Personal Development Plan: Career Goal, Strengths, Weaknesses, and Options for Progression

Career Goal - Identify Three Possible Choices and Explain Your Preferred Option

1 –Knowledge and understanding: Understand the requirements of higher education including professional behaviour, work ethic, and communication

2 -Intellectual, practical, affective and transferrable skills: Complete pieces of written academic work to a satisfactory standard

Task: Write a Personal Development Plan

The assignment will be structured as follows:

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.

Identify three “next steps” that are SPECIFIC,

Appendices: 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.

- 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 CARRIES THE BULK OF THE MARKS.

For example: To train as I will need to gain some experience of the role, which I can get through the apprenticeship programme starting in June (Hilton Apprenticeship, 2018).

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

- 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

· 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