Software Development Project Management

The assignment delves into the responsibilities of software developers working at Altium. It highlights their involvement in developing and designing software using CAD tools, ensuring timely project delivery, collaborating with managers for resource allocation, and maintaining records of daily activities for reporting to supervisors. The context emphasizes the importance of teamwork, individual efficiency, and technical skills in this role.

Running head: PROFESSIONAL CAREER PRACTICE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Executive summary
In this report, an interview is conducted with Altium reported. The interview with one
senior-level and mid-level manager is conducted to understand the strategic and tactical
trends of the industry. The answers of the interview are listed and it has been depicted
the multiple ways by which the interview has increased my level of interest in the field of
software and management. The report also presents an action plan for my career.

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Table of Contents
1. Self assessment Summary.......................................................................................3
Introduction................................................................................................................... 3
DISCUSSION............................................................................................................... 3
MY CAREER AND ME EXERCISES........................................................................3
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES AND EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS....................................4
Highlights from my findings-......................................................................................5
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT..........................................................................6
2. Informational Interview Report..................................................................................9
Introduction................................................................................................................... 9
Discussion.................................................................................................................... 9
Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 12
3. Career planning reflections.....................................................................................13
Action Plan..................................................................................................................14
4. Copy of advertisement............................................................................................16
5. Selection Criteria.....................................................................................................17
6. Cover letter............................................................................................................. 23

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1. Self assessment Summary
Introduction
Self Reflection of career needs will help me to contemplate my strength and
weakness and will enable me to draw a career path for myself. There are many
exercises which are practiced by me to understand my skills. These exercises have
helped me to analyze the arenas of personal attributes where I am extremely good and
the areas where I should improve. Choosing a right career is very important for me. I
can choose a right career only by aligning my personal skill sets, attributes and areas of
interest with his career options. Choice of a wrong career can be detrimental for me as I
might feel stuck and unhappy with a bad career choice. Self-reflection of career needs
will not only help me to choose a right career option but will also help me to pave my
career path and foster my personal development (Bloch and Richmond 2015).
DISCUSSION
MY CAREER AND ME EXERCISES
1. The exercises are about certain questions related to Values and Skills,
Personal Branding, Networking, Performance and Long Term Planning. The exercises
are also about analyzing different Skill Sets. Self-Reflection exercise on career needs
involve asking me questions on my personal values and skills as personal core-beliefs
should be in alignment with career needs. Asking me questions like what are my core
values, how do I derive my sense of purpose, am I more intrinsically motivated by sense
of achievement or extrinsically motivated by external rewards like money, question on

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Personal Branding like if I will be able to market myself well and make a tailor-made CV
for my career needs, questions on Networking like am I utilizing all professional
networking options like online recruiters, head-hunters and career fairs will enable,
questions on Performance like how well I can exploit my opportunities at work ,question
on long term planning like do I have a professional development plan will enable be
understand my career needs. Also I should analyze my skills for my career needs. The
skills on self-assessment should include the ability to review my academic and research
skills, research environment skills, research management skills. Reviewing my key-
transferrable skills like personal effectiveness skills, communication skills, networking
and team working skills and career management skills will aid me on my self-
assessment of career needs. Most of the exercises are available on Human Resource
Books, Templates provided by professors and the internet. The exercises were really
useful as they helped me to analyze my skill sets on multiple arenas as well as I could
contemplate n my core values and personal branding which has enabled me to
understand my career needs better.
2. The surprising fact that I discovered while doing the assessment was that I could
discover my core values and was able to discover my subconscious beliefs that were
subdued for a long time.
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES AND EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
3. The things Identified about myself –Personal Attributes- My personal attributes
is that I am more intrinsically motivated by sense of self-fulfillment and achievement.
External motivating factors like financial rewards do not drive me to a large extent. I am
also self-reliant and I am willing to learn and improve myself continuously. I have

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demonstrated self-discipline, flexibility and openness, creativity and innovation on
multiple arenas during several activities undertaken during my internship and university
projects. I am able to develop and maintain good professional network with my peers
and superiors. I have demonstrated my good emotional intelligence on several
occasions during group projects and I was able to understand and interpret behaviors of
my team members and was able to give them feedback in an effective way. I also
demonstrated good listening skills. I am committed to my professional development and
I can set realistic goals for my career which I will be able to achieve. I have a good
balance of emotional intelligence as well as analytical skills. My core values is and
sense of my purposed is based on the principles of integrity and hard work. I constantly
try to upgrade my skills to survive in the professional front as well as I am a good team
player. I try to ensure that the overall objectives of my team are achieved (Spencer
Niles and Harris-Bowlsbey 2013).
Highlights from my findings-
MY STRENGTHS
I have discovered that I was good at time management. I was able to complete
all the research projects undertaken in the university and during my internship projects
within specific deadline. I also demonstrated my leadership skills by taking the lead role
during all group projects and I was able to co-ordinate with my team members well
during each project undertaken. I have discovered that I have good research skills; I am
able to analyze data and have demonstrated my critical ability on multiple tasks during
my internship project. I am also able to manage projects by demonstrating this by timely
and accurate submission of all my projects in the university. My research management

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skills also included by ability of using Information Systems for proper database
management and I was able to present information accurately. I also demonstrated
various skills related to discipline on research like my ability to contemplate different
research methodologies and my understanding of the law and ethics related to research
were appreciated during all my research proposals and projects submitted in the
university. I have also demonstrated ability to present my research both in written and
oral formats in front of audiences making use of audio-visual aids. The academic
communication skills were demonstrated by me on multiple occasions as I was able to
present my thesis and reports to audiences and press.
Employability Skills-I have several IT and Computer Skills. I am well versed with several
programming languages like C and Java; I also speak three foreign languages French,
German and Spanish. I am also able to work in teams by collaborating with each team
member and I can finish my projects within deadline.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
My professional development would require identification of my personal
weakness and challenges and the strategies to overcome them. I have found
challenges to work on multiple tasks at a time. I strive to achieve perfection and so I am
find it extremely challenging to multi-task. The global workplace is extremely challenging
and multi-tasking is the need of the hour. I would like to improve my multi-tasking skill
sets and in order to do so I would divide my project goals into several parts and would
like to work on all the two three parts simultaneously. I often find it difficult to work in a
multi-cultural environment and so I will try to overcome my personal stereotypes and
would not like to be biased and judgmental about any particular race, culture or religion.

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In order to increase my ability to work in a multi-cultural team I would like to
undertake student exchange programs. Student exchange programs will enable me to
study in a multi-cultural environment among students of various nationalities. This will
make me more familiar with the culture and history of different nations. Undertaking
student exchange programs will help me overcome my weakness as I will be able to
work in teams with people from different countries and will develop cultural tolerance.
Though I have good technical skills yet I would like to develop my skills further by
undertaking more courses on programming languages. I would also like to improve my
analytical skills more so that my skills are aligned with the rapid change of global
technology. I would like to learn managing data and analytical tools of data science.
Learning to manage and interpret data and enhancing my computer related skills will
enable me to survive in the competitive workplace. I need to constantly adapt my skills
to the changes in the work environment and undertake learning and self-improvement
as a continuous process.
Conclusion
From the exercise of self-reflection on career needs I have discovered a lot about
my personal attributes and skills. I could review myself on multiple skills like research
skills, communication skills and technical skills. I could discover my core values and my
primary source of motivation. This enabled me to discover my sense of purpose and I
could align my career goals with my inner values and principles. I was able to identify
my strengths. Identification of personal strengths is of paramount importance as my
strengths will increase my confidence level and will help me to market myself to the
outside world. To survive in this global environment team work is of extreme

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importance. I could contemplate that I have overall good emotional intelligence and
have demonstrated my ability to collaborate with my team members on multiple areas.
However I have discovered my weakness on certain arenas which needed immediate
attention and improvement. To improve my ability to work in a multi-cultural team, I plan
to undertake student exchange program and develop cultural tolerance. Also to succeed
in my professional development plans, I accepted the fact that learning and upgrading
skills is a continuous process.

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2. Informational Interview Report
Introduction
I am conducting an interview with Altium Limited- a pubic software company in
Australia. This interview will help me to understand the recent technological and
management trends in the software, electronics and global world. This interview will
help me in developing my networking skills and will also improve my communication
skills. The interview will be conducted with one person of mid-level management and
another person of senior level management in the Altium Limited organization. This will
help me to analyze both the strategic as well as the tactical goals of the organization.
The time place of the interview will be Sydney Australia and the time of the interview
was be afternoon 2 PM on August 28, 2017.I managed to get contacts of the mid-level
manager and director of the software department from my professional networking
circle. One of my close peers works in the organization. The role of the director is to
develop business strategies while the mid-level manager focuses on tactical plans. The
interview process took two hours.
Discussion
Questions asked to the Director, Mr. Alex
1) How do you think automation is going to affect the software industry?

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Answer- Automating including machine learning, big data and artificial intelligence are
examples of disruptive technologies. Artificial intelligence has made reading of
thousands of data and developing insights faster than humans. These insights are free
from biases and are more logical. Also automation is free from human errors like rest
breaks and bridge of concentration and can be extremely beneficial for the society as
productivity will increase exponentially. However, entry level workers constantly need to
elevate their skills as their jobs will be at risk due to automation of entry level jobs.
2) How silo-effect is minimized in Altium?
Answer- Silo effect is minimized in Altium by following a flexible organizational structure.
An open communication model is followed and silo effect in the organization is
minimized by ensuring cross-talent utilization and all the departments work together in
close collaboration.
Questions asked to the Manager, Mr. Perter.
1) How do you ensure that creativity and innovation is fostered within team members?
Answer- Creativity and innovation is fostered within team members in Altium by
enabling the team members to collaborate among each other. Team members are
encouraged to come up with innovative ideas and suggestion boxes are allotted to them
to acknowledge their innovative ideas. Brainstorming and activities like mind-mapping
are undertaken by team members to foster creativity and innovation in product
development.
2) How do you ensure that teams can sustain the rapid change of technology?

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Answer- Altium constantly focuses on market research to be well aware about the
change of technology and the organization ensures that all the employees receive
proper training and development programs to upgrade their skills and align them with
the changing environment.
Answer to Questions from the Study Guide
1) I was surprised by the information about automation. Automation poses serious
threats to the entry level jobs and it is of paramount importance to learn continuously
and upgrade the knowledge and skills so that jobs can be secured in the competitive
workplace. I was surprised to know that as a beginner I have to really focus on practical
implementation of the knowledge that I have gathered from the university. It will be
challenging for me if automation in the industry threatens my job. So I plan to develop
my software and analytical skills constantly to nullify the negative effects of automation
on y career path.
2) The interview has increased my interest in the field of software and management. I
understand that that innovation and creativity governs the software and management
industry. It is extremely important to be an excellent individual performer as well as a
good team player to sustain the competition at workplace. Creative thinking and
innovation is the need of the hour and I have planned to undertake more brainstorming
and out-of the box thinking exercises so that I can come up with new ideas at the
workplace. The information about open communication and low silo-effect has
motivated me as flexible work culture will enable me to work in a supportive

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environment with support from my managers and seniors. The open work culture will
reduce the formal and hierarchical setting at the workplace and will make work more
fun.
3) The skills and experience I have gathered during my internship and university
programs have enabled me to enhance my knowledge about project management and
software. The software skills include my vast knowledge about different programming
languages and the project management skills include my ability to deal with a project,
divide the project using tools into intermediate sub-projects and the ability to deliver
projects within deadline. I have good analytical skills and can derive meaningful insights
from big data. The data science skills will also suit my profession and enable me to
make the right career choice. As the software and management industry is affected by
rapid technological changes, I plan to upgrade my knowledge and skills on software and
data management continuously so that disruptive technologies do not threaten my job.
Conclusion
The interview with Altium organization has helped me to understand the trends of
the software and management industry. I got a chance to discover the strategic as well
as tactical goals of the organization. The interview has helped me to understand the
view points of both the senior and mid-level management. This interview has increased
my level of interest in the field of software and management and I am able to align my
technical skills and personal competencies with the software and management industry.
The interview has helped me to develop an action plan and has aided me in my career
planning. The interview has improved my communication skill and has given me
industry exposure. I had the opportunity to learn about global trends like automation and

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its effect on the software and management industry. Concepts of innovation and
creativity, open communication and flexible organization structure have increased my
awareness about the global work environment which no longer follows a rigid
hierarchical structure.
3. Career planning reflections
I always had the desire to learn new things; complicated tasks have always
interested me. I had always an inclination towards analytical tasks, and my ability to do
analytical skills. In my school days I was appreciated for my problem solving and critical
thinking skills. Time management, team work and leadership skill are among the other
qualities that I have.
From the very beginning I had desire to work in an IT sector, computers have
always been my interest area, that interest never faded and gave me a strong will and
determination to follow my dream I researched and started to accumulate information
related to various career options are open for any individual who wishes to work in IT
sector. In my school days, I took a lot of interest in computer classes and the different
programming languages. I started taking extra tutorials when I found that the classroom
knowledge was not sufficient for me. From the tutorials and extra classes that I have
undertaken I learned a lot of new things that are now beneficial for me in my studies and
will be beneficial for me in the future when I will be in to the professional career. Later
after my high school, I decided that I would take up software engineering as y career
option. That made me take up this particular course, throughout my course I have
secured good marks in all the subjects that I had to study in this particular course. I

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have planned that I will prepare myself for working as software developer in an IT firm. I
have gained adequate knowledge in various programming languages like, Visual Basic,
C, C++ and Java.
Action Plan
In order to reach my goal there are a number of activities that I need to take up. I
have decided that I will opt for a career option in software development. For that, I have
decided to complete my Bachelors in Software engineering, I am pursuing that course
now. After I complete my course and have the registration and certification, I have
decided that I will be pursuing a few short-term certificate courses to brush up my
knowledge of various programming languages that I have learned. Few tutorials will
also be taken up. I have decided to get assistance from a professional, or I will do
internship from a small IT organization so that I can learn other management and
professional skills that are required in this field. I will brush up my analytical and
mathematical skills by buying good books in this subject and focus on self study so that
I have a strong theoretical knowledge base.
I will research about the various organization that would provide me opportunity
tom learn and further grow in the organization and have a career that I have always
looked forward and have planned. Other skills that I have I will be developing those
skills so that I can be able to perform the tasks smoothly After completion of the
internship. I will apply for job in various IT firms, my dream is to work with Altium so my
first priority will be to prepare myself to be able to work in Altium as a Software

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developer. I will look for their recruitment advertisements and will apply once I think I am
fully prepared.
Altium Limited was initially known as Protel, is an Australia software company which
have been providing personal computer electronics and designed based softwares. The
company belongs to the EDA, printed circuit board, FPGA, Embedded systems. The
company was founded in 1985. The headquarters of the company is in Sydney
Australia. The products of the company include, Altium designer, Vault, CircuitStudio,
CircuitMaker, Tasking, Octpart and Ciiva.
For getting a job as a Software developer in Altium there are number of
educational qualification and skills that are required. The qualification required for
applying for the post of Software developer cum project manager includes a number of
skills apart from Bachelors degree in Information technology. The requirements are
given below in the statement of selection criteria.

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4. Copy of advertisement

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5. Selection Criteria
Statement addressing the criteria for selection of a Software developer cum project
manager in Altium
 A degree in Bachelors in computer science or software engineering
 Knowledge and experience in various programming languages like, C, C++,
JAVA, CAD and Auto CAD
 Research and analytical skills
 Accuracy and Attention towards details
 Decision making skill
 Independence
 Initiative
 Interpersonal
 Interpersonal/verbal skills
 Registration of a centrally accredited university
 Leadership
 Negotiation
 Organizational, planning, prioritizing, time management, ability to deliver projects
within deadlines
 Good computing skills
 Public speaking and problem solving skills
 Management skills
 Problem solving and critical thinking skills
 Team work

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 Good written communication skills.
The selection a candidate for the position of software developer depends on a number
of criteria, which includes educational qualification, professional qualification, additional
certifications and certain desired skills.
Educational qualification-
The candidate applying for the position of software developer needs to have minimum
Bachelors in computer science or software engineering or Information technology. Since
the software developers have to apply a number of mathematical and scientific
principles in their job of designing and developing software systems and applications.
The minimum qualification of Bachelors and in computer science or software
engineering is very important. They need to have an extensive knowledge of C, C++
JAVA and other higher level of languages.
Certification-
Apart from their bachelors’ degree they also need to have some additional certifications
so that they can join any firm and work in this area, they should have a professional
license that will make them eligible for being selected by any organization. They can
have certifications of short duration courses. They should have the knowledge of CAD
and AutoCAD because this knowledge is also required sometimes. Certifications of any
seminars or any workshops that they might have attended during their studies or after
their studies, this certifications will increase their chances of selection over other
candidates and also enhance their skills.

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Technical Skills required-
The candidates are required to have both knowledge and technical skills to perform the
tasks in software developing. They should be very skillful while performing the tasks in
time and with efficiency. They should have critical thinking abilities, critical thinking
abilities will be required for the complex tasks that they might come across while
performing tasks. They should have skills to manage projects and ensure their timely
delivery, it is always expected of a project manager to work in coordination with the
project team and the line managers, therefore they should have good communication
and team building skills as well. Experience- For any IT organization experience is a
desired criterion, they give chance to the fresher as well but experienced candidates
always have the advantage over the fresher because the experienced candidates are
more technically skillful and have more knowledge they can solve a number of system
related issues. Altium prefers candidates that have efficient researching skills. The
candidates are required to have sound knowledge of as many languages as possible
apart from C, C++, visual basic and Java. The candidates should have the ability and
efficiency to work with all the operating systems.
Desired skills-
Apart from the qualification and skills, there are number of skills that organizations in
general look in the candidates, these skills are, problem-solving skill, the candidate
should have the ability to solve difficult problems for that they need to have in-depth
knowledge of their subject. They should have the ability to work under pressure; they

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should not panic under pressure. Analytical skills, candidates are required to have
analytical skills, since this position requires many analytical tasks the candidates are
required to very good with their analytical abilities. Altium is a very big and the
organizational structure is very complex, that is the reason they prefer their candidates
with good management skills as well because they often have to work on large and and
complex projects that requires coordination of various department of the organization.
The management skills are very important for big organizations like Altium.
Job description
In Altium their jobs include,
 using programming languages to make new programs
expanding and updating existing programs
Test runs so that errors and bugs are found in the pilot run
Working with the software developers so that they can create good software solutions
Writing, designing and coding flow charts and models
 Use of Computer aided design or auto computer aided designs or computer
assistance software engineering to for automation for encoding
 Use of code libraries
 Redesigning of programs that can be appropriate for other platforms

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A software developer is also known as computer programmer, their task is to design,
installation, testing and maintenance of software systems. The programs created by the
software developers help the business to be more efficient and provide better services
to their customers. Almost all industries employ software developers, be it finance,
retail, engineering, transportation and public organizations. In Altium Software
Development project managers play a very pivotal role in a number of concurrent
projects that are required to be completed an delivered on time, the quality of the
projects should be very good. The person holding this post in Altium needs to flexible
and adjust the methodologies of software development project management so that
they can initiate, plan, implement and control and see that the projects are closed with
the desired results. They need to focus on the project rather than on the formality of the
closing procedure at the closure of the projects. They will have to develop projects of
medium and large ranges, they will have to cover a number of solutions that will not be
restricted to software development but will also include application integration and
process improvement. With the collaboration of VP of engineering, balance and control
R&D project pool, they will have to ensure the reality and communicate the tasks,
milestone dates, status and resource allocation to R&D team. They are required to
manage the delivery of development (beta) and releases of the production for the entire
Altium portforlio and see that the quality assurance standards are achieved by the
organization. They have to manage and coordinate projects with the third party
contractors. As a software developer project manager, they are responsible for building,
maintaining and evolving research and development process.
The tasks of a Software developer are (Job responsibilities)

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They have to review the current systems, present ideas for improvements in the system,
they also have to give their opinions regarding cost proposals, and they have to work
with the analysts, designers and other staffs of the organization. They have to produce
detailed specifications and have to write program codes. After developing the software,
it is their duty to test the product in a controlled situation also known as pilot test, before
the software is out for the sale for industrial purposes. They also prepare the training
manual or the user guide for the users, so that the users do not have any problem in
using or handling the software. It is their duty to maintain the systems once the software
starts running. The software developers sometimes have to manage software
development related projects. While working in Altium as software developer it would be
their duty to develop and design software with the help of computer aided designs, CAD
or Automated computer aided designs Auto CAD. They have to see that the projects
are timely delivered to the organizations. While working projects it will be their duty to
work with coordination with line managers for resource allocation. It will be their duty as
a project manger of any software development project to ensure that they keep records
of daily activities and furnish a report to their supervisors.

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6. Cover letter
First Name Family Name
Address……………
PH…………Email:……..
29 August 2017
Dear……….
Subject: Future IT work opportunities
The main reason for writing this letter is to express my interest in getting an opportunity
to work as a software developer in the IT department of your concern. I have completed
my a Bachelor in Information technology studies, I also have 10 years of self taught
experience that has increasing my knowledge in this field. I am looking forward for an
opportunity to work in your organization so that I can apply my knowledge and learn
new things while working in your organization. I have sufficient knowledge and expertise
in application of technology that is being used in the IT industry, specifically in the field
of networking, technical support and system administration. Open cablers registration
current to june 2015. Current first aid certificate with advanced CPR. Open C class
driver’s license.

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Altium has a huge IT infrastructure setup related to the daily operations of Software
development in the field of Information Technology. They are among the organizations
that provide the best software solutions. This will help me to learn a lot from your
organization. Working in such setup would provide me an opportunity for career growth
in the area of Information technology. The organization therefore needs to have efficient
employees who are highly skilled and qualified to support the team so that the systems
can be maintained and are repaired in time, so that if any problem arises it is solved
quickly and ensure that there is minimum downtime.
It is very important that the software developers work efficiently individually and within
the team in a fast and efficient manner. Since I have experience of self taught also I
have experience of six months without any support. I have been a member in army
cadet corps for 5 years, it has taught me to work in coordination with other team
members when a person is working in a team. I have good managerial skills, problem
solving and analytical skills that will help me to manage the other aspects of the tasks
and coordinate with the team members.
I have knowledge of number of programming languages that will help me to work
efficiently in the IT department. The skills that I have will be utilized from any desktop
and server support to networking. This skills will also be beneficial for me in
maintenance of the infrastructures of the network and the telecommunication systems.
The registration of the open cablers will help me in installation of new network and
phone points when there is any requirement for repairing any communication port and
that immediately requires repair.

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Thankyou for giving your precious time in consideration this application. I will be
prepared for interview at your convenience. I will also be able to start working
immediately I am offered the opportunity to work in your concern.
Sincerely
…………

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References
Bloch, D.P. and Richmond, L., 2015. Connections between spirit and work in career
development: New approaches and practical perspectives. Routledge.
Spencer G.. Niles and Harris-Bowlsbey, J., 2013. Career development interventions in
the 21st century. Pearson.