Summary
There are many jobs in the financial sector although I decided to settle for the position of a reconciliation clerk due to my qualifications and future career prospect. In the beginning, I found the job to be demanding but equipped with good academic background and accounting experience, I believed that I was the best person for the advertised position. In addition to my qualifications, I realized that the position was not only suitable for my current needs but it was also to be of great importance to my future career by gaining the required experience.
There were several jobs advertised alongside the job of my choice and therefore I needed to make a choice concerning the suitable job. The company also needed to know the value I was to add to the company as a new employee. Therefore, how I presented my application was of great importance to the company. I also needed to consider some of my weaknesses that would make me not fit for the job and the possible solutions. This paper, therefore, presents an analytical report of my job portfolio about the chosen job. The report discusses the job requirements, the choice for that particular post, my skills, attribute, and some of my weaknesses in relation to the post.
Job Title, Requirements, and Skills
A Reconciliation Clerk was the title of the job I chose looking forward to a successful application process. According to the job description, the job seemed to be very demanding since it had strict requirements. The job description was also specific in all the requirements and therefore I needed to be specific in my application. According to the job description, a reconciliation clerk needed to have at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting from a reorganized institution. The post also required that the candidate should have at least one year of experience in a similar position or its equivalent. According to the company, experience was the most important qualification for the post and it was to act as major selection criteria. The job also required that suitable candidates should have numerical skills and a high level of accuracy. The suitable persons for the post should have proven ability to handle large-scale paperwork with an excellent degree of accuracy and proficiency. Communication is very important in an organization since it determines the success of the company based on employees’ competence (Hellriegel and Slocum 413). The company seemed to be aware of this and in the job description; excellent communication skill was set as an important requirement for successful candidates.
According to my own analysis, the job description for the advertised position was excellent although it disadvantaged fresh graduates like me in the application process. I noted this factor at the beginning of my application process but equipped with strong academic background, strong academic skills, and a positive attitude I believed that I would succeed. Skills are very important than academic and professional qualifications since they determine one’s ability to handle the assigned duties (Clinton 5). From the job description issued by the company, I realized that the position was more skill-oriented than qualifications oriented and therefore I noted that I had an added advantage for the position. To begin with, the position required strong communication skills and based on my ability to speak and write in English, Arabic, and French I knew that I would be a qualified candidate for the position. From my ability to communicate in more than one language, I expected consideration by the selection panel and if possible get an invitation for an interview. The position also required a good background in computers especially on MS Office packages and I qualified in that area. Finally, I have strong interpersonal skills and therefore I hoped to be a productive employee for the company once I was selected for the post.
Opportunity Cost
Every decision and choice has an opportunity cost attached to it that determines the cost of the missed opportunity at the expense of the choice made (Clinton 65). Making a choice for a reconciliation clerk, therefore, had an opportunity cost due to the other missed opportunities and therefore I had to be certain about my choice. In making the choice for this particular job, I had to be specific on the reasons that made me select the job and reject other job offers made alongside the selected job.
There are two main reasons that made me select and apply for the position of reconciliation clerk at the expense of the other possible jobs. The reasons were based on my suitability for the positions and on my future career prospects. To begin with, I had a strong academic background with a score of 4.5 out of 5.0 points in my BA accounting degree. Secondly, I had experience and skills in financial planning and controls. Although I had never been exposed to financial reconciliation duties before, I expected the two strong points in my profile to give me an extra advantage during the selection process. With these two important strong points, I expected to succeed in the selection and the interview process once I was invited for one. Unlike other possible jobs, I expected the reconciliation position to give me a better chance of employment based on the two strong points.
The second important reason for selecting the position is my future career prospect, which made me have high expectations of the position. The future is as important as the present and I expected the new position to provide me with a strong base for my future career. I was certain that I would get additional skills and experience from my new position that would be useful for my future career. In particular, I expected the new position to provide me with the strong numerical and analytical skills that I would require once in a top management position. Secondly, I also expected the new position to provide me with new opportunities and to meet important people as well as better opportunities once in the new position.
Finally, I noted that in order to be successful in my application process I had to be of benefit to the company and therefore I had to consider the value I would add once given the opportunity. This consideration became the third reason why I selected the post of reconciliation clerk at the expense of other possibilities. In my new position, I expected the organization to realize efficiency and accountability in the reconciliation process and reflect this in society.
Skills and Attribute
Personal attributes are very important at the workplace and employers normally use them as selection criteria in the hiring process. In the application process, I was aware of this point and therefore I hoped that my personal attributes and skills as indicated in my curriculum vitae would be important points through the selection process. After going through the job requirements, I noted that the job required a high degree of commitment and accountability and I had these as major attributes. Secondly, I have strong analytical skills and strategic planning skills that are important to the position and therefore I expected to go through the selection process and excel in my duties as a new employee. I also have problem-solving skills that are important in the new position since it has problem-solving as a major requirement. Finally, communication determines one’s competence and I hoped that my strong communication skills would provide me with a good position through the employment process.
Weakness
Although I am in a better position to qualify for the advertised position, I have some weaknesses that might hinder me from achieving my goals and dreams of obtaining the new position. In addition, the weakness may also affect my position once I am appointed in the new position and therefore I need to work on them in order to come up with possible solutions. To begin with, I recognize that I had not worked in a similar position before and therefore I lack important skills and experience. According to the job description, the position requires that successful candidates should have at least one year of experience due to the nature of the job. The job also requires that the candidate should have certain skills that are only obtained through actual job experience. Having not worked in a similar position before also presents the next disadvantage since I lack an appropriate referee for the post. I, therefore, hope that the selection panel would not be strict on the background of the referee I provide alongside my application.
Although I have strong interpersonal skills I lack strong socialization skills and I can therefore describe myself as poor in socialization. This characteristic makes me have a disadvantage in the post of reconciliation clerk that I intend to apply for. Although this character has been the source of my strong numerical and problem-solving skills, I intend to work on it in order to minimize any negative results that might arise from it. I, therefore, need to work on my attitude towards socialization and having new friends in order to succeed in the new position. Socialization at the workplace is very important since it develops an employee’s competence and skills through sharing of information (Velde 108). In order to gain these important skills, I, therefore, need to improve my socialization skills and personal attitude.
Finally, the resume is a very important document in the job application process since it markets its owner. Although the curriculum vitae included for the job is appropriate it lacks some important features and therefore I need to work on it in order to have good results in my application. The document needs to be more descriptive and therefore it should include fine details about my competence and personality. Secondly, the resume needs to have referees who could be contacted by the company to account for the details indicated in the resume. In conclusion, working on my weakness is the only possible way of improving my skills and competence regarding the advertised position and therefore I need to work on them to obtain good results.
Works Cited
Clinton, Smoke. Company Officer. New York: Thompson Learning, 2005. Print.
Hellriegel, Don and Slocum, John. Organizational Behaviour. Boulevard: Thomson Higher Education, 2007. Print.
Velde, Christine. International Perspectives on Competence in the Workplace. London: Springer, 2009. Print.