Writing a Reflective Essay on Personal Development Plan Implementation

Overview of the Assessment Requirements

As with Assessment 1, you must write a second reflective essay of 1800 words. This must explain and discuss how you implemented your Personal Development Plan (PDP) actions, the difficulties you encountered and how you attempted to overcome them. This essay must include discussion on real life examples of how you have developed the employability skills identified in Assessment 1. You MUST discuss specific examples of what you have done towards developing your employability skills, using the STAR* framework.

*STAR stands for the Situation, T for the Task you are tackling, A for Actions that you took and R for results achieved.

To pass, you will also need to include the following in the Appendices section at the end of your submission:
Career Action Plan (CAP)
Original CV
Updated CV
CV360-degree evidence
2 pieces of evidence per employability skill (6 in total) to demonstrate the actions taken to develop them
As stated above, these are expected to go in your Appendices therefore these are NOT included in the essay word-count.
This is an academic essay and you must, therefore, include at least 10 academically appropriate references. Both the in-text referencing and the reference list must comply with the Harvard Referencing Standards. You should use references to introduce some theory and research into your reflections.

Your essay and appendices must be collated into one Word document only and submitted into the relevant submission portal on Canvas by the deadline set. Never delete any of your work. Always keep a copy of your work, including any draft work.Return of assessments

You will be able to access your submitted work through Canvas, once it is marked, moderated and your feedback is attached.

This assessment is testing Module Learning outcomes    Tick if tested here
Demonstrate an understanding of graduate skills, employability skills and the changing labour market; what the key skills are, how they apply to graduates generally and more specifically, how they apply to themselves (using a variety of diagnostic/self-audit tools) and what is needed in the changing labour market
Display an increased self-awareness and understanding of the principles of adult learning and continuous professional development (CPD), including personal development planning, writing SMART objectives, taking actions, critically reflecting on own learning and monitoring own progress

Show evidence of improvement in a variety of key employability skills, including their verbal and written communication skills, presentation skills, group working, negotiation skills, creativity/entrepreneurial skills, self-awareness etc

Identify and select a range of literature sources, beyond the taught material, covering theory and research in relation to employability skills, CPD, learning, reflection etc and to use these to underpin their personal learning and development