Fluent Essays

Think of this assignment as chapter two and three of your research paper.  Only submit the Literature review and Proposal (Do not include your Introduction and methodology - especially the references for those sections). Discussion on career option: Finance Consultant Name Chengchen Zhang Student Number 215202593 1. The key skills and knowledge for finance consultant Finance consultant is similar with analysts and psychological consultant who make use of their professional knowledges to provide finance planning and investment consultation service. Consequently, finance consultant needs good personal soft skills, and specific knowledge and skills. 1.1 Personal soft skills Personal soft skills expected by one finance consultant mainly involve of perfect communication skill, keen insight, passion and enthusiasm, work experience and teamwork. · Communication skill is the basic personal soft skill, such as interpersonal and communication skills, requiring finance consultant to have good communication ability to fully understand customer’s information, requirements, finance goals and some basic information (Mathieson 2015). It is also essential for customer relationship management. · Keen insight is one of important soft skills by which it is helpful to seize every moment as a learning opportunity consequently knowledges can be continually updated, and personal analytical thinking ability can also be improved, accordingly finance consultant develop keen insight to provide valuable information for customers. · Enthusiasm is essential because attitude determines everything. If one finance consultant has no enthusiasm, it is difficult to become one qualified finance consultant. · Work experience, especially internship for the graduated students, is greatly indispensable because we can accumulate experiences to improve our problem solving and analytical skills. · Teamwork skills are strongly important. Usually, collaboration does improve all members’ cohesion to ensure the organization can effectively operate, and is contributed to cultivating the great sense of responsibility. 1.2 Specific knowledge and skills It is crucial to own good specific knowledges related to finance, investment, economic and law, as well as specific skills such as critical reasoning and analytical skills, personal reaction capability and self-management skills. · It is first importance to own good professional background and specific knowledges, mainly related to finance and accounting. As well, basic knowledges, like economics, insurance, theory of investment, taxation, monetary finance and fundamental laws and regulations, are also needed. Only own solid specific knowledge, finance consultant better provides finance planning advice to customers to meet customer’s needs. As well, one finance consultant should be supported by powerful data and policy platform to ensure that the financing scheme can effectively avoid possible risks. · Investment and financing skills such as learning ability are contributed to mastering the knowledges related to the field of finance, being familiar with finance services like stocks, funds, bonds, foreign exchange and others in order to better improve market development capability. As well, one good finance consultant should also develop problem solving and rational analytical skills, self-management ability and responsiveness. More importantly, rational analytical skills are vitally important for one finance consultant to help analyse collected materials and data to make rational finance plan and provide rational finance products so as to meet customers’ needs and goal (Gardner, Mills & Cooperman, 2000). 2. Evaluation of my skills and capabilities To obtain my dream position of finance consultant, it should evaluate my current capabilities, discipline knowledge and areas where I am developing skills and knowledges. 2.1 My career assessment The assessment results indicate that I am INTPs who are the ultimate problem solvers and likely are the thinkers or the professors. Diagram 1 Assessment results on my career assessment The specific evaluations are shown as follows. · a) (E-I) scale suggests that I am an introvert and outgoing but I am not unsociable, especially with strangers. I prefer to comfortable working, and would like to think things carefully before act. My dream job is the one in which I have plenty of time to think alone. · b) (S-N) scale suggests that I prefer to be intuition and be creative, curious and interested in possibilities. I like to explore the relationships between things or ideas. Especially, I am long for learning new skills and enjoy facing new and challenging problems. Relatively, I am more inclined to the whole picture instead of the details and often work in bursts of energy. · c) (T-F) scale suggests that I may be a thinker who always makes decisions based on logic and fairness. I am usually objectivity and decide things relatively impersonally, so I always remain calm in a crisis. However, I am less sensitive to others’ feelings. I prefer to be the right rather than being liked. · d) (J-P) scale suggests that I perceive and inclined to be spontaneous and flexible, and would like to gather information, explore and discover new things in a perceiving attitude. I like to go with the flow and starting things to finishing them. However, sometimes, I am inclined to be procrastination although maybe I can manage to finish the thing at the last-minute. 2.2 My experiences related to improving my abilities To be one finance consultant, usually, I actively take part in various activities such as group discussion, volunteer activities, academic seminars and internship. a) As the member of student unions, I actively participate in volunteer activities and successfully hold three large-scale workshops and activities, especially the discussion forum about the influence of finance crisis and the sustainable development of banking industry. During the process, whether forum planning or organization, I have a great progress in organizational capability, communication skills, teamwork and thinking analysis ability. b) Group discussion also has great influences on my soft skills and knowledges. Especially, group discussion on finance management further broadens my knowledges and visions, increases my passion and enthusiasm for the positon of finance consultant, and improves my personal reaction capability and self-management skills. Moreover, group discussions make me better understand the role of finance consultant and its responsibility. c) The summer internship employed by an investment company to distribute leaflets makes me produce strong interesting and enthusiasm in finance and investment consultant. After that, I borrow plenty of books from the library and learn more knowledge about finance and investment. 2.3 My academic performance Some courses are contributed to improving my personal soft skills and specific knowledges, such like Theories of Investment and Finance, Management Communication and Investment Principles, especially these courses, as Marketing Management and Analysis, Money and Banking and Strategic Management, build good foundation for my career in the future. 2.4 My strengths and areas for improvement My strengths are mainly reflected as these aspects including good professional knowledges, cultivating personal soft skills like communication skills, enthusiasm and teamwork, improving professional skills and accumulating experience via group discussion and internship. However, I still have some areas for improvement, such like professional knowledges related to finance consultant, share things or ideas with others, self-time management and control, listening and accept others’ views to build and preserve relationships, and rational and analytical skills. 3. Skills, experience and knowledges needed to develop in the future 3.1 Skills and knowledges developed to meet industry standards. Based on comparing my personal skills and knowledges with industry standards, these aspects still need to develop in the future. · Professional knowledges related to finance consultant should be further strengthened. As Farrell (2003) stressed, one finance consultant must be supported by professional knowledges because he must provide rational finance plan to meet customers’ needs. So, I need to further increase my specific knowledges, such as Relationship Management, Insurance Finance, Risk Management and Funding Management. · Self-time management and control should be improved. Self-evaluations show that my time-control does not well, so I should leave enough time to prepare properly to better maintain customer relationship so as to raise service efficiency. · It is important to listen and accept others’ views. A good finance consult, firstly, should do a good listener to fully understand customers’ needs and requirements. As Gardner, Mills & Cooperman (2000) identified, a man who knows to listen is the most persuasive. Although one finance consult should have unique views, it is necessary to absorb others’ opinions. · I need to improve my personal communicational ability to effectively manage customer relationship. Usually, I like to work with alone and my social network is narrow. I should find too much interaction with others. · Rational and analytical skills are crucial for one finance consult because one of important jobs is to synthetically analyse customers’ basic situation in order to provide customers with finance advice and give specific instructions based on customer’s demands. 3.2 Strategies for developing skills and knowledge To develop my skills and knowledge, I will implement these strategies in the future. · I independently conduct academic studies, studying one book each month, reading two academic journals each month and attending twice academic lectures each semester, in order to increase my personal professional knowledges. · I plan to take part in an internship in the investment & finance company for about two months to learn how to seek business opportunity and provide clients with professional, sustained, long-term finance and follow-up tracking service. · I want to take part in twice volunteering activities related to organizing leadership role to improve my sociability and personal communicational skills. 3.3 Timeline for the development of my skills and knowledge Aug-Sept Oct-Nov Dec-Jan Activities at Deakin University Learn the book ‘International Finance’ Learn the book ‘Relationship Management’ Plan to read eight important academic journals Plan to study the book ‘Insurance Finance’ Plan to study the book ‘Risk Management’ Take part in volunteering activity related to organizing special topics in Finance Other Activities Take part in volunteering activity organized by the school associations Take part in an internship in the investment & finance company Attend academic lectures related to finance and management consultant Feb -Mar Apr-May Jun-Jul Aug- Sept Activities at Deakin University Study the book ‘Funding Management’ and read related journals Read plenty of academic journals To participate in internships in finance company Other Activities Prepare for the examination of Securities Practice Qualification Certificate 4. Conclusion Based on comparing my personal skills and knowledges with the criterion of job industry, I still have some aspects for improvement like professional knowledges, self-time management and control and personal communicational ability. So, I provide strategies and design a timeline for developing skills and knowledges. 5. Appendices Personal self-evaluations 6. References Farrell, LM 2003, ‘Principal-agency risk in project finance’, International Journal of Project Management, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 547-561. Gardner, MJ Mills, DL & Cooperman, ES 2000, Managing financial institutions, New York: The Dryden Press. Mathieson 2015, ‘Finance consultant in Sydney warns many home buyers in danger of losing grants’, International Journal of Project Management, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 54-61.