Career Management Skill - Target Job Advert, with Reasons for the Choice - Essay Example

?Target job advert, with reasons for choice John Lewis Partnership Vacancy Job tittle Manager - Food & Hotel Services Contract Temporary Closing 6 Jan 2013 Salary ?21,000 - ?30,000 per annum pro rata Business area John Lewis Partnership Section Food Services Hours of work Full time, 37.5 hours/week Duties & Responsibilities To lead the hotel’s catering operation ensuring high standards of menu choice, food & drink presentation and hygiene. To assist the Manager in the day to day management of the Hotel. To be fully conversant in the operations of the Hotel, it’s systems and procedures and that we operate within legal and Partnership requirements at all times. To optimise the reputation of the Hotel. To assist in the achievement of the financial control of the set budgets as agreed annually with the Manager. Job Requirements Relevant understanding and/or experience of 3/4 Star hotel Food & Beverage management. Hold or be willing to gain an Advance Food Hygiene certificate Hold or be willing to gain relevant First Aid qualifications. Computer literate Numerate and experience of menu costing. Good communication skills, both verbal and written. Experience of training others and creating/using simple training aids. Assist the Manager with the planning and implementation of ‘guest entertainment’ (recourse from https://atsv7.wcn.co.uk/search_engine/jobs.cgi?SID=amNvZGU9MTMwMjE5NSZ2dF90ZW1wbGF0ZT03ODMmb3duZXI9NTAzMjY5MCZvd25lcnR5cGU9ZmFpciZicmFuZF9pZD0wJnZhY3R5cGU9ODU4JnZhY194dHJhNTAzMjY5MC4xMV81MDMyNjkwPUZ1bGwgVGltZSZwb3N0aW5nX2NvZGU9MTI1JnJlcXNpZz0xMzU2NjM2MzczLTRjMzA1MGM1YmJjZTA0NmY1ZmVkZjUzMDQwYmMxZGJiYjEzMTBmYTQ=) Reasons Being a business management graduate, I am well aware of supply chain processes, interpreting financial reports and negotiating with suppliers to a make a viable decision. My secondary interest is in human resources and during my studies I learned both management and development functions of the field. I have intermediate knowledge of financial management with clear understanding of financial reports. My interest in this career is backed by the experience I had of a similar role at my partner’s restaurant, understanding of processes involved and admiration for the environment. CV Zong luo 32 Conduit Road, Sheffield, S10 1EW Mobile: 07420 668333. Email: nameistoolongtoplay@gmail.com Profile An intelligent and articulate management graduate who has a keen interest in analytical management with satisfactory knowledge of finance. Possesses a natural aptitude for building rapport with key stakeholders and a keen eye for attention to detail, coupled with the perseverance to seek effective solutions under challenging deadlines. Education 2011-2014 University of Sheffield BA (Hons) Business Management (2:1 expected) Main subjects: Accounting and Finance, Economics, Organization Behaviour, Marketing Management, Analysis for design making, Business Strategy 2010-2011 University of Sheffield, the International College Accounting (89%), Economics (85%), Social science (63%), Mathematics (91%) and Academic study (65%) Work Experience 3rd July 09 to 10th Jan 2010 Green Tea (Classical Theme Restaurant) Position: sales manager Responsibilities: increasing business results and customer satisfaction market analysis and forecasting, understand and grasp peer business status and collect business information responsible for developing new and existing clients managing marketing and promotional activities. 20th Feb 09 to 5th June 2009 Green Tea (Classical Theme Restaurant) Position: Purchasing Category Manager Responsibilities: institute supply strategy negotiations with the vendors implementing the Supply Chain strategy establish new vendors for components checking all contracts with the vendors creating the savings plan and working on execution establish budget for supplying components and controlling it. 30th Sept 08 to 10th Feb 2009 Financial Services Bureau (Local Government, China) Position: Temporary Clerk Responsibilities: Collaborate with team in providing tax and accounting information and support the department implement its financial policy Liaise with internal and external stakeholders, including lawyers, accountants and public officials overseeing and supervising financial report results. 20th Jan 2008 to 28th Aug 2009 Metro Park YALAN Hotel Position: Part-Time Casual Worker (Waiter) Responsibilities: serve the customers; seating, ordering and billing, receive the feedback, handle emergency matters. Skills Communication Through my experience I was able to develop strong written and verbal communication skills, communicating with hundreds customer everyday as a waiter, delivering financial reports to superiors as a clerk, managing and implementing the action plan on the meeting with subordinates as a managing partner. Furthermore I successfully overcame the language barrier and completed every assignment on my degree course including presentations, seminar programmes, and essays. Negotiation As a purchasing manager, I took part in negotiations and enhanced the relationship with suppliers using strategic alliance. I introduced a more efficient system for supply chain management; controlling unreasonable purchase of material by evaluating utilization and minimizing consumption. Information Technology I am well versed with Windows operating system, with intermediate level proficiency on Microsoft office suite including; Word, Excel and PowerPoint. I am a frequent user of internet. Languages English –good, Japanese – good, Native –Chinese References available upon request University of Sheffield Covering Letter Zong luo 32 Conduit Road, Sheffield, S10 1EW 28th December 2012 Personal Statement – Zong luo Manager - Food & Hotel Services, John Lewis Partnership Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to declare my interest in the available position of Manager - Food & Hotel Services at John Lewis Partnership, as advertised on your official website. I am in my second year at University of Sheffield, studying Business Management. I have a long-standing interest in food and hotel services and believe that I have the qualities and experience required to be a successful manager. Also, I wish to highlight what I can offer to the company through my passion and interest. From research, I found that food and hotel services of John Lewis Partnership is based on the unique consciousness and the intensive sourcing chain. I feel that food is enjoyed without boundaries and my passion for customer services and love for food can create a lasting relationship. I have already held a number of roles within the same field, and I am eager to learn more. While working as a waiter, I developed my interpersonal and communication skills. As a result of this enhanced awareness I can understand customer needs whether its taste or presentation. Moreover, I have gained management experience at Green Tea Restaurant with many achievements. I take pride for creating the savings plan and executing the Supply Chain strategy; establishing budget for supplying components and controlling it. This project made a 30% saving on earlier costs. In conclusion I think my personality and experience is a good match for your company, which is committed to balance the food and service with quality and cost. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss my application with you and look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely Zong luo Application Form questions 1. This organisation prides itself on having a diverse, committed and harmonious working environment. Provide evidence of your interpersonal awareness and explain how you relate to fellow students, work colleagues, friends and acquaintances. Answer Interpersonal awareness I was a part-time waiter in a hotel in China during my vacations. My job can be divided into three parts, seating, ordering and billing. I have an ambition of running my own restaurant one day with a passion for serving customers, managing other waiters and chefs. Providing the best service to customers and getting good reviews from them. Having a good relationship with my colleagues and a positive work environment enhanced my performance further. I can relate well to the customers and found out that building a good relationship with a customer is the key to success in this industry. Furthermore understanding the needs of the customers and responding in a humble way is also pivotal. There were many instances when I understood the nature of the customers and allocated them appropriate seats, offered them to select cheaper dishes when I assessed that customer is looking for cheaper alternates. 2. As a sales manager it is essential that you are able to negotiate effectively both with our clients and suppliers. Tell us about a situation (non-academic) which illustrates your use of this skill. Situation I was a purchasing category manager of Green Tea Restaurant. My role is price negotiations with the vendors, working according to the adopted Supply Chain strategy, establish budget and controls for minimising the cost and to make the company benefit maximization and effective. Firstly, I had made different strategy on market segment such as drink and vegetables. In terms of beer, there are many competitive companies, which are Carlsberg, Budweiser and Heineken. After having negotiations with them respectively, I made them aware that they are in a competitive environment and that they should offer their best price to me. During the negotiation, I listened to their viewpoints patiently to get as much information as possible and look for leveraging points. When they finished presentation, I would modify their offer or counter-offer with authority. At the same time, I compared the competitive advantage according to market analysis and got the best suitable offer from Budweiser among them. I used concession type attack and other strategies to negotiate the best possible price from the vendors. Finally, we got a relative low price to contract. Reflective Account As a person who has keen interest in providing customer services, with an admiration for various cuisines of the world. I would definitely want a career in food and hoteling industry. Within the selected industry my area of expertise leveraged by my education should secure me a mid-management position in supply chain. I have started strategizing my approach for securing above said position by conducting research in to the industry norms, valued skills and competencies. Furthermore I have shortlisted the list of employers that I want to work for. The inspiration for joining this sector comes from my past experience, where my work as a manager and a waiter were both appreciated by the customers and owners. I have learned some valuable lessons during this course; most importantly one should balance his/her inspirations with the education, find and build a career in the appropriate field of interest. It is extremely important for me that as a graduating student I should consider my career and chalk out short term and long term goals. These goals should be aligned with my area of interest and focus on specialization within a broader framework of the field. On the day of graduation I plan to secure a career based job in a middle management position with a major food chain or a multinational hotel. Being experienced in the field should not come in the way of my learning, this open mindedness is necessary for me and I consider it a valuable learning I acquired from this course. Building up on my previous experiences I shall learn the prevailing practices of the company and a broader goal is to achieve a management level position in the next 3 years followed by an executive position within 5 years of my employment. I also learned that during the initial period of my job I need to learn and adopt modern practices, hence I shall only prefer an employer that can provide me ample learning opportunities of varying domains of the industry. In preparing for my job I started learning about the industry from weekly magazines, hotel and travel / tourism websites; their features and authentic food offered to the customers. I also visited a few hotels and from casual conversations I learned that experience plays a vital role in securing a mid-management position. On probing further I was informed that references from the same industry are also important in making selection for a position. I have already obtained couple of reference contacts from my old colleagues and reference letter from my old employer. In addition to that I have tapped on my contacts; friends and family in the industry for referring me to a potential employer and a suitable job. My personal attributes fit a customer services job with primary interest in supply chain. I would very much like to pursue my career in the hotel or food industry because it would satisfy me as a person and create a healthy and mutually benefiting relationship between me and my employer. The proactive steps and a concrete plan for launch my career in the right direction would not have been possible without the learning provided in this course. Action Plan 1. Visit at least three hotels and three resturants in three months for learning recuirtment strategies and acquiring knowledge about the industry. 2. Identify and relate to at least five unique qualities that make me a great employee for a hotel or food chain by taking feedback from old collegues about myself in two weeks time. 3. Socialize and tap at least 10 people who already belong to the industry and drop my Cirrculum Vitae to them in one month. 4. Gather at least three positive reference letters and recommendatin letters from previous employers within 2 months. 5. Apply to atleast three similar positions in top notch hotels or food chains within one month and give at least one interview in each organization every month. 6. Summarize at least three strengths and three weaknesses that I possess. 7. Learn about my employer and about existing domains (customer services, kitchen, cooking, hospitality, booking, traveling, tourism, finance, supply chain and banquet) within six months. 8. Achieve a management position within three years by learning, effecintly managing and by exhibiting high performance. Additionally I shall agree my growth plans with my reporting authority within three months of my selection with real and achieveable targets. 9. Achieve an Executive position within five years by grooming self, learning to manage different domains, establishing string relationships within the industry, motivating and inspiring team. It is important that I learn leadership skills steadily and within a time frame of five years. Read More