Evaluating Employability Skills - Essay Example

Employability Skills Task CAREERS A Career is an occupational undertaking for a significant period of time of a persons life and with possibilities for progress. It describes an individuals progress through learning and work. Key skills to a successful career path includes the ability to ponder about ones current career, extensively research the labor industry, determine no matter whether education is critical, find availabilities, and make career changes. Career choice In line with Behling et al, the determination by somebody to join a good may be based upon any of the three elements namely objective, subjective and critical factors. The Objective factor theory assumes rational applicants. The choice is therefore exercised after an objective evaluation of real benefits of the job (Watkins et al, 2000). Factors affecting this may include the salary, location, other benefits, opportunities for career advancement and so on. The Subjective factor theory says that decision making is predetermined by social and psychological factors. The nature of the position, reputation in the organization employing as well as other similar variables affects the choice/. The Important contact theory suggests taking that approach that a candidates ordeals while engaging with the organization performs a crucial role with decision doing. For illustration, how the staff engage together, the work environment and identical factors are very important. This theory is even so more realistic with skilled professionals (Watkins et al, 2000). These theories means that candidates employ a free will to settle on employers and also careers. Actually, the scarcity of jobs opportunities and strong competition for certain required jobs rigorously skews the choice making procedure of the job seekers. A. My Career My career choice is accountancy. Those who engage in this versatile profession are referred to as accountants. As a profession, the job description includes but not limited to measurement, processing and communication of financial information about economic entities. This is achieved by the production of reports and accounts such as the statements of financial position and audit reports. Successful accountants can also be business advisors and/or consultants to provide additional value services (Watkins et al, 2000). Accountancy is a profession that cuts through all the sectors in the economy engaged in any form of business and commerce as it underpins any form of monetary transaction. This is because all financial transactions require to be accounted and reported. Accountants can opt to practice accountancy within independent accountancy firms in which case they will be more likely to be Chartered Accountant or work within an organization or business. In the latter case, they would become certified accountants. Accountancy work can be divided into two broad wings, Management and Financial accounting. The accounting that relates to compiling reports for use within organizations is called management accounting. It ideally deals with on-going financial information which is used by managers and remains confidential to them as its information that is a basis to strategic decisions made. Financial accounting on the other hand provides information to people outside the business entity. It provides information to present and potential shareholders, creditors such as banks, economists, financial advisors, and even government agencies. They use such information to guide on their current and future relations with the business entity. Accountancy and job satisfaction A career in accountancy can offer excellent job prospects and openings to self-improvement. Equipped with the right professional accountancy qualification, you could work your way right to the apex of an organization (Watkins et al, 2000). Accountants whose work is remarkably of high standards can quickly progress to positions of managerial responsibilities. The field of accountancy is also known to attract high salaries.  Far from being all about crunching numbers, a career in accountancy will engage an individual to use a wide range of skills including leadership skills, critical problem-solving, communication skills, and team-work. It is reported that many accountants associate much of their job satisfaction to their contact with people rather than accounts management. Accountancy is also the right choice if achieving a work-life balance is important to you. This is because Part-time roles and career breaks are possible. An accountant will not necessarily be needed to report to work on regular schedules, say daily due to the nature of their work. This off time could be used to engage in other economically viable activities hence additional earnings. Individuals that are enthusiastic about personal impacts on various topics could also achieve this. For example, an individual keen on the environment could do Environmental auditing which is a growth area in accountancy (Watkins et al, 2000). In this field, the individual will assist businesses understand and reduce their impact on the environment. For the accountant in the private sector or public practice, your work could lead to economic success and business growth for the entity you work for. The Succeeding Accountant For one to sustainably excel at accounting work, performance is a major call. Like any other career, the accounting profession should be built on a strong foundation of solid track record of good performance. Outstanding performance occurs when the performance supersedes everybody’s expectations (economist.com, 2010). The concentration here is your boss and all the other people that would be involved in decisions about your career. If you are an excellent performer, your results would sell you out to the right people and there would be no need to try justifying your work. There also is a need to create a good image of yourself in other people. Accountancy being a profession that exposes one to a wide range of clients, an accountant should seek to know what impressions people have of him/her (economist.com, 2010). One should try to be of value to those around them. A person could see to this by self-examination of questions as Do people hold me in high esteem? What can I do to make people have a good impressions of me? One should show competence in their work and strive to make good impressions of oneself upon other people, especially those that would participate when decisions are being made about your personal career. An accountant would also need exposure. This refers to the extent their professional being is known by those who matter in that field and in what dimension it’s known. One needs to ensure that their actions positively influences others for instance, when you are called upon to help out people outside your team or department, or in tasks outside your job description, you should be ready to engage out of will and with excellence(Watkins et al,2000). B. Professionalism and Skills Of most importance when seeking to be engaged in a specific career line is to do a self-evaluation by considering what skills and abilities you already have and the ones you don’t have or need to improve on. These are a valuable assets in your career development and growth and are very important. The kinds of skills you can possess are divided in three namely technical, transferable and personal. Technical skills are the specific specialized skills and knowledge required to execute duties in the line of your profession. This are also referred to as work skills. This are the skills we come to know of through attending classes and reading related course modules (Watkins et al, 2000). For example accounting in my case. Others are driving for professional drivers, landscaping for architects and so on. Each one of these skills comprises of specific skills an individual must be able to efficiently do in order to accomplish technical tasks. Transferable skills are those skills that are relevant on a wide range of tasks. They are a person’s greatest asset because they can be applied on several areas of work. These skills can be handy when one is trying to make a career change or a shift of focus within the same career. These include customer service, problem solving, and team work etc. Lastly, Personal skills are the individual qualities you have such as personality and work habits. These often tells more about who you are in person. They to a great extent support the technical skills in seeing you execute your mandate. These skills will often be used to fit you into the culture of the workplace. These skills include your leadership qualities, Honesty and reliability, Professionalism among others. Analysis: My present skills in relation to my career job requirements As an aspiring professional accountant, I did enroll for an accountancy course in a local institution. Having completed the beginners’ module, I have acquired a lot of accountancy knowledge. To be able to become competitive enough in my field I plan on completing the course so that I can fully immerse myself into the field. Like every other professional job, the accountancy job requires one to have good verbal and written communication skills. In this respect I have a perfect mastery of the English language. I can be able to eloquently express myself both in written and spoken English. This skills will enable me to communicate with my clients when am seeking some information or clarification about a point. The writing skills will also help me when am presenting my audit work after my accounting works in a way all the interested parties can easily understand(Watkins et al,2000). I do possess good social management skills. While being socially confident and persuasive as they negotiate with their clients, they must also be good at listening to others. As is a requirement to have good inter-personal skills, my social management skills will assist me in relating to other staff members and also non-staff (economist.com, 2010). This would be necessary in the day to day interactions and in the event of misunderstandings among us. Chartered accountants must be logical and able to extensively research as they prepare and audit accounts. As a person I find pleasure in reading both educative and social articles both print and online and learning new things. This goes in hand with the research requirement of my career job. They also need good questioning and advising skills when they provide consultancy services to clients. This will be made possible by my communication skills and ability to engage with people across various backgrounds; social, economic, and political and so on. References Previts, Gary J, & Barbara Dubis M. 1997. History of Accountancy in the United States: The Cultural Significance of Accounting. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press,. Law, B. & Watts, A.G. 1977. Schools, Careers and Community: a Study of Some Approaches to Careers Education in Schools. London: Church Information Office Watkins, Karen E., and Ronald M. Cervero. 2000. Organizations as contexts for learning: a case study in certified public accountancy. Journal of Workplace Learning 12, no. 5 : 187-194. The Economist, 2010. Working up the career ladder. [Online] (updated 4 Feb. 2010) Available at: [Accessed 5 Feb. 2010]. Read More