Career Development - Essay Example

Career Development Table of Contents Career Development 1 Table of Contents 2 Introducing the Interviewee 3 The interviewee is my brother and he is 30 years old and his current career is customer service banker. In the following essay, I am going to report the findings of my interview with him. I am going to write a detailed description and analysis of his career in addition to analyze the career using my own knowledge of career theory. The interviewee was extremely cooperative and a kind person. I appreciate his effort with me and the time he gave to me. 3 History of the interviewee 3 References 10 Introducing the Interviewee The interviewee is my brother and he is 30 years old and his current career is customer service banker. In the following essay, I am going to report the findings of my interview with him. I am going to write a detailed description and analysis of his career in addition to analyze the career using my own knowledge of career theory. The interviewee was extremely cooperative and a kind person. I appreciate his effort with me and the time he gave to me. History of the interviewee John Mark is 30 years old and his current career is customer service banker. He comes from a family of five people. From his childhood, he was considered a bright child because of his performance at school and also how he related with his friends while playing. His dream was to study business because he loved helping his mother run their small shop. He did well in his academics and graduated in 1995 from high school. His mother encouraged him to study what he liked and this was very motivational to John. Before joining the university, he worked at his local bank as an assistant teller where he developed and built his skills in banking. He then studied business at the University of Alabama and passed. In 2000 he graduated and joined a local bank as a sales representative. He then pursued his Master in Edith Cowan University in Australia and majored in customer service banker. After his graduation in 2002, he moved to the United Kingdom to work in National Bank as the department head of customer service until now. This being his dream career, his responsibility is to ensure that clients of the company get sufficient level of service or assistance with their concerns and questions. These clients may be individual clients or different organizations, and the disposition of their service requirements can differ considerably. Job description Every customer service banker interacts with clients to give information in reaction to inquiries concerning services or products and to manage and resolve various complaints (Chartered Institute of Bankers, 1997). John Mark’s job entails communication with clients through a range of means by e-mail, telephone, customary mail correspondence, fax, or face to face. A number of customer service bankers handle general complaints and questions, while others focus in a specific area. A lot of client inquiries entail routine requests and questions. For instance, as part of John Mark’s responsibility, he might be asked to provide a client with their balance of credit card, or to confirm the status of a placed order. Getting the answers to questions like these normally need basically looking up data on the computer. Other inquiries are more involved, and might need extra research or further clarification on the part of the customer service banker. In handling complaints of the clients, John Mark needs to try to resolve the issue based on the guidelines recognized by the bank. These processes might entail asking questions in order to establish the soundness of a complaint; providing possible answers and solutions; or offering clients with exchanges, refunds, or various offers like coupons or discounts. In a number of situations, the task of the customer service banker entails follow up with a personal client until an issue is settled or an answer to a question is found. Customer service banker helps clients decide the on what kinds of services or products would best fit their requirements (JobBank USA, 1995). As a customer service banker, John Mark also helps clients in completing transactions or purchases. Even though the fundamental responsibility of customer service banker is not sales, a number of them may spend a portion of their time with clients encouraging and persuading them to buy extra services or products (JobBank USA, 1995). His role is also to make updates or changes to the profile of a client or account information. Customer service bankers are required to maintain records of transactions and renew and keep information databases. Customer service is an essential aspect of the current aspect of corporate climate (Jackson, 2011). Defining the concept of Career According to the interviewee, a career is a consequence of lifelong experiences that are work-related and personal learning. This is because career is an ongoing occurrence in which a person learns various things concerning personal and work-related experience. Considering the published definitions of career like Arthur’s which says that “career evolves a sequence of a person’s work experiences over time”. This implies that a career grows following a person’s achievements in the work they do during various stages. For instance, getting an official knowledge about the developing career so personal satisfaction. Through this, the growth and development of a career hence requires quite duration of time for it to be fully nurtured. This can be linked with Hall and Mirvi’s definition which states that “career is a lifelong learning”. Actually this is true because according to John Mark, a career requires a basic profession in which a person selects and is trained on for a couple of years prior to succeeding in that career. Guidance when choosing a career is very essential because it enables a person to have a clear picture of what they want to be in future. Identify both the objective and the subjective aspects of the career A career entails both objective and subjective aspects. For instance, the interviewee’s objective of his career is to be recognized as a person who made a constructive difference in people’s lives and within the organizations associated with him. Since objective aspect is linked with external factors, John Mark associates his objective aspect of career with status and payment. This is because people view his job in the bank sector as someone who is very wealthy and thus tag him a great status within the society. His other objective aspect is the rank in hierarchy. Being the head of department, the interviewee states he was required to work hard in order to obtain this recognition, therefore putting forth the required effort was very fundamental. To achieve this, he approached everything he did with a positive mind-set, a lot of enthusiasm, and a needed to make the intended difference. The subjective aspect of the interviewee is to balance his career life with family life. This is because family is his best source of strength and he is pleased with where he is since he considers his career a success because his dreams have been accomplished. The forms of career can be seen in the career of the interviewee There are various forms of career and this includes portfolio, entrepreneurial, bureaucratic and professional (Sukiennik, et al. 2007). The one that is seen in the career of the interviewee is bureaucratic form of career. This type of career entails stability and orderliness. John Mark has been working in the banking industry for a couple of years and this implies stability of his career. There is an upward movement illustrated by career progression. Since John Mark has been working in the banking industry, he has progressively climbed the ladder of hierarchy because of his proficiency and expertise. Being the head of department, he is able to demonstrate his skills of leadership and knowledge of customer service banker efficiently so as to be a role model to others. Factors as helped and hindered the career development of the interviewee According to the interviewee, there are various factors that have helped while others have hindered his career development. A factor that has hindered his career development is relocating to various locations in which some geographical settings are not very friendly have made the interviewee not to like his career to some extent. On the other hand, a factor that has helped the interviewee’s career development is attending mentoring programs and career planning workshops regarding career development. Mentorship plays a very significant role towards career development. Through attending this mentoring workshops, John Mark was able to analyze which areas his strengths and weaknesses regarding his growth on his customer service banker career through which he was able to work towards growing himself career wise. The factors mostly influenced their career choices There are various factors that influence a person’s choice of career like interests and fantasies (Clifton, et al. 2006). For instance, the interviewee was influenced by childhood fantasies. According to him, he wanted to work in the banking industry and basically work in a setting where he could interact with various people. Another factor is the interest he had on banking sector that greatly reflected his personality. John Mark’s constant assistance at his mother’s shop greatly influenced his desire to do business. Getting support from his mother greatly inspired him because he was able to learn about money transactions and dealing with various customers in a friendly manner. Academically, he was inspired by a close family friend who pursued a business course and encouraged him to study it. Through mentorship from his friend, he was able to develop deep interest towards a business career because he was able to assist him choose the required field in business. Develop a metaphor to describe this career and explain how it fits the career of the interviewee Metaphor is omnipresent in daily life, not only in language but also in action and thought (El-Sawad, 2005). One of the career metaphors is spatial. This involves hierarchies, vertical mobility, career ladders and pyramids. This career metaphor best suits the interviewee’s career form which is bureaucratic because it entails an upward movement in the hierarchies and this is the case in spatial form of career metaphor. Additionally, career metaphor for customer service banker can also be illustrated as painting. This is because it entails application of creativity to plan, craft, and make the ideal career come true. This is seen from the interviewee’s path of career development where his career was an art-form itself, just like a sculpture or painting and he was able to create his career from childhood. In the process of crafting a career, John Mark was able to remove any obstacle or unwanted substance and attain his desired piece of work which is his customer service banker career. Reflection on what I have learned from the chosen individual Career is the sequence and range of occupations whether paid or unpaid, which a person undertakes all through a lifetime. Broadly, career entails leisure activities, learning, life roles and work. Career can also be defined as a lifelong conduit for a person’s economic search. This is because one gets a career in order to be remunerated. It can be defined as a lifelong guide for the constant recognition of the self. Relating to my chosen individual, I have learned some things that will be useful as I develop my own career. For starters I have learned that career requires a training period of a chosen profession and this calls for patience since one cannot get a career at once. I have also learned that careers require objective and subjective aspects to act as guidelines. Through this, I am able to know the external factors like status of my career and internal factors like how I feel about my career, that is if I am satisfied with it or not. Skills and capabilities can influence one’s choice of career because a person may want to do something that he or she enjoys and suits their personality, just like John Mark enjoys career because he has built and developed his skills to acquire it. I also learned that choosing and working hard towards achieving a desired career entails discipline and hard work because only then is one able to figure out what they want and what they don’t want. References Chartered Institute of Bankers. (1997). Customer services: Marketing and the competitive environment. London: CIB. Clifton, D. O., Anderson, E., & Schreiner, L. A. (2006). StrengthsQuest: Discover and develop your strengths in academics, career, and beyond. Washington, D.C: Gallup Organization. El-Sawad, A. (2005). Becoming a ‘lifer’? Unlocking career through metaphor. Journal of Occupational and Organization Psychology, Vol. 78, pp 23-41. Jackson, G. (2011). Job Analysis for Customer Service Supervisor. Retrieved on 27 May, 2012, from http://www.ehow.com/about_6384269_job-analysis-customer-service- supervisor.html customer service is an essential aspect of the current aspect of corporate climate. JobBank USA. (1995). Job Descriptions, definitions Roles, Responsibility: Customer Service Representatives. Retrieved on 27 May, 2012, from http://www.jobbankusa.com/career_employment/customer_service_representatives/job_d escriptions_definitions_roles_responsibility.html Sukiennik, D., Bendat, W., & Raufman, L. (2007). The career fitness program: Exercising your options. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Read More