While a university degree is the first step
toward kick starting your professional career, it will not realise its full
value unless it is complemented with specific and effective personal and
professional development. For this, I believe that it is imperative that one
creates an effective developmental plan to progress professionally.
As I aspire to be a financial advisor (FA), I
have identified certain hard and soft skills that I believe are vital for me to
improve in order to become a successful candidate. The first of these skills is
my communication proficiencies. Through networking, attending as many ‘coffee
chats’ as possible, even engaging in conversations with practicing bankers,
investors, or anyone who is familiar with the industry, I will be able to both
test and improve my communication skills and establish relationships with
clients, another essential factor of becoming a successful FA. In terms of hard
skills, one key developmental area for me is research and analytics. To address
this, I should go to different workshops and take online courses, which I
believe would have benefits that even extend to improving my IT skills and also
make me capable of conveying complex information simply/clearly in a short
time.
However, it is vital for me to realise that there
will always be barriers that will complicate my path toward realising the
career I crave in the financial industry. On the social side, and as a woman
living in the modern world, it saddens me to say that one of the biggest and
most important barriers that I may face is the gender discrimination that still
persists today, whether in hiring processes or in salaries. Another challenge
would be the competitiveness of the financial industry in which many people intensely
seek a limited number of positions – I would have to be prepared for the
possibility of rejection and do my best to stand out in the midst of the
competition.
It is important, to in order to overcome such
challenges, that I exhibit a significant degree of both professional and
personal resilience. My professional resilience will manifest in my
identification of my developmental areas and to ensure that I keep up to date
with industry-relevant developments, network heavily to make new relationships
that I will be able to leverage and actively seek professional advice. As for
personal development, I plan to stay focused on what I do, continue to motivate
myself and overcome all challenges and difficulties that might arise throughout
the course of my career and continue to do what I love and enjoy. It is with
such mind-sets that one ultimately rises above the crowd.
