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Analysis of Labor Market
If one can prove
himself successful as a marketer, he will be infinitely more likely to
find a company willing to employ him and make marketing industry his best
friend and be on his way to a stellar within career management focusing on
career path in marketing. The marketing management within its labor market
and industry is booming and offers a variety of career options and deals
with the largest markets of any kind in the world and call on the
following skills: (Johansen et al., 1996)
Ø
Level of
People skills: high
Ø
Level of
Sales skills: high
Ø
Level of
Communication skills: high
Ø
Level of
Analytical skills: high
Ø
Level of
Ability to synthesize: high
Ø
Level of
Creative ability: medium
Ø
Level of
Initiative: medium
Ø
Level of Work
hours: 40-65 per week
There might be
interested in portfolio management marketing if a person consider himself
thoughtful and sociable and entailing process of cooperation with a
portfolio manager to compile presentation information for customers and
should be done well requiring a good knowledge of the company and plenty
of effort. Business companies want people who can make authoritative
suggestions about their larger investments. (Johansen et al., 1996) Aside,
it is essential to be well educated in methods of fixed-income evaluation
if considering marketing management career as various markets backed by
different parties like the corporations, municipalities, assets and
agencies. Thus, success in the type of career necessitates a blend of
essential skills including discipline, hard work, good perceptions and
strong intellect and that the right mixture of these skills and traits is
rare indeed and those interested in pursuing a career in marketing should
understand the challenge it is to establish a reputation and outdo the
market and provide a company’s management with information needed to make
decisions on the promotion, distribution, design and pricing of services.
Also, continuing education is important in order to keep current with new
methods of developing, conducting, and analyzing surveys and other data.
(Johansen et al., 1996).
Then, much of the market
and survey researcher’s time is spent on precise data analysis, so those
considering careers in the occupation should be able to pay attention to
detail. Patience and persistence are necessary qualities because these
workers must spend long hours on independent study and problem solving and
communication skills are important, too, because researchers must be able
to present their findings both orally and in writing, in a clear, concise
manner. Job opportunities should be best for those with a master’s or
Ph.D. degree in marketing or a related field and strong quantitative
skills. Bachelor’s degree holders may face competition, as many positions,
especially the more technical ones, require a master’s or higher degree.
Source of information: US
Labor Statistics from:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos013.htm
The ability to
communicate persuasively, both orally and in writing, with other managers,
staff, and the public is vital. These managers also need tact, good
judgment, and exceptional ability to establish and maintain effective
personal relationships with supervisory and professional staff members and
client firms. Because of the importance and high visibility of their jobs,
advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations and sales managers
often are prime candidates for advancement to the highest ranks.
Well-trained, experienced and successful managers may be promoted to
higher positions in their own, managers with extensive experience and
sufficient capital may open their own businesses. (Johansen et al., 1996)
There needs to have:
(Johansen et al., 1996)
Ø
Establish a
memorable and unmistakeable brand identity: - The secret to business
success is determined by your ability to powerfully communicate the
business with laser precision and the ability to deliver a clearly-defined
and consistent experience.
Ø
Create a deep
connection with your core target audience – In marketing, individuals will
get a lot more "bang for your buck" if focus in spending a group of people
that you enjoy working with.
Ø
Design
compelling offerings that pull customers in like a magnet – Aside, being a
marketer, it can be his to know how his customers want to feel and to get
them to visualize how the services can meet their needs.
A personal career SWOT
analysis
Using a SWOT Analysis in
Your Career Planning (Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D. and Katharine Hansen, 2005)
A key tool in planning
process can also be applied to career planning. A SWOT analysis focuses on
the internal and external environments, examining strengths and weaknesses
in the internal environment and opportunities and threats in the external
environment. Thus, to refine the SWOT, it is useful to explore own
self-perception of strengths, but also put the self inside a prospective
employer's head as the person consider his strong points. For the
weakness, people find it relatively difficult to identify the areas where
we are weak. But this assessment helps to identify areas where he may need
to improve and the need to take steps to improve that skill and past
performance appraisals and grades and teacher comments from school provide
valuable feedback.
Furthermore, from this
analysis, there should be a road map that shows how to capitalize on such
strengths and minimize or eliminate weaknesses and use certain information
to plan how to market oneself. The marketing planning process entails a
three-step process:
Ø
determining
objectives
Ø
developing
marketing strategies
Ø
strategizing
an action program
Strengths
I am
better in terms of academic achievement and leadership skills, I can make
decisions in a proper indication and having a career path in marketing I
must say that I have good potentials in marketing processes as it may
reflect the ways I learned through the academe and exercise leadership
within the value of effective communication and the power of teamwork.
Weaknesses
Within
the technology field, technical skills are the most important factor in
job success, if not career success. Though I have abundant leadership
experience, there holds much more technical knowledge than an information
systems minor. Thus, lifelong learning and continuous improvement must be
applied to my life for continued success.
Opportunities
Marketing
career management is stable in the sense that it can serve as a channel
for continuous learning within myself and job opportunities in the field
of business are high and in-demand in the society for, I am a skilled
individual which gives the upper chance for a marketing career.
Threats
A great
deal of publicity has surrounded the phenomenal growth in the marketing
field and several people are joining marketing seminars and programs to
take advantage of its trends incorporating today’s standard of technical
competence will be tomorrow’s level of incompetence as the marketing
landscape changes so quickly that being successful requires constant
upgrading of skills and proficiencies.
Some of the key activities
that marketers often lead and perform include advertising and promotion
planning, brand and package design, sales and distribution forecasting,
consumer market research, new product development, pricing and analysis
and development and execution of the annual brand plan as it must possess
the following: (Kusy, 1994)
Ø
A high level
of personal motivation
Ø
Strong
interpersonal and communication skills as well as sound analytical
thinking
Ø
Must be
comfortable working independently and as part of a team
Ø
Bachelor's
degree in order to begin the training program and have proven academic
performance
Ø
Should be
willing to take on significant responsibility while meeting stringent
deadlines and high quality work standards
As businesses, careers and
the workplace are rapidly changing and the skills that you have or plan
for today may not be in demand years from now. Long-range career planning
should be more about identifying and developing core skills that employers
will always value while developing your personal and career goals in broad
strokes. (Kusy, 1994)
Developing a Strategic
Vision for the Career Plan (Randall S. Hansen, 2005)
Marketing is the lifeblood
that runs through the veins of successful organizations. Without
marketing, no matter how good the product or service, the organization
will fail. It’s marketing that defines the distinctive features and
benefits of the product or service, it’s marketing that sets the price,
it’s marketing that communicates those features and benefits to the
appropriate audience and it’s marketing that delivers the goods to the
consumer.
As with any business, a
career seeker without a plan will simply not optimize his/her job search.
It’s important to uncover and comprehend the trends in your career field
as well as gather detailed information about the companies you would like
to work for and using market research is essential to a person’s success.
No matter how attractive a product are employers may not recognize and
value the worker unless he have properly positioned yourself on the job
market. Moreover, to help focus on taking marketing career to the next
level, there are key elements of a successful strategy. (Kusy, 1994) Know
what you want and what you don't – Step one in career management is to
visualize what you want what you really want and keep that image fresh in
your mind. This will ensure that you make day-to-day decisions that will
propel you toward your goal. Take inventory – Take a look at your skills
and determine which are most relevant to the current needs of your current
or potential employers.
There are primary trends to
connect oneself with: (Rouda and Kusy, (1995)
External customers –
Understanding
the customer has always been an important component of every marketing
job, from market research to advertising. But it is becoming even more
important to demonstrate your understanding of customers and ability to
build trust and loyalty with them. Marketing is more and more being seen
as the link to customers.
Internal customers –
Marketers
once had almost autonomous control of a large budget and very little
resistance from inside the organization. Now, there must prove worth not
only to your manager but also to your internal constituencies. That means
having a clear understanding of the needs and desires of your peers
throughout the organization and being able to demonstrate the value of
your marketing activity. (Rouda and Kusy, (1995)
An updated CV (15 marks) &
b.) PDP (15 marks)
CV
Personal Development
Planning
Personal Development
Planning (PDP) is defined as 'a structured and supported process
undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning,
performance and / or achievement and to plan for their personal,
educational and career development.' PDP embraces a range of approaches to
learning that connect planning, doing, recording and reflection. Personal
Development Planning (PDP) is a process by which individuals reflect upon
and plan their own learning. (Rouda and Kusy, (1995)
Personal career planning
means: : (Rouda and Kusy, (1995)
Ø
Analysing the
past - identifying key skills and experiences
Ø
Looking at
the future - patterns of responsibility
Ø
Career
aspiration and focus
Ø
Planning how
to make it happen
It was said that, well
established, successful companies often have clear career paths,
particularly if they rely on attracting good people and keeping them
working hard. Even in these companies, people can get too valuable in
their job to be allowed to move forward in their careers. Employers can
let the short-term, tactical problems of replacing key staff get in the
way of ongoing career development. This can be intensely frustrating for
the person affected. Similarly, organizations undergoing change often do
not have clear career paths. Where an organization is growing quickly,
this is not normally a problem. (Rouda and Kusy, (1995) As organizations
grow, they need more and more people at all levels. This means that if
people work hard and have the right skills, energy and aptitude, they can
be promoted quickly as new roles open up. However, without good career
development opportunities, person may not achieve his long-term potential:
the good, challenging jobs quite legitimately need the right experience,
and you will not get these jobs unless you have had the opportunity to
accumulate this experience. It is important to understand where a person
now so that he are realistic in identifying the options open to him and so
that he can use all of the resources available to you. A good place to
start with this is to inventory your knowledge, skills, experience and
resources. Similarly, if I want to move to a senior role, then I will
normally have to work through a series of intermediate roles. It is
crucial to identify the intermediate steps that I need in order to make
better skills and experience to realize certain steps and gain important
skills for marketing career path.
STEPS
TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT AN INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
There needs to use standard
forms to help the learners follow a systematic process to prepare their
learning contracts, individual development plans, or learning project
management strategies such as: (Rouda and Kusy, (1995)
Ø
Assessment.
identify the current skills, knowledge, abilities and
interests
Ø
Goals.
Identify the new skills, knowledge, and experiences you would like to
acquire and have. Do these goals match my personal and career interests?
Ø
Learning purpose.
I have to determine the gap between the current situation and the desired
outcome. This will produce a statement of purpose that should clarify why
I want to learn something and what specific skills, knowledge and
abilities I wish to develop.
For example, strategies
could include: reading and study, interviews and discussions with
appropriate people, mill trials, networking and communication, reflecting
on own experiences, literature review, synthesizing and writing. This will
help insure that my learning will not only be based on your personal needs
but will also be relevant to your organization's goals, results, and
profitability. The more independent sources I can use, the better seek
additional feedback from my co-workers, colleagues, family and friends and
update your learning plan for the next cycle. (Rouda and Kusy, (1995)
Then, the Development Action Plan is a key document which can be used to
guide marketing career future according to one’s needs or employer's
needs. Whilst the future cannot be accurately predicted and offers an
opportunity to bring together my personal aspirations and the
organization’s needs in an agreed personal development plan for the
immediate future. Aside, those professionals aspiring to get into
executive level jobs in the marketing industry would do well to assess
their skills and to match them with the requirements of their prospective
employers. (Rouda and Kusy, (1995) Although the industry differs in
several respects from other industry, individuals can use certain personal
marketing strategies to improve their competitiveness in the job market.
Aside from determining whether their abilities fit the job description,
professionals should also be in step with changing employment realities
within the industry, to promote themselves effectively and to maintain
contacts and positive relationships. (Stout, 1995)
The decision to begin a job
search may be made for a variety of reasons, including a desire for
advancement, the need for greater compatibility with an organization, or
an interest in a career change. Once the decision has been reached but
individuals should view themselves as products to be marketed, and
successful marketing begins with a good, objective analysis of the
product. The knowledge, skill and management expertise each individual can
offer is needed somewhere and it is the individual to discover where the
perfect fit can be found as they should develop a plan to become
competitive in the highly competitive job market. Individuals can further
their professional advancement goals by making strategic decisions to
improve operations within their spheres of responsibility. (Rouda and Kusy,
(1995) Henceforth, understanding and facing new employment realities can
help individuals recognize the changing needs of employers and match their
skills with available opportunities. Individuals should exploit the
healthcare industry's new realities by refining their personal product
package and promoting it effectively. Several career opportunities exist
for individuals interested in marketing. The discipline involves corporate
planning and decision making. The individual planning to make a career out
of marketing should possess strong leadership skills, a creative mind and
a positive attitude toward innovation. Some of the responsibilities,
challenges and tasks that individuals can expect from marketing involve
sales, advertising, management, finance and creative design. Marketing
encompasses all of these fields and more. (Stout, 1995)
Marketing professionals work in large corporations and small companies, ad
and PR agencies, government and consulting. In all, government statistics
show about one million persons last year worked in jobs defined as
marketing. Best of all, a career in marketing is anything but a stodgy
desk job. You might be a graphic designer, a political consultant or an
online media specialist. Indeed, marketing is a major interchange on the
information superhighway. Today, no product, service can be successful
without marketing savvy behind it. In the 90s, marketing executives sit at
the table alongside of a company's board members, president, chief
financial officer and chief information officer in key company planning
and decision making. In an age of fierce competition, marketing is the
rock on which differences between a company and its competitors is built.
Marketing takes into account a holistic approach, one where you bring the
world around you to your job. (Stout, 1995) To enter a career in
marketing, you are not only a student of business but also a student of
life.
Marketers also are
leaders with broad range of skills, and as such, are flexible, energetic
and empowering. They possess an intuitive sense and are highly creative
risk-takers. (Stout, 1995) Great marketers tend to cluster around
those companies that show leadership and creativity in marketing. (Stout,
1995) People interested in pursuing career in marketing should
possess good organization and communication abilities. (Johansen et al.,
1996) Market research, which involves collection and analysis of data, is
the basis of marketing. Fresh graduates in the marketing sphere will first
have to do secondary or quantitative research, which is a tedious job,
before progressing to primary or qualitative research. Companies on the
lookout for graduates to hire require students who are academically
proficient and who exhibit leadership qualities. (Stout, 1995) Today,
businesses are relying more on clever and direct as methods for success.
(Johansen et al., 1996) This new approach applies especially to the core
business operations of marketing. The field of marketing integrates a
series of efforts that bring products and services to the market and then
elicit a purchase or sale by the consumer. It is in this respect that
marketing interacts with sales. Every successful marketing efforts boost
and strengthen the probability of a sale even if marketing involves a
variety of professional skills and jobs, the foundation of this discipline
lies in marketing research. (Johansen et al., 1996)
There are innumerable
variables that affect a consumer's inclination to buy. The market research
team, may design a test that determines which color for a cereal box best
attracts children or what price men find to be acceptable for outdoor
court shoes. Market researchers experiment with the elements and concepts
of a product to produce merchandise that would best appeal to consumers'
desire to buy. (Johansen et al., 1996) Some graduates who are interested
in pursuing a career in marketing research should first identify a
particular field in which they prefer to work. Irvine, whose company deals
exclusively in pharmaceuticals, advises that young graduates begin
learning about their field perhaps as sales reps and then move into
research in the research department of marketing and advertising agency.
(Johansen et al., 1996) |
