Assignment 1: Self-Reflection
Name:
Institution:
Assignment 1: Self-Reflection
Part 1: Response
What is the top skill you bring to a work place?
I will bring negotiation skill to the workplace, where I can help workers and other stakeholders to resolve conflicts and misunderstandings. The skills is also are needed in building and maintaining good working relationships in a team and in the business world. For example, I have helped workmates fighting over tasks and positions in a department store. They were able to view things differently and attain an acceptable resolution. Also, I have the capacity to understand the underlying positions and interests of the conflicting parties to find the right resolution strategy. Communication skills such as listening, offering feedback, and clarifying the purpose of negotiation, have been instrumental in the process. Embracing fairness, positive attitude, and laying emphasis on getting commitments from the conflicting parties have also been also critical. The skill will help me as a leader, team member, and a business person.
Part 2: Reflection
I chose the question because I realize that most organizations seek potential employees based on skills. The marketplace is defined by uncertainties, and employers may want to find people who can provide the right solutions (Pryor & Bright, 2014). Therefore, it is important to evaluate the skills that I possess and hope to develop through training and development. The skill identified in this process is negotiation, which matches the need to solve issues in a dynamic job market.
Remarkably, answering the question was difficult for two reasons. First, it is challenging to narrow down to the top skill, given that I possess other skills such as teamwork, problem solving, and communication. All the other skills enable me to play roles in different areas in an organization. The happenstance learning theory proposes that the goal of career counseling is to stimulate learning and attain satisfying careers as opposed to making a single career decision (Krumboltz, 2009). Selecting the top skill can limit the choices in career path. Second, I noticed that it is difficult to find the right words to define the selected skill with simplicity and accuracy. Whereas I have excelled in resolving conflicts through negation, finding the right words to describe the skill was not easy.
Reflecting and analyzing personal skills, attributes, and strengths can increase my job readiness and opportunities for career development in three ways. Foremost, the process ensures that I prepare for a satisfying career. I can leverage my strengths and improve my weaknesses to attain personal and professional goals as opposed to taking opportunities available in the marketplace. Second, the process prepares me for an unpredictable job market. The chaos theory of careers affirms that instability and uncertainty are a part of the career path (Pryor & Bright, 2014). Understanding how I can deal with issues such as speed of communication, globalization, and rapidity of technological innovation and still attain my goals is vital. Third, I can make plans and hence remain motivated to achieve the professional goals based on my personal skills, strengths and attributes. The planning process involves considering all the possibilities and limitations of specific courses in life. I must also take actions such as going through training, reading and finding internship opportunities to learn and test my readiness to work in any given organization.
References
Krumboltz, J. D. (2009). The happenstance learning theory. Journal of Career Assessment, 17(2), 135-154.
Pryor, R. G. L. & Bright, J. E. H. (2014). The chaos theory of careers (CTC): Ten years on and only just begun. Australian Journal of Career Development, 23(1), 4-12.