Developing a Career Path and Networking Strategies

The assignment consists of a detailed reflection on a job opening that requires business analysis skills, customer experience skills, product life cycle management, and ambition. The writer demonstrates their own skills and strengths, such as interpersonal and communication skills, people skills, and public speaking. They also identify areas for improvement in leadership, project management, and planning skills. References to literature on career development, networking, and project management are included.

EMPLOYABILITY SKILL 2
Name
Date

LO1 and LO3
Know Your Sector
How Networking Can Help One Become More Commercially Aware
Commercial awareness refers to being updated on daily developments and happenings in the
business/ commercial world. My course and field of interest (Business management) is highly
dynamic and experiences change almost constantly. A career in management require making
critical decisions: with commercial awareness, one is likely to make the right decisions,
benefitting their employer, the society at large, and enhancing their professional growth (Lovells,
2018). Networking is one way an individual can achieve commercial awareness and remain on
top of their ‘game’; networking enables people exchange fresh ideas just by talking and
interacting. While continuing education and reading industry news gives one ideas, networking is
by far, in my opinion, the most effective way to stay up to date. Getting information from
networking events helps one get acquainted with new trends in the industry, new certifications,
growth areas (career), and new practices (Ward, 2017). One will be on top of events and trends
in the industry, especially when networking with people already established in the management
sector. One will get tons of advice, ideas, insights, trends, and information. All these will
enhance my commercial awareness and make me prepared with practical skills and knowledge in
the industry (Faulkner and Nierenberg, 2013).
I attended a networking event recently, where many leading industry players like Citi and PwC
were in attendance. At first I was apprehensive, meeting all these business executives and
successful career managers in their own right. However, I reviewed what I had learned in class
and in group discussions and was able to network effectively, employing ‘what works’ instead of
‘what is easy’ or ‘what is usually done’. I did my research beforehand on the kinds of people that
would be present and elected those whose work I liked or found interesting. Having some
knowledge about the people I wanted to contact and learn from was going to help in breaking the
ice and keep them interested in exchanging ideas and information with me. I used positive and
confident language; this was helped all the more because I had prior knowledge, beyond the
surface, about the person, having checked their professional profiles and searched for
information about them (Dexter and Wilson, 2017). I am a social person so interacting with

people, even seniors, was not an issue for me, all I did was maintain professional mannerisms
and did most of the listening, asking questions such as
‘Your article on productivity published on your blog was very interesting, would such ideas be
useful in a situation where I was in charge of a group whose productivity I felt was below par?’
From such questions, I started to develop a power contact list and promised to ‘keep the
conversation going’ by e-mailing them in a professional way.
Outcomes LO3: Knowing your Sector
My degree program includes various lesson areas and practical activities that will help me
acquire the necessary skills in a management career. The common skills needed for management
roles in the business/ corporate sector include leadership, management, interpersonal, analytical,
decision making, listening, team working, and communication skills. In addition, a reputable
personal character is another desirable skill for the job role. Practical and group activities in the
course will help me develop some of the required skills, including team working skills,
leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills. Tasks such as networking activities or
industry related practical assignments will help me further develop my communication and
interpersonal skills and learn a few practical ideas and trends in management (Corcoran, 2015).
Practical projects and assignments will help me develop analytical skills; a key requirement for
effective decision making in any management/ senior executive role. For example, a group
activity involving developing a business plan proposal will help me develop leadership skills,
analytical and research skills, interpersonal and communication skills, as well as management
skills. These will be on top of the theoretical lessons and readings undertaken throughout the
Degree Program. Activities such as simulations on management where people have to make
decisions and view the outcomes of the decisions made will further enhance my management,
decision making, and analytical skills. Such tasks mimic real life scenarios in management where
the skills will be applied in a real life situation (Harzing and Pinnnington, 2011).
Professional Qualification
After evaluating some of the available courses and professional qualifications, I feel that a
qualification in project Management will greatly enhance my skills and knowledge, improve my

chances for employability, and enable me be more productive as an employee. A curse such as
APM PMQ for PRINCE2 Practitioners and/ or PRINCE2 will be a very useful course for me.
Challenges in the business environment, increasing demands from shareholders, and pressure
form top decision makers to meet targets in revenue and business performance mean new
approaches to management are required. Due to these challenges, many organizations are
adopting the Project Oriented Organization model: these are organizations where considerable
activities and processes are undertaken in the form of projects and adopt the matrix
organizational structure in their organizational structures (Gemünden, Lehner and Kock, 2018).
Innovation, competitiveness, efficiency, customer satisfaction, and meeting business objectives
such as market share are important aspects in modern management in which project management
skills and the project oriented organization is likely to thrive. The course has been developed in
realization of the fact that de facto standards in project management, such as PRINCE2 have
some deficiencies that need to be addressed in a highly dynamic business environment. The
course places emphasis on what leads to real differences in successful project management;
including on the areas of leadership, strategic planning, communication skills, as well as
techniques for project management (Morris and Pinto, 2010). The modern manager or business
executive needs skills in effective planning, defining project scopes, strategy execution, handling
business and commercial issues, organization and governance, and dealing with people and
profession. I believe these are essential practical skills that added to my degree course, will
greatly enhance me as a person, professionally, and make me a highly competent and productive
leader.
Acquisition of Certification
The course is offered online; through self-paced distance learning that is flexible enough to
enable me juggle it with my degree Program. With internet, I will be able to learn the course and
attain the necessary qualifications while also undertaking my Degree Program. I believe I have
some areas where I need improvements, especially in strategy development and execution,
effective leadership, and planning: this course will equip me with the theoretical and practical
skills. Further, the course includes boot camps lasting a few days to a week where the practical
aspects are covered in face-to-face learning ('Focus on Training', 2018): I believe I can make the
necessary sacrifices to my free time and commit the necessary finances to complete the course.

LO1 and Lo4: Let them know you
The present job is Technical Business Analyst - Recommendations - Customer Experience
The tasks in the job involve the development of personalized customer experiences and will
entail extensive work with the organizations’ micro service architecture. The job requires
experience in business analysis (which I have done once before), working with teams using
technology (another area I am passionate about), handling projects related to customer
experiences, project life cycle management and activities starting with project initiation,
development, all the way to the realization of the products’ benefits and customer satisfaction.
The job requires high productivity and performance, being able to fit in their business
environment (interpersonal and communication skills), and ambition and hard work. I possess
these characteristics innately, hence the reason I find the job highly attractive. See Appendix I
for a full description of the job based on the advert.
I have developed my CV and Linked In profile to demonstrate my skills especially that I am a
hardworking, ambitious, fast learning individual that will bring creativity and energy to any
organization. The job requires business analysis skills, working with teams and technology,
customer experience skills, product life cycle management, and ambition. My Linked In profiles
and CV demonstrate these as some of my key skills and demonstrate that I will be up to this job,
especially given the challenging nature of the tasks and deliverables. I have stated my bias
towards project management and project delivery, aspects that will be required in undertaking
most of the job tasks for the job opening.
The module has been an eye opener for me; I have realized I possess strengths that I was not
aware of before, such as interpersonal and communications skills, people skills, and public
speaking. I am able to quickly apply theory to practice; this is also an aspect I have discovered I
possess while undertaking this module. I have also realized and demonstrated skills in analysis
and effective decision making. However, I realize that I need to do some work to improve on my
leadership, project management, and planning skills, especially on planning skills> this has
informed my decision to undertake a professional course in Project management as I believe, and
from networking and interaction, that the organization of the future is project oriented.

References
Corcoran, J. (2015). Networking Tips for College Students | The Art of Manliness. [online] The
Art of Manliness. Available at: https://www.artofmanliness.com/2015/02/04/networking-tips-for-
college-success-how-to-build-relationships-and-land-a-great-job-after-college/ [Accessed 22
Mar. 2018].
Dexter, B. and Wilson, M. (2017). Making Your Net Work: Mastering the Art and Science of
Career and Business Networking. New York: Net Worldling, p.Chapter 5.
Faulkner, M. and Nierenberg, A. (2013). Networking for Every College Student and Graduate:
Starting Your Career Off Right, Second Edition. London: Pearson.
'Focus On Training' (2018). APM PMQ for PRINCE2 Training Course. [online] Focus-on-
training.co.uk. Available at: https://www.focus-on-training.co.uk/apm-training/apm-pmq-for-
prince2-courses/ [Accessed 22 Mar. 2018].
Gemünden, H., Lehner, P. and Kock, A. (2018). The project-oriented organization and its
contribution to innovation. International Journal of Project Management, [online] 36(1), pp.147-
160. Available at: https://fardapaper.ir/mohavaha/uploads/2017/11/The-project-oriented-
organization-and-its-contribution-to-innovation.pdf [Accessed 22 Mar. 2018].
Harzing, A. and Pinnnington, A. (2011). International human resource management. Los
Angeles: Sage.
Lovells, H. (2018). How to develop your Commercial Awareness. [online] Brightnetwork.co.uk.
Available at: https://www.brightnetwork.co.uk/employer-advice/hogan-lovells/how-develop-
your-commercial-awareness/ [Accessed 22 Mar. 2018].
Morris, P. and Pinto, J. (2010). The Wiley Guide to Project Organization and Project
Management Competencies. Somerset: Wiley.
Ward, S. (2017). Why Business Networking is Essential for Success. [online] The Balance.
Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-business-networking-and-what-are-the-
benefits-2947183 [Accessed 22 Mar. 2018].

Appendices: Appendix I: Job Description