Managing People and Careers: Cover Letter, CV, and Application Form

This assignment focuses on managing people and careers, providing a comprehensive overview of job application materials and interview preparation. It begins with an introduction highlighting the importance of career management in a competitive business environment. The main body includes a cover letter expressing interest in a Merchandising Administrative Assistant (MAA) position, a detailed CV showcasing skills and experience, and responses to application form questions. The CV emphasizes skills such as interpersonal skills, influencing skills, hard work, creative thinking, and problem-solving abilities, along with educational background and work experience. The application form responses address the candidate's motivation for working at Arcadia Group and provide an example of teamwork in a sales decline scenario. The assignment concludes with reflections on interview and assessment center practices, providing a practical guide for students seeking to enhance their career prospects.

MANAGING PEOPLE AND
CAREERS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Cover letter.............................................................................................................................3
CV...........................................................................................................................................5
Application form....................................................................................................................8
Interview practice.................................................................................................................11
Assessment centre practice...................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
The competition in the business world is up to the maximum and to face the competition
the people have to continuously manage their career with the latest changes taking place within
the business parlance (Baruch, Y., Altman and Tung, 2016). For this the people have to
continuously manage their work and do complete market research and whatever is new in the
market needs to be grabbed by the people. In the present assignment the CV will be prepared for
a particular job description along with the cover letter. The cover letter is a document which
outlines the job for which the person is intending to apply and also highlights the skills and
experience which matches with the applied job. Also, some questions within the application form
will be answered using some model. In the end some reflection about the interview practices and
the assessment centre exercise practice will be done.
MAIN BODY
Cover letter
To manager
Arcadia group
12 November 2019
Dear manager
I am writing this letter to express my interest in your vacancy of the Merchandising
Administrative Assistant (MAA). I got to know about this vacancy from my friend as they
recommended me to try giving interview for this post. Also, after their recommendation I
researched about your company and the vacancy and I liked the profile of your company within
the market and the reviews of many big personalities. This attracted and motivated me to find the
vacancy of MAA and after the research and complete analysis of the job role of the vacancy and
the skills possessed by me I think this job will benefit both to me as well as for your company.
Currently I am undertaking an undergraduate single honours BSc from the University of
Roehampton. This module which I am undertaking covers the finance and accounting for
managers, principles of marketing and communication global marketing and international
business strategy (Federici, 2019). Also, previously I worked as a site manager where I was
liable for managing the quality of work and to liaison with the outside parties and to comply and
adhere with all the legislations which are applicable to the business.

For the vacancy of MAA the job which needs to be performed is to ensure that all the
products are placed at correct position and are provided at right time. The role of MAA is also to
allocate the new stock of material to the stores to analyse the customer buying behaviour and to
present the products in the same manner that the consumers are attracted to buy the products and
to attract and retain the consumers (Hurst, Leberman and Edwards, 2016). The main work of the
MAA is to organize all the activities of the business in such a way that it attracted more of the
consumers and the profits of the company are maximized and they work in the direction of
growth and development.
Now the skills and experience which I posses are complimentary to the job description of
the MAA. Like form last job I experienced good liaising skills which help me in connecting
more with the outside people. Therefore, these skills will help in connecting to the consumers
more efficiently and this will enhance the role of MAA. Also, from my educational background I
learnt the principles of marketing and communication along with global and digital marketing.
Therefore, this skill will also help in increasing the sales of the company as I can also market the
products and services of Arcadia group in front of the consumers. This will benefit your
company as being an MAA, I can also perform the work of marketing the products and services.
Hence, this will save the company from hiring or recruiting another person for the job role of
marketing. This will also save the cost of hiring other marketing manager.
With this cover letter I am also attaching my detailed CV including all the past and
current experience and my skills and educational background. I would like to have this
opportunity as this will upgrade my career and will improve my knowledge. Therefore, I would
like you to consider me for this vacancy within your company. Please let me know if you have
been interested in hiring me. For this you can contact me.
Thank you for the consideration.
Sincerely
Name client

CV
Curriculum vitae
Name client
@yahoo.ca
Personal profile:(please enter a description)
……………..……..
SKILLS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:(please enter some skills you consider)
 Interpersonal skills- this is the skill which is essentially required for being a competitive
person. This is because of the reason that in business world within every second there
needs to be interaction with some or the other person and if the interpersonal skill will be
good then it will be a positive point for the person.
 Influencing skills- the vacancy for which the job is being applied deals with maximum of
the consumers. Therefore, it is very necessary for the person to influence other people to
like the product and services of the company and to purchase the same. Therefore, it is
very necessary for the skill to be inherited because in this competitive world the
influencing power needs to be strong.
 Hard working- for be in the competition the most important thing is to be a continuous
and hard worker. This is because of the reason that if the hard work will not be done then
the work will not be accomplished with efficiency and effectiveness. In this highly
competitive world it is very necessary to work hard to achieve the objective (Hill, 2018).
 Creative thinker- in this highly competitive and modernized world where there are many
changes in the trends and preferences of the consumers the employees and business needs
to be a creative thinker. This is majorly because of the reason that if the company not
provides anything creative then they will no longer be connected with the company.
 See problem as challenge- this is another skill which needs to be present. This is majorly
because of the reason that there are many problems in the environment which can be
treated as opportunity. Like if there is no electricity in the area then this problem can be
treated as opportunity and the light and alternative options to facilitate the problem is
treated as an opportunity (Bader, Schuster and Dickmann, 2019).

EDUCATION:
June 2018 – Present: University of Roehampton
Currently undertaking an undergraduate, single honours BSc in International Business with
modules covering:
• Introduction to Finance and Accounting for Managers
• Introduction to Management
• Principles of Marketing and Communications in a Digital World
• Global and International Business Strategy
• And Global Marketing to name a few
Skills acquired: Critical writing and analysis, written and verbal communication, in-depth
research and time management.
1999-2003 Mihail Kogaliceanu High School Vaslui, Romania
Bacalaureat
WORK EXPERIENCE:
September 2016- PRESENT: PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER
 Time management- this is the skill which I learnt from this job of private hire driver.
This is majorly because of the reason that the main aim of the driving job is to be on time.
This is because of the reason that if the driver will not be on time then the passengers will
not like the company and its facilities.
 Negotiation- this refers to as the method with which the two parties try to settle at some
point. This is also the skill which helped in negotiating with the consumers to finalize the
prices (Martin and Siebert, 2016).
 Verbal and written communication- there are many kinds of consumers coming to the
taxi. Therefore, it is very necessary for the driver to know how to communicate and that
in both the verbal and non- verbal ways.
 Conflict resolution- this is another skill which I possessed from this job. This is majorly
due to the fact that there are people coming from different background and are of

different nature, perception and temperament. Therefore, there can be many dangerous
and conflicting situation which may arise. Thus, the driver needs to have the skill of
resolving the conflict.
2006-2015: Site manager
Condav Proiect SRL, Vaslui (Romania)
www.condav.ro
Responsible for the quality and duration of the work performed by the employees. Tracking the
inscription of the works in the graph.
Maintaining liaison with the specialized designers to solve in due time any problems that have
arisen in the execution.
Taking over all the requirements for the additional works coming from the beneficiary and
informing them about the additional costs and deadlines.
Responsible for the preparation of work situations and their settlement.
Compliance during the execution of the legislation in force in the field of construction.
Responsible for Health and Safety at Work for all employees of the company.
Responsible for the inventory of the company's equipment.
Maintaining links with suppliers of building materials.
Type or sector of activity Constructions
2004-2006
Voluntary
EXTRAPAN SRL, Vaslui (Romania)
Purchase of construction materials necessary for the proper development of the works.
Calculation of the quantities of works carried out by the company personnel in order to prepare
the work situations.
Responsible for the inventory of the company's equipment.
Type or sector of activity Constructions
Interests and hobbies:
The personal interest is in communicating with other people as I like to interact with another
people.

Application form
1. Why do you want to work for us?
The major reason for working with Arcadia group is that this is the UK’ s biggest and
largest fashion retailer which is privately owned and has eight different outlets and brand under
it. The mission or the working of the company is based on the fact that the company is friendly
but at the same time is professional in its working. Also, the company uses the fun activities
along with performing the actual work. This culture motivates the employees to work with more
efficiency and effectiveness. Also, the skills and experience of me and the educational
background also matches with the requirements of the job of MAA.
One more reason for working with the company is that it provides some different types of
perks and advantages which are very attractive. These are like 25 % of staff discount on
shopping, organization of team and company social event on regular basis, bonus scheme,
pension scheme, interest free loan and many other benefits to the employees of Arcadia group.
Therefore, these are the major reason for why anyone including me would like to work with
Arcadia group.
2. Tell us about the time you worked in a group to achieve an objective
Situation- the sales of the company was at decline. Also, the consumers were not liking
the products and services of the company. The competition was very high and I was the
marketing manager of the company.
Task- in the present situation the main task was to solve the problem within the market.
For this it was necessary for the me to analyse the market and the latest trends which are
prevalent in the market and are liked by the consumers. This is necessary because of the reason
that if the consumers will not like the company then the company will not be able to sell its
goods and services in large number. This was done in the group of 15 people (Reid and
Ramarajan, 2016).
Action- therefore, for dealing with the present situation the first action taken is doing a
complete market research including the study of the market and the latest trends going on in the
market (Taylor, Doherty and McGraw, 2015). For this the company takes help of PESTLE
analysis as this tool helps in analysing all the external factors and this helps in analysing the
latest trend going on in every external sector whether be it political, social or economic or any
other.

Result- the result of this action was that the company was able to identify the correct
market and to modify its products and services with the latest trends going on in the market. This
was only possible because of the help of market research. Also, it was beneficial in making the
marketing plan for the promotion of the goods and services in accordance with the latest trends
known with the help of market research.
3. Tell us about the time when you identified a new approach to solve the problem
Situation- I am the accountant of the company and was responsible for all the
calculations and financial reporting done within the company. The company was using the
manual accounting records and conventional methods and principles of recording the accounting
information.
Task- the main task here was to overcome the problems which were faced because of
conventional methods of accounting. These problems were like delay in getting the accounting
results. Delay in forming of the accounting reports and related documents.
Action- for eradicating this problem the action taken by me was installation of new
computer system which have installed accounting software which helps the company in solving
the problem of manual accounting. This is because of the reason that manual accounting was
very difficult and problematic and to solve this problem new accounting software was installed.
Result- the result of this action was that the accounting process of the company was made
easier and faster. The accountant just had recorded the entry the rest of the posting in to the
ledger accounts and then in the trial balance and in the end the addition in either the profit and
loss account and the balance sheet is automatically done with just one click (Webb, 2016).
4. Tell us about the time when you had to manage a number of different priorities and
complete a number of tasks in short amount of time
Situation- for this situation I was the team leader and had to assign the work to the team
members in such a way that they complete the task in minimum time and with maximum
efficiency and effectiveness. This was a tedious job as here I have a number of tasks to perform
to assign the task to the employees and to check that whether they are doing it properly or not
(Cristea, Vatamanescu and Mitan, 2017).
Task- the main task here is to prioritise the work to be done first and which task to be
done next and which later. This prioritisation is necessary because of the reason that if the team

leader does not know that which task to be done first then how the team objective will be
achieved.
Action- this is the reason behind prioritising the work that is setting the order in which
the work will be done so that the objectives of the company are achieved. For this the leader first
sets the objective of team that is what they have to do to achieve the objectives. Then the leader
divides the objective in smaller parts to divide the work among different employees. Then the
leader analyses the capability of different employees and checks that which employee is better in
which task. Next, they assign the task to them according to their capability. No if the leader first
assigns the task to employee and they are not capable of doing that work then it will be waste.
Therefore, it is very necessary to prioritise the work.
Result- the result of this prioritisation was that the work was very efficiently and
effectively managed and completed with full success.
5. Tell us about a project you worked on that required you to persuade others to your point of
view
Situation- here I am the sales person of the company and is responsible to persuade the
consumers to buy the goods and services of the company.
Task- the main task here is to persuade or attract the consumer to listen to me and
purchase the goods or services. This is very complex task as every person is different in their
thinking and perception.
Action- for this the action taken is to go to the place of the consumer and try to explain
the features and benefits of the product or the service to the consumers. This is done by using
different sales promotion techniques like discount, free samples and many other different
techniques of promotion (Hasson, 2019).
Result- the result of this was that the consumers because of personal interaction of the
sales person with the consumers. This is good way because this personal interaction with the
consumers help the sales person in persuading the consumers. This is due to the fact that with
face to face interaction the sales person can read the facial expression of the consumers and if
they are not liking the product then they can change the tactic used to attract the consumers.

Interview practice
For preparing for the post of the Merchandising Administrative Assistant (MAA) in
Arcadia group I used the interview practices. This is majorly because of the reason that for
getting selected the company will first analyse my CV and if they find it appropriate then they
will call me for a personal interview (Wendel, Serratt and O'Donohue, 2017). The interview is a
face to face interaction of me with the panel or board which is assigned the duty of recruiting for
the post of MAA. In the interview process the interviewer can ask question relating to any field
along with the area of job. Therefore, I was very nervous and for this I practiced for the
interview.
For this I prepared some questions which according to me were necessary to b asked to
the candidate for the post of MAA. Then I stood in front of the mirror and practiced the answers
of the question assuming that I am standing in front of the panel taking the interview. This
practiced gave me some confidence of facing the different interviewers. Also, for this I watched
different videos which were more focused on improving the confidence and morale and the way
of dealing with others.

Assessment centre practice
The assessment centre is a combination of some of the exercises which are used by the
person to test the skills of themselves. I also took help of assessment centre exercises because I
also wanted to learn new and detailed skill. There are many different types of exercises which I
performed to learn many new and differentiated skills. The first exercise which I performed was
of role play. In this I played the role of MAA that is I acted in the same way as I would have
reacted if I was the MA in the situation. This exercise helped me in knowing that in what ways I
can react to a particular situation.
Also, another exercise which I used is simulation. In this I created the situation according
to the job work of MAA. For instance, I creates a scene where I was assigned to convince the
consumer to buy the product (Molla, 2015). In this present situation I used the same practices
which I have been used if in actual I had to face the same situation. This exercise improvised my
communication skills and also, I applied my marketing knowledge which I possessed from the
undergraduate programme. With these assessment practices I developed much confidence and
these exercises reduced my nervousness and increased my positive attitude.
CONCLUSION
With the help of the above assignment it was concluded that managing the career is very
necessary for the person to be successful. This is majorly because of the reason that in this
globalized and competitive world it is very necessary for the person to develop the career. For
this the CV is being updated in accordance with the new job and also a cover letter is prepared
by the person to present its desire to work in a particular company.