Career Management

Career Management

 

Introduction

            It has been reported that the profound economic and business changes under way in the majority of industrialized countries, such as the United Kingdom are drastically altering the world of work (Barner 1994). The market demand for certain skills and career fields are changing, as well as our roles as work professionals, and the ways we manage our careers. Because of these changes and the economic instability in most nations, employers have reevaluated the assumption that employees are considered as a variable, instead as a permanent part of the organizational architecture (1994). With this view, the importance of having and sustaining a career is now given emphasis in many business organizations. In line with the changes that happen to the modern society, having a career would be difficult to sustain, especially with all the arising new opportunities, with the application of new technologies.           

Having a career and sustaining it is one of the most important achievements in the life of any individual. Having and sustaining a career may be challenging and difficult, but its rewards may not only help one to obtain employment and money. With having and sustaining a career, one will able to obtain additional and continuous knowledge on the field that he or she is taking, and enjoy the prestige of contributing to the development and improvement of the nation and the society. Because of this importance, this paper seeks to evaluate and assess my personal career aspirations, and reflect on my expectations regarding the nature of careers, career development, and career management practices in Marketing. In addition, a career management portfolio will be made, an updated Personal Development Plan and Curriculum Vitae.

 

 

Part 1: Personal Career Goals

 

Reflection on My Personal Career Aspirations

            Marketing is a philosophy that leads to the process by which organizations, groups and individuals obtain what they need and want by identifying value, providing it, communicating it, and delivering it to others. The core concepts of marketing are the needs, wants and values of the customers, products, exchange, communications, and relationships (2003). Because it is strategically concerned with the direction and scope of the long-term activities of the company, it is being performed to obtain its competitive advantage. The organization applies its resources within a changing environment to satisfy customer needs while meeting stakeholder expectations (2003). One of the branches of marketing is Market Research. This branch is where I would like to have my personal reflection on my career aspirations.

           

It has been reported that Market Research is the process of systematic gathering, recording and analyzing of data about customers, competitors, and the market, such that it can help create a business plan, launch a new product or service, fine tune existing products and services, and expand into new markets (2007). I have chosen this branch of marketing because I believe that I will be able to attain my goal in exercising and developing patience, openness, sensitivity, and critical thinking in this kind of work. In becoming involved in market research, I will be able to develop effective communication, as this work involves obtaining primary data from customers regarding their needs, wants and suggestions through questionnaires and interviews. In addition, I will be able to develop my skills in critical thinking through analyzing and evaluating the data gathered from customers, using statistical tools and analysis. This would not only enhance my intellectual skills, but my interpersonal skills as well, such as teamwork and coordination. Moreover, aside from developing my intellectual and interpersonal skills, I will also be able to be given the opportunity to participate and contribute to the decision-making process in the company and share my opinions in relation to the data or information I have gathered. In line with my personal career goals, I will be able to participate in intellectual conversations and discussions that would enhance and develop my creativity and strategies. Although this profession or occupation entails long periods of thinking, analysis and evaluation, it will still be worthwhile because I will have the chance to not only develop wholistically as an individual, but also obtain and share knowledge from the nature of my work and from my colleagues.

 

Contemporary Career Development

            Due to the changes that happen in the modern society, the nature of careers and its management also changes. From this changes, I believe that the nature of careers evolved from the agricultural to industrial, and then to technological at present. The advancements in science and technology brought about the changes in the careers of many individuals belonging to different industries. These advancements led to the invention and innovations of software programs and kits that contribute to the efficiency and improvement in terms of production and operations. Advancements also led to the use of such inventions and innovations as applications in medicine and public health, media and advertising, international business, management and marketing, and many others. In addition, with the utilization of the World Wide Web or the Internet, communication was also enhanced and maximized. The use of the Internet enabled us to communicate with other individuals belonging to other nations and continents to obtain information. Its use enables international business organizations to ease transactions and negotiations, which led to their expansion and further establish their reputation in the international market. Through the Internet, we can efficiently and effectively obtain and spread information from one point of the globe to another.

 

Because of these changes, individuals are forced to change their careers, which are believed to be the opportunity for us to become more successful. I believe that to be able to maximize the benefits that the mentioned changes have brought to our society, it would be beneficial to develop our careers that are in line with the use of the Internet and the technology. I agree with the arguments of (1994), who stated that the careers in the modern society are boundary-less, such that it would be easier for us to move across occupational or organizational boundaries, that career decision-making may reflect more personal or family considerations, that it rejects structural constraints, that it has a subjective measure of success, and that it is sustained by extra-organizational networks and information. I believe that the changes in the society helped us to become more flexible in terms of multi-tasking, such that we are able to perform a variety of tasks at the same time, depending on the extent of the demand of our work.

 

To cope with such changes, career management practices must also be changed or modified to suit the changes in the nature of careers. One way is to adopt the career strategist, a career model, which offers a multidirectional and probabilistic model of career management. It makes career planning flexible to avoid being caught off-guard by disruptive changes, and makes easier to shift one’s career direction to increase career satisfaction (1994). I agree with such career management practice, aside from the conventional career planning models and schedules because adopting such a model can help jobseekers and career-shifters to assess their performance and capabilities in order to find a much suitable job or career. In addition, practices such as job postings or internal vacancy bulletins, performance appraisals for career planning, and formal education, mentoring and other planning models must be implemented in an organization. Because traditional career models emphasize long-term, linear, and predictable (1997) job and career opportunities, many individuals become “stagnant” and dull as well. Variety in job is not performed, thus, satisfaction is not attained. Nowadays, with the application of technology, especially the Internet, many individuals become shocked, such that they do not meet the demands of the fast-paced technology. To lessen such problems and issues in the future, the present workforce must able to adopt new career management practices, such as the ones mentioned above to help him or her cope with the increasing demand of work in the contemporary society.  

 

 

Part 2: Career Management Portfolio

 

Labor Market Conditions

            It has been reported that the challenge of marketing is to manage its complexity, customer and stakeholder expectations and to reconcile the influences of a changing environment in the context of a set of resource capabilities (2003). With such functions, the role of marketing in the society and in the industry presents an important role, especially in the development of the labor market in any nation. To further understand the role of marketing in the labor market, the changing labor market of the United Kingdom will be discussed.

           

The labor market of the United Kingdom in the early 1950s is different from its labor market in the contemporary society. In the early 1950s, its labor market is characterized as having low unemployment. Employment is highly involved in mass manufacturing, with working hours of 8 hours a day, and with strong influence of trade unions. There is a low demand for graduates, with the retention of the older and average working generations. In the 1950s British society, males are referred to as “breadwinners”, while females are referred to as “homemakers” ( 2006).

           

On the other hand, in the contemporary British labor market, there is still low unemployment, accompanied by the rise of service industries, with weaker trade unions, and the white collarisation of work. Employment is varied in number of hours, depending on the type of work. Working hours and employment is atypical, temporary, flexible, short-term, sub-contracting and self-supporting. Due to the increase in the population and the increase in the demand for employment, high demand for graduates is being shown. In relation to gender-related roles, nearly 50% of the workforce is comprised by female workers (2006). In relation to this, the labor market of the United Kingdom is being “feminized”, as women citizens are now actively participating in a variety of industries that are sometimes dominated by men. In the contemporary British society, more women are empowered and given equal opportunity to work and become employed in different companies, instead of settling only for house jobs. One of the changes that are continually undergoing continuous modification is the equality between the male and the female gender, which is now, is drastically accepted by societies and cultures around the world.

           

In addition, due to the flexibility of the careers and job opportunities in the modern society, flexible forms of employment have also emerged, including self-employment, part-time or temporary work, and gender-related employment. Because of such opportunities, the incidences of job insecurity are increased, including perceived exploitation, self-limited protections, and self-interested model of employee relations ( 2006).

           

As mentioned, the labor market in the United Kingdom is highly flexible, with the highest freedom in terms of investment, trade, financial, property rights, business, and freedom from corruption (‘ 2007). In relation to my chosen profession or occupation, the labor market of the United Kingdom would be conducive or suitable for me because of its mentioned features or characteristics.

 

Primarily, there is a high business freedom, wherein the freedom to start, operate, and close a business is strongly protected by the national regulatory environment (2007). This means that a company or business organization being established in the country will be protected and secured from any form of loss. In this way, I can say that my profession will be secured and I can continue to function as a market researcher for the company. Second, trade freedom is also high, as being the same with the trade policy of the European Union ( 2007). This would also help me with my personal career goals, for with a high trade freedom, my company or employer would not have a hard time dealing with trade policies, whether in the national or the international business scene. In this way, my employer and my occupation can be sustained continuously. In addition, high trade freedom, my employer can have the option to expand. This would give me the chance to be given additional tasks or responsibilities regarding market research, such as having new target markets to research on, or to widen the scope of my market research.

 

Third, the tax rate in the United Kingdom is also high (2007), which comes back to the people as infrastructures and excellent public services. Although this feature may place an additional cost to the expenses of the company, taxes taken from the income of the company and its employees would be seen as additional services in the society, or as improvements in its implementation. This would not only hasten the operations of my company, but would also enable me to become creative in coming up with new marketing research strategies that would contribute to efficiently obtaining useful data and information regarding the target market. Fourth, inflation is low in the United Kingdom ( 2007), thus, beneficial because marketing costs and materials would not be as high compared to societies that have high inflation rates.

 

Fifth, foreign investment freedom are attractive and receive the same treatment as domestic businesses (2007). This would be beneficial on my part because this just means that marketing strategies would not be useless in terms of promoting products and services from my company. As a market researcher, having foreign investors in the country would a good challenge for me, because I will be able to extend my research not only in relation to my target market, but also engaging in research to determine and recognize the needs and wants of foreign investors. Sixth, the United Kingdom has a well-developed, competitive financial system, which offers all forms of financial services, including credit, supervision, and universal banking ( 2007). With this, this means that the labor market and the overall economy of the United Kingdom are stable. This stability would as well contribute to the stability of my employer and my occupation because as a market researcher stability of the society is important to me, for its stability means the stability of its society and the market, which indicates the ability of its consumers to purchase a specific product or service from my company. Lastly, as mentioned, its labor market operates under flexible employment regulations that enhance overall productivity growth ( 2007). This is a very important aspect to take note of because with flexible employment regulations, each employee would have the chance to be given opportunity to participate in the processes, such as the decision-making process of the company.  

 

Internal Strengths and Weaknesses

            My interest with Market Research as a profession or occupation has led me to reflect upon my own internal strengths and weaknesses. This reflection on my own strengths and weaknesses would help me realize my capabilities and limitations in addressing the problems that I will be encountering in my profession. In addition, this reflection would also help me improve as an individual, for my strengths and weaknesses will determine my success in this career.

 

Strengths

Ø  Hardworking – This is my primary strength, which I think will enable me to achieve my personal goals in my career. Because I am hardworking, I will be able to finish all the tasks and responsibilities assigned to me. A hardworking attitude is needed in Market Research to be able to obtain the necessary data and information from the company’s target market or consumers. In addition, hard work is needed in this field so that I will be able to focus on my responsibilities and goals in my team, in line with my tasks of conducting surveys and interviews, and interacting with consumers and competitors. As a primary strength, this would allow me to have the edge over other employees and in turn, serve as a model employee in the company and to my colleagues.

Ø  Well Motivated – Another strength that I should take note of is my characteristic of being well motivated, for I believe that this strength would become an edge for me in sustaining my career in Market Research. Because I am well motivated, I have the drive and the inspiration to achieve my personal goals. I would be using this motivation to efficiently and effectively perform my tasks and responsibilities, in line with my interest and passion for my chosen marketing profession.

Ø  Enthusiastic – Being enthusiastic is being keen and passionate, and with this strength, I would be able to perform my job and responsibilities wholeheartedly. This trait would also prove that I am willing to learn new skills concerning my chosen profession, thus, helping me to develop and grow in my career. Being enthusiastic gives me the motivation and the commitment to succeed and become the best employee that I can become.

Ø  Flexible and Dynamic – I consider these traits as my internal strength because I believe that because of these traits, I will be able to cope with the demands and the continuous changes that I can encounter in my chose profession. I can use flexibility in Market Research to effectively and efficiently relate to consumers and competitors regarding my company’s products or services. Being flexible would not give me a hard time adjusting and relating to the attitudes of the people I work with and encounter. I would not also have a difficult time in approaching them and adjusting with them. Likewise, I can use dynamism in terms of adjusting to the nature of my occupation because with dynamism, I could adjust easily to the variety of approaches that our team can use in obtaining data from the target market. Dynamism would also provide me with the right attitude in addressing all the difficulties and problems that I will be encountering in the profession, thus, this strength would give the edge of effectively coping with the changes in my profession.

Ø  Excellent communication skills – The use of such strength is vital because I believe that the use of my communication skills would entitle me to relate easily and effectively with other people, including the consumers and my colleagues. This strength would allow me to obtain credible information easily, to be able to be utilized for a reliable research.

Ø  Ability to work on own initiative or part of a team – This is considered a good strength because I can be independent and at the same time also effective in working with a team. This just means that I can be dynamic enough to work on my own without supervision, or be part of a team to perform a joint responsibility or task with the rest of my colleagues.

 

Weaknesses

            Despite my strengths, I have also recognized some weaknesses, which I believe permits me to further improve and develop as an individual. The recognition of such weaknesses allows me to provide room for further improvement and growth, in relation to my chosen profession.

Ø  Self-Awareness – In certain instances, I fail to assess my own feelings and emotions in relation to particular situations. I also fail to read and understand my own emotions and to determine its impact or effect on my work performance and relationships with other people. From this, I also believe that I am sometimes unsuccessful in segregating my feelings towards my work and personal life.

Ø  Self-Management – Sometimes I fail to control my feelings or emotions, especially when it comes too strong. I fail to control disturbing emotions and impulses, which sometimes lead me to think of ways that are not morally acceptable. With lack of competencies in self-management, I fail to meet my own standard of excellence and fail to seize opportunities that come my way.

Ø  Social Awareness – I sometimes show the lack of competencies or skills in social awareness, which fails in terms of extending empathy, organizational awareness and service orientation to others. I fail to sense other people’s emotions by minding my own situation. My lack of empathy towards others fails my ability to build decision networks, entertain politics, and even know the current situations of the organization, thus, leading me to sometimes fail service orientation.

 

External Opportunities and Threats

            Along with my strengths and weaknesses are the external opportunities and threat that I can take note of, in line with my chose marketing profession. Opportunities involves the external factors that I can gain in engaging in Market Research, while Threats involves the external factors that may serve to intimidate me in choosing this field or occupation.

 

Opportunities

• Flexible labor market in UK – I can have the freedom to choose my career and fulfill my personal goals


• With this career, I will be able to further develop my talents and skills, such as communication and interpersonal skills


• The company can gain additional knowledge and information regarding marketing practices and regarding its target market


• Meet new people and develop or extend new networks


• Apply knowledge, expertise and experience


• Establishment in the market and in the industry


• Increase in sales and profit


• Brand loyalty and established Brand Image

 

Threats

• Increase in competition from other companies


• Increase in competition among colleagues, especially from those with attitude problems


• Drastic and immediate changes that may take place in the company, such as changes in management and style in leadership


• Rejection and difficulty in participation from the consumers and competitors in obtaining data and information


• Unreliable data and information due to not participative consumers


• Non-participative and irresponsible team members


• Miscalculations on the results of statistical analysis regarding the data or information gathered

 

Personal Development Plan

            It has been reported that good personal development planning can assist one in achieving his or her potential, for it will be able to help one in recognizing gaps in skills and areas in improvement (2006). Using a Personal Development Plan or PDP can be overwhelming. However, the use of an appropriate approach can lead to satisfying results (2006). In accordance to my reflection and personal career goals, the elements and actions that will be written in my own Personal Development Plan will correspond to the discussion above.

             

Action

Resources

Period

1. Encourage innovation in my business

-Finding courses or programs regarding Marketing and Market Research

Must be completed within 3 months

2. Plan change.

-Additional study on effective planning techniques, understanding of teams, team-building and applying them

-stakeholder, competitors and consumers expectations

-plan on having Training and Develop Programs to further have knowledge and training in Market Research

Must be completed within 4 months

3. Lead change.

-Having advice and additional information on using different leadership styles and behaviors

-Having advice and additional knowledge on improvement regarding the use of methods of communication

Must be completed within 6 months

4.  Manage a program for projects.

-Programs for additional training regarding the evaluation of gathered data for credible research

-Programs for team-building

-Refresher programs regarding the needs, wants and expectations of consumers and competitors

Must be accomplished within 8 months

5. Implement change

-Adopting new techniques and strategies in implementing improvement and development in Market Research strategies and tools

Must be accomplished after 9 months

( 2005)

 

Conclusion

            From the discussion and reflection tackled above, it can be understood that the importance of sustaining a career transcends a myriad of concepts and issues, from personal to economic. In tackling the issue of career management, it is important to evaluate and assess personal characteristics, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, to ensure that one will be able to guarantee an excellent performance in any job position. Personal traits or characteristics of an individual are good basis for career management.

In addition, these personal traits and characteristics are useful guide or basis for shifting careers. In line with the changes that are happening in the modern society, the personal characteristics of individuals must incorporate flexibility to help cope with these changes. Aside from personal characteristic, the labor market and the economy of a particular nation must be given importance, for the labor market determines the rate of stability of that nation, such as the United Kingdom. From the discussion above, it can be deduced that its labor market is flexible, thus, employment follows to be flexible also. With this, it can be understood that occupations, particularly in the field of marketing, could pay importance to success and becoming established in the market. In relation to marketing, specifically in the field of Market Research, my personal career goals, including my strengths and weaknesses and the interaction of some opportunities and threats enabled me to assess and evaluate my personal capabilities and limitations. With this, I was able to analyze my personal abilities in relation to my chosen profession. From this, I will have the confidence to pursue this career and achieve my goals.

Curriculum Vitae

 

Full Name:

Postal Address:

Mobile:                     Email:

 

Personal Profile

            A hardworking, well-motivated, enthusiastic individual, with flexible and dynamic approach to work; a person who has the willingness to learn new skills, with a commitment to success, possess an excellent communication skills, together with an ability to work on own initiative or as a part of a team.

 

Employment History

Date: July 2004 – December 2006

            Name of Employer: Next Retail Ltd.

            Location: Lakeside Shopping Mall, Chadford Hundred

            Job Title: Sales Assistant

            Duties: -Attending to customers’ complaints

                         - Stock control

                         - Cashier

 

Date: October 2003 – June 2004

            Name of Employer: Amazing Grace Store

            Location: 134 Barking Road, Canning Town

            Job Title: Sales Assistant

            Duties: – Attending to customers’ complaints

                         - Stock control

                         - Cashier

                        – Taking Deliveries

 

Education

Date: February 2005 up to present date

            Name of University: University of East London

            Location: Longbridge Road Campus, Dagenham RM8 2AS

            Course: Business Studies

            Modules Studied: Managing Enterprise, Studying for Business, Business Environment, Human Resources, Accounting and People, Organization & Management

 

Date: September 2003 – July 2005

            Name of University: Newham College of Further Education

            Location: East Ham Campus, East Ham E6 16U

            Course: BTEC National Diploma

            Modules Studied: Introduction to Business, Introduction to Marketing, Business Management, Human Resources Management, Accounting, Final Accounts, Creative Product Promotion, Business Online, Business and Enterprise, Business and Market, and Recruitment & Selection

 

Interests

- Listening to music

- Football

- Socializing with friends

Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com