Introduction
A personal Development Plan (PDP) is a well-structured document that refers to self-improvement, and self-evaluation, allowing oneself to identify, develop and mature from their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. A personal development plan (PDP) allows an individual to enhance their quality of life, as one is more aware and understanding of their weaknesses and strengths, identifying and working upon themselves to improve and mature. As a result, the quality of life of the individual is significantly improved.
Within this report, I will be creating and discussing a Personal Development Plan (PDP) reflecting upon my own learning, performance, and aspirations; allowing me to develop and mature, affecting me mentally and physically throughout my development within my degree.
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Purpose
Conducting a personal development plan (PDP) will allow me to manage my self-reflection, gain personal understanding, and aid improvements to my performance. I personally believe that using a PDP will allow me as a student to identify areas that need more focus. For instance, conducting a SWOT analysis will allow me to identify key areas that I am able to develop, grow, and mature. As a result, this will allow me to achieve my personal and life goals; this can be represented by my short, medium, and long-term goals discussed within my Gantt chart.
I will conduct a brief introduction of myself and my career plan, and my present and future objectives. I am a foundation year student, studying at the University of The West of England, Bristol (UWE) majoring in BA Marketing. Since starting University I have decided to do full-time, as this will allow me to fully dedicate myself to my degree and aspirations. This is a four-year course, but I plan to extend this by one more year as I want to gain experience within the workplace before getting into the business world; extending my graduation by a year. After graduating, I plan to get into the world of marketing, especially in fashion marketing later on in my career.
Self Assessment (SWOT Analysis)
SWOT Analysis is engaged by an individual or organization to identify strengths and weaknesses internally, whilst being able to identify external opportunities and threats that can influence the individual or organization.
Conducting a SWOT Analysis on myself will allow me to self-reflect upon my performance as a student, and identify any key weaknesses that will allow me to develop and enhance as a strength. Meanwhile, as opportunities arise throughout my degree I believe that I should not take these opportunities for granted and take on board any lectures, seminars, or workshops that will enhance my skill set and employability as a future Marketer or businessman. Being able to identify and gain knowledge from opportunities that arise from UWE will be highly beneficial to my future prospect and my knowledge. Nevertheless, I should maintain a good work ethic and produce a plan, PDP, in order to maintain focus on my future aspirations. Threats such as low motivation and self-esteem will arise throughout my career although a well-developed personal development plan (PDP) will enhance my focus and drive to achieving my goals and aspiration for the future.
Within this portion of my personal development plan (PDP) I will be conducting a SWOT analysis, consisting of my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and my threats.
Strengths
In my opinion, I am a very creative and social person. This means that, any aspects in regards to designing, color selection, image choice, etc. I can perform to my highest within this particular field. My creativity and my keen eye for perfection have influenced and enhanced my representation of my work to my colleagues and upperclassman. My ability to perform and work with teams or groups is one of my main strengths; I can adapt and become flexible toward my peers within the group, providing detailed information and research when required. Working within a team, I believe doing your part effectively will contribute towards the success of the group as a whole. If one individual is lacking the whole group will suffer from their actions. Maintaining communication between my peers and lecturers is somewhat easily established, changing a few aspects such as language choice either informal or formal. Through my sales assistant experience within the workplace at Wycombe Wanderers FC, I was able to enhance and learn new skills from my time as a sales assistant. Skills such as time management skills and organization skills were introduced and gained from my time at the workplace. As an employee, I was required to attend and leave my shift at the right time, leaving the workplace and equipment tidy and clean. Being a sales assistant, communication and time management skills were highly important to my supervisor as without the sale assistant orders could not be processed and executed. My time was short at Wycombe Wanderers FC but I managed to learn a range of different skills, whilst enhancing various existing skills.
Weaknesses
I personally believe that presentation and speech skills are not my highest skill set in terms of experience and knowledge. When presented with a group I am unable to get the words out my mouth, the majority of the time I stutter, losing my points resulting in me crumbling in front of my audience, whilst my voice begins to be affected; slowly becoming quieter and inaudible to my teachers and peers. These are two key areas that I need to improve and enhance throughout my degree. Marketing requires me to present numerous oral presentations, and I believe that during my time at UWE, I will develop these skills, and turn them into one of my strengths in the near future.
Opportunity
Two of my main weaknesses have a direct relationship between the two components. Presentation and speech skills are both directly related to one another, as one cannot function without the other. Fortunately, my university provides classes in these particular areas. In addition, our lecturers are able to provide feedback if needed; highlighting our progression throughout the year, and aiding us in areas that need development.
The University of The West of England, Bristol (UWE) provides a wide range of support and aid in numerous different aspects of my career. For instance, UWE held an enterprise event called Pitch'a'thon, providing opportunities for students to pitch their ideas and receive financial support or cash incentives in order to kick starter their ideas. Pitch'a'thon allowed me to obtain an insight into a professional and real-world experience of a pitch that's somewhat similar to Dragon's Den. Fortunately, I was able to attend the whole duration of the event, taking down key points and ideas that I could use for future oral presentations. Luckily, I was able to talk with the winner, Nia Williams, asking her about her performance throughout the pitch. She advised me that the key component to a successful presentation is preparation.
During workshops, we would frequently hold mock presentations where groups are presenting their ideas for their products and ideas to the class. During Organisation, Enterprise, and Management (OEM) I and my group presented our presentation on sustainability to the class. After the mock oral presentation, I asked both lecturers if they had any comments they had about our performance within the presentation, taking down critical information that I can improve from. One of the lecturers advised me to use the space we had, allowing my voice to be projected to my audience.
Threat
On the other hand, as a student, we all have our ups and downs, but low self-esteem and lack of motivation will result in poor productivity, directly affecting the quality and the output that I produce in any form of work I provide. This is problematic as this will be affecting my mental and physical well-being. Nevertheless, through the implementation of an effective personal development plan (PDP), it'll enhance my motivation, aiding productivity and focus on the work at hand.
Short, Medium & Long Term Objectives
Within this portion of the report, I will be splitting my aspirations and objectives into three components, and these are the following: short, medium, and long-term objectives, split between personal and life objectives. This is also illustrated within my Gantt chart within my portfolio.
Short Term Objectives
- Learn and perfect British Cuisine (2 Months)
- Learn and perfect French Cuisine (4 Months)
- Learn and perfect Chinese Cuisine (4 Months)
- Learn and perfect Italian Cuisine (8 Months)
Within my portfolio, one of three of my hobbies and interests is cooking, and making different cuisines from distinct locations around the world would be both entertaining and exciting for me, my friends, and my family. Cooking is a critical life skill that all students like myself should explore and perfect, as without a balanced diet both my mental and physical health can be dramatically affected negatively.
Part-Time Job (Six - Twelve Months)
Establishing short-term objectives will allow me to develop and enhance my performance in order to obtain knowledge and generate better quality output in regard to my prospect within my future career in Marketing and Fashion Marketing. Gaining experience and knowledge of the workplace, workload, and dedication can be identified within a part-time job. I am planning to find a part-time job in my first year of study in order to improve my employability through the enhancements in my CV, whilst being able to obtain financial gain and workplace experiences; enhancing my current skills, whilst gaining new skills. My plan is to obtain multiple experiences from different fields of work, allowing me to become more flexible and experienced within the future workplace.
As a student, I am limited by the activities I am able to do by the amount I am able to obtain from my loan. I personally do not want to constantly ask my parents for financial support; I believe that being over the age of 18 I need to take full responsibility for my life; this includes making important decisions such as a tenancy contract, paying for the water and electric bill, etc. without my parents. Transitioning from living at home to being independent has been somewhat seamless, as my parents have fully prepared me for this stage in my life since I was little; educating both me and my sibling on life skills. For instance, cleaning and cooking. I am thankful that I was taught these important lessons before moving out of the house, as without it I wouldn't have the level of self-respect that I have for myself and others if not for my parent's lessons.
Medium-Term Objectives
Similarly to short-term objectives, establishing medium-term objectives will enhance my day-to-day performance and knowledge of the workplace, allowing me to further develop and intensify my current capabilities and performance within the future workplace.
- Medium-term Objectives
- Gym (Aim: 70-65kg) I am currently around 80 or 75kg.
- Marketing Placement (Six Months or 1 Year)
At the beginning of semester two, I joined the gym with Centre For Sport (UWE CFS) allowing me to exercise and work out the stress that has built up from assignments, deadlines, revision, and examinations. Mentally and physically speaking, exercise has benefited my well-being and state of mind. I am aiming to lose weight throughout this semester or next semester. My medium-term objective is to achieve a weight of 70kg, losing 10kg in a span of six months. In my opinion, by planning a regime and routine each day I will begin to start seeing results. In previous years I have been pushing back my physical health, and as a result, it has negatively affected my self-esteem and the appearance of my body.
Within my third year, an internship or placement in a Marketing career can vary depending on my future decision, whether I can obtain experience and knowledge within a span of six months or a full year. Having the opportunity to be able to work with a company that's willing to educate me about my aspiration will allow me to enhance my employability after my degree. A placement or internship is somewhat similar to a part-time job, on the other hand, is tailored to Marketing. Through this placement, I will be gaining new experiences, and learning new skills, whilst developing and creating new connections throughout the workplace. I believe that placement within my future workplace is highly advantageous to my prospect as a future Marketer.
Long Term Objectives
Lastly, the establishment of long-term objectives is crucial, influencing both small-term and medium-term objectives. Both small and medium-term objectives are stepping stones towards achieving my overall objectives, long-term. Implementation of long-term objectives will allow me to self-reflect upon my strength and weaknesses, giving me the opportunity to work on myself to enhance my ability to maintain my maturity, whilst my development and growth aren't affected.
- Long-term Objectives
- Graduating with a First Degree in BA Marketing (With Honors) (4 - 5 Years)
- Marketing Job (3 - 5 Years)
- Fashion Marketing Job (3 - 5 Years)
- Family Planning (A Year)
The majority of my long-term objectives span 5+ years. The implementation of a PDP will allow me to increase my knowledge throughout my time in the workplace from my placement and university, learning and honing my skills as a Marketer throughout my time and energy spent within these fields. Graduating with a BA in Marketing is stepping towards my aspirations of supporting and enhancing the quality of life of my family here and in the Philippines. To ensure that, I maximize my success in Marketing, I must attend all my workshops, lectures, and seminars, learning and developing from my lecturer's and tutor's guidance. Attending each workshop, seminar or lecture will maintain my performance levels above the average figure compared to other students, keeping me well informed of my progress and development throughout my degree. This will ensure that my transition from my degree to the workplace is seamless.
Conclusion
To conclude my personal development plan, I am confident that I have the right mindset for achieving my short, medium, and long-term objectives. Influenced by Intrinsic and family motivation factors will allow me to overcome my weaknesses stated within this documentation, as I am not just doing this for financial gain, I am looking at my degree and the benefits I can gain from it in the future at a different perspective to positioning myself on the right path to success and happiness. Taking advantage of the opportunities that the University of The West of England (UWE) offers throughout my degree will definitely contribute to my future aspirations and success, and I am just thankful that the support and resources used are contributing to my future.
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