Category: Reflection

In this section, you will be able to see my reflections on how I have grown as a person through conducting specific elements of my professional profile.

Personal Reflection

Leave a comment

Prior to my Professional Practice module I had very low confidence in interviews. This held me back when attempting to apply for jobs and as a result I have missed many opportunities which could have led to professional development. Throughout the module I made a conscious change to my fixed mindset and began to develop a growth mindset instead of taking opportunities which otherwise would have been missed. This change of mindset was a significant factor in leading me to apply for the role of student ambassador, where I was invited to an interview. As a result I went into the interview process with a confident attitude which I believe worked in my favour. Had i not had this confident attitude i believe it would have shown immediately in the interview and resulted in a very quick rejection. However, I believe from the feedback I received that my positive outlook and confidence meant that I stood a greater chance of success than I otherwise would have done. While I ultimately did not get the job I believe the process was key in helping me develop a confident outlook and a growth mindset in relation to interviews. 

In addition, before the process began, I had a very underdeveloped CV with gaps in the additional skills area. As a result of developing the growth mindset I made the effort to pursue qualifications in this area and this can be seen by my recent completion of my Microsoft Office, Career Thinking and digital Marketing certifications. Through a combination of these factors I believe that I will be in a better position in the future when applying for jobs.

Workplace Reflection

Leave a comment

In my last role as a sales assistant at the Loughborough students union there were many occasions where conflict arose between staff and customers which I did not know how to manage. I did not have the necessary people management skills to resolve the situations however, if I had the situations may have been resolved in a better way. One example includes a situation where a customer purchased raw chicken and ate it, she then returned to the store to complain that we had sold her uncooked chicken. At the time I had little in the way of confidence when facing workplace conflict and as a result refunded the item without question. Going forwards and having developed more confidence throughout this process I would have raised the issue with my manager to come to a satisfactory resolution for everyone involved. This would involve further development of customer service and conflict resolution skills which I hope to develop before having interactions with customers in the future.

LinkedIn Reflection

Leave a comment

At the start of my time at York St. John I decided through the university to set up a LinkedIn profile, however I was not aware of the site’s potential and so I did not realise how to take advantage of my profile. I felt that I needed to start making connections with professionals from different organisations so I could gain an insight into working in specific organisations that I was interested in. I realise now that when first creating my profile I should have been more proactive in actually seeking information myself either through university services or online research. However, now that I am in my second year I have been seeking information on how to develop my profile and how to start gaining exposure. In the future to improve this I am going to make sure that I post more on my LinkedIn profile, I start gaining more connections and increase interactions with organisations through liking, sharing and commenting on posts. 

Now that I am more aware of what LinkedIn is capable of and what I can achieve through using it, I am now beginning to research new ways of interaction and what employers will be looking for when looking at my profile. This has created a great way to express my emerging identity as a professional person and I hope that this will show employers that I am always improving.

Through my recent achievements through York St. John University I have been more active in posting about events that I have partaken in and certifications that I have achieved. This has gained a lot more recognition and I have had an increase in the amount of people looking at my profile. I have also had recognition on my posts through likes and comments congratulating me on many of my achievements. The evidence of this can be found in the photographs section of my Blog.