Personal Development Plan (SPD) Assignment

Assignment Task

Candidates can be, and are, rejected on their SPD. Usually the Assessors feel that unsuccessful candidates do not address adequately each of the sections below – especially the last three. By using the headings and following the guidance carefully you will greatly enhance your chances of success.

Overview

This sets out, in two or three paragraphs or approximately words, how you have set about your Fellowship program and any key changes during it.

Plan

You should restate the key points of the plan you drafted on enrolment onto the Fellowship programme and also show how you achieved the objectives set. This should emphasise new knowledge gained and the skills you used to achieve this. You should be able to see some of the effects of this process on your career.

Changes to plan

If your Fellowship plan changed, you should set out what you changed and why you changed it. It may have been for external reasons (eg, a change of job or other circumstance) or for internal reasons (eg, you were unhappy with your progress on your major achievement or identified a new opportunity which you wanted to exploit). The effect of circumstances beyond your control should not be ignored and events, which have caused delay, should be identified. If there are no changes to your plan you must make this explicit. You should also highlight how you were affected by, or made use of, unplanned opportunities that arose. It would be particularly helpful to indicate whether these opportunities were based on situations which you initiated, or unexpected ones which you were able to exploit. How were you affected? How did you make use of these opportunities? If the change of plan was unexpected, were you able to use the pressure to your advantage and provide an innovative solution?

If you have been involved in any activity that did not feature in your plan but from which you have learned something, describe how it arose, what it involved, how it contributed to the achievement of the objectives you originally identified and how it might have contributed to a new aspect of your development.

When reflecting on your activities you should consider to what extent you have experienced personal or business benefits through the practical application of what you have learned and exactly how these benefits arose.

Self learning and awareness

What did you learn about yourself as you progressed to Fellowship? As is stated later, this is the main reason why the SPD can fail. This self-analysis is important although it can be difficult to undertake. It should include ‘soft’ facts such as how you dealt with both negative and positive experiences as well as ‘hard’ facts such as your achievements.

Key skills and knowledge acquired

During your time on the Fellowship programme you will have learned a number of new skills and increased your knowledge base. List the main items. This evaluation stage deserves special attention as it produces a summary of achievements, which demonstrates how you met your original objectives. For any area where you achieved less than you originally planned, reconsider whether the target originally set remains valid or whether you simply require more time to achieve it.

Intentions for the future

Continuous Professional Development is key to your ongoing professional development. Now that you have undertaken a major achievement and obtained new skills and knowledge through a planned programme you will need to continue your CPD programme. In this section, set out how you plan to use the lessons of your Fellowship programme in the future.

Before writing your SPD you may find it helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

• What were the most important things I learned
• and why were they the most important?
• How will I apply new skills and knowledge in my work?
• In analysing the application of these new skills and knowledge, can I produce evidence of the circumstances in which they are applied?
• What other reading and CPD have I done and will do outside my Fellowship plan to improve myself further and what do I now need to do for the future to continue my development as my career progresses?

The members of the Fellowship Assessment Board evaluate every SPD very carefully. The most common reason why a SPD fails to meet the required standard is because it does not demonstrate the candidate’s selfawareness. It is vital that your application illustrates what you have learned and in particular what you have learned about yourself as a result of negative experiences. You should not be afraid of admitting that you have learned from your mistakes as well as your achievements.

It is important that you include sufficient information in your SPD to enable the Fellowship assessors to evaluate your application. Any other correspondence between you and the CII will be kept separate from your application and so the SPD must cover any issue which you feel is relevant to your application. You must include sufficient detail to demonstrate that you have completed all the steps to Fellowship and you should identify how the elements of the application have been useful to you in your work. The Fellowship assessors will also wish to see you demonstrate your ability to reflect on what you have achieved and how you will move your career forward. However, it is not a career update.

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