Personal and Professional Development Plan - Essay Example

?Personal and Professional Development for Business Table of Contents Introduction 3 Education and Training 3 Key Lessons Learned from Education and Training 4 Analysis of Current Situations 5 Strengths 6 Weaknesses 6 Personal and Professional Development Plan 7 Conclusion 7 References 9 Introduction From the early phases, I was encouraged by my parents to take proper education. I was also taught that education is the important way for achieving success in both career and personal life. At present, after passing different phases of my life and engaging in higher education, I have completely recognised the significance of education. As I reflect about my school life and attempt to gain success in professional field, I have understood the massive influence of my education on my present learning. I have historically infused education as a vital part and am currently improving myself through the way of higher education and training. These past experiences and present education will lead me to the outset of developing my personal career interests i.e. to become a gym instructor and to attain a commendable position in Tesco Plc. I desire to proposer my career in the field of fitness industry and retail segment and thus, there is a need for personal and professional development. Through personal and professional development plan, I can utilise my strengths and reduce my weaknesses for gaining better prospect of success in my career. Education and Training From the schooling days, I was quite obsessive regarding the selection of my profession which can provide me better enjoyment and where I can render my complete effort. Since I want to become a gym instructor, I have taken training on body building and exercising. I am quite good in workout and also have good physique which is an essential component of a gym instructor. I have also taken education on the subject of physical fitness. On the other hand, I have also the desire to perform as a top-level employee in Tesco. Due to this reason, I have also attempted to gain educational knowledge on business. Presently, I am pursuing BA Honours with specialisation in marketing. Since marketing is one of the vital activities of Tesco, this course will be helpful for me to obtain better understanding about different aspects of Tesco’s operations. I have a strong desire for utilising my learnings from present education in my future professional life. Key Lessons Learned from Education and Training In the past two years, I have acquired enormous knowledge about the basics of body building along with maintaining a good health. Through my training on physical fitness, I have learnt the ideas and principles which are associated with the development and application of individual physical activity plan. I have also gained an understanding about planning, applying, assessing and reviewing routine activities which contribute to health based fitness elements (Education and Advanced Learning, 2013). During by bachelor education, I also have acquired good communication skill which is regarded as vital trait for a gym trainer. This ability will allow me to deal with my clients effectively and to understand their interests and issues. Furthermore, in my educational career, I have also acquired the quality of inspiring other individuals. I have proper skill to guide people for accomplishing specific activities. In past two years while performing as a leader in my educational career, my performance was quite commendable as I have effectively motivated entire team towards accomplishing high performance. This ability would be helpful for me in order to become a fitness trainer and can also enhance my employability (Lendrum, 2014). Throughout my specialisation in marketing, I have understood the basic ideologies of business, management and marketing. This course has close relationship with the career I pursue, i.e. to reach in a top-level position in Tesco. I was also educated about the problems and challenges of the business world and the methods to deal with them (Narver & Slater, 1990). Apart from these qualities, I have also learned to stay energetic. I prefer to love work on a continuous basis without any interruption. This energetic personality would be crucial for me to become a gym instructor. Besides, it takes high level of patience in order to manage clients and solve their issues in a chronological manner. Analysis of Current Situations Through my previous education and training in fitness and body building, I have acquired various qualities which are required in order to obtain the job of a fitness trainer. Additionally, a few crucial capabilities that I have gained from my bachelor education are also required to progress my journey towards becoming a high level employee in Tesco. Nevertheless, irrespective of the qualities and potentials I have gained from my previous education and training, I will also be required to develop additional qualities that can allow me to establish my employability skills and to accomplish the desired objectives. For instance, as a fitness instructor, I will require to be specialised in every type of exercise. Besides, I will require having adequate knowledge regarding body movement and reflexes (Cox et al., 2010). I have also understood that in my current scenario, I lack these skills and must acquire them for becoming a good gym instructor because the tasks of gym instructor comprise a lot of obligation and any kind of misguidance to the client can eventually lead to serious health issues. Besides, in order to become a fitness instructor, I will also require certification on the area of health and fitness by completing any educational program from a reputed college or university. Additionally, with regard to the desire to work in a top position in Tesco, I will require much practical experience and real-life knowledge. My current experience as an employee will not be sufficient for me to reach such a commendable position. Thus, in order to fill the gap of my knowledge, I will necessitate acquiring master degree in management from a reputed college or university with reasonably good grade along with vital skills in business. Besides, I will also require enhancing my employability in order to reach the desired level in my career life. In an effort to optimise my capabilities and to efficaciously complete my education, understanding personal strengths and weaknesses would assist me to recognise the strategic areas, I require considering while creating personal and professional development plan. Strengths The diverse educational background I have gained so far can be considered as a crucial strength for me as I plan to progress in my career. Having attained bachelor degree in marketing, I strongly believe that the knowledge I gained would be very helpful for my future. I possess good leadership skills and communication ability. Besides, I also have knowledge about health and fitness. This knowledge is also helpful for me to deal with the clients. I strongly believe that my present education will provide great confidence to me while undertaking further education and will provide added advantage to me in my career. Moreover, I also expect that my derived strengths will help me to ensure desired rank in further education. Weaknesses From the above discussion, it is apparent that I lack a few of the desired skills and knowledge which are highly essential for becoming an expert fitness instructor or to reach a higher position in Tesco. In addition, I do not possess any certification I order to become a fitness trainer. I have limited knowledge about aspects such as body composition, principles of health and fitness and flexibility among other aspects which can only be acquired though attending proper course. There are several short-term programs of fitness training which can support me to become a fitness instructor. Furthermore, my other vital weakness is a lack of practical knowledge to become a fitness instructor. Only theoretical knowledge would not be sufficient for me for this career. I will require having a better understanding on real life application of the theoretical understandings. Successively, I also lack managerial and marketing skills which are also essential to become a top level employee in Tesco. Besides, I will also require various technical abilities in order to solve real life business problems. In order to deal with this weakness, a master degree in the field of management is needed. Likewise, I also do not possess sufficient employability skill to reach a top position in Tesco. For this reason, I would require gathering experience as an employee in certain organisations. Personal and Professional Development Plan The following table describes the personal and professional development plan on the basis of identified weaknesses: Issues Process Timeframe No certification on health and fitness Acquire a Short-Term Fitness Training Course Two months Insufficient managerial and marketing skills Develop interpersonal abilities One month Lack of experience Training as an employee Four months Conclusion Through undertaking a critical analysis of my professional and personal objectives, I have developed a strong feeling that my personal and professional development plan will help to meet my career objectives. I have understood that irrespective of possessing an understanding and knowledge I have gained so far from my past education, it will not be sufficient to reach my goals. I will need to put the theoretical knowledge to practical application and also to polish my skills to professional level. A few of my skills are adequate to become a professional fitness instructor and to emerge as a top level employee in Tesco. With regard to the other requisite skills, I will take certain courses and programs in health and fitness and business management. These courses will enhance my employability and help me to gain success in professional life. References COX, L. et al. (2010) Engaging school governance leaders to influence physical activity policies. Influencing School Policy. p. 1-12. CANADA. EDUCATION AND ADVANCED LEARNING. (2013) Planning for physical fitness. Manitoba. p. 161-183. LENDRUM, A. (2013) Business school undergraduate degrees 2014. Oxford Brookes University. p. 1-50. NARVER, J. C. & SLATER, S. F. (1990). The effect of market orientation on business profitability. Journal of Marketing. p. 20-35. Read More