Developing a Professional Portfolio for Career Advancement

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Managing People and Career
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Table of Contents
PART -1...........................................................................................................................................3
Cover Letter.................................................................................................................................3
CV................................................................................................................................................5
Application form..........................................................................................................................7
PART – 2.......................................................................................................................................10
Interview Practice......................................................................................................................10
Assessment Centre Practice.......................................................................................................10
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PART -1
Cover Letter
Date- xxxxx
Name,
HR manager of IPSOS MORI,
Address: xxx
Dear Sir,
I am writing this application to the HR manager of IPSOS MORI, in order to apply for the
position of Graduate research executive as it was shown that there is a vacancy for the post. I am
instinctively curious to know more about the market research industry, as I have gained my
certification courses, which are relevant to this field.
In the advertisement where you have posted your job description, I found that you are looking
for a graduate research executive, who has knowledge about advertising, product development
and maintaining financial and technical evolutions. At the time of my graduation, I have gained
a lot of knowledge on all these three fields as I have experiences from the past jobs which
covered all these three aspects. I have done my certification course on accounts management; in
that case, I can handle the financial revolutions. I also have the technical knowledge, which will
support me in this position. I also found that you require someone with good communication
skills, which is an advantage for me as I am well versed with different languages such as
English, French and Spanish.
After the completion of my graduation, I was curious to join a renowned marketing research
company in order to get a bright career. I am passionate to know more about client handling and
helping them to make smarter decisions as I have worked as a customer support executive.
During my graduation, I have participated in many programs and there I got an appraisal for my
good management and handling skills. I want to put my theoretical knowledge in practical
practice by learning through real life experiences, webinars and the special workshops. I can
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handle the clients easily as I have the skills that are customer-focused. I have the skills to
practice creativity and thinking commercially as I am experienced as the marketing manager. I
also possess strong interpersonal skills which are required for your organization. The moment I
saw your vacancy I thought that I got the right opportunity to give a boost to my career, by
working in your firm, it will be helpful for me to improve my skills and enhance it in a better
way. I have also attached my resume so that you can have a glace on my educational
background and other extra information, which will be helpful for you in taking the right
decision.
Please feel free to contact me through mail or at my contact number xxxxxxx. I will expect to
hear from you soon.
Regards,
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CV
XXXX
Contact: +xxxxxxxxx
E-mail – [e-mail]
Career Vision:
To begin my career with the renowned and the largest brands in market research, in order to
learn more about innovative products and advertisements, product development, to know better
about the tech and finance industries.
Educational qualifications:
 Doing the certification course in product development
 Certified in advertising and media management
 Online courses in financial accounting
 Graduated in B.tech with 75% from xxxx institute
 Fluent in communication skills in English, French and Spanish
 Have the approval for permanent stay and right to work in the UK
Past Experience:
 Worked as a marketing manager for 8 months
 Experience in Customer Support Executive for 3 months
Projects Done:
 Project name: “xxxx” under the eminent professor xx
 Project name: xxxxx
Extra-Curricular Activities:
 Have been a member of the literary society in my university
 Have participated in the cultural activities and sports in my university
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Interpersonal Skills:
 Having exceptional analyzing skills
 Having strong communication skills
 Have creative thinking
Personal Information:
Father’s Name:
Date of birth:
Languages are known: English, French and Spanish
Hobbies: Reading, Travelling
Address: xxxxxxx
Marital Status: Unmarried
Sex: xxxx
Date: xxxx
……………………………
Signature
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Application form
1. Why do you want to work for us?
I have completed my graduation in B.Tech, I have gained my certification courses on
advertisement and media management, and along with that, I am certified in financial
accounting. In order to support my knowledge, I wanted to start y career in the marketing
research industry with the relevant knowledge, which I have. I checked the advertisement where
I found a vacancy for the post of research executive in the renowned company IPSOS MORI. I
am passionately curious to work with you because working with you will boost my career and
help me to grow in this sector. I will learn more about these concepts of advertising, product
development and evolution of finance, which will eventually help me in improving my skills. I
always wanted to work under the renowned exports of this industry, which can only be possible
in IPSOS MORI. I think I have all the skills and abilities to meet your requirement criteria and
this might help me in the future to grow under a big company like this. I think that I will get
many growth opportunities as well as hikes under the roof of this company along with a lot of
learning.
2. Tell us about a time you worked in a group to achieve an objective
At the time I was working as the marketing manager in my last job, I was given a task to conduct
in a group in order to achieve the targeted sales of the month. I was managing the whole team as
I was the manager and there were six people in my group. The main objective of the task was to
create revenue for the company within a time period of 1 month. I was focused on developing
the plan in order to succeed the task. I listened to all the members of my group so that I can
implement the best idea in order to achieve the main objective of the group. I have the skills of
managing a group; in that case, I managed the whole group efficiently by communicating and
motivating each of the group members. Every member of the group was listening to me and was
eager to reach the target. The targeted revenue was more than 20% of the usual revenue of the
company. My team was focused, the team player, and we made a growth of 25% of the usual
revenue.
3. Tell us about a time when you identified a new approach to solve a problem
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At the time when I was working as the customer support executive, I used to tackle the problems
of the customers efficiently for which I got an appraisal from my previous company. While
working there, I found that my problem skills are the key for which the customers are coming
towards me to solve their problems. I am fluent in English as well as French and Spanish, which
gives me a dimension to understand what the customer is exactly trying to query. I found that
this new approach to problem-solving is very efficient. There were other executives who were
not able to create good impacts on the customer because of their weak communication skills and
problem-solving. Whereas, I identified this new approach to problem-solving is doing great in
solving the problems of the customers. Good communication is helpful in making the customer
understand what exactly I am trying to convey.
4. Tell us about a time when you had to manage a number of different priorities and
complete a number of tasks in a short amount of time
At the time when I was working as the marketing manager, I witnessed a situation where I was
given multiple responsibilities to handle in a short period of time. There I was having the
responsibility to prioritize a number of tasks in a short time. In that case, I was given the
responsibility to handle the group management, handle the sales of the company and innovating
the marketing plans for achieving the desired growth of the company. I was responsible to handle
all these tasks at a short period of time. At that time, I was motivated and I got support from my
team members for conducting all the tasks. For this case, I used my time- management skills in
order to conduct all the tasks within the limited time period.
5. Tell us about the project you worked on that required you to persuade others to your point
of view
When I was working as the customer support executive in my previous company, I managed to
be involved in a project, which was going on in the company to convince the customers to my
own point of view. In that case, I found that my negotiation skills are working on the project as
with the good negotiation skills I can easily convince the opponent to agree on my point of view.
With the qualities of good communication and confidence, I was able to put my negotiation skills
into the project, which helped me to successfully complete the project. Negotiation skills are
actually helpful in making the opponent understand that my point of view is right. At the time of
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completion of the project, I found that I am getting good qualities and skills to tackle the
customers and persuading them on my point of view.
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PART – 2
Interview Practice
At the time of giving the interview for research executive, I was able to spot a few positive as
well as negative aspects, which helped me to learn:
Positive:
 I have the knowledge of three different languages, which helped me in gaining
confidence, which I took as an advantage and appeared for the interview.
 I answered all the questions of the interviewer with the help of the star technique, as it is
helpful in answering in the behavioural interviews.
 I used my body language as a positive point which created a positive impact on the
interviewer as he got to know that I know professionalism
 I gave examples of the problems, which I faced at the task of my previous organization,
which helped the interviewer understand my skills and abilities.
Negative:
 At the time of answering the questions, I noticed that I was not focused and gave
irrelevant answers, as there were three interviewers who were taking my interview.
 I was anxious and curious about the job; in that case, I was continuously requesting them
to take me, which may have created a negative impact on the interviewer.
Assessment Centre Practice
I was given a situation where I had to be in a group, where I was provided with the fund of
£100,000 and we had to do the task within a budget:
Strengths:
 At the time of the group activity, I found that everyone in the group has a competitive
nature, and everyone is putting equal efforts to complete the task within the budget.
 With the help of my negotiation skills, I was able to make up everything and use the
given amount wisely.
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 I found that with the help of my excellent communication skills, I was able to coordinate
with everyone in the team.
Weakness:
 I found that there were team members who were not actively participating in the group
activity, which eventually affected the team performance negatively.
 Not every team members were communicating which led to miscommunication in the
team.
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