“A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.”

 Greg Reid.

Introduction

Personal Development Plan “PDP” is a process allowing individuals to contemplate about their skills and qualifications by managing their future achievements. PDP is a part of self-directed knowledge and reflection. Carrying out PDP allows identify strengths and weaknesses of the individual, what will result in superior planning for educational and professional career development.

The primary intention of this assignment is to create my own PDP. In order to do this, I will introduce myself and write about my education and career path so far. Simultaneously I will focus on my strong and weak sides and based on them, analyze future career opportunities. It will help me to visualize the short and long-term objectives. In order to create PDP I will use:

Vision

Mission

Objective

Strategy

Tactic framework.

Alternative tool, used in this assignment, is:

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats analysis.

The ultimate goal for me is to receive a master degree in the business-related discipline and become a higher grade clerical officer. I know that it is very ambitious but I am giving myself three years time for it.

 In order to be able to apply for a master degree, I am currently working on my second Bachelor Degree. In 2010, back in Poland, I accomplished a Bachelor Degree in Financial Management in Tourism Organisations. At present, I am working on a Bachelor Degree in International Business. I am aiming to finish this one year programme with an overall 75% and above. At the same time, I am efficient clerical officer Grade III in the finance and administration department. I believe that my loyalty and hard work will be rewarded and I will become a great fit to apply for a grade IV position.

Personal Reflection

A reflection is an act, which prompts us to think about, what we already learned, what was the reason that we learned that and how did that happen – it intensifies learning process. While reflecting, person is connecting theory with practice, aiming to predict future success or failure. Without reflection, individuals will not be able to get to know themselves.

I would like to start personal reflection by introducing myself, my previous achievements, career to date and the future plans.

I was always “A” student, at any stage of early education. I finished Technical School of Hotel Management with very high results. Inspired by tourism and hospitality I decided to do a degree in Hotel, Gastronomy and Tourism University in Warsaw while working in the hospitality sector. In 2010 I graduated with distinction.

Straight after college I was on the life crossroad. I could continue with academic, do the Master Degree and have some sort of stability – career, family, live in my home country. Despite the safe option I decided to travel and work in hospitality. Back then traveling in Poland was something extraordinary and only number of people could afford it. I could not lose this opportunity.  I gained many experiences since my adventure started.  If I have an option to start all over again I would make exactly the same decision.

Greatest motivation I had was working with people, learning their language and getting to know their culture. I could combine that with traveling and I was truly satisfied. Dealing with people on a regular basis, customer service and communications were always my strong sides, so I enjoyed what I was doing.

My priorities changed when the restaurant,  where I worked for the last four years was liquidated. I lost the stability, which was very important to me. I did not know what to do and how to adapt to the changes. From the perspective of time, I can see that I turned this experience into something positive and I learned how to be resilient.

That was a turning point in my life, time to do something more meaningful and challenging. I signed in for a course, different from anything that I did so far. I graduated with distinction in Office Administration. Based on my results and interview I was offered a position in the same training center, where I attended the course.

 I am working for Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board “DDLETB”. This company is helping people in career choices, by providing education, courses and training. I am proud to be a part of such a great cause and I consider it my biggest achievement so far.

In order to progress with my career, I will concentrate on getting the Bachelor of Business diploma and after apply for the suitable Master degree programme. I will concentrate on applying for a higher position in my company, where I see great opportunities.

SWOT analysis

A technique used by an individual in order to understand personal strengths and weaknesses. Based on his characteristics a person is able to forecast future opportunities and threats.

I am aware that each person has a great number of strengths and weaknesses. For the purpose of this assignment my personal SWOT analysis, will be based on five main features.

Strengths:

I have great qualifications, currently working on a second Bachelor “BA” degree.

I have many years of experience, in different fields.

It was proven by my results that I have great critical and analytical skills.

It is easy for me to learn new things, programmes or systems.

I am not afraid of challenges and responsibilities.

Weaknesses:

I am terrified of public speaking, the idea of being in the center of attention is making me stressed.

I would not be the best at dealing with conflict. I am lacking the training in this field.

I do not have strong language skills. English is not my first language, that can create some difficulties.

I am not assertive. I found it very hard to refuse help to others.

Despite the first impression, that others can have, I am very shy and low in confidence.

Opportunities:

Listing the strengths made me realized, how great set of skills I already have. I will use them in practice to achieve first class honors BA degree, which will give me an opportunity to start Master Degree next year.

A Business degree followed by a Master degree in the Business related field will give me the great prospect of promotion in my company. Majority of higher positions possibilities in DDLETB could include moving department.  BA in business offers a wide range of skills in many fields like finance, human resources management, marketing and related, which will be a great fit for any position.

Threats:

In order to follow my career path, I need to finish the degree. Part of some subjects is a presentation. I am aware that my fear of public speaking is holding me back. It can be partially language barrier, partially lack self-confidence. To achieve my goals and get promoted I need to practice presentation skills and overcome public speaking panic. I researched the Public Speaking and Presentation courses and I will participate in one soon.

VMOST framework

It is a link between five strategic planning elements, which help individuals to see potential changes needed to reach their vision.

My vision is to constantly progress in career, never settle in one place only because it is easy. I am not certain about the specific position (Supervisor/Manager/Chief Executive), for the moment I am aiming to be Clerical Officer Grade IV.

This vision is based on a few changes – missions. I will work on my not so strong qualities and overcome my fears. I will become a stronger person. I am aware that there will be some misfortunes on the way but it is a part of the process. I will learn how to deal with them. Experiences will only make me stronger.

I should not be too hard on myself and appreciate every small success. I am about to finish nine months probation period in work, a next step is a permanent contract. I will focus on finishing college, at the same time working hard to be noticed by my supervisors.

 I will focus on presentation skills, first at home practicing out loud, then I will perform in front of our small group, after that my audience will be an entire class. Small steps are bringing me closer to the ultimate goal.

The tactic is simple – I will attempt to balance personal and professional life. It is very important to keep healthy steadiness. Education and career are very important but being happy and positive in personal life is significant as well.

Conclusions

Working on my PDP plan gave me a great chance to recall my past. I thought about the entire journey and amount of work I inputted to find myself in the place that I am now. I was reflecting on what could I do differently, in order to be closer to my goals. Perhaps I wasted too much time in hospitality? Losing a job triggered movement in my life and was a life lesson. I know already that I will never wait this long again for things to happen. 

Looking at where I am now is giving me impressive perspectives for the future.  I am very pleased, with the majority of things, that I have done and proud that I am constantly altering and following the path, which I designed for myself.

However, there is plenty of unknowns in my future. I am trying to get to know myself, which is a long process. I realized that personal development is staring with self-awareness. It will impact my entire life, not only career but wealth, relationships with people and my happiness.

I understand that there are plenty of skills, which I still have to gain but I realized, that I should not wait for things to happen. I need to take actions! I am the only person, who is creating a strategy, following the plan and judging the improvement of my development.

References

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Mindtools.com. (2018). SWOT Analysis – Discover New Opportunities, Manage and Eliminate Threats. [online] Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm [Accessed 15 Oct. 2018].

Qualityresearchinternational.com. (2018). Analytic Quality Glossary. [online] Available at: http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/glossary/pdp.htm [Accessed 15 Oct. 2018].

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