Description
In Week 1 of the module, an introduction to our assessment was discussed in our online class, where we are required to produce a report based on one of two options: a job role or a business challenge/opportunity. I decided to complete option 1: analyzing a specific job role within my pathway. I aimed to explore and interview an employee with a position I was interested in, a Digital Marketing Executive. Specifically on their skill-set and aptitudes needed to be effective and successful in that job and how it might develop into a lifelong career path. Through LinkedIn, I connected with a BSU alumni who works as a Digital Marketing Executive in Dubai, and we had an online interview on March 16, 2022.
Writing the report was a long process as it involved several steps, including ethics and approval forms, as well as an analysis of the transcript. After picking out the key areas of the interview and the key comparative parts of various job descriptions, I was able to write up a report to my satisfaction and submit on time.
Feelings
Initially, I struggled a lot with my report because I was confused and doubtful of the career path I wanted, mainly because I had no known connections in marketing, and my introverted personality didn't help. As I mentioned before in my previous blog post, I didn’t really see the use of LinkedIn but now I feel really grateful that I was introduced to this platform because of the network I was able to build from it. I felt really lucky when I found a BSU alumni through LinkedIn who was a perfect candidate to interview and messaged her after doing some background research. I was relieved and ecstatic to receive her acceptance of my interview request after a few days.
Before the interview, I was very nervous because it was someone I’d never met before. Nevertheless, the interview went very well, it was like a relaxed conversation with a friend online and I gained some insightful information about the role, which reassured me, as I knew this would give me plenty to write about in my research. The experience made me feel proud that I conquered my weakness as an introvert and was genuinely really enjoyable. Writing the report had me a little stressed because I needed to connect the dots of all my data within a short time but overall, I was happy with the end result of my research report.
Zoom Interview Meeting
Evaluation
The table below states the accomplishments and challenges I’ve faced in completing this research report:
Analysis
This experience has allowed me to develop my networking, communication, and analytical skills, which is beneficial for my professional growth; however, I think I could have improved in areas that would’ve led to a better report. If I had prepared better questions, I would have gotten more precise data from the interviewee, which would make the analysis part easier for me and better grasp my research’s purpose. Also, if I had managed my time better, communicated with my candidate, and started my report earlier, I wouldn't have been stressed by the overlap between other assessment deadlines and group projects. I think proper time management is something I need to focus on to help me get things done and not be under pressure; having good time management enables you to work better and increases productivity (Pettit, 2021).
Conclusion
To conclude, I have learned that I need to plan ahead of time and prepare insightful questions to obtain specific responses and produce a better report. If a situation like this happens again, I need to make sure that I have prepared a list of questions for the interviewee at least 1-2 weeks before the interview date and consult my teacher for advice on improving it. Additionally, I need to prepare enough follow-up questions to ask to ensure the interview meeting lasts long enough and gives me enough detail to write about in my report.
Next time, I would also ensure that I manage my time better by starting a month before the deadline and potentially interviewing a second person to gain deeper insight on the topic. In the future, I need to practice my time management skill by using a planner and guarantee I won’t get pressured by other assessment deadlines. By doing all this, I would surely get higher grades in this assignment the next time.
Action Plan
To ensure that I achieve these goals in the future, below shows the action plan I have set with an estimated timeline to complete them.
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