknesses

· opportunities created through your degree and by the university in terms of the Employability Scheme

· how resources available on the Career Zone and Digital Library can be used to strengthen your skill set and knowledge.

· ensure you explain how these options specifically remedy the gaps identified in your skills, experience and knowledge and how they will help you progress professionally.

· looking at the current opportunities available in your sector and any other opportunities identified in your SWOT

· explain how you can address the threats identified in your SWOT