Introduction
Every student joins university, major in their preferred courses and works towards their careers. However, to successfully enroll in your career is not easy (Uy et al. 2015). Therefore, one needs to develop a career path and a plan to work towards it as he or she is still learning in the university. Currently, I am a student majoring in Business and Management Studies at the University of Newcastle. I am in my first year and the career that I am aspiring to take after graduating is to be a business adviser. My interest is solely on being a business adviser after graduation and for that reason, I want to build my way towards attaining it. I would like to get employed in a popular company where I will execute my services effectively. Therefore, in this paper, I discuss what an employer will be looking for from me as a business adviser. I will also evaluate my skills, motivation, values as well as my personal and professional behaviors. A reflection will be undertaken based on my present strengths and weaknesses with regards to the job requirements of a business adviser. I will also discuss the benefits that I will reap from my optimal modules from year two and three to aid me in preparing for my career. Finally, this report will conclude by determining the routes for gaining skills as well as experience which will assist to gain experience in my career as a business adviser.
Requirements needed by the employer
As a business adviser, the employers require that I have the capacity to provide information about the finances, ways of funding and obtaining grants for the business. The employer also needs that I provide support to the company especially in the business planning process. Moreover, the employer needs that I offer to mentor as well as coaching to assist the business to cope up with changes when undergoing organizational changes or when adopting new business strategies (“Business adviser job profile,” n.d.). The provision of advice with regards to business improvement strategies is critical. The employer wants the business to be successful and therefore, he will need my skills to facilitate by using my advice on effective business strategies. It is also expected of me from my employer to introduce the business to other networks and associates (“Business adviser job profile,” n.d.).
Businesses significantly depend on connections for it to be successful, therefore, the employer needs this to be undertaken by the business adviser. Sometimes businesses tend to stumble and work can be difficult or get into a standstill, therefore the employer will also need that I remain available all the time and ready to offer specialist support in the company that requires critical attention (“Business adviser job profile,” n.d.). Since businesses have goals for growing and expanding to even international markets, the employer definitely will require that I offer specialist support in developing international trade agreements. My task will be to seek and ensure that I make agreements for the international trades that will facilitate business growth to the international market (“Business adviser job profile,” n.d.). The employer will also need my expertise to inform and influence government policy regarding business support. I will be required to lobby and participate in government policy in order to influence the policies which will be beneficial to the business. As much as the employer needs high competence among his employees, he will also require that I am highly skilled and competent enough to design and deliver training seminars to improve competency among the employees in the company (“Business adviser job profile,” n.d.). In essence, the employer will require that I generally support the business to grow, scale up, and make changes by diversifying its business model which will enhance the business activities.
Self-evaluation
Values
To build my career path and be able to be an effective business adviser, my own personal values, skills, motivation and behaviour are essential. With regards to values, I am a highly principled person guided by my own values. One of my values is that is uniqueness. I like doing things that are unique and different from others. This is very important as a life hack that enables me to stand out from other people. With regards to my career path, being unique is essential by doing things in a different way which will enable the business to thrust and stand out from its competitors (Jackson & Wilton, 2016). I like trying new things in diverse ways and this enables me to learn new things that are very helpful. Therefore, exploiting this value in my career will render me to be very productive.
My other value is providing guidance. I find it easy to establish relationships with other people and I am always willing and ready to offer them guidance. I am a selfless person and always proud of guiding other people to enable them to get through a difficult situation or any challenging issues they encounter. The value of guidance is very important to my career I am aspiring. Therefore, to be a good business advisor, I will have to maintain my ability to offer guidance. This is very important in establishing business relationships and also assisting in giving advises and other relevant support to the business that will enhance its productivity.
Long-term thinking is another important value that I have. I always base my thoughts not only to solve my current issues but also to last and also address my future issues (Jansson, Nilsson, Modig, & Hed Vall, 2017). In everything that I do, I usually think about the future and ensure that I lay a plan for achieving my goals. This value is very important in my future career as a business adviser. As a business adviser, it is critical to exercise long-term thinking. This is because a business’ success is widespread and requires long-term plans in order to sustain and maintain success.
Coaching mentality is another value that I possess. I like coaching other people especially my friends. I normally coach my friends in our class assignments so as to enhance their understanding of the assignments given by the lecturer. I believe, that coaching is the best way of creating understanding and competency among people. Therefore, I am certain that given that my future career as a business adviser significantly coaching, it will be easy for me since coaching mentality has been a core principle for a long time. Coaching will enable me to create competency among the employees to adapt to changes and new business strategies (Vidgen, Shaw, & Grant, 2017). Therefore, in my way towards my career, I will uphold and exercise the coaching mentality.
Skills
The most important skill that I have is critical thinking. I have the ability to think critically through every situation or opportunity in order to reap benefits out of it. Whenever I am encountered by any challenge, I am always able to liberate myself out of it by creatively thinking out a way to get myself out of it. Essentially, creative thinking puts one in a position to be creative enough to solve a problem (Vidgen et al., 2017). Employers also want individuals who are capable of solving a problem using their own creative thinking as well as making informed decisions utilizing thoughtful evaluation. Being a creative thinker, it will enable me to be a successful and effective business adviser.
I also tend to be accountable and flexible. In my day-to-day life, I am normally very dependable and flexible in every work activity. I am flexible to switch between different works and manage to finish in time. Moreover, any work assigned to me, I usually ensure that I do it perfectly within the set deadline. This has helped to build reliability among my friends. This skill is very important in the business adviser career. An employer needs someone who is reliable and flexible to handle any issue that arises in time (Jansson et al., 2017). Flexibility will also enable me to adapt to changes. To be successful and effective in this career, exploitation of accountability and flexibility skill is essential as it enables on to act effectively and take full responsibilities as required by the job roles.
I also have good interpersonal skills that enable me to effectively interact and relate well with other people. I tend to be attentive when communicating with someone. I show empathy to anyone who needs my assistance and attends to them. Most importantly, my level of cooperation and collaboration with other people is high (Jackson & Wilton, 2016). I also am encouraging, respectful and a good negotiator. Employers need a business advisor who can relate well with other people easily. Interpersonal skills are essential in building relations among people. Therefore, since I have a good interpersonal skill which employers are looking for, I am certain to be an effective business adviser which can lead to additional opportunities.
Motivation
A big motivation that I have is a sense of achievement. I am a goal oriented person and there is nothing that pleases me like achieving my goals. I never settle for anything less than my set objects. My desire to achieve my goals has been a big motivational factor that has also enable me to fulfil my dreams. Such motivation is compatible with my future career as a business adviser. In fact, employers want people who are self-driven and highly motivated in accomplishing their duties (Jackson & Wilton, 2016). Therefore, my sense of achievement will definitely make me stand out and be successful in executing my roles efficiently.
Curiosity is another motivational factor. I tend to be curious about everything I do to know what will be the resulting outcome. This curiosity enables me to work extra harder and not to give up so as to be able to see the outcomes of the work. Such kind of motivation is vital in every work, especially in my desired career (Jackson & Wilton, 2016). Employers need effective employees who are self-motivated. Therefore, this form of motivation definitely will lead to the effective execution of my duties in the company.
Behavior
I am an assertive person. I tend to express my feelings or desires appropriately. I respect everyone and approach everyone appropriately and ensure that I always avoid inconveniencing other people. I have the ability to acknowledge and respect everyone’s rights and opinions. Nonetheless, assertiveness is an important behavior that employers seek from employees (Jackson & Wilton, 2016). My ability to exercise assertiveness in my career as a business adviser will be effective since I will be able to build a relationship with employees and the employer effectively.
Reflection
Strengths
My current strength is that I have excellent mentoring and coaching skills. These skills are among the top job requirements. I am good at mentoring and coaching which puts me in a position to qualify for the job position as a business adviser. Another strength is that I have the capacity of building a positive relationship with other people. This is a great strength since it falls under the job requirement that the candidate should be in a position to establish a positive relationship with every associates, partners or client (Uhl & Gollenia, 2016). Therefore, I perfectly fit into this qualification. Another job requirement for this career is the ability to undertake research on behalf of the company. Actually, I am good at undertaking research and very flexible to carry out any kind of research (Vidgen et al., 2017). Therefore, this will be an easy task for me. The job also requires active attendance to meeting with associates and partners. I am good at timekeeping and my dedication to attend meetings is one of my strengths. I never give excuses and take meetings very seriously.
Weakness
One of my weaknesses currently is the lack of in-depth knowledge for business support as well as to offer advises to the business on the variety of alternatives that are present. This is a job requirement which I currently lack (Vidgen et al., 2017). Another weakness is my inability to carry out diagnostic needs assessments of the business as well as the needs analysis of the business and place an action plan. This is because I lack knowledge about it but I am looking forward to learning about it in my future modules. My other weakness is that I lack more essential knowledge to provide tutoring on important business issues such as cash flow plans.
Benefits from optimal modules
In my future optimal modules, I will benefit a lot by gaining more knowledge about business management that is relevant for a business adviser career which will help in shaping my career path. From the optimal modules, I will be able to gain in-depth knowledge regarding the business support landscape (Rothman & Sisman, 2016). I will also be able to learn and understand how to carry out diagnostic needs assessment for the business. I will also gain knowledge for building a positive relationship with clients, and ways of communicating effectively with clients, the employer and other employees (Schaltegger & Burritt, 2018). The optimal modules will also provide me with more detailed information and train me on how to offer tutoring and coaching effectively.
Conclusion
To sum it all, I am aspiring to be a business adviser. To be a good and effective business adviser, I need to shape my career path from now. My values, skills, motivation, behaviour, as well as future optimal modules, play a big role in shaping my career path. Gaining knowledge from the optimal modules in school is important, but it is more important to seek for more skills and experience so as to be able to access my career. Therefore, I will ensure that I attend industrial attachment and internship programs in reputable companies or businesses so as to gain more skills and knowledge.