Week 2 Assignment: Skills Inventory & Gap Analysis PowerPoint (For Business Owners Too)

Overview

Week 2 – Assignment: Skills Inventory and Gap Analysis

[WLO: 2] [CLOs: 3, 4, 5, 6]

Note: You have your own business—your “chosen career” can be your entrepreneurial path (e.g., business owner/manager, operations lead, marketing strategist, etc.).

This assignment helps you build a realistic skills inventory and identify gaps you’ll close over time—then present it professionally in a PowerPoint.

Required Prep (Complete Before You Start)

Read / review:

1. Textbook: Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 18, Chapter 19
2. Week 2 Weekly Lecture
3. Making PowerPoint Slides: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides (PowerPoint)
4. Article: The Challenge of Exceptional Communication
5. Webpage: Self Assessment: Learn About Your Personality and Strengths (Links to an external site.)

What You’re Creating

A PowerPoint presentation that supports your Final Paper prep and has real-world value.

Using The Challenge of Exceptional Communication as a guide, you will present:

1. Your current skills that support your career choice
2. The skill gaps an employer (or your market/clients) would expect
3. Your plan to close those gaps
4. How you would communicate those gaps persuasively without disqualifying yourself

What Your Slides Must Cover

In your presentation, you must:

1. Describe the skills you possess that make you an ideal candidate for your chosen career
2. Identify gaps in your current skill set that may be required
3. Explain how you will strengthen or develop those gaps
4. Explain how you will communicate the gap effectively and persuasively while still positioning yourself as qualified

Tip: Use the “Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides” PowerPoint for slide design best practices.

Formatting & Submission Requirements (Must Follow)

Your presentation:

1. Must be 5–6 slides (not including title + references slides)
2. Must be APA-style PowerPoint format using the Ashford Writing Center’s guide
3. Must include substantial speaker notes: at least 100 words per slide
4. Must include a Title Slide with:
5. Title of presentation
6. Student’s name
7. Course name and number
8. Instructor’s name
9. Date submitted
10. Must use academic voice (see Academic Voice resource)
11. Must include at least two scholarly or credible sources in addition to the course text
12. Must cite sources in APA style (in-slide citations + references slide)
13. Must include a References Slide formatted in APA style

Use the Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed/Credible Sources table for source guidance. If unsure, ask your instructor.

Research Help (Optional but Recommended)

To support your research:

1. Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty tutorial
2. Library search tips and credible-source strategies

Grading Reminder

Carefully review the Grading Rubric—that’s the checklist your instructor uses to score your work.

📌 Need a Polished Slide Deck?

If you want a professionally written 5–6 slide deck with APA citations, 100+ word speaker notes per slide, and a strong gap-framing strategy (especially useful since you run your own business), order help from OnPoint Essays.

We can help you:

1. Align slides to rubric requirements
2. Turn business experience into career-ready skills
3. Write persuasive “gap language” that still positions you as highly qualified
4. Format everything cleanly in APA style