Introduction
This report aims to map out my strategic plans for my future basing from the tests I had undergone over the past weeks. This is a literature containing my personal analysis and reflections on my personality results, skills and weaknesses, and employability. I will also be discussing my plans for the future and detail steps on how I do about in shaping my career as a business woman in the insurance industry.
Initial Reflections
I had always wanted to be part of the insurance industry because I want to follow in the footsteps of my father. I had always looked up to my father and how he ran our insurance company. It was in him that I found the inspiration to be involved with insurance.
Upon my knowledge of the course and the activities, I needed to go through to determine my career path I found it irrelevant because I am already knowledgeable of what I want to do.
Through continuous participation in the exercises especially on answering tests questions I had slowly shifted my view and found the activities significant because it helped me know myself better in terms of personality, strengths, weaknesses and my tendencies that I wasn’t aware of before taking the tests.
Employability Skills
Basing my first test, I would rate myself as someone who would fit working in teams. Indeed, I am a harmonizer, someone who loves working with other people, enjoys creating relationships and abhors being isolated. I work best with teams and as an individual I am very strict when it comes to work.
I am very organized, efficient in solving practical issues and I always like to get things done right away (Type Dynamics Indicator, 2011 p. 3). Employers would love to have me in their sales team because I am very dynamic and proactive.
In getting a job I believe people should be personally engaging to impress with their future employers. Connecting is a key in job interviews especially since the interviewers would like to know who you truly are thus with my outgoing nature I am very confident that employers would be impress.
Personality Type and Future Career Plans
As someone who wants to work in the insurance industry, I believe that with my personal qualities and philosophy towards work I am very suitable in the sales department of insurance agencies. I am a very sociable person thus I have the ability to connect with people and this may increase the worth of my client base and network.
My work ethics is very strict and well organize and I have the ability to come up with logical solutions for practical problems. According to Success Magazine, key qualities of a great success person are: they must be driven, confident, outgoing, assertive, funny, structured, rational and focused (Success Magazine, 2011).
Basing from the test results, I got from the workshop I am qualified contender of being a great and successful sales person. To be a part of the insurance industry is my goal.
Over the years, I had enrolled myself in business school to know more on how to run a company and I had found out one of the basic skills I needed to run a successful insurance company is mastering the art of sales and marketing. I had learned these two aspects but I have decided to focus on income generation which is sales.
Personal Strength and Weaknesses
Basing on the employability skills exercise and the Employability Development Profile (Learning Style Inventory 2011, p.6-7) my strengths include working with real issues, converting ideas into actions, grasping basic issues and seeing their practical implications, being involved and interacting with others, grasping the facts, handling the detail and engaging in practical activities and giving or responding to clear instructions and structure.
While my weaknesses according to the report which I agree are: I do not see the value in abstract ideas, I am having a difficult time being innovative and considering alternatives before moving into action, it is a challenge for me to deal with ambiguity and incomplete information, working and studying on my own is something I detest and I have to work harder on suspending my judgements.
According to the results, I always get criticised for attending to the obvious and missing the whole idea, concluding before all the information is obtained and known, trying things out too soon, not listening, I become frustrated with slow pacing, having pre-conceived ideas and being very impatient.
Career Anchor
Career anchors are people’s self concept mostly composing of their awareness of their own talents and skills, basic values and insight of their own motives and needs pertaining to careers (Schein, 1985).
Among Edgar Schein’s eight themes that show people’s prioritized preferences (Schein, 2006), I believe that my primary theme is being a manager, not just to get more money but also I like to solve practical problems and deal with people in general. I thrive on the responsibility of supervising groups of individuals.
Amidst all this, I want to be successful thus I know the importance of emotional competence in my career that’s why I want to be able to follow in my father’s footsteps in running his insurance company. To be his successor is my pride.
Career Interests
According to psychologist John Holland “the choice of a vocation is an expression of personality.”(Holland,1973) “Holland’s research shows that personalities seek out and flourish in career environments they fit and that jobs and career environments are classified by the personalities that flourish in them” according to the Committee on Scientific Awards (American Psychological Association, 2008).
Basing from test results, as a harmonizer I would fit in the following occupations; administrators, beauticians, hairdressers, child care, clerical staff, community service workers, health service, home economist, nursing, office managers, quality managers, religious occupations, retail sales and service, school teachers, secretarial and PA roles and speech therapy.
Analysing the ideal jobs in store for me I see myself fit in my choice of being in sales for insurance companies and eventually being a manager of that company. My career interest in sales and the insurance industry is in line with my personality of being a sociable person who likes to work in a structured environment.
Career Motivations and Drivers
From the exercise, I am considered an activator.
This is the type of person who wants learning to have some practical application, prefers subjects that require a commonsense and matter of fact approach, wants action, realism and does not want change for change sake, enjoys organizing facts, situations and people, creates order and efficiency and delivers results, dislikes woolly thinking and procrastination, attends to immediate and practical issues and details and learns best from direct experience and practice (Learning Styles Inventory, 2011).
As a classified activator with the given personality my career motivations and drivers include: being able to interact with people and create relationships at the same time being successful in business by closing deals and sales with new associates, being able to attain a managerial position eventually in my career because it is a symbol of success for me and also I get to be part of my staff’s lives especially in problem solving and career development, and lastly I am motivated to attain emotional competence so I can relate to people’s needs and be able to assist and help them.
I want to be a part of my father’s insurance company and become his successor eventually.
My Career and Life Goals
As a girl, I had always admired and looked up in my father. He had provided our family with everything we need especially in giving me a good life. I wanted to be like him and provide for my family. Upon growing up, I have decided to enrol myself in business school with the hopes of following in my father’s footsteps and being the successor of his insurance company.
I had planned out my career path for quite some time now. Since I want to be part of the insurance industry and I want to run my father’s company in the future I am aware that I need to learn the basic skills of sales and marketing and eventually people management.
While currently studying in the university, I have actively engaged myself in seminars and courses where it may hone my skills in business namely sales, marketing and administrative management. I want to experience working for other insurance companies so I can learn new ideas for the improvement of my future company.
I believe that experience is a key to any success and it is also a good teacher especially in the business world where you need sharp skills in crisis management and problem solving.
Potential Career Opportunities
Potential careers for me are to be in sales or marketing in an insurance company. Although, I prefer to start with sales first so I would develop my network of contacts at the beginning of my career at the same time learn the most important part of running a business, which is making a profit. My plan is to hone my skills and be a competent graduate student.
I want to attract companies to hire me so during the summer I will be working as a sales associate of an insurance firm. Currently, I am applying for a position in one of the top insurance firms in the industry. Also, I am always looking for classes and/or seminars to improve my skills in sales promotions, marketing, and research to for my further personal growth.
I personally believe by being involve in my desired field I will be able to learn more especially the strategies needed in the success of my chosen industry which is insurances.
Short term classes and seminars conducted for the enhancement of skills can also contribute to my success in my chosen career path and also because of these self development tools I will be able to contribute to the success of the companies I will be working with in the future.
Recruitment Process of Selected Occupation
The processes in which I will be accepted in my desired job which is being a sales representative for an insurance firm are as follows:
- Submission of CV or curriculum vitae.
- Company Human Resource (HR) Department will sift through applicants and qualified ones will be scheduled for initial interview and testing.
- The first interview step is applicants will be required to take logic and personality tests followed by the initial interview with the hiring staff.
- Once the applicant had passed the first interview she will be qualified for the second interview with the Sales Supervisor.
- The second interview will be with the Sales Supervisor to whom the applicant will be reporting directly to if she gets the job.
- Upon passing the second interview the applicant be schedule for a third interview with the General Manager or the owner if the owner likes the applicant the HR department will process the needed documentation and contracts.
- The applicant is hired and she will start her job with an orientation and trainings.
Awareness of Graduate on the Labour Market
The insurance industry in china has grown rapidly in China with yearly life insurance payments increasing from 10 billion US dollars in 1999 to 46 billion US dollars in 2006. In 2007 the growth of the industry was evident in the 100 insurance companies present in China.
From January to May 2007, insurance assets in China reached to RMB 450 billion and at present the total capital of the whole Chinese insurance industry has exceeded RMB 200 billion which is 5.6 times bigger than that of the year 2002(Caijing Magazine, 2011). With the rapid growth of insurance companies in China, this expansion would attribute to the workforce needed by these companies.
They would be needed sales agents to find clients for them. Currently the company I am applying in is China Ping An Insurance Group Limited which is based in Shenzhen Shekou China. They are looking for sales staff with an educational background above high school level.
Experience wise they are not very particular as long as the applicant is honest, trustworthy and is aggressive with strong communication skills. They are also looking for someone who can go through difficulties and seek out challenges.
Occupational Area Selected
Since I was a child, I have always considered my father as a role model. He owns and runs an insurance company and I have seen how much he has helped our family by providing us with a good life and also he has given great service to other people through his insurances.
As a young girl, I had always dreamed of becoming just like him, to be able to provide my family the best life through my occupation at the same time help people with insurances so that when they are in trouble and have problems coming up with the money for hospital bills, road accidents and even during death of a love one insurances will be there to save the day because the industry help people save for bad raining days.
How I had decided on becoming and being part of the industry comes to no surprise for me. My personality is very sociable at the same time I like working in a structured environment. I like talking and helping people at the same time I am very strict with myself in terms of finishing my work.
Being in the insurance industry is ideal for me because I can interact with people, sell them insurances to help them save and at the same time I can meet my company’s needed sales and quotas because I am very strict and organize.
Action Plan (3 – 5 years)
Goals play an important role in the success of every individual who aspires to attain greatness. “Goals have the ability to function as a self-regulatory mechanism that acquires an employee a certain amount of guidance.” (Shalley,1995, p. 483-503).
On the other hand, Locke and Latham can influence individuals’ performances because they focus the attention of people towards goal-relevant activities, they serve as energizers, promotes persistent and activate cognitive knowledge and strategies (Lathham and Locke 2002, p. 705-717). I have drafted out my 3 to 5 year goals using the SMART framework:
To fulfil my goal to be successful in the Chinese insurance industry, I must work hard to be the best in my field. My goal is to become an insurance industry business expert by 2020. By that time I see myself as someone who knows the ins and outs of the industry and also I will be one of the most influential figures in my business.
I want to serve as an inspiration to all with my knowledge in problem solving and creating strategies to further improve the industry. I have concluded that in order for me to become an expert I have to be mentored by the experts in the industry so I will know how they think and act.
I have chosen industry legends Ma Mingzhe the chairman of China Ping An Insurance Group and Gao Guofu chairman of China Pacific Insurance Company to be my mentors. In order for me to be their apprentice I must work hard to be part of their companies and excel.
I believe that with knowledge and experience I will acquire in my exposure of being part of the best insurance companies in China, I will be able to help my father improve his own insurance company and also be one of the leading companies in the industry.
Summary and Conclusion
This report presents my map of the future. It serves as a guide for me and my tutors to know my career path and how I will shape my future. According to tests results, I am an activator and a harmonizer with personal characteristics of being spontaneous, sociable and practical. The tests are accurate in measuring my personality and characteristics (Profiling for Success, 2011).
They also predicted my strengths and weaknesses and also the things that motivate me to work. I want to be part of the insurance industry like my father. I had planned to be the best in my field thus I had created a plan that I will work for other top companies in China to gain experience and learning.
At school, I continuously improve my sales and marketing skills by attending seminars on personal development and taking up business courses that will help in my future. Currently, I am applying for a sales associate position in one of the top insurance companies in China for my summer job. I hope to get in and learn more about the industry.
Reference
American Psychological Association, 2008. Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology. United States: American Psychological Association. Web.
Caijing Magazine, 2011. Regulator Takes Over China United Property Insurance, Caijing Magazine. Web.
Holland, J., 1973. Making Vocational Choices: A theory of Careers. California: Prentice Hall.
Latham, G. and Locke, E., 2002. Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation. The American Psychologist, 57(9), pp.705-717.
Profiling for Success, 2011. Learning Style Inventory. Web.
Profiling for Success, 2011. Type Dynamics Indicator. Web.
Schein, E., 2006. Career Anchors. 3rd ed. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.
Schein, E., 1985. Organizational Culture and Leadership. 4th ed. San Francisco, CA: PB Printing.
Shalley, C., 1995. Effects of Coactions, Expected Evolution and Goal Setting on Creativity and Productivity. Academy of Management Journal, 38(2), pp.483-503.
Success Magazine, 2011. Key Qualities of a Great Salesperson, Success Magazine. Web.