Advancing Career Development - Assignment Example

Advancing Career Development An Introduction Even though I am a third year undergraduate at one of UK Universities, I already have developed some career aspirations. My major is Business Administration, and that is why I want to develop my future career in this specific field. The more knowledge I gain at the University, the more difficult it is to formulate clear career aspirations, as there many different aspects to consider. However, I have gained some work experience in the international company, and thus, gained some practical knowledge. Due to my internship I have developed/improved such skills as time management, communication, and team work collaboration. Also I have gained better understanding of the corporate culture, management, marketing, and data management. I believe that these skills and knowledge might be quite attractive for my potential employer(s), as these specific skills are often listed in vacancies posted. I would like to develop my career in an international company, operating around the world. As an international student I am used to communicate with diverse people and I really enjoy it. I perfectly understand that I am quite “green” specialist, I am continuously looking for new opportunities and I am eager to learn. In my opinion, flexible adaptive mind is another important attribute valuable in Multinational corporations. 2. An analytical record of the six lectures on the module given by industry speakers. Lecture 1 Date of Lecture: October 1, 2014 The employer involved: Michelle Butterworth The lecture has provided me with an insight of the whole module. This guidance has improved my understanding of the learning process and made it easier for me to acquire new information. I really enjoyed this first lecture as it was not some general theory from the textbook but it was a practical knowledge. It was partially psychological session as many issues concerned student’s personality, rather than some abstract people. Lecture 2 Date of Lecture: October 15, 2014 The employer involved: Fastenal International and IEMS It was one of the most exciting lectures for me, as the lecturer presented a successful global company, discussed recruitment strategy implemented in Fastenal International, and shared some useful information regarding the opportunities available within the company. As I am international student I enjoy being in multicultural environment, and therefore, I would like to work in an international organization with global network. The lecturer has intensified my desire to work in a global company as my knowledge of Chinese and English might be a great advantage, especially taking into account increasing role and power of China in international trade. Lecture 3 Date of Lecture: October 29, 2014 The employer involved: Jaguar Land Rover and Institute of Applied Entrepreneurship This lecture was like case study, where the main task was to apply analytical skills and business knowledge to Jaguar Land Rover Company. The author of the presentation has made a particular focus on commercial awareness and acumen, which I also believe is a must for surviving in today’s highly competitive international markets. Another lecturer from the Institute of Applied Entrepreneurship was even more exciting as I have some business ideas and would like to start my own business one day. Lecture 4 Date of Lecture: November 12, 2014 The employer involved: Severn Trent Water and Zulf Khan The lecture was devoted to the social networking platforms and its use for career development purposes. While I was aware about increasing influence and importance of the social networking channels, I did not put many efforts to use this resource for developing my professional network and for job searching purposes. Therefore, the lecturers have offered some interesting ideas for posting my CV online and searching for new professional contacts. I believe that it was very informative and useful session for me and other undergraduate students. Lecture 5 Date of Lecture: November 26, 2014 The employer involved: Enterprise Rent a Car This lecture was very interesting and helpful as the speaker has explained graduate recruitment and selection process step by step. There were given many good tips of how to perform well at assessment centres and what mistakes to avoid. Moreover, detailed overview and analysis of the things which we should expect during the assessment test have helped me to prepare myself much better. Namely, I focused on the preparation for behavioral interviews, which I believe was not one of my strongest skills. Lecture 6 Date of Lecture: December10, 2014 The employer involved: Neil Pyper and Michelle Butterworth The final session was a summary of the whole model and key milestones. It was a good motivator to move forward and put efforts in order to succeed in this module. No artifact should be missing was the main thing I have remembered. It was especially helpful and useful to know about the employment fairs, such as the one planned for February, 2015. It should be very interesting to visit such an event and to meet with both local and national employers. 3. A screenshot(s) of your professional networking page. Plus a discussion explaining how you personally have used the network in your graduate job hunting and its potential to help you in the future Professional networking pages such as LinkdIn are very helpful for developing professional networks and contacts databases well as for searching for job opportunities. First of all, with a help of my LinkedIn page I have gained the information on where all my friends, colleagues, and other students/alumni work. This information has helped me to understand the opportunities and prospects of what companies I might target for my job search. Also, I have understood better what qualifications and requirements specific companies have to potential job applicants. As far as I know there are also some other opportunities on the LinkedIn, which I could use in future job search. One of such opportunities is use of associations, such as College Alumni Association. The students with whom I am studying now and other graduates should join the association for growing a professional network. Potential employees can be alumni of our University and might have specific interest in hiring graduates from this institution. Secondly, LinkdIn is a perfect tool or instrument for communicating with potential employers as they have access to my personal and professional information, they can easily find my profile due to keywords option, and view my profile without interacting with me directly. Based on the information I posted they make a decision whether to contact me for further interview. When I have created and updated some information, I have got some inquiries from potential employers. In future I am going to improve my profile and add more information related to my experience, education, training, skills, resume and other qualifications and credentials. I understand that the information, presentation, photos and other relevant information plays a critical for my job search activity on LinkedIn. I strongly believe that my passive presence on LinkdIn also might help me to find a good job in future. Thirdly, LinkdIn is a very good source for monitoring the news and announcements of the companies, which I am specifically interested in. Thus, I have created a list of international and global companies where I would like to work or to have internship program, and began to follow their corporate pages via LinkedIn. Thus, I am always aware about updates, announcements, corporate news, etc. This helps me to know and learn more about the company (my potential employer), and therefore, it increases my chances for successful interview. LinkedIn is also a superior place for active job search. With a help of Jobs section by entering a keyword it is possible to find a job title, company name, location, etc. For more specific inquiries I can also use the Advanced Search function. 4. An analysis of your employment strengths and weaknesses that you might describe during a graduate job interview It might be quite challenging to evaluate yourself and decide objectively what your employment strengths and weaknesses are. In my opinion I have some significant strengths which might really help me in future during my graduate job interview. I believe that my preparedness and understanding of the assessment and recruitment processes is very important and helpful. My education in Business Administration also is a good evidence of my knowledge and expertise. Due to my internship in one of the international companies, I might claim that I have already gained some work experience in management. One months of internship has helped me to polish such vital skills as team working, communication, time management and project’s coordination. These transferable skills are definitely my strengths, which are highly valued on the market. I also have some technical knowledge within software and it also might help me in my future career. Some other strengths are referred to my personal characteristics, namely, ability to work in tight schedules ad under pressure, self-discipline, hard working, optimism and willingness to learn. As I am Chinese by nationality studying in the UK, I have experience of being in multi-cultural environment and I should say that I really enjoy this opportunity. Therefore, I assume that I also am capable to work in international/global company where cultural diversity is an integral part of the organization. This capability proved to be very helpful at personal level as well, as I have got many helpful acquaintances and professional contacts. However, there are also some employment weaknesses, which I should work on in order to convert into my strengths. As of today, one of my major weaknesses lack of work experience. While I have gained some experience already, I feel that it is not enough yet in order to make me a brilliant applicant. I have to move through the career ladder in order to get promoted to the manager’s position. I believe that lack of work experience is often associated with lack of specific job knowledge and therefore the employer might consider other more experienced applicants. I also believe that I have some weak skills. One of the major weaknesses is lack of leadership. As a Chinese by nationality, leadership skills is not as essential and natural as it is at the West. Therefore, I should focus more on developing my leadership skill which is crucial for a good manager. Indecisiveness is another personal weakness that I have and I am eager to work hard in order to become very decisive person. I refer this weakness to both my relatively young age and cultural aspect. Sometimes I experience shyness, especially during the interview. This makes me feel not as open and communicative as I am. I guess that I should attend more interviews in order to get rid of this weakness. One more weakness is referred to my weak job-hunting skills. I believe that the lecturers provided me with practical knowledge and useful information and now I have to utilize it at full extent in order to make job-hunting skills one of my strengths. 5. An action plan stating how you intend to engage with the department’s Employability Personal Tutor in the next semester after the completion of the module. What you are going to do When you are going to do it Expected Outcome To develop personal skills such as: Leadership skills Decisiveness Date To become a good leader and demonstrate this skill at University and working environment To become more decisive person capable to make independent decisions To improve my job hunting and interview skills & To use the knowledge and tips gained during the module and to utilize social networking platforms for job hunting purposes Date To feel confident and to be competent during the job interviews To find a good part time job during my study, or to get a great job in an international company after the University graduation To visit employment fair -Square one in the Hub February 11th, 2015 To contact potential national and international companies for my employment and investigate more about employment opportunities and prospects Read More