My personal Reflective Analysis.

Before I took on the managerial role at my part-time employment I trained the new staff the store employed.  To do this I was required to attend a three-day training course.  This course taught me about the learning cycle, each of the four different stages and styles.  I was taught how to identify individuals learning style and how to work with it. The course also taught us the importance of listening and how to get the balance between that and speaking just right.  Role-plays were used to show us how to train an individual on a particular topic.  These role-plays included the use of ‘win’, which broken down becomes what, interest and need. Therefore for someone to learn you have to tell them what they are learning, give examples and why they need to know it.  The last part is the most important as it gives the incentive to listen and learn.  Then each stage is broken down into sets of questions (see my role play on desserts).  To question someone makes them try to think of an answer them selves and this is why it gets remembered.  I noticed in the careers lectures that the object of the lecture was always explained and why we needed to know it.  Then there were questions on the topic before the point of each lecture was discussed.  The activists in the group always impatiently waved their hands or shouted out and like every teacher it was the quiet ones who were asked to try encourage them to be more confident.

I feel a lot of my skills and personal qualities have come from my work experience.  It has given me my maturity from which I can work with others and disregard my personal judgement no matter what.  Leadership is an integral part of my work life and would not be at the level I am without it. I welcome criticism and treat it as a way to only improve myself and gain the results I want. I do set myself high standards and am not content with sinking into the background.  I grasp opportunities to improve on what I already know.  Through work and education I have learnt that planning and organising are the key to any successes.  Constantly I have to organise my time between work and my studies so not one or the other suffers.  Each shift at work includes deploying a range of people through their strengths and weaknesses to different aspects of the job, to ensure that in all situations we work as a team.  I have a huge responsibility for the team, store, general public and large amounts of money.  This trust, which has been placed upon me, reflects the respect my employers have for me.  I feel during my shifts I have to adapt to problems and there is an enormous pressure from my team to create a solution and support them in being responsive to the changes in situation.  The team looks to me for answers and because of this I have to lead by example one hundred per cent of the time.  I am committed in what ever I do and this is reflected by how long I have been with the company I work for. Firms only wish to spend time and money developing and training someone if they feel they will get a lot back.

I feel that education I have received has given me the academic knowledge and work has given me the people skills, confidence and last of all the employability that firms seek for within a candidate.

My career anchor reflects the job area I have a burning desire to fulfil. Throughout my academic life I have always enjoyed mathematics based subjects especially statistics.  This interest encouraged me to look at jobs in that area.  One job that seemed the best suited was that of Acturial work.  In general this is the collection of statistical data and running procedures, which identify trends.  It contains many concept of my degree and allows me to integrate statistics.  This job would allow me to problem solve, generate ideas and theories without restrictions, to be thrown in at the deep end and to still work as part of a team.  Included in this file is my reasearch into that job area.