MG410 - Career Action Plan and Self-Reflection Report: Travel Sales

This report presents a comprehensive career action plan and self-reflection for a student aiming to become a Travel Sales Consultant. It begins with an introduction highlighting the importance of career planning and the student's interest in the travel industry. A personal SWOT analysis is conducted to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats relevant to the chosen career path. The report details a career action plan, outlining necessary steps such as completing a diploma in Travel and Tourism, acquiring relevant skills in customer service, communication, and sales, and setting both short-term and long-term career goals. The student also includes a LinkedIn profile and Curriculum Vitae (CV) as appendices. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the importance of continuous self-assessment and development to achieve career objectives in the travel industry. The report also makes references to various academic sources to support the analysis.

CW2 – CAREER ACTION PLAN AND SELF - REFLECTION
CW2 - Career Action Plan and Self – Reflection
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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CW2 – CAREER ACTION PLAN AND SELF - REFLECTION
Table of Contents
Introduction -...................................................................................................................................2
Discussion -.....................................................................................................................................2
Personal SWOT Analysis -..........................................................................................................2
Career Action Plan -....................................................................................................................4
LinkedIn Profile -........................................................................................................................6
Curriculum Vitae (CV) -..............................................................................................................6
Conclusion -.....................................................................................................................................6
Reference List –...............................................................................................................................7
Appendices......................................................................................................................................9
Appendix A -...............................................................................................................................9
Appendix B................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction -
Career planning is extremely important for students’ who are about to graduate in a year
as well as for the ones who just graduated (Bezjak 2019). The report will highlight my future
career plan along with various skills and knowledge along with the area of expertise which is
essential for me to be able to succeed as a Travel Sales Consultant. I believe that it is extremely
important for each and every individual to select a career path in which they have an interest and
then subsequently develop as well as grow their skills in the particular field in order to perform
effectively and efficiently. In addition to this, I also opine that career planning gives the much
needed path or direction and it also makes an individual about their individual strengths as well
as weaknesses along with the knowledge which will be needed to achieve the goals. As per the
CW1, this report will provide my individual details in respect of my career that is, Travel Sales
Consultant and as to how I plan to nourish my skill sets in the near future (Abel, Deitz and Su
2014). The sole reason of having opted for this particular career path is that, I believe, there
exists a lot of opportunity in the travel sector and I think I will get to experience and understand
a variety of cultures and their cuisines and most importantly, I will get to travel across the globe.
Thus, I plan to enter this field as a Sales Consultant and then gradually settle for a better job
profile in the near future.
Discussion -
Personal SWOT Analysis -
According to me, the job role of a Travel Sales Consultant is simply more than just
booking the trips for people and then formulating the itineraries. It requires a lot more effort as
well as patience (Evans and Campbell 2012). I think that a Travel Sales Consultant also has to

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look after other areas of travel and sales such as, tours and excursions along with some travel
emergencies that might occur at any given point of time. In addition to this, the data of travel and
tourism has significantly increased in the last of couple of years (Robinson, Fallon & Cameron
2016). It can be noted that a lot of the populace have started to travel and explore different
countries perhaps due to work or just for leisure or maybe even educational purposes or for
medical aid. On the basis of all these, I think that I am still an amateur or a beginner when it
comes to perform the designated job role as I have the required skills but not enough experience.
The requirement that this job role demands for are – extremely proficient in the local language as
well as in English, advanced knowledge in travelling software for instance, GDS, e – travel, and
computer reservation systems, exemplary knowledge in sales and marketing, and knowledge
about the various countries and touristy destinations (Middleton 2019). In addition to this, it also
asks for impressive convincing skills, which I believe that I am quite good at, and ability to
handle emergencies of any sort efficiently and supply adequate information and materials to the
travellers (Macmillan, Tyler and Vignoles 2015).
Moreover, I also believe that I am quite knowledgeable and efficient when it comes to
handling customers and delivering what they want as I have interned in this particular area and
had received ecstatic feedback from my previous clients as well as from my head. My personal
strengths are that I am quite good at multi - tasking and finishing things within the given
deadline. I have a tendency to work well even under pressure and I am well aware of the various
aspects of tourism and travelling which I believe might help the clients to get a better experience.
Moreover, I have a habit to listen to what my client says very carefully and then address their
doubts or confusions accordingly so as to assure them that they have come to the right person
with their queries. Having a wide knowledge about the languages, cultures, cuisines, and lifestyle

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and world geography definitely helps in the job of a travel sales consultant (Piccoli 2012).
Although, I wish to develop and intensify my knowledge when it comes to selling and designing
itineraries as customers usually want something that is innovative as well as pleasing to their
eyes. Regardless of the fact that a consultant should have good selling and marketing capabilities
(Carnevale, Jayasundera and Gulish 2015), I believe in addition to this, they must also have a
certification degree to prove themselves of their individual capabilities.
Career Action Plan -
For perusing the dream of becoming a travel consultant, I need to complete a level 3 diploma in
the subject of Travel and Tourism. For entering in the course, I need to acquire at least 4 or 5
GCSEs in between the grades of 9 to 4 (Vroom 2015). I can even go for an advanced travel sales
consultant apprenticeship which will be requiring the same GCSEs between classes 9 to 4, and
usually includes mathematics and English as the core subjects (Temperini, Cardinali, Palanga
and Broglietti 2015). I have to acquire these and take these courses to be a successful travel and
tourism consultant in Prospects 4 Life Travel.
I can start my career by becoming a trainee travel agent under Prospects 4 Life Travel
and I will be receiving on-job training from the travel agency. I must have to become a standard
student and have general information about the travel industry to become a trainee travel sales
consultant. There might be some specification like a good knowledge, and speaking skill of
English might be required to apply for the post (Amaro and Duarte 2015). I might have to gather
some ideas about a second language as it is favored during the hire of a travel sales consultant by
many travel agencies.
I need to improve my set of skills in the following aspects which will be ensuring my
dream of becoming a successful travel consultant under Prospects 4 Life Travel:

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 Skills for customer service needs to be learned by me as it is one of the main aspects a
travel sales consultant needs.
 As a travel consultant, I must have an excellent base of verbal communication so that I
can communicate easily with travelers.
 I must improve my skills in the aspect of selling products and various services to the
customers as it will be helping in facilitating my career goals.
 For becoming a travel sales consultant, I must pay my attention to every single detail.
 My administration skills must be enhanced as it acts as one of the essential requirements
for becoming a travel sales consultant.
 I must take up courses for carrying out basic tasks in any kind of hand-held device and on
computers.
Goal: To become a successful travel sales consultant.
Areas that are to be developed Measures taken
Customer management skills I need to attend a class for learning how to
retain customers and attract new customers.
English communication skills I need to join an English speaking
communication centre to improve my
English.
Attention to detail I have to be more careful while observing a
particular behaviour of a customer and
understand the particular need of a customer.
Sales skill I need to consult an experienced sales

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consultant to help me understand how sales
work in a travel consultancy environment.
In the future, after I gather enough experience as a sales travel consultant, I will be eyeing
for certain senior roles like becoming an operations director, managing director or regional
director of an individual company (Gregory, and Swathini 2018).
LinkedIn Profile -
Please find the same attached in Appendix A.
Curriculum Vitae (CV) -
Please find the same attached in Appendix B.
Conclusion -
In conclusion, it can be said that this report is an evaluative and an analytical tool that
tells me about my strengths and weakness and the areas that I believe I have to focus on and
develop to provide the customers a better experience. This report helps me to make use of the
SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timeliness) Goals and subsequently
achieve my set goals and objectives within the given time period along with continuously
tracking my progress at each and every step. Working in a travel agency or a company is more or
less in trend in today’s age and time, especially for the students who have just graduated. People
like me who have a passion to travel and who are adventurous would prefer this area as their
career rather than a job which demands to sit in just one place and allows you to have
monotonous routine.

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Reference List –
Abel, J.R., Deitz, R. and Su, Y., 2014. Are recent college graduates finding good jobs?. Current
Issues in Economics and Finance, 20(1).
Amaro, S. and Duarte, P., 2015. An integrative model of consumers' intentions to purchase travel
online. Tourism management, 46, pp.64-79.
Bezjak, T, 2019. 9 trends & expectations for travel agents in 2019.
Carnevale, A.P., Jayasundera, T. and Gulish, A., 2015. Good jobs are back: College graduates
are first in line.
Evans, N. and Campbell, D, 2012. Strategic Management for Travel and Tourism. Oxfordshire:
Taylor & Francis.
Gregory, P. and Swathini, S., 2018. Applicability of Optimization Techniques for Managerial
Excellence for Sales Consultants in Indian Car Showrooms. International Research Journal of
Automotive Technology, 1(6), pp.128-142.
Macmillan, L., Tyler, C. and Vignoles, A., 2015. Who gets the top jobs? The role of family
background and networks in recent graduates’ access to high-status professions. Journal of
Social Policy, 44(3), pp.487-515.
Middleton, V. T, 2019. Marketing in Travel and Tourism. New York: Routledge.
Piccoli Ph D, G., 2012. Emerging marketing channels in hospitality: A global study of internet-
enabled flash sales and private sales.
Robinson, P, Fallon, P. and Cameron, H, 2016. Operations Management in the Travel Industry,
2nd Edition. Oxfordshire: CABI.

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Temperini, V., Cardinali, S., Palanga, P. and Broglietti, M., 2015. How e-learning in sales
training can enhance the tour operator-travel agency relationship. ARETHUSE Scientific Journal
of Economics and Business Management, 1(2), pp.77-96.
Vroom, J.A., 2015. Development of a model course of study for travel-tourism for a two-year
degree or certificate. In Proceedings of the 1988 International Conference of Services
Marketing (pp. 23-30). Springer, Cham.

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Appendices
Appendix A -
Figure 1: LinkedIn Profile
Figure 2: LinkedIn Profile

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Figure 3: LinkedIn Profile
Figure 4: LinkedIn Profile

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Appendix B
Name:
Job Role: Travel Sales Consultant
Career objective -
To obtain a highly position in a recognized and well-established organization and gain
knowledge in sales and customer satisfaction.
Personal data -
Address:
Email id:
Mobile Number:
Date of Birth:
Education -
High Secondary Education:
Bachelor of Business Management:
Skills: Communication, sales, adaptable, good listener, good IT knowledge, excellent
customer service, and telephone manner.
Work Experience: 0-1 years
I hereby declare that the information provided above are genuine.

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Yours faithfully,
(name)
Figure 5: CV