Free Essay About My Pathway Choice: How It Enables Me To Develop Employability Skills

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

Personal Development Planning
Introduction
The paper is a reflective essay reviewing the personal development plan for my profession. It will review various areas and cite relevant examples to enable me bring my career plans into a clear perspective. The personal development plan will divide the details of my career into four parts. The first part is the description of my choice of pathway and the manner in which the selected pathway plays an important role in the development of my employability skills. Secondly, there will be a description of the regent’s examples followed by the reasons for the basis of the choice of the particular regent and the reason it fits my employability skills.
Third, the personal development plan will explain a vocational example and the choice related to it. The vocational example will be used to demonstrate my skills in terms of employability. Lastly, the paper will evaluate the aspects I expect to learn from following the creation of a personal development plan.
The personal development plan will discuss each of these parts in detail and enable me to understand myself better together with demands imposed by professionalism on the personality of an individual. It is also important to have the personal development plan given that it is usable as tool for identifying my strengths and weaknesses regarding my employability skills.

I chose global management and marketing as my pathway. However, I tend to focus more on marketing because of personal competencies and preferences. Studying global management and marketing at the same time enable me to acquire numerous employability skills. Employability refers to general skills needed by various employers in the organization.
Some of these skills are natural while others can be acquired through learning. These skills are also important in the sense that they can enable an individual to propel himself or herself through various ranks at the organization. In spite of the fact that employers require specific and technical skills in some cases, skills they also require one to have skills that are inherent in coexistence and efficiency at the workplace.
A good example of such skills is communication and public relations. An individual may be working in a solitary office but he or she has to attend meetings and share information with other employees at the organization. My choice to study global management and marketing has equipped me with various employability skills.
The first skill I have acquired from my pathway choice is creativity and innovation. Global management has enhanced my creativity by exposing me to various forms of leadership, management styles, approaches to workplace issues and the formulation of strategies applicable in the various situation. In most cases, organizations often face issues that require the intervention of both the management and the employees of the organization. The people in charge of the situation often require several options so that they can choose the best possible solution that maximizes the position of the organization.
Through global management, I have the ability to think beyond the ordinary and normal solutions offered by my peers. The importance of creativity and innovation is the ability to offer unique solutions to various problems in an organization. As such, creativity and innovation help me flexible in terms of response to problems. Through critical thinking, global management has enabled me to develop my evaluation skills and come with good ideas that can benefit an organization and the people around me at the workplace.
Secondly, the choice of my pathway has enabled me to learn and develop effective skills to deal with human resources. Today, globalization is an inherent part of many workplace. It is a common practice to find that modern employers and organizations hiring human resources from other countries and cultures. Global management has equipped with the necessary skill to manage such a diverse workforce and work effectively with them. Through global management, I have been able to accept the importance of diversity.
I have learnt that diversity is an inherent attribute of all human beings in the world and it is everyone’s duty to accept the differences. Global management has also shown me that the variations are imminent in people’s conduct and the manner in which they respond to different situations. As such, it is important to understand the different attributes of each individual and handle him or her in the best possible manner.
Third, global management has provided me with the fundamental skills required in the management of affairs in a professional context. As a business a global management and marketing professional, it is important to have the basic knowledge required in the management of the business and other professional affairs. The knowledge relates to economics, finance, and human resource management. The importance of the knowledge emanates from the need to deal with the routine activities in my area of profession.
For instance, I must be able to manage costs and allocate organizational resources to the most urgent and important needs. In order to carry out such a task, I must be equipped with basic knowledge in accounts and finance to be able to understand the information presented to me. Global management will enable me to undertake projects and work placements successfully in the organization. It equips me with the technical knowledge and the required practical skills, which is transferable to other member so the organization.
Marketing is my main area of interest and the choice of marketing as my pathway has played an important role in the development of my employability skills. First, marketing has equipped with good communications skills. In the capacity of a professional marketer, good communication skill is important because it enables me to reach the consumer easily and understand his or her need.
Communication skill involve the ability to use an efficient mechanism of communication to pass the message to the intended audience. The mechanism of communication could be pictorial, verbal, or written depending on the nature of the audience in question. Most importantly, good communication skills also involve the ability to listen to the needs of the other party. In marketing, it is important for me to pay attention to others because it is an efficient tool for the formulation and implementation of my marketing strategies.
Marketing has also taught me the values of patience and tolerance in the professional world. As a marketer, it is important to keep in mind that people have different tastes and preferences. For this reason, marketing has helped me conceive the fact that some consumers will not accept my products readily because of their preferences. Sometimes, I will require more time to convince a customer about the quality of a product and the advantage of consuming it. Such patience has enabled me to be persistent and optimistic that whatever in do in my professional life will lead to the best possible results.
Patience and tolerance are important employability skills for me given that they enable me to deal with clients of a different nature without unnecessary confrontation. Lastly, my keen interest and choice of marketing has enabled to enhance my interpersonal skills necessary for effective interaction with the clients I am dealing with in the market. Interpersonal skills are important given that they can be used as secondary tools for marketing. Sometimes, it is easy to convince customers through casual conversations and another mechanism of interaction where they may be free to share their views on a particular product.
The choice of my career has enabled me to develop various professional skills besides the general employability skills. These professional skills are important in my career because they make me competent to accomplish the various tasks I am assigned at the workplace. These skills can be developed and enhanced to suit the specific needs of the organization in question. My pathway has enabled me to learn the following professional skills:
Teamwork- in my capacity as a professional marketer, I will have to work with a team of other marketers to ensure that that the strategies implemented are appropriate. The marketing campaign has to be appropriate and meet the need s of the organization by maximizing the size of the market and the sale of the products and services offered in the market. Teamwork is a valuable skill because it enable me to emulate the positive attributes of the other members of the team.
Integrity- integrity may be considered an obvious skill but it is an important skill needed at the workplace. My pathway choice of global management and marketing will help me develop this skill. For instance, I cannot market or sell faulty products to an unsuspecting buyer in my capacity as a professional marketer. I have to ensure that I adhere to the ethics of marketing and avoid defrauding the innocent buyer.
Information Technology Skills- today, many organizations have mechanized and computerized their operations. Marketing requires the use of computers to enhance the development of advertisements, record sales, and keep track of inventory, my pathway choice enables to have knowledge on how to use these gadgets.

Description of a Regent’s Academic Example

The regent academic examples I will explain in this case is the interesting trip I had with my classmates to Bramley Lakes. The trip offered a good opportunity for us to practice the skills we had in terms of leadership, management, and the ability to work in teams. It was also an opportunity through which we could practice the theoretical frameworks we had learnt in ouyr classes by implementing and practicing them in these situations.
Practical examples and experiences offer the best lessons when it comes to matters such as the challenges encountered in the process of management and leadership. Such real experience also teach us the best approaches of leadership and management in various contexts. Upon arrival at Bramley Lakes, the first activity was the division of all the students into groups that would be used to perform the various tasks allocated to the us.
After that, the next step was the selection of a team leader, an individual tasked with the role of leading the group as we performed the various activities assigned to us. Luckily, our team had an outgoing individual whom we all though had the right qualities and abilities to lead the team. We all chose Simo. After selecting the leader of our team, we shared the responsibilities involved in the tasks allocated to us.
I was assigned the duty of a planning manager. My primary role was to ensure that all the members of the group respected the opinions and perspectives held by others to enable our group to benefit what all the members could offer. Given that I was the only girl in a team dominated by boys, I had many challenges in terms of communication with them. They would not hear on certain occasion because of the nature of my voice. However, I was able to make a significant contribution to the duties assigned to the team regardless of the challenges I had in my capacity as the planning manager. In most cases, the other members of the team heeded my advice and listened to whatever I told them.
It was unfortunate for me when I failed to produce a positive result given the opportunity to lead the “Shepherds’ Sheep.” Upon the first attempt, the result were poor and it was a disappointing factor for the team because they were fierce competitors. However, I was lucky and keen to perform better when I had the second opportunity again. I the second round, the result was much better and I learnt the importance of listening to the opinion of all the members in the group.
My experience during the trip had a significant contribution to my level of confidence when handling responsibilities. I was confident all the time I was asked to make a presentation in spite of the fact that I was initially shy. The confidence resulted from the successful contribution and ideas that I shared with the other members of the team. I believe the team did a good job compared to the rest of our competitors.
However, we had a few challenges in terms of teamwork and conflict resolution. For instance, one of the tam members refused to assist us when undertaking the tasks and I had to intervene and convince him to learn to accommodate the opinion and ideas proposed by the rest of the members. It was important for me to intervene in the conflicts to ensure that they did not affect the level of performance for our team.
In conclusion, the trip to Bramley Lakes was an interesting and unique experience. In addition to the academic contribution that the trip made to my studies, it played a major for me regarding the acquisition of both employability and technical skill. As such, the unique experiences in the trip have shaped the manner in which I will approach issues at the workplace and my career in the future.
The allocation of tasks and various responsibilities during the trip made me learn the value of teamwork and other skills required at the workplace. In addition, I enhanced my levels of confidence because of the roles I played during the trip, which will help me in my career and beyond the context of the organization. I also learnt the values of managing conflicts within teams.

Vocational Example

After the skills I acquired at Bramley lakes, this vocational example will state the manner in which I used the skills I learned to handle my industrial attachment at DPR Construction. First, I had learned to be confident when expressing my opinion at Bramley lakes. As such, I was able to communicate well with the management at the company whenever I faced challenges at the company with my colleagues. I aired my honest opinion with due respect to the superiors, which helped us to address our challenges faster and more efficiently.
I was also confident when making presentations to the staff at DPR. During the preparation for the presentations, we worked in teams of four. I used the skills I learnt to manage the conflicts in the team by addressing the need of each of the warring parties. At the same time, I always encouraged the members in my team to aim for the best results possible. Moreover, I was at the forefront of taking charge of responsibilities assigned to us because I overcame the fear of accountability and delivery.

What I hope to Learn about Myself

I have learnt that I can build my confidence and do everything to the best of my ability. At first, I was poor at handling some tasks because I was not confident enough to face the task. I have also learnt that I am good at taking charge and handling responsibilities. My willingness to handle them makes me more comfortable and confident in my approach.
I also learnt that I could work well with other people and help them solve any conflicts that can hinder their performance. However, I still need to improve on my will to achieve good results because I can give up when the conditions are tough. I also learnt that it is good to deal with competition by working hard.