My Personal and Academic Growth

2021-05-12
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Self-reflection refers to the ability of an individual to assess their motives, actions and behaviour and how it affects them as well as those around them CITATION Mel11 \l 2057 (Smith, 2011). My foundation year has been one of the most profound yet. I have a learnt a lot in terms of personal and academic growth. My enrolment into the program has given me insight into what the business world is all about as well as key dynamics that I require to interact with my classmates. First ns foremost, I have learnt that being a curious and inquisitive mind is paramount to learning. It is important to question ideas, beliefs and methods of learning. This year, I have strived to engage in beneficial discourse. I now understand the importance of autonomy in thought, developing a sharp mind by being analytical about the information that I consume. Secondly, the importance of group work could not be emphasized enough. Upon joining the program, I was not very confident in working in a group partly because I often imposed my ideas on others and at other times, I felt that working on my own saved on time and resources. I have therefore learnt to be accommodative of other opinions and perspectives. I have developed my listening and comprehension skills as a result and this has also fostered good relations with my classmates. It has been proven that considering other peoples stance on issues widens your perspective on those very issues. Thirdly, my biggest asset has been asking from feedback from both my classmates and professors. I have found this to be an essential tool in assessing my understanding of concepts and strategizing on how to improve on my areas of weakness. Feedback from said parties has come in the form of face to face conversations, tests and exams, assessment forms as well as group discussions. Furthermore, being part of a course of this nature, I have had the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life. This has influenced how I interact with other people as I realised to forge formidable relationships, it is vital for me to respect my fellow students beliefs and attitudes. Moreover, by having a basic understanding of their beliefs, I am able to examine my own, question them and re-evaluate them. Most importantly, has been my ability to question the status quo and the happenings around me. I understand that events influence my thinking and how I perceive different notions. This has enhanced my ability to become more critical of my environment and experiences. I can safely conclude that I have a more developed intuitive sense. In addition to these skills, I have learnt other minor ones such as writing essays concisely and precisely as well as how to reference them correctly. I have learnt different referencing styles such as APA, MLA and Harvard and made aware of where each is relevant and the purpose they serve. Hence, as I advance into another year, I am equipped with the necessary tools for expressing my ideas and those concepts that I have learnt in class.

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The acquisition of these skills will enable me to have more potent relationships with my employees in future, how to relate to them properly.

The core reason of being in school is to gain education as well as develop skills that are relevant in my field of specialization. It is therefore important to have skills that are aligned to the job specifications of my desire. I therefore aim to increase my IT literacy in alignment with the business field. A lot of processes are automated and hence I feel the need to have an in-depth working of Microsoft office as well as Enterprise Resource Planning software such as SAP. Secondly, I believe that apt and proficient communication skills are key to navigating the business world. Business is all about forging connections with individuals and therefore the ability to communicate efficiently will go a long way in closing deals as well as forming useful networks CITATION Mic14 \l 2057 (Murphy, 2014). I aim to do this by enrolling in short courses that focus on business to business and business to consumer communication. Furthermore, I will take initiative to read books on the subject. I believe that I am now more confident in applying for jobs because I have a basic understanding of the business world. My dream job would be one that deals with sales and marketing as I enjoy interacting with people and exploring theories like the power of persuasion. A helpful website for seeking such opportunities would be http://www.marketinghire.com/for-employers-and-recruiters/post-marketing-jobs.html as well as LinkedIn.

Total word count: 763

Appendix

Job 1

Graduate Sales Account Executive Softcat CITATION Sof16 \l 2057 (Softcat, 2016)Salary:

18 to 20k per annum + uncapped commission plus benefits

Location:

South East, South West, London, North West, Scotland, Yorkshire

Start date:

ASAP

Sectors:

Customer Service, Management, SalesOverview

Softcat PLC specialises in providing IT services and solutions to businesses in the UK. We are looking for talented graduates to train with us as IT sales executives and join our sales teams and support our growth by securing and developing business with organisations through telesales.

Key responsibilities

Research and business intelligence gathering

Making effective outbound calls with key decision makers

Issuing quotes and identifying new sales opportunities

Account managing and taking responsibility for own accounts

Business-to-business (B2B) cold calling

Making customers aware of suitable products available to meet their needs

Customer visits if and when required

Achieving individual sales targets

Experience and qualifications

The successful candidate will:

Be educated to degree level or equivalent

Demonstrate a strong desire to work within a sales environment

Be a highly motivated pro-active self-starter

Desirable

Well-organised and commercially aware

Background experience or strong interest in IT

Sales experience would be an advantage

Commitment and drive for business development

Knack for relationship building

Officially a Great Place to Work

We like to take care of our employees, a fact which has recently been recognised by the organisation Great Place to Work, who ranked us the 2nd best large workplace in the UK. We believe that having happy, motivated employees results in world-class customer service, so we will reward your hard work with uncapped commission, trips abroad, team nights out and other perks.

Softcat PLCs offices are designed to reflect our company culture fun, bold and quirky. Employees work in a flat friendly working structure, to ensure all everyone feels involved and supported.

Job 2

Indirect Purchasing (Graduate) - Safran UK CITATION Gra16 \l 2057 (Graduate Jobs, 2016)Salary:

Competitive plus benefits

Location:

Nationwide

Start date:

Jul-2016

Sectors:

Management, Military & Defence, Buying & MerchandisingDuties:

As a graduate working within the Safran UK Indirect purchasing team you will cover the full Purchase to Pay (P2P) cycle. You will spend time in 3 key areas:

Transactional Purchasing for day-to-day short-term requirements

Tactical Purchasing for site-specific goods & services

Strategic Purchasing, working on agreements covering National needs

During these placements you will get to know the main stakeholders at each of our 7 UK businesses. You will be expected to provide a high level of customer service, through working with these stakeholders and your Purchasing colleagues (in the UK & France) to understand their needs and to ensure that they are met in the most cost-effective way

You will develop a thorough understanding of existing Purchasing activities & processes, and you will be expected to identify opportunities for improvement

You will work to develop & implement UK commodity strategies, ensuring the lowest TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) for all UK businesses

You will monitor supplier performance and contract execution, to ensure that benefits identified are delivered and that service levels are maintained / improved

You will present your activities to colleagues, stakeholders and Senior Management throughout the Safran Group

What we are looking for:

Key Capabilities:

Analytical Skills

Ability to break down and analyse information and then provide sound judgment and recommendations.

Initiative

Displays self-confidence, takes ownership and acts proactively to make things happen in the organization.

Assertiveness

Ability to adopt a win-win approach to negotiation. He/she deals with conflict constructively, influences skilfully, and can put forward sound contributions even in the face of opposition.

Teamwork and Collaboration

Ability to interact and adapt communication and style with personnel from all levels of company, Machine Operators to Directors.

Additional factors:

Demonstrates knowledge of Purchasing and Supply Chain activities

Must have Intermediate to Advanced computer skills in Microsoft Office: Excel, Word, PowerPoint & Outlook

Knowledge of ERP systems such as SAP is a plus

Knowledge of French language is a plus

Technical knowledge or Engineering background is a plus

Customer Orientation

Seeks to understand customer needs and expectations; understands and delivers customer value; promotes open and frequent communications with management, suppliers and customers; and develops partnerships.

Negotiation/Persuasion

Applies knowledge and expertise to objectively represent a position. Uses appropriate analytical tools to assist in presenting ideas

Note that this position will involve business travel, both domestic and international

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Graduate Jobs, 2016. Indirect Purchasing (Graduate) - Safran UK. [Online] Available at: https://www.graduate-jobs.com/job/indirect-purchasing-graduate-safran-uk-80302[Accessed 2 April 2016].

Murphy, M., 2014. Skills for Effective Business Communication:Efficiency, Collaboration, and Success, Massachusetts: Harvard University.

Smith, M. D. a. P., 2011. A Comparative Analysis of Reflection and Self-Assessment, s.l.: Process Education.

Softcat, 2016. Careers. [Online] Available at: https://www.softcat.com/join-us/career-opportunities[Accessed 2 April 2016].

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