An Overview of Ones Career Development and Action Plan - Assignment Example

Career Action Plan al Affiliation Career Action Plan Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 3 Graduate Attributes and Employability Skills 5 Marketability – Analysis 6 S.W.O.T Analysis 6 a. Reflective Summary – Current versus Ideal Situation 6 b. S.W.O.T. Analysis 6 Career Goals: Short and Long Term Goals 7 a.Short-Term Goals: 7 b.Long-Term Goals: 7 Steps to Success 8 Conclusion 9 References 9 Executive Summary The current discourse aims to present an overview of one’s career development and action plan. The narrative presentation would be structured according to the following major sections: an assessment of the current situation that would be introduced through the provision of an overview of one’s current career position. Concurrently, the introductory portion also integrates an analysis of my personal preferences, interests, skills, values and abilities. Likewise, a brief analysis of my graduate and employability skills would be expounded through a more in-depth discussion of the core competencies and strengths, as well as the skills that need to be improved. Furthermore, a marketability analysis would be provided based on a research of my marketable skills as contrasted with the attributes that one’s professional industry is looking for. The evaluation would include which attributes one possesses and which ones have to be worked on. Concurrently, the ideal situation would be detailed through conducting a S.W.O.T. analysis of one’s current and ideal situation. In addition, my short-term and long-term goals would also be presented in the process. Finally, the steps to success section would discuss the strategies which are to be designed to achieve the explicitly defined career goals. Introduction People pursue different careers to serve varied personal and professional goals. Some individuals are given the foresight to discern which specific profession to pursue. Others manifest genuine interests in specialized endeavors through possessing innate skills and talents of distinct crafts or fields of study. In my situation, I have envisioned working in a banking institution as part of the management team. To enable me to prepare for the profession, I am currently pursuing higher education with courses that would match job requirements in business, banking, and finance. Currently, I am not working since as an international student studying in Australia, I have to focus on my studies on a full-time basis. Likewise, I could not undertake any part-time job due to visa restrictions. So far, the only work experience previously undertaken were volunteer works; specifically during the holidays when volunteerism in community activities entail providing assistance for building houses for the poor and homeless citizens. Despite the lack of work experience, I have perceived that I possess skills and attributes that would prepare me for future employment. The endeavors undertaken in school, at home, as well as while undertaking volunteer programs enable me to gauge my strengths and weaknesses, as well as my graduate attributes and employability skills. In addition, the skills audit assessment generated confirmation of the strengths (or weaknesses) in areas such as organizing, social group, communication and linguistic, creative, cognitive, contingency, and self-managing. As such, I have manifested strengths in teamwork, working in a creative group, time management, delegating, and personal presentation. Concurrently, there are areas which need to be developed and improves such as: communication and linguistic; cognitive skills; contingency planning; networking, openness, and handling controversy; and finally, self-managing skills. I prefer working in an organization that serves various people from diverse walks of life. I am actually gregarious and genuinely interested in addressing concerns of other people. As such, a career in banking would match my personal and professional preferences. In addition, I value honesty and integrity. I also adhere to ethical, moral, and legal standards. Therefore, my strengths, preferences, values, and interests are deemed appropriate pre-requisites for a career in banking. Graduate Attributes and Employability Skills Seeing oneself as part of the management team in a banking institute would require work in improving important skills and attributes needed for the profession. These graduate and employability skills include effective communication, customer service skills, conflict-resolution, problem-solving, leadership skills, and decision-making skills (McShane & Von Glinow, 2015; Martires & Fule, 2004). I am aware that despite my manifested strengths in listening and proficiency in the universal language; there is the need to develop interrogative skills and interviewing skills (McShane & Von Glinow, 2015). These skills set would be most useful for managers in banks who interact directly with clients; especially in functions which include loan processing, recruitment and acquisition, as well as marketing and customer relations (Onut, Erdem, & Hosver, 2002). Another relevant employability skill in the ability to work on groups or in teams (McShane & Von Glinow, 2015). I have worked well through the previous volunteer works that have been undertaken. However, from the perspective of any employee, this skills still needs to be improved, specifically in terms of undergoing through the stages of group development (Martires & Fule, 2004). I would look forward to immersion in group work from the inception stage to the concluding stage where members get to know each other, exchange different communication patterns, delegate and assume roles and responsibilities, and work cohesively to achieve the group’s goals. Finally, I affirm the importance of developing leadership skills (Martires & Fule, 2004). Through learning various leadership theories, including motivational strategies, change and conflict management, as well as problem-solving and decision-making, I would be more confident in undertaking more challenging tasks, as required from a competitive environment. Marketability – Analysis Based on one’s research, the most required skills for graduates seeking employment in a banking profession are as follows: people skills, sales skills, and communication skills are highly categorized as crucial requirements (Commercial Banking: Skills & Talents, 2011). The following sets of skills are noted to be needed as medium requirement: analytical skills, ability to synthesize, creative ability, and initiative (Commercial Banking: Skills & Talents, 2011). From among the noted skills, I already possess strongly people skills and creative ability; yet need to develop communication and sales skills. Likewise, the rest of the medium skills requirements need to be further developed, especially in terms of analytical skills, ability to synthesize and initiative. I am confident that through completion of my formal education, as well as through pursuing leadership and development trainings, the identified skills requirements for banking graduates would be appropriately improved. S.W.O.T Analysis a. Reflective Summary – Current versus Ideal Situation From the skills that I currently possess, and the skills needed for the profession, it could be deduced that there is a gap in terms of addressing and linking theoretical frameworks learned to practical applications. The gap evidently exists due to my inability to actually experience working in an organizational setting. As such, the need to develop analytical skills, as well as ability to synthesize would be enhanced through actual work experiences relating to applying theories to real work situations. b. S.W.O.T. Analysis The current internal strengths include: strong people skills, creative ability, and time management. On the other hand, there were evident weaknesses in team building in the work setting, application of cognitive and analytical skills, as well as ability to synthesize assigned tasks from specific details to generalized reports. There are opportunities in terms of good prospects for employment in the banking industry (Department of Labor, 2014). As stipulated in the report, “employment of financial managers is projected to grow 9 percent from 2012 to 2022, about as fast as the average for all occupations… Candidates with a master’s degree or certification should enjoy the best job prospects” (Department of Labor, 2014, p. 1). Therefore, there are opportunities to pursue even higher education to obtain master’s degree to increase greater prospects for professional growth. On the other hand, due to increasing numbers of graduates sharing similar educational background, there are increasing threats of competition for employment in the banking sector. Career Goals: Short and Long Term Goals a. Short-Term Goals: I will complete all courses and modules which are specifically provided and stipulated in my educational program within the semester. To successfully achieve this goal, I will abide by completing of all academic requirements stipulated in the course syllabi and make advanced studies to be promoted to the next semester. b. Long-Term Goals: Given that there are greater opportunities for graduates with master’s degree, upon completion of my undergraduate program, I will seek immediate employment to apply what I have learned from the program and to bridge the gap identified in my S.W.O.T. analysis. Eventually, when I have saved enough resources after about two (2) years, I will pursue higher education to gain a master’s degree and increase my core competencies for higher professional growth. Steps to Success To achieve the defined short-term and long-term goals, I am developing the following strategies and courses of action, as itemized below: Using my time management skills, I will focus on competing academic requirements of current courses and subjects within the stipulated time frame. I will develop analytical skills and abilities to synthesize through engaging in evaluating academic discourses that require application of cognitive and analytical abilities. I will actively pursue reading academic journals and publications that focus on developing the skills that need to be improved: communication, sales skills, analytical skills, ability to synthesize, and initiative skills. I will be more cognizant of the stages of group development, especially when undertaking new volunteer activities. If and when time allows and restrictions from visa requirements are lifted, I will pursue internship jobs and part-time employment to be acquainted with actual working experiences in organizational settings. After graduation, I will send my resume and application for employment to various banks and financial institutions to increase my chances of employment. I will highlight my strengths and skills set which include: strong people skills, creative ability, and time management. Likewise, with a little work experience generated from the internship jobs and part-time employment, I will enhance these strengths with the skills and abilities that were improved, especially in communication, customer service, as well as applications of cognitive, analytical and skills in synthesizing tasks. I plan to learn more about gaining initiative through assuming a proactive stance in continuous learning about banking concerns and issues on a more global sphere. As soon as I have been employed in a banking or financial institution, I will participate in leadership training and development programs to further develop leadership skills, as well as other specialized skills needed in the organization. I will pursue higher education after two years of employment to increase my prospects for promotion and professional growth. Conclusion In retrospect, I have successfully achieved the objectives of the current discourse through presenting my current career plan. The current career position which integrated preferences, interests, values, and abilities were compared to the ideal position through appropriate research on the intended position in the banking industry. Thus, through a more thorough identification of the gap or divergence between my ‘current situation’ and ‘ideal situation’, I clearly identified short-term and long-term goals, as well as the strategies which would help be achieve these goals. Overall, I realized that my clearly identifying my strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats in the external environment, I would be able to clearly set my goals, both short-term and long term goals. Likewise, the exercise of goal setting significantly helped design the needed strategies that would ultimately enable me to fulfill my personal and professional goals in the future. References Commercial Banking: Skills & Talents. (2011). Retrieved December 12, 2014, from careers-in-finance.com: http://www.careers-in-finance.com/cbskill.htm Department of Labor. (2014, January 8). Financial Managers. Retrieved December 12, 2014, from Occupational Outlook Handbook: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/financial-managers.htm Martires, C., & Fule, G. (2004). Management of Human Behavior in Organization. Quezon City: National Book Store. McShane, S., & Von Glinow, M. (2015). Organizational Behavior. Retrieved November 22, 2014, from McGraw Hill Education: http://www.coursesmart.com/1259338932/firstsection#X2ludGVybmFsX0J2ZGVwRmxhc2hSZWFkZXI/eG1saWQ9MTI1OTMzODkzMi9paWk= Onut, S., Erdem, I., & Hosver, B. (2002). Customer Relationship Management in Banking Sector and A Model Design for Banking Performance Enhancement. Retrieved December 12, 2014, from necsi.edu: http://necsi.edu/events/iccs/2002/nap12_onutcrmiccs2002-2fixed.pdf Read More