Reflections on a Career - Personal Statement Example

Reflective Career Report Introduction I was born in Busan, South Korea. I graduated from High School in South Korea then went on to study a Tourism Management Program in Toronto at the Centennial College for two years. Currently I am studying a Hotel and Tourism management course at International Hotel Management Institute, Switzerland, to help me achieve my dreams. Aims and expectations Success is what every individual dreams of, though not in the same way, everyone has a target or expectation that some time in future they will consider themselves a success in life. To reach my expected mark, I have decided to pick up what I am passionate about and sharpen my skills together with other people in this industry who want to achieve their dreams too. I would like to be a warm-hearted and considerate Hotelier for clients and co-workers. After that, I would like to build up my career related with this position; therefore, I wish to work as a training instructor for the General Manager. Challenges are there in every area of life, but when it comes to this area of tourism and hospitality I am prepared and quite confident to face them as they come and at the end succeed to live my dream. I have not only offered myself to this industry but I am also committed to it in every way possible. For this I am aiming at being the best in every step that I make, and inspire others to be the finest. I expect factors like knowledge and experience to rule the industry. Therefore, I will take that as a challenge with the knowledge that I have and more so that which I am still in the process of acquiring. I am looking forward to an opportunity where I can provide innovative direction as a member of a team. In terms of knowledge, I have an expectation that I will be properly prepared for employment and I am confident that it is possible considering what I have learned till then. I welcome the opportunity to network with other professionals in my field and other fields. I am also hoping to gain useful experience that I can add to my resume. My presence in this industry presents an excellent opportunity to excel with many different kinds of experiences that are valuable in my life. I know it is going to take quite some time before these experiences are realized but I am patient, eager and ready to go down this road with overwhelming excitement. I am also focused and alert, paying attention to everything that is happening; hence keeping up my intelligence. This will make me realize my dream of being the best. I have a vision and mission that will help me to accomplish my dream. Everybody has weaknesses of their own kind. I acknowledge that I have some weaknesses too but this does not mean it will end my dream in any way. I intend to improve on the weaknesses every day even if it requires seeking for help from friends. Commitment and perseverance, among other goals, are there to be kept and I believe that I am self-propelled towards achieving something in life that is worth appraisal. Why would an employer hire you? I believe I am the type of person an employer is looking for as I am a fast learner. For instance, when I worked as an Intern at Korean Dano Spring Festival I attained numerous positive feedbacks from my supervisor. I believe that I have the core values that any employer may be looking for and I am always seeking improvement. I do so by looking for regular feedbacks from my supervisors and from the customers I serve. I am passionate and knowledgeable and I am ready to show that this is my area of expertise. According to Baum (2006:296), it feels good to share the knowledge one has with people and I not only present what is needed but also the surrounding knowledge that may be necessary. This makes me willing to give a try to something new and so I am not afraid of change. Since I embrace change without much of a problem, it does not mean that I have to stick with something which is not working. I always keep my eyes wide open looking for all possible opportunities that may benefit my employer. My imaginative idea that I tried during my internship, that is trying to get feedback concerning my actions, proved to work. The organization realized that they needed much more information not only from customers but every one in the organization that the customers came in contact with. I also pay attention to every detail in a task. Therefore, I am very punctual, keen, and regardless of workload; I manage to see that each of them is done to satisfactory levels. In the event of pressure, I can be efficiently fast and perform to the organization’s expectation. I constantly and consciously try to improve my working habits and how I plan my time. Therefore, I industriously and steadily do my task till done and sometimes resist interruptions whenever necessary. Positive reputation is so important to anyone who needs not just a future but a bright future (Nicely and Palakurthi, 2012). I am conscious of how my actions affect the environment surrounding me and all other people around me and so I always find ways to reduce negative impacts to everyone around me. I believe I am creative even in a continuously changing environment. My ideas will be of help to the organization’s innovation delivery because I like doing something that will create a different, more satisfactory outcome. In respect to this, I am a follower and can follow orders honestly and to the letter. With the passion and need to keep a good reputation, I believe that I can work with minimal supervision honestly. I am loyal and in control of my self that I set my personal issues aside to get the job done while avoiding petty disagreements from blurring me from completing my task. I don’t give up easily but instead I seek help and knowledge from respected people in this field. Nowadays there is a wide range of consultants who one can reach for to solve problems with ease. I am also open-minded to the way changing ways affect the industry and the flexibility that comes with the technology. For example, I have accepted the use of social media and I look at it as an opportunity to reach audiences. This also embraces the nature of other cultures hence bringing interest to explore other regions while respecting their customs. Studying in South Korea, Toronto, and now here in Switzerland, I have learned a lot more about different people’s cultures in different regions and how much everyone values their own culture. This has proved to me clearly how being open minded is important when dealing with different people in this industry. I follow up current information and trends on literature in my area of work. I am very ambitious and so I make extra assignments to help me get ahead and plan advancement in my career. The ability to solve problems analytically using one’s competence is an excellent resource that an organization needs. I believe that I can achieve success through determination and self motivation because without this, even the best employees in an organization will languish without necessarily reaching their target definition of success (Baum, 2006). I am intelligent and determined to achieve what is best for everyone, which is the organization and me, through what I believe to be the self that I am. I am tactical when dealing with various situations. This is a quality that I need in order to benefit my organization. It is also important to be discreet when guarding the organization’s confidential information. I am a good communicator. I can perform well as an individual and as part of a team without a problem. I know that good communication is absolutely necessary when engaging customers. I have good interpretation while communicating and this was quite evident during my internship, I am therefore convinced that communication is not a problem with me. My capability of being a good communicator has enabled me to be friendly often being referred to as warm hearted and welcoming by most of my clients. I believe an employer will want to employ me because I have a friendly and welcoming personality that has been observed repeatedly to make organizations in this industry more popular thus making it the most rewarded trait (Nicely and Palakurthi, 2012). In addition to communication skills, I believe I have initiative skills that I will use to develop my career. My personality together with the knowledge and experience in the industry make me suitable for the organization I will work for. An organization needs an employee who is courageous and ready to undertake challenges while making rational decisions disregarding the level of pressure. I have always persuaded people around me to be persistent despite any diminishing enthusiasm and patience. I believe that I am a hard worker. During my internship at Korean Dano Spring Festival, my supervisor was impressed with my commitment to customer service. On his recommendation, I was attentive to customer suggestions, responsive to their problems, and even proactive to customers’ needs. This experience made me so confident that I can be able to help in the progress of the company I will be working for. Being an asset to an organization that am working for is one of the things that I desire quite much. Accomplishing this desire, Baum (2006) says that the degree of hard work, the knowledge that I have, and the other qualities will make me an asset to the organization I work for. I am willing and ready to do my best in every task ahead of me to make my dreams come true. Professional Development Action Plan Having been in different places with different communities and cultures, I have a clear comparison that will enable me understand this European culture better and offer better service to this community. The experience I have had in different regions puts me in a better position because I understand the diversity of cultures and I aspire to integrate all these cultures together. I have also realized that language know-how is a critical requirement in this field and so I am learning more languages so that I can communicate with customers more effectively. According to Nicely and Palakurthi (2012), I cannot be a good communicator if there is language barrier and so to me it is a challenge that I have to deal with appropriately. Europe has a large diversity of cultures and languages that prompt me to adapt so that I can improve my flexibility and personal and public relations. I can say that I have landed in a better place to start my journey to achieve my dream in that, after learning the European culture I have quite a good exposure to start or contribute to my experience anywhere in the world. My objective is to acquire world class experience and in the process offer the best service in the world. The management skills I am getting here is significant to the positions I intend to look for in the industry and so I believe this among other objectives will be met. The fear of job security is least of my worries because I believe that I have the required experience. Now going up seems to be the only way owing to influence of technology on organizations; thus making it critical to the involvement to technology advancement by the institution to us. The experience offered by the institution helps us to reequip ourselves with a vast chance of employability with the changing technology and how the world works (Baum, 2006:274). The most important thing in life is to believe in one’s ability and so I am quite positive about myself, and I know that I will make it no matter what it takes. I trust that in the next few years to come I will be a world-class, and at the same time, a world-renown hotelier. I know that I surely can and that I will. References Baum, T. (2006) Human resource management for the tourism, hospitality and leisure industries: an international perspective, Cengage Learning EMEA. Nicely, A. & Palakurthi, R. (2012) ‘Navigating through tourism options: an island perspective’ International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 6, no. 2.  Read More