Reflective Piece: SWOT Analysis, Career Pathway, Progression Activities

This report provides a self-assessment of personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the marketing management industry. It also outlines a career pathway consisting of 6 levels and potential progression activities. Barriers to achieving goals are also discussed.

REFLECTIVE
PIECE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
SWOT ANALYSIS.....................................................................................................................3
CAREER PATHWAY.................................................................................................................5
PROGRESSION ACTIVITIES...................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
This report of “reflective piece” will include self assessment by analysing each personal
key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in detail. A structured career pathway of
marketing management consisting 6 dynamic integral levels will be also mentioned. Further,
report will cover potential progression activities highlighting the changes, skills and
improvements required for securing a job role in marketing management industry. A detailed
table (action plan) highlighting goals, strategies, resources and time required to achieve the goals
will be formed. At last barriers which can affect the achievement of goals set up, will be
discussed (Bradbury and Galloway, 2021).
MAIN BODY
SWOT ANALYSIS
It is the strategy wherein in one can analyse their Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and
Threat. It is the evaluation of an individual's self and assessment of an individual in detail under
the context of a specific situation. It distinguishes the Internal strengths and weakness with the
external opportunities and threats. The SWOT analysis usage is not only restricted to the
business but can be used to assess personal skills (Safonov and et al., 2021). It's a self evaluation
technique to identify my area of concern as a graduate student. I can work towards them for
better career opportunities after my graduation by avoiding tentative mistakes I may do. It will
provide me the window to analysis the things where I need to improve.
Strength
 Co-operative
 Adaptive
 Hard-working
 Positive skill Creativity
Weakness
 Time Management
 Clear career plan
 Quick decision maker
 Emotional Person
 Verbal Skill

Opportunity
 Family Support
 Understand buyer need Willingness to learn
Threat
 Low job opportunity
 Competition
 Family responsibility
 Technical Skill
 Strengths : In the personal SWOT Analysis, strengths are the abilities and qualities an
individual possesses. One of my biggest strengths is that i am a very co-operative person
and always eager to help others. I never get discouraged by failure in my life and
confident enough to handle any circumstances with a smile on my face. I also have the
strength to easily Creativity is my forte as I am known for thinking out of the box in
stressed situations. My positive attitude towards life has helped in achieving success in all
my academics and other activities. Having a good problem solving approach and the
ability to critically think will help in getting the job done in a better way at the work
place.
 Weaknesses : Here weakness represents the shortcomings of a person in performing a
particular job role. One of the weaknesses I am working towards is the lack of basic work
experience, as having no previous work experience can lead to a delay in developing
understanding of work in corporate environment in marketing industry. Few of the
weaknesses that I possess are lack of verbal communication in English language. I am
always in hurry and make quick decision whether it is personal or professional. Lack of
time management in my personal and study time have impacted my life. Another
weakness is that I still didn't figure out my clear career opportunities. Generally I am an
emotional person who can't see anyone in pain and inability to say no when people ask
for help.
 Opportunities : Opportunities are the chances and potential qualities that one can
acquire. As, marketing industry is booming it is evident that there are vast number of
opportunities under different departments. During my graduation time, I got opportunity
to meet people from different management field, so I have an understanding of how it
works. As the management field is continuously growing, I always use my research skill
to update myself. Willingness to learn new is my strength and my family is always their

to support me in all my ups and downs. Various marketing companies often conduct
many seminars and meet ups for the new entrants to have better understanding and
exposure of this sector, this is a great opportunity, as attending such seminars will
enhance the knowledge further and will add up to the curriculum vitae (Madieva, 2020).
 Threats : Threat is the risks and vulnerabilities which can negatively affect the work of
an individual. Threats which I see as a graduate student is the competition in the market.
There are so many job opportunities but looking for the right one is difficult for me. I
have a big family and so many are dependent on me as I am the elder in my family which
brings immense pressure. I lack in technical skill as still I am struggling to make college
presentation. Competition is also one of the most critical threats as there is high
competition in the marketing industry, many well qualified and experienced individuals
are already working in this industry and this makes even the survival difficult in long
term.
CAREER PATHWAY
Career pathway is a group of jobs under the career cluster which uses similar skills.
These career clusters consist of different pathways. Generally people start from the lower level
of career pathway and moving further gaining more expertise, experience and education they
move up in the career pathway. It also depicts various aspects like finance, responsibilities,
learnings, experience etc. of the industry. Career pathway in marketing management consist of 6
steps which are discussed below (Manno, 2021).
 Intern / entry level : As a recent college graduate, having no work experience in
marketing industry, joining this industry as an intern is a good entry strategy in short
term. On the other hand securing an entry level job is also a good career endeavour. The
task at this job level involves assisting with customer service, research, administrative
task, reporting to media planners and account executives. An entry level job in marketing
may not be glamorous but it is crucial in order to have the soft skills for the long term
development of the career (Johnson and Matthes, 2018).
 Executive level : Next step in the career pathway after entry level is executive. This level
can be understood as a deep learning opportunity in medium term. At this level a person
needs to build ground level for the understanding of operations in the marketing industry,
as a marketing executive various job roles can be assigned such as account executive,

social media executive, project executive, event marketing executive, digital marketing
executive etc. working on such job roles will enhance knowledge towards each segment
under marketing such as content, social media and digital etc.
 Advanced executive : After executive level comes advanced executive level. This level
helps in excelling each segment of marketing in order to decide in which area of
marketing an individual can contribute the most so that further pathway can be given
accordingly. This can be considered as medium level career prospect. An advanced
executive is also called senior executive, as in this job level they work towards the senior
aspects of the operations, conducting various clientele processes and forecasting potential
clients. The competence to perform given jobs at this level helps expand the career
further.
 Manager level : Role of marketing manager is a dream role for anybody in the marketing
industry in long term. Managerial jobs have inclination towards seniority in the industry
as this job has direct impact on operations of the company. A marketing company has
various managers under different departments such as brand manager, product manager,
sales manager, social media manager etc. At the managerial level mangers directly deal
with client one on one basis, knowing their expectations, requirements to build the
marketing strategy for their products or services is one of the major task associated with
this job role.
 Senior manager : The next strategic step in marketing career path is senior manager. A
senior marketing manager maintains establishes and evaluates various marketing
strategies for different marketing operations. This particular job role requires leadership
characteristics as senior marketing manager has to mastermind the execution of each
strategy and establishment of processes, while fostering employees growth. This
definitely is a long term growth prospect for a marketing graduate. Being a team player
and keeping employees motivated is also an important factor at this level. A booming
financial growth and strong visibility are the major features of this level (Tavabie, and
White, 2020).
 Partner/ vice president : president) at a marketing firm or company respectively comes
with a lot of responsibilities. This job role is a mix of technical, leadership and business
skills. Frequently representing the company or being a spokesperson and working across

various departments is expected of this job role. Aligning company's goals, strengthening
of its services & products, hiring for various important positions in the company is the
responsibilities of the company.
PROGRESSION ACTIVITIES
Progression activities is the act of moving ahead in your career. When a person starts
working in an industry, they have a pre conceived notion of the growth prospect in the industry.
There are many career progression activities as a marketing graduate. In order to work on One
of such important aspect required to excel in career is to have a work experience, it benefits in so
many ways that companies while hiring seek to have work experience in candidate's resume.
Another such important progression activity is to have knowledge of marketing departments, this
can be achieved through various certified courses. There are many online and offline certified
courses available such as e-commerce, digital marketing, social media, content marketing etc.
Improvement in some aspects on personal level like confidence, addressing people,
procrastination and communication, working on personal development is really important
(Donthu and et al., 2021).
GOALS STRATEGY RESOURCES TIME REQUIRED
Internship To acquire the work
experience, joining
internships programs
at various marketing
companies. Working
at marketing
companies will
provide in and out
knowledge of
marketing operations
which makes for an
edge. It will also help
to develop
interpersonal
relationships at the
Internship at
marketing companies
like ABACUS
marketing, The GOOD
MARKET, STREET
PR etc. Both online
and offline marketing
internship programs
are available.
2 months

workplace
(Marinchak, Forrest
and Hoanca, 2018).
Certified courses Certified courses
makes up for the KPIs
in the curriculum
vitae. Such courses in
digital marketing,
content marketing,
social media
marketinget6c. Are
available online.
These courses can be
enrolled on platforms
like UDEMY etc.
1 month
Attending meet-ups
and orientations
Attending seminars,
orientations,
counsellings, meet-ups
conducted by various
marketing companies.
Meeting people from
the same industry in
order to know the
operations and
working, As it boosts
competence and gives
an edge in performing
marketing related
tasks.
On company's
websites, information
of various upcoming
seminars, orientation
programs conducted
for new entrants are
updated.
7 days
Personal development Attending personality
development
programmes and
adapting such traits in
Such personality
development classes
are available both
online and offline
7 days

regular life. Personal
development is an
important aspect as
this helps people carry
themselves in a good
manner.
platforms like
UDEMY etc.
Understanding online
platforms.
For developing a
clarity of thoughts
towards online and
social marketing it is
important to know
various forms of
marketing platforms as
well like Facebook,
Instagram, linked in,
you tube etc.
Reading and
researching about
different platforms
online.
15 days
Further, let's discuss various barriers present in achieving goals set up for career progression.
Barriers are conditions and events either in a person or within the environment which makes
career progress difficult for an individual. Habit of procrastination really affects in achieving
goals set up as it delays the delivery task. Not having the ability to say no always burdens me up
with lots of work resulting into work pressure. Also, habit of spending too much time on
planning rather than execution also makes a huge negative impact on goals set up.
CONCLUSION
The above report comprehensively depicted the personal analysis by highlighting
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in order to know the current state of self for

entering in to the marketing management industry. Further, report mentioned career pathway of
marketing industry consisting 6 major steps ranging from entry level to a partner/ vice president.
And finally shaded light on the potential career progression activities required in order to have a
better career prospect, also mentioned various barriers in achieving goals set up for the career
progression.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
A. Safonov and et.al., 2021, July. E-Learning Application Effectiveness in Higher Education.
General Research Based on SWOT Analysis. In 2021 5th International Conference on
Education and Multimedia Technology (pp. 207-212).
Bradbury, T. and Galloway, C., 2021. SWOT analysis. In Encyclopedia of Sport Management
(pp. 480-482). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Donthu, N. and et.al., 2021. Journal of Marketing Education: A Retrospective Overview
Between 1979 and 2019. Journal of Marketing Education. 43(2). pp.139-158.
Johnson, J. S. and Matthes, J. M., 2018. Sales-to-marketing job transitions. Journal of
Marketing. 82(4). pp.32-48.
Madieva, S. R., 2020. SWOT ANALYSIS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF DEBATES IN
IMPROVING ORAL PROFICIENCY. Theoretical & Applied Science. (2). pp.185-188.
Manno, B. V., 2021. Backtalk: An opportunity framework for career pathway programs. Phi
Delta Kappan. 102(5). pp.68-68.
Marinchak, C. M., Forrest, E. and Hoanca, B., 2018. Artificial intelligence: Redefining
marketing management and the customer experience. International Journal of E-
Entrepreneurship and Innovation (IJEEI). 8(2). pp.14-24.
Tavabie, J. A. and White, P., 2020. Competency-based training for the non-clinical workforce–A
feasibility study, using a unique competency framework and career pathway. Education
for Primary Care. 31(3). pp.169-175.
<https://www.prmia.org/Public/Resources/Career_Center_Pages/Career_Progression.aspx>
<https://www.pushfar.com/article/career-progression/>
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