Personal Development Portfolios
Personal Development Portfolio February 2011
Name: Address: Date of Birth: Qualifications:
Current role: Previous role:
Introduction The Personal Development Portfolio (PDP) will help you to adopt a reflective approach to the development of your career. As you review your strengths, achievements and the gaps in your knowledge and experience, you will be able to demonstrate to yourself and others that you can set yourself clear goals and create actions plans to ensure that you achieve continual progress. The PDP will help you to develop selfawareness, to gain the ability of honest interrogation of your strengths and weaknesses and to document the planned and controlled approach you have undertaken to moving yourself towards your desired goals. Essentially the PDP will help you to:
record your personal growth and successes; reflect on your skills and achievements; reflect on the gaps in your skills and knowledge; state your objectives; plan the actions required to meet them.
Benefits and purpose The PDP is your responsibility and you own the whole thing. It has been provided by Teach First, as a personal document for you to complete online or on paper. You are encouraged you to keep your PDP up to date; and it will be an especially useful document for you to run alongside reviews in employment, job applications and in planning the next steps in your career, whatever stage you are at. You should treat this as a totally confidential document, which you can choose to share all or part of with others. The benefits of maintaining the PDP are that you will:
be more self-aware and understand how you perform in different contexts; perform better in your role; be more likely to ensure progression; be able to plan your career more effectively and purposefully; have a detailed record of your continual progression and achievements.
Using the Portfolio This document provides a template and guidelines for areas that you might wish to consider. The ‘Personal’ in PDP is vital, and you should use this document and other tools to create something that works individually for you. It is suggested that you store any documents that may be relevant and useful together with this portfolio for example:
This introductory document; Your current CV; Any assessments or review write-ups; Training documents you have received.
Step 1: Self Assessment A self assessment can be a useful tool ahead of annual reviews (in employment) or at other key stages in your own development. The following suggestions will be useful as guidelines for what you could consider, as well as helping you to structure your thoughts after reviews, in producing application forms and any time when it will help to articulate you achievements, development needs and strengths to date.
You may wish to consider the following questions:
What motivated me to take on my current role? What are the skills and attributes I bring to the workplace? What are my weaknesses? What are the achievements of which I am most proud (in my current role and in my life)?
What are the areas where I have not succeeded and what have I learnt (in my current role and in my life)? To what extent am I meeting my goals in my current role? What do I hope to learn in this role? Am I clear about where I want to go next in my current role/organisation (or beyond) and how I am going to get there? What aspects of my role do I love? What aspects of my role do I not enjoy? What do my peers, line managers and other stakeholders (e.g. students, clients) say about me? Do their views accord with my own view of myself –if not why is there a difference? Am I giving my best? If not, why not? Do I have an ultimate career aspiration? Do I know what I have to do and learn to get there?
Step 2: Preparing your Plan In order to turn your aspirations into a plan, you will need to think (with those who can help you) about the steps necessary to get there. The following questions provide a template to help you structure, and prepare for changes to, your plan:
Describe my approach to learning – what methods work best for me? During the next twelve months what knowledge, skills or experience do I need to develop? What are my SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, Time-based) goals? How can I achieve them? What support do I need and from who? What adjustments will I need to make to achieve what I want? What adjustments will others have to make for me to achieve what I want? How can this be resourced? What action am I going to take now to make this happen? What are the success factors? How will I know I have achieved my goals? What might prevent me from achieving - personal and professional blocks? When and how will I challenge myself to make sure that I achieve my goals?
Step 3: Personal Development Action Plan
GOAL
Once you have thought through your aspirations and what you need to achieve them, you may need to share them with line manager(s), colleagues and staff at Teach First using this template: PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL PRIORITY
TEAM, ORGANISATION OR INDIVIDUAL PRIORITY
LINK TO PERSONAL PROGRESSION AND TEAM/ORGANISATION SUCCESS
Step 4: Action Plan TASKS
TIMETABLE
GOALS
SUCCESS FACTORS
RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS
SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS
Evaluation and Dissemination
How will you evaluate your progress?
Will you share your learning with others?
How will you do this effectively?
Step 5: End of year personal statement Much like your self-assessment, an end of year statement will allow you to reflect on your achievements over the last year and to build your PDP for the next year period. Consider the following questions as a guide:
What have I done differently this year? What have I learned (including skills, experience, qualifications, etc.)? Have I achieved my goals? Have I performed better in my role and in general? Have I moved closer to achieving the progression I want personally and professionally? How have I shared my learning with others? What am I most proud of this year? What has not gone well? What have I learned as a result? Have I grown as a professional and as an individual this year – if so in what way? When will I formulate next year’s PDP? Update my CV.
Our Mission To address educational disadvantage by transforming exceptional graduates into effective, inspirational teachers and leaders in all fields.
Graduate Recruitment Partners
Management and technology consulting
Investment Banking
Public Sector
www.Accenture.com/ukgraduates
www.barcap.com
www.civilservice.gov.uk/faststream
Professional Services
FMCG
www.pwc.com/uk/careers
www.pgcareers.com
Name: Address: Date of Birth: Qualifications:
Current role: Previous role:
Introduction The Personal Development Portfolio (PDP) will help you to adopt a reflective approach to the development of your career. As you review your strengths, achievements and the gaps in your knowledge and experience, you will be able to demonstrate to yourself and others that you can set yourself clear goals and create actions plans to ensure that you achieve continual progress. The PDP will help you to develop selfawareness, to gain the ability of honest interrogation of your strengths and weaknesses and to document the planned and controlled approach you have undertaken to moving yourself towards your desired goals. Essentially the PDP will help you to:
record your personal growth and successes; reflect on your skills and achievements; reflect on the gaps in your skills and knowledge; state your objectives; plan the actions required to meet them.
Benefits and purpose The PDP is your responsibility and you own the whole thing. It has been provided by Teach First, as a personal document for you to complete online or on paper. You are encouraged you to keep your PDP up to date; and it will be an especially useful document for you to run alongside reviews in employment, job applications and in planning the next steps in your career, whatever stage you are at. You should treat this as a totally confidential document, which you can choose to share all or part of with others. The benefits of maintaining the PDP are that you will:
be more self-aware and understand how you perform in different contexts; perform better in your role; be more likely to ensure progression; be able to plan your career more effectively and purposefully; have a detailed record of your continual progression and achievements.
Using the Portfolio This document provides a template and guidelines for areas that you might wish to consider. The ‘Personal’ in PDP is vital, and you should use this document and other tools to create something that works individually for you. It is suggested that you store any documents that may be relevant and useful together with this portfolio for example:
This introductory document; Your current CV; Any assessments or review write-ups; Training documents you have received.
Step 1: Self Assessment A self assessment can be a useful tool ahead of annual reviews (in employment) or at other key stages in your own development. The following suggestions will be useful as guidelines for what you could consider, as well as helping you to structure your thoughts after reviews, in producing application forms and any time when it will help to articulate you achievements, development needs and strengths to date.
You may wish to consider the following questions:
What motivated me to take on my current role? What are the skills and attributes I bring to the workplace? What are my weaknesses? What are the achievements of which I am most proud (in my current role and in my life)?
What are the areas where I have not succeeded and what have I learnt (in my current role and in my life)? To what extent am I meeting my goals in my current role? What do I hope to learn in this role? Am I clear about where I want to go next in my current role/organisation (or beyond) and how I am going to get there? What aspects of my role do I love? What aspects of my role do I not enjoy? What do my peers, line managers and other stakeholders (e.g. students, clients) say about me? Do their views accord with my own view of myself –if not why is there a difference? Am I giving my best? If not, why not? Do I have an ultimate career aspiration? Do I know what I have to do and learn to get there?
Step 2: Preparing your Plan In order to turn your aspirations into a plan, you will need to think (with those who can help you) about the steps necessary to get there. The following questions provide a template to help you structure, and prepare for changes to, your plan:
Describe my approach to learning – what methods work best for me? During the next twelve months what knowledge, skills or experience do I need to develop? What are my SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, Time-based) goals? How can I achieve them? What support do I need and from who? What adjustments will I need to make to achieve what I want? What adjustments will others have to make for me to achieve what I want? How can this be resourced? What action am I going to take now to make this happen? What are the success factors? How will I know I have achieved my goals? What might prevent me from achieving - personal and professional blocks? When and how will I challenge myself to make sure that I achieve my goals?
Step 3: Personal Development Action Plan
GOAL
Once you have thought through your aspirations and what you need to achieve them, you may need to share them with line manager(s), colleagues and staff at Teach First using this template: PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL PRIORITY
TEAM, ORGANISATION OR INDIVIDUAL PRIORITY
LINK TO PERSONAL PROGRESSION AND TEAM/ORGANISATION SUCCESS
Step 4: Action Plan TASKS
TIMETABLE
GOALS
SUCCESS FACTORS
RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS
SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS
Evaluation and Dissemination
How will you evaluate your progress?
Will you share your learning with others?
How will you do this effectively?
Step 5: End of year personal statement Much like your self-assessment, an end of year statement will allow you to reflect on your achievements over the last year and to build your PDP for the next year period. Consider the following questions as a guide:
What have I done differently this year? What have I learned (including skills, experience, qualifications, etc.)? Have I achieved my goals? Have I performed better in my role and in general? Have I moved closer to achieving the progression I want personally and professionally? How have I shared my learning with others? What am I most proud of this year? What has not gone well? What have I learned as a result? Have I grown as a professional and as an individual this year – if so in what way? When will I formulate next year’s PDP? Update my CV.
Our Mission To address educational disadvantage by transforming exceptional graduates into effective, inspirational teachers and leaders in all fields.
Graduate Recruitment Partners
Management and technology consulting
Investment Banking
Public Sector
www.Accenture.com/ukgraduates
www.barcap.com
www.civilservice.gov.uk/faststream
Professional Services
FMCG
www.pwc.com/uk/careers
www.pgcareers.com
