Roehampton University: Managing People and Careers Assignment

This document presents a comprehensive assignment on Managing People and Careers, offering a practical exploration of key concepts. It begins with a cover letter, demonstrating professional communication skills and highlighting relevant experience for an Accounts Manager position. The assignment then delves into competency-based job application questions, providing detailed responses that showcase problem-solving abilities, conflict resolution strategies, and the capacity to handle pressure and multiple tasks. The candidate demonstrates their skills through examples drawn from previous roles, including roles at the Bank of Transilvania, TZUK LTD, and UNICARM SRL. A reflective account is also included, offering insights into career development and personal growth. A CV is included that highlights skills and experience, and the document concludes with a list of references, providing a well-rounded view of the candidate's qualifications and capabilities.

Managing People and
Careers.
1

Table of Contents
Cover letter .................................................................................................................................3
Competency-based Job application questions. ...........................................................................4
Reflective account ......................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
2

Cover letter
Cover Letter
December 26, 2020
James Brown
HR Manager
REF : Accounts Manager
Dear Mr. James,
From the online sources I got to know that there is a vacancy of Accounts manager therefore I
am applying for this post as I feel that my experience and qualification will do justice to this
position.
Presently working at TZUK LTD as an Assistant Accountant and the list of duties that I am
performing over there are organizing and planning meetings, keeping records of driver's salary
and accounts and finance related work. From this job I learned to manage time effectively and
have added onto my skills. Prior to this job I worked as a sales Assistant in Syrenka Sheffield
and my roles were to get the store ready for new promotions, advertising customers on the right
product for them, taking payment, cashing up. Also, dealing with returns, credit notes and
helping with the in store merchandising and taking deliveries, requesting stocks and liaising
with the warehouse was under my job role. Through this job role I acquired multi lingual skills
and it helped me in adding to my productivity.
From October 2016 to April 2019 I worked as Specialist Customer Service in Bank of
Transilvania and performed the task of dealing with many customers on a daily basis and
ensuring complete satisfaction. Also, my task was to process transactions such as withdrawals,
transfers and foreign exchange and dealing with issues related to customers and other roles.
Also, I achieve challenging sales targets to assist branch in meeting goals, deliver an excellent
customer experience and also helping customers choose the right product and service for their
requirement. My roles was to give correct advise to the customers and after understanding their
needs, the up-sold services and turned objections into sales opportunities. Also I use to ensure
that individual and team targets are being met. And lastly I started as a marketing executive at
UNICARM SRL and their I use to perform all marketing related roles and responsibilities such
as making strategy, reviewing and assessing. Tracking marketing performance and prepare
weekly or monthly reports for management, monitoring and reporting on competitor activities
3

was also under my job description. Developing good relations with the clients and also
following agreed production plan was also my roles at the company. In the company I also
resolve the problems and issues of the customers and provide training to new operational staff
and also monitor raw material and operational processes on a regular basis. Lastly I also ensure
that all activities comply with food and safety manufacturing standards. While performing all
these jobs I acquired various skills such as good communication skills, focus and attentiveness.
I also have certain other skills such as flexibility and adaptability, know working on Microsoft
office, and I was highly organized by which I can add on to your company's growth and myself
too.
I am very glad to be given this opportunity to discuss these and other experiences with you and
looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours Sincerely,
David Williams.
Competency-based Job application questions.
Describe a situation in which a customer faced issues and the way you resolved it?
While working at Bank of Transilvania from October 2016 to April2019 and my job role
in that was to deal to large number of customers on a daily basis and ensure that they are
satisfied. Also, I used to handle customer enquiries and their complaints promptly. Once I got a
call from a customer, and he had the complaint regarding a product which he received and was
broken and in a poor state. It may be the customer do not know how to use the product and
broken by themselves but our duty was to resolve this problem (Commenced, 2020). First of all I
adjusted my mindset and listen to the customer patiently and what was their complaint. Then I
showed a feeling of empathy towards them by showing that their complaints are taken seriously
and apologize for the inconvenience they faced. The next I took action and told the customer that
their product will be replaced by a new piece and no extra charges will be imposed. And a new
piece was delivered to the customer and lastly I took the feedback. In this way I resolved the
issues faced by the customer. In the process I tried to remain cool and calm and assured the
customer that their issue will be resolved as soon as possible.
Tell me a situation when you have worked under pressure and how you overcome that
pressure?
4

There came a situation of pressure when I was working at TZUK LTD in which my roles
were to organize and plan meetings, keeping the record's of driver's hours, helping in calculation
and making salaries. Also, to summarize current financial status by collecting information,
preparing balance sheet, profit and loss statement and other reports were also under my job roles.
Once I was asked to organize an important meeting of higher authorities and in a very limited
time period. All the management, arrangement and resource organization was on my part and a
pressure was created as the meeting was of high authorities and any mistake have to be paid a
greater cost. As I tried to remain calm at that point and then I started planning and made efforts
for arranging the resources which were needed for the meeting and also I tried to remain
focused. I made a do to list about all the requirements of the meeting and also scheduled the
work to avoid last moment rush. I also took help from the team members for arranging for the
meeting and motivated them to organize it without panicking. I tried to prioritize the work which
was most important and needed to be done urgently.
Give an example of how you have handled multiple tasks?
When working at Syrenka Sheffield from May 2019 to October 2019 as a Sales Assistant
I was encountered a situation in which I have to perform various task at a single time. I have to
take payment, cashing up the products and dealing with the returns. Firstly I distinguished the
urgent and important work and I tried to work on the related task together. I also established the
goals which are to be achieved and get time period for each task to increase the efficiency. Also I
delegated some easy work to the down lines to increase the efficiency of the work. I also took
break when I use to feel tired to again get the energy and enthusiasm to do the work. I eliminated
unnecessary tasks which were of less importance (Maninis, Radosavovic. and Kokkinos, 2019). I
tried to improve my multitasking skills by gaining proper training for the same and also learned
from the higher authority and seniors to perform one task and also keeping an eye on the other
ones. For certain activities I also used to plan ahead sometimes and make proper provision and
the structure to work for the task one day prior of undertaking the task.
Describe a situation when you have faced changes. How you dealt with the changes at the
workplace?
There were many instances where I have to face a lot of changes and not at a particular
organization but at every organization there were situation where I have to deal with changes.
One of the instance is when I was working at Bank of Transilvania for few months I was
5

transferred to accounts and finances. As it was a new work for me therefore initially a fear was
created and I resisted to do that work as there were many calculations and any wrong calculation
can change the whole figure of financial statements. But there was no choice and I have to
perform the task therefore I accept that changes are constant and it is a part of growing. Then I
clearly define the change and also tried to cope up with my fears to deal with it. Then I analyse
the changes and found out the things which are in control and which are not (Al-Ali. and et.al.,
2017). And I stop wasting time on situation and things which was not under my condition. I tried
to focus on value instead of fears. To deal with the change happening at the workplace I also
tried to contact the previous co-workers that used to work in the company. I communicated with
the higher authorities to make the changes more clear and developed an optimistic approach to
deal with the changes.
Tell me a situation when there was a conflict at the workplace. How you dealt with that
conflict?
When working at UNICARM SRL as a marketing executive and there working on a
project for campaign. Two team were created for making the campaign and conflict among the
team members occurred regarding the idea and theme of the campaign. One team was taking the
theme of innovation and through that attracting the youth and other was focusing on connecting
the audience through emotion. As I was the team leader, so I tried to understand the source of
conflict and then I listened to all the parties of the conflict. The next thing done by me was to
investigate into the situation and analysed all the idea presented by them and then tried to
explain the positive and negative aspect of all the options. Then I tried to integrate the goals of
the members with that of the goal of marketing campaign (Kay. and Skarlicki, 2020).
Agreement was made on the best solution and selection of the most efficient campaign was
done. I tried to begin a conversation among all the team members to resolve the awkwardness. I
also encouraged positive employee relations at the workplace so that conflict in future can be
reduced and a healthy workplace environment is created.
CV
6

PERSONAL PROFILE
I am a graduate in business and management and seeking opportunity to work as accounts
manager. I am an energetic, and a person who have high ambitions who has developed a mature
and responsible approach to any task that I am assigned. I am also good at doing team work
with an ability to work independently in busy environments and achieve targets. I also have an
optimistic attitude.
KEY SKILLS
Communication skills
I also know to write an email and reports.
I know various ways to maintain good relationship with customers and clients.
I can also communicate in more than one language.
Team working skills
I am flexible and adaptable to the workplace environment.
I know how to manage my time and complete task in effective way.
I am highly organized.
Problem solving skills
I am able to solve problems in effective way and find out root cause of problem. I am aware
about entire process of solving problem and approaches that is followed in it.
I am focused and attentive when doing work and solving problems.
I have good researching skills.
Technical skills
I know how to operate Microsoft office.
EDUCATION
Present: University of Roehampton, Manchester < Business and Management >
High School- Baccalaureate (Equivalent to Level 3 in UK)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
June 2019 to Present - Assistant Accountant
Company Name: TZUK LTD
7

My job roles were :
 Organizing and planning meetings
 Keeping records of driver’s hours
 Helping to calculate and making salary
 Summarizes current financial status by collecting information; preparing balance sheet,
profit and loss statement, and other reports.
 Documents financial transactions by entering account information.
 Maintains accounting controls by preparing and recommending policies and procedures.
May 2019 to October 2019 Sales Assistant
Company Name: Syrenka Sheffield
My responsibilities included:
 Getting the store ready for new promotions
 Advising customers on the right products for them
 Taking payment on the till
 Cashing up
 Dealing with returns, credit notes etc
 Helping with the in store merchandising
 Talking to head office over any merchandising, customer service issues
 Taking in deliveries, requesting stock and liaising with the warehouse.
October 2016 to April 2019 Specialist Customer Service
Company Name: BANK OF TRANSILVANIA
My job role constituted of:
 Dealing with many customers on a daily basis and ensuring complete satisfaction
 Processing transactions such as withdrawals , transfers and foreign exchange
 Maintaining customer relation
 Balancing tills and ATMs , managing the end of day reserve and control list
 Processing orders, taking payments and issuing refunds to customers
 Achieving challenging sales targets to assist branch in meeting goals
 Delivers an excellent customer experience, helping customers choose the right product
8

and/or service for their requirements
 Gave customers the correct advice, and after understanding their needs, up-sold services
and turned objections into sales opportunities
 Worked to ensure all individual and team targets were met
September 2010 to October 2016 – Marketing Executive
Company Name: UNICARM SRL
The roles and responsibilities of my job roles were:
 Assist to develop and implement a marketing strategy
 Evaluate and review marketing campaigns, advertising to make sure the correct
mediums are being used and campaigns are effective
 Track marketing performance and prepare weekly or monthly reports for management
 Monitor and report on competitor activity
 Follow the agreed production plan
 Help deliver line/area productivity and efficiently targets,
 Resolving problems and issues as they arise,
 Provide training to new operational staff
 Continuously monitor raw materials/ingredients, all operational processes
 Ensure that all activity comply with food safety manufacturing standards
and other customer relationship related work.
OTHER INFORMATION
My hobbies and interest include
 Travelling
 Interacting with people
 Watching movies
 Playing handball
Language known
English, German, French.
9

REFERENCES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
No reference request available
Reflective account
Effective Communication
Basically communication is considered as the exchange of thoughts, ideas as well as information
within the best way as it aids me to accomplishing Tasks more effectively of the firm. By the
help of the Gibbs model I have developed Such skills As I have faced various difficulty while
communicating with my senior or juniors when I joined job so in order to overcome these
failures I developed effective communication skills while performing the task of advising the
customers on the right products which are suitable for them and talking to head office over
merchandising and customer service issue. By handling the customers enquiries, advising them
after understanding their needs, improved my communication skills. Also, The positive aspect of
the situation was I learned many things about the customers and clients. By Analysing Thing I
have learnt from these situations were to make a plan before undertaking task, practice and
interact with more people and lastly not to leave the task for the last moment developed my
communication skills as my interaction increased with customers, clients and collogues. Last but
not the least Action plan would research more to acquire greater level of the knowledge and
information about the market, clients and customers and would be effectively communicated.
From above, it is summarized that effective communication aids me to enhance my
communication skills so that I can perform better within my job.
Time management- It includes the management of time that includes planning as well as
organizing the time. It is vital to organize goals so that accomplish them quicker. When I started
job, I faced various management issues and for that I required to manage my time as several new
opportunities came and for that I followed Gibbes model regarding time management. Within
that there is Description that it helped me to learn management of time such as While organizing
and planning meetings, taking in deliveries, requesting stocks, processing transactions such as
withdrawals, transfers and foreign exchange and managing the end of the reserve and control list
helped me in developing time management competency (He, Parkinson. and Doyle, 2018). By
achieving the sales target to assist branch in meeting goals at the time. Sometimes the task was
10

delayed out of nervousness and pressure but during this time I understand the time management
and developed this skill. Also, I felt very motivated when the sales target was achieved on time
and at the due date. Within the Evaluation the negatives of the situation was due to increased
pressure sometimes I used to lose focus and targets were not achieved on time and through
handling these pressuring time I developed time management skills. Furthermost Analysis Thing
I have learnt to make a plan before undertaking task, practice and interact with more and more
people and lastly not to leave the task for the last moment as it creates lot of confusion which
developed my time management skills. Within Conclusion if any of this situation occurs in
future I will manage the task effectively and make plans prior to implementation plan to carry
out the work and also take certain trainings to develop skills required and effective manage my
time. So it is summarized that time management is vital part of the business or job as well as aids
within accomplishing tasks more effectively.
11

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Al-Ali, A.A. and et.al., 2017. Change management through leadership: the mediating role of
organizational culture. International Journal of Organizational Analysis.
Commenced, D., 2020. 1.3 CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS HANDLING. Policy.
He, K.N., Parkinson, L. and Doyle, A.K., 2018. Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle.
Kay, A.A. and Skarlicki, D.P., 2020. Cultivating a conflict-positive workplace: How
mindfulness facilitates constructive conflict management. Organizational Behavior and
Human Decision Processes.
Maninis, K.K., Radosavovic, I. and Kokkinos, I., 2019. Attentive single-tasking of multiple
tasks. In Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern
Recognition (pp. 1851-1860).
12