Report on Career Path
| Subject: | 💼 Business |
| Type: | Expository Essay |
| Pages: | 7 |
| Word count: | 1872 |
| Topics: | 🏆 Career Goals, Career Path, 👔 Job, 🙋♂️ Management |
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Table of Contents
Introduction
John Edwin who is 38 years old is an employee of Kensilver Limited Company. This firm is a logistical firm that deals with the facilitation of import and export of goods and services. John has been the Export Manager for this company for two years after being promoted from being a Perishable product-handling officer a position he had served for three years. In the same firm, there is another department that handles import headed by the Import Manager. As an Export Manager John reports directly to the General Manager of the firm. That being the case, it can be stated correctly that John occupies the second highest position in the firm alongside with the Import Manager. An organization has to have clear defined line of reporting so that its operations can be smooth and effective. On that note, it can be stated correctly in the absence of the General Manger either John or the Import Manager can take-up the roles as structure of administration is designed. This report is prepared to understand the dynamics, qualifications, and skills that one has to possess to excel in the industry of logistics with the aid of a profession in this field called John Edwin who has an experience of fifteen years. Logistics in its simple term is the commercial exercise of transporting goods and services from one point to another. In an advanced understanding it enhances the value of goods in a given chain.
The Career Path
John’s path toward his career started to take shape when he decided that he was going to pursue an undergraduate course in Procurement and Supply at the University of California. John graduated in the year 2004 with a 2nd class honors upper division and in the same year he secured an internship program in a Company known as FoodClear that distributes groceries across Los Angeles. John worked as an intern for 7 months and was later employed as a Product Confirmation Officer for a period of two years. The key role was to ensure the products meet the customer specifications. John left the FoodClear and joined Global Connect Limited in the year 2008 as Cargo/warehouse handling Officer. Global Connect Limited was clearing and forwarding firm and John was task at managing and supervise operations at the firm’s warehouses. John served at that position for two years and was promoted to become the Senior Warehouse Officer in the year 2010. He served in that position for two years and joined Kensilver Limited Company where is the currently the Export Manager.
As an Export Manager for Kensilver Limited Company is tasked with a lot of responsibilities, fortunately he has a team of dedicated staffs who are focused and know what is expected from them. One of the critical functions of John is to ensure that he enters into an agreement with airline companies on behalf of Kensilver Limited Company. It has to be noted that if an agreement is not entered then the export arm of the Kensilver Limited will be crippled. The airlines have different approach when it comes to pricing of the cargo and thus it is vital for a negotiation to be done for Kensilver Limited Company to get the best deal. Another critical function played by John is ensuring cargos that are to be exported confirms with the rules and regulation both in the United States and the destination. It is important to guide a client to have documentation required when exporting. Failure to conform to the set regulation risks the closure of the firm and also the client might suffer severe loss (Coyle, 2017). Maintaining the quality of a cargo is vital as it is being exported and John as to ensure this done. The Perishable handling Officer reports to John on the status of the warehouse in handling perishable products. It is the responsibility of the export manager to ensure that the cargos are exposed to a conducive environment during shipping to minimize chances of the quality being compromised. It is the responsibility of the export Manager to advise the firm on how to develop a strategy to enhance the exporting businesses both in short and long-term aspect. Other function is quoting to the clients exporting the charges they are expected to pay for services offered by the Kensilver Limited.
The technicality involved in a given job requires one to possess some vital skills in order for them to excel in their career (Jackson, & Institute of Personnel and Development, 2000). On that account, John being the Export Manager suggested that an individual who has an educational background in Procurement and Supply or International Business. These play a vital role in broadening the picture of the activities that are involved in conducting businesses that has transportation at the center of its operation. However, for one to excel in this field one has to enroll into professional courses to understand the dynamics in the logistics field. For instance, John is a Certified Supply Chain Professional, and in addition he has undergone a short course on import and export documentation and distribution. According to John such professional courses enhances the chances of one to climb up the ladder of employment. The growing competitiveness in the job market requires employees to sharpen their edge so as to overcome competition and enhancement in skills is one approach one can exploit. John adds up that communication and analytical are essential skills in the field of logistics. As an Export Manager one will have to communicate with clients and other stakeholders from time to time on various issues. That being the case, an individual should possess a good analytical skill to dissect information and issues so as to make sound decisions. According to (Arnold, & Boggs, 2016), critical aspect of communication is ensuring that information is correctly interpreted and, on that account, it would is prudent for one to avoid any ambiguity when communicating. Communication can take place in both oral and written form. In the field of logistics one should have great writing skills to prepare various reports and good reading skills when delivering presentations on various forums.
During the research it could be observed that indeed John was happy and enjoyed every bit of his job. On inquiring what made him consider this line of profession and it was clear that his mentor played a vital role on his decision towards this field. It was the dream of John to one day coordinate operations and watching them moving smoothly as he could see from his mentor. In addition, John had the aspiration to interact with the aviation industry and at his current position as an Export Manager for Kensilver Limited this has been achieved. Success in career is not necessarily measured by the remuneration level but the degree of satisfaction one derives from the job (In Suddarth, & In Reile, 2012). On that account, John is satisfied being a player in this field of logistics. One of John’s weaknesses is that he begins to micromanage situations if they don’t go as planned.
John admits that challenges in this field are inevitable and thus requires one to be resilient to tackle them as they arise. One of the critical challenges arises when an airline has to cancel its flight or delay and yet cargo space had already been booked. That being the case, arrival of the cargo to the destination will occur and this will result to losses to both the client and Kensilver Limited. Exportation and importation greatly affects the economy of a nation and, on that account, each nation has its set of requirement when it comes to export and import of cargos. It is thus vital that as an Export Manager, one has fine details of such requirement to avoid inconveniencing the client. Another concern is poor handling of cargo by the receiving agent at the destination and the client becomes unsatisfied with the services offered by Kensilver Limited yet it was not negligence from its part. Challenges in any organizations should not be regarded as factors curtailing success of a nation but rather an opportunity to explore on means to enhance operations of the firm. On that account, John considers these challenges can be tackled if players in this field support each other. In addition, the US government should have good relationship with other countries so that Kensilver Limited and other firms can enjoy friendly regulations on export and import of cargos.
The future of the logistics field is bright and will continue to grow and John argues that the growing population is an indication of growing market for logistical services. In addition, the interdependence of global economy makes the need of logistical services important aspect in the growing of the global economy (Coyle, 2017). Therefore, heavy investment in this industry is a potential trend to be observed in the near future. John encourages the young generation to consider pursuing a career in the logistical industry and should not be afraid of the challenges surrounding the logistics field. However, on his advice to those who wish to exploit this field is that time-consciousness is a critical aspect bearing in mind that flights operate on schedule. In addition, they should be willing to learn from those who have experience for them to excel in their career within this field.
Conclusion
It is indisputable that the path towards a given career is not a smooth one and this is evidenced by the career path of John. On that account, even though John’s career is not in line with my path of career I believe it serves as a good example on how I should prepare myself on to join the corporate world and excel in my career. Among the vital aspect demonstrated by John is that challenges in any field or career are inevitable and one should shy away from challenges but rather embrace those challenges and develop approaches to handle those challenges. In addition, it is important that one considers pursuing professional courses in their line of career in order to understand the industry broadly with regards to the dynamics and also climbing up the ladder of employment.
Appendix
Interview Questions
- What is your name, and age?
- What actually is your profession?
- What/who inspired you to choose this field/profession?
- Can you please briefly highlight your career path?
- Can you please tell more on your education background?
- What are the vital skills and qualifications that one has to have to excel in this field?
- What are some of your weaknesses?
- Briefly describe your employer (company)
- What is the position you hold where you are employed?
- What are the critical roles that entail your position?
- What is the structure of operations in the company?
- For how long have you being in this field?
- For the period you have been in this industry what are some of the changes you have observed?
- What are some of your greatest achievements?
- How do you ensure that you career continues to grow?
- What are the greatest challenges that face this field?
- What can you propose to be done on such challenges?
- How do you see the future in this profession/field?
- What do you think is not understood about this field?
- What advise can you give a young person who plans to join this field?
- Arnold, E., & Boggs, K. U. (2016). Interpersonal relationships: Professional communication skills for nurses.
- Coyle, J. (2017). Supply Chain Management: A Logistics Perspective.
- In Suddarth, B. H., & In Reile, D. M. (2012). Facilitating career development: An instructional program for career development facilitators and other career development providers. Instructor manual.
- Jackson, T., & Institute of Personnel and Development. (2000). Career development. London: Institute of Personnel and Development.
Offered for reference purposes only.