Good Example Of Employability And Professional Development Report

In today’s world, landing a good job requires one’s understanding of his abilities and the employer’s expectations. It is vital for every potential employee to have a set of skills, understanding, knowledge, and personal attributes that make him/her a preferable candidate in the job market. Through an analysis of my current abilities and skills, I focus on enhancing my employability and professional development.

My existing employability skills and capabilities

The training and education background equip me with the technical knowledge and skills to work in business administration, accounts and related business areas. Knowledge and skills in business administration developed at London School of Business. The one year period at University London Foundation advanced my skills in economics, accounts, management, and mathematics. The abilities and information acquired during my training have been put to practice during the work experience as an intern. I worked as a sales manager at Ciftkurtlar Company; this gave me an opportunity to apply and advance both technical and interpersonal skills. I was an accountant in the same company. I handled private expenses and prepaid accounting expense reports for shareholders and the CEO.
My personal attributes contribute significantly towards the quality of my employability skills and capabilities. The employer will benefit from my self-driven nature and ability to work in an independent manner. I am highly motivated, effective in teamwork activities, and possess personal and professional maturity. My leadership skills are evident in the various leadership positions held in school. Experiences in the previous workplace facilitated the development of stable analytic and creative skills. I also pride myself with the ability to uphold a high integrity level and the ability to work in fast-paced environments.
Involvement in both academic and co-curricular activities in school depicts my all-rounded nature. Hobbies such as football improved my interpersonal skills. Reading entrepreneurship articles expanded my knowledge of the business field. I have excellent knowledge of both English and Turkish; the language proficiency enables effective communication with people

Steps in analyzing my current skills and capabilities

An adequate understanding of my skills and abilities can occur through the adoption of an effective strategy. The adoption of a SWOT analysis process helped in the identification of my employability strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. According to Hansen and Hansen (2015), the strategic planning process is effective in career planning. It presents an opportunity to capitalize on strengths and opportunities while minimizing weaknesses and threats.
The strengths stage highlighted my vital abilities and skills, achievements, and what set me apart from other potential employees. The strengths included educational training, work experience, natural talent and abilities, personal attributes, transferable skills, good contacts, and life experiences. The weaknesses stage allowed the analysis of various aspects that may hinder my career success. It focused on the identification of internal negative aspects I can improve. Some of them included weak job-hunting skills and inadequate work experience.
The opportunities stage involved the identification of external factors I can take advantage of to enhance employability. Some include opportunities for advancement and professional development, positive trends in the field, strong networks, and unique opportunities presented by the chosen career. The threats stage focuses on the negative external conditions whose impact I can minimize. Some of the factors include a negative trend in the field, obstacles due to lack of advanced training, and limited professional development and advancements in the field. There may also be competition from my cohort of graduates, people with superior skills, and better job-search skills.

A Career EDGE Perspective

The analysis of my current capabilities and skills reflects the provisions of the Career EDGE model by Dacre Pool and Sewell (2007). My steps depict the need for the identification of employability assets including knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Use of the model helps in analyzing the essential elements needed for enhancing a graduate’s employability.
Career development learning- the learning process equipped me with the skills needed to research the job market and take advantage of available opportunities.
Experience (work and life) - the experiences in my previous jobs equip me with the skills to complete tasks and interact with people. Experiences in life helped me in becoming an independent, self-driven, creative and highly motivated person with a high degree of integrity.
Degree subject knowledge, understanding, and skills- I have training and advanced knowledge in business administration and accounting; this is evident in the period of training. I also have computer proficiency and competency.
Generic skills- through life and work experiences, I have developed effective skills enhancing my communication skills, attention to detail, work under pressure, teamwork, creativity, adaptability, leadership, numeracy, and time management among others.
Emotional intelligence- experiences and interactions with people enhance my capacity to understand and deal with situations requiring the application of emotional intelligence.

What do employers want from graduates?

An understanding of what employers seek can help me in improving the relevant skills and abilities. According to Kaplan (n.d.), employers seek the very best candidates; these are people with strong degree results as well as excellent interpersonal skills. The person should have a good personality, ambition, ability to work in a team, good communication skills, written skills, and strong work ethos.
According to the statistical evidence from the research, the top three competencies employers seek in graduate recruits include effective communication 73%, numeracy skills 64%, and the ability to work in a team 61% (Kaplan, n.d.). Some of the lower ranking competencies sought by employers included technical knowledge 29%, critical thinking skills 27%, assertiveness 24%, leadership 23%, and decisiveness 19%. Many employees recruit employees based on their attitudes and interpersonal skills; technical skills are enhanced later through on-the-job training. Thus, they seek candidates with good communication skills and a positive attitude.
Thus, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes sought by employers can be summarized into a list of competencies. The recruits should have competencies including adaptability, accountability, ambition, analytical skills, assertiveness, confidence, commerciality, critical thinking skills, creativity and innovativeness, curiosity, decisiveness, customer focus/awareness, determination, effective communication, IT skills, emotional intelligence, leadership, independence, logic, literacy, numeracy, maturity, positive mental attitude, organizational skills, presentation skills, ability to work in a team, time management, and technical knowledge (Kaplan, n.d.).

Conclusion

As a potential employee, the identification of my current skills and abilities will help in enhancing my employability. Through a thorough analysis of my skills and abilities, I can align them with the employer’s expectations in the field. It will make me a suitable candidate and enhance my chances of gaining employment and professional development.

Bibliography

DACRE POOL, L. & SEWELL, P. (2007) The Key to Employability: Developing a practical model of graduate employability. Preston, UK: Centre for Employability [Online]. Available from: https://www.uclan.ac.uk/students/employability/futures/files/Dacre_Pool__Sewell_2007_CareerEDGE_Article.pdf [Accessed: 16th April 2015].
HANSEN, R. S. & HANSEN, K. (2015) Using a SWOT Analysis in Your Career Planning. Quintessential Careers [Online]. Available from: http://www.quintcareers.com/SWOT_Analysis.html [Accessed: 16th April 2015].
KAPLAN (n.d.) Graduate Recruitment Report: Employer perspectives. [Online]. Available from: http://www.kaplan.co.uk/docs/default-source/pdfs/graduate_recruitment_report.pdf?sfvrsn=2 [Accessed: 16th April 2015].