I have been working on my Professional Development Plan. However, I am stuck mentally. I have attach the requirements, rubric, and the paper I have started. Please make sure references are listed. I h

Professional Development Plan

Kiyhana Bristow

College of Business, Bellevue University

MSHR 655: Capstone

Professor Carol Bartholet

March 17, 2021

Professional Development Plan

In October 2018, I retired as a Senior Human Resources (HR) Noncommission Officer with twenty-four years of service from the United States Army. While serving, I obtained a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, which allowed me to work in my mentor’s law firm. Currently, I am an Executive Assistant for the President of The Levy Company and finishing my master’s degree in Human Resources Strategic Management. My profession in the United States Army, my current position, education, and on-the-job training have provided me with experience and a path to obtaining my second overall career goal of becoming a Human Resources Director.

HR Director

According to O*net, the HR Director position falls under the category of Human Resources Managers. The HR Managers category also includes the Employee Relations Manager, and Human Resources Manager (HR Manager) (Human Resources Managers, n.d.). As an HR Director, I would plan, direct, or coordinate human resources activities and my organization's staff. While on the job, some of the things I would do are serve as a link between the employee and management by interpreting and administering contracts, helping to resolve the work-related issue, and handling questions. I would also advise managers on organizational policies, such as equal employment opportunity, safety, sexual harassment, and recommend any needed changes. Another one of my duties would be to evaluate and modify compensation and benefits policies to ensure we have established competitive programs and comply with legal requirements. As a Director of HR, you must meet many conditions such as knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) needed for the position. Many employers also require the individual have specific competencies, education, certifications, and years of experience.

HR Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA)

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities, otherwise known as KSA, are things that a person must have to perform their position. “KSAs are listed on each position’s job description and serve as a guide for applicants, employees, and departments to evaluate and assess a person’s likelihood for success in a job” (Sam Houston State University, n.d., para. 2). Knowledge centers on the comprehension of concepts. It is academic and not practical. A person may understand a topic or tool or some textbook knowledge of a concept but have no experience applying it. For example, someone might have read several books on how to resolve conflict. However, that does not make the individual qualified to advise on conflict resolution. Skills are “capabilities or proficiencies developed through training or hands-on experience” (Reh, 2019, para. 6). For example, a police officer receives tons of training on handling conflict properly but has hands-on experience, which adds skills. There are two kinds of skills an employer looks for hard skills and soft skills. “Hard skills are easily measured and consist of factual knowledge that is usually learned during formal training or at school” (Self-Assessment, 2020, para. 2). For example, hard skills are things like computer skills, technical expertise, or languages. Soft skills, or otherwise known as transferable skills, are “somewhat less tangible and can be acquired in various areas of one’s life, such as school, work, or extra-curricular activities” (Self-Assessment, 2020, para. 2). Abilities are commonly confused with skills. However, they are the innate traits or talents a person brings to a situation. For example, many people can learn to negotiate competently by acquiring knowledge about it and practicing the skills it requires. A few are brilliant negotiators because they have the innate ability to persuade” (Reh, 2019, para. 8). In the Human Resource world, KSAs are most often used to define job opening requirements and compare candidates when making a final selection.

For me to be considered for an HR Director position, I must have knowledge in business; more specifically, human resources and management.

- Knowledge
  - Business
    - human resources
    - management

Arts and Humanities
- - - English language
Safety and Government
- - - Law and government
Education and Training
- - - Teaching and course design

- Skills
  - Basic Skills
    - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
    - Talking to others
  - Problem Solving
    - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to resolve it
  - People and Technology Systems
    - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
    - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
- Abilities
  - Verbal
    - Communicating by speaking
    - Listen and understand what people say
  - Ideas and Logic
    - Use rule to solve problems
    - Make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
  - Math
    - Add, subtract, divide, or multiply
    - Choose the right type of math to solve a problem

As a Senior HR Professional in the military, I accomplished measurable results while leading teams of fifteen to thirty personnel in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. I have developed performance and training plans, evaluations, and taken disciplinary actions. While serving in the Army, I have developed a comprehensive background in Policy Implementation and Program Development derived from conducting domestic and global operations. I also have extensive expertise in Equal Employment Opportunity, as I was the Equal Opportunity Advisor for my headquarters, which covered approximately 3,000 personnel. I was able to provide personnel with training and guidance which result in a reduction of discrimination and sexual harassment complaints. I inherited the ability to identify key policy issues and make recommendations to the executive staff. During my appointment of system manager, I obtain the knowledge of complex automated personnel systems to monitor and manage an HR function that utilizes multiple human resources information systems.

https://studylib.net/doc/8032104/30-ksa-samples

While working at the law firm, I was able to not only research and study case law, but it provided me with real time knowledge of law and government. For example, understanding of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, and government regulations so that I could better education our clients on what their rights are and what defense could be provided to them. During my time at the law office, it also provided me with a different view of customer and personal service, administration and management, and improvement of my interpersonal skills.

As the President's Executive Assistant, I provide confidential administrative support in a one-on-one relationship. My support allows the President can effectively lead the organization. I serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external matters of the Company President. I am also the liaison to the board of directors, senior management team, and strategic initiative team.

Self-assessment

“Self-assessment is the first and the most important step in choosing an occupation or major, planning your career, and starting a job search” (Self-Assessment, 2020, para. 1). I have conducted many self-assessments of myself. My assessments have evaluated my professional interest, knowledge, and skills. The assessments I conducted of myself allows me to examine my current and past positions as it relates to my career goals, identifying areas I need to improve, and my transferable skills. Communicating and conveying your skills, interests, achievements, and values to an employer is vital to a successful job search.

The first assessment I completed was professional interest assessment. “The O*NET Interest Profiler can help you find out what your interests are and how they relate to the world of work” (O*NET Interest Profiler at My Next Move, 2021). The O*NET Interest Profiler ask sixty questions about work activities that some people do at work. You are asked to decide how you feel about each type of work ranging from strongly dislike too strongly like. The results are broken down by placing a score in the following categories:

Realistic (outside work)
Investigative (figuring out problems; search for facts)
Artistic (creativity in their work)
Social (teaching; giving advice; helping and being of service to people)
Enterprising (persuading and leading people; making decisions)
Conventional (working with clear rules; working with information and paying attention to details)

My results are as follows range from least compatible to most compatible: realistic (9), investigative (21), artistic (26), conventional (26), enterprising (27), and social (30). As you can see, I ranked the highest in in social jobs. Social jobs include jobs like teaching, human resource, or social worker. The next step in the assessment places jobs base on my results in five job zone, “which are groups of careers that need the same level of experience, education, and training” (O*NET Interest Profiler at My Next Move, 2021). You select a job zone base on the level of experience, education, and training you have or plan to get in the future. The job zone options are little or no job preparation (high school diploma or GED certificate), some job preparation (high school diploma), medium job preparation (vocational school training, on-the-job experience, or an associate degree), high job preparation (bachelor’s degree), or extensive job preparation (master's degree and above). I select high job preparation zone as it fits with my current education level and my future career goals.

The next self-assessment I completed was a career assessment that evaluated my skills, personal qualities, and work attitudes, and preferences. There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills. “Hard skills are easily measured and consist of factual knowledge that is usually learned during formal training or at school” (Self-Assessment, 2020, para. 2). For example, hard skills are things like computer skills, technical expertise, or languages. Soft skills, or otherwise known as transferable skills, are “somewhat less tangible and can be acquired in various areas of one’s life, such as school, work, or extra-curricular activities” (Self-Assessment, 2020, para. 2). Transferable skills, meaning they can be use in various work situations, are things like interpersonal and communication capabilities. The skills I feel that I am particularly strong in are communication (oral), management skills, interpersonal, team building, training skills, service skills, and office skills. On the other hand, the skills I feel I need improvement in are communication (written), creativity, mathematical skills, sales/promotion, and scientific skills. I have excellent leadership skills. The assessment consists of twenty statements that are designed to provide me with feedback on seven necessary leadership skills. The seven necessary leadership skills were personal stability, productivity, self-management, boundary setting, communication, work quality, and teamwork.

Career Goal

Both my career in the United States Army and my current position have provided me with experience and a path to obtaining my second career goal of becoming The Levy Company’s Director of Human Resources. Yes, I intend to stay with my current company and work my way up, just as I did while serving in the military.

Self-assessment

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/professional-development-plan