Robert Frost in his poem “The Road Not Taken” wrote: “Two roads diverge in the woods, and I took the one least traveled by/ And that has made all the difference.”
Throughout my study I had to discover on my own that often the road paths and choices are more complicated. Sometimes we do not have a choice, but rather are pushed out by circumstances into external environment; and sometimes circumstances create too many road paths to choose from.
A graduate degree in Management creates multiple opportunities. Having a clear picture of business processes in mind, I now can wholeheartedly admit that my education created me, my views, and my personality. Being a communicative person, I feel that now I possess strong leadership skills. I am confident, devoted, and goal oriented personality with own well established belief and value system. I feel that my degree in Management is my greatest achievement – I struggled through it and I gave up a great deal of my life for it. I became more oriented to external environment – political situation on the national and international levels and economics fall under the category of my primary interests. Management is not a skill – it is an art – perhaps, the primary lesson I have learned within the past 4 years. I believe I am well prepared to apply this art and create a masterpiece for the benefit of the company of my choice.
My path in college has been filled with bumps and road backs. Success in learning is not a matter of how many times you fall down, but a matter of how fast you get up. Persistence and devotedness to the path undertaken, confidence and pride with which one follows down the road – is what distinguishes a successful student from a total failure. Eventually, college education is not about good grades and positive recommendations, it is about developing own personality and belief system that allows you to stand up for what you believe and work hard to bring a change into the world rather then simply fill own pockets. As such, a clear mission and persistence, ability to speak up and, perhaps, even courage – are the core principles of success both in life and in college.
I know that I am goal oriented, communicative, established personality with professional skills in management. Knowledge of economics, computer science, and marketing will all help me to bring change into the world of business. Just like everybody, I can be lazy from time to time and similar to other graduates, I lack life experience and, perhaps, general knowledge that is accumulated throughout life time. I might feel shy at times or uncomfortable even though I have a strong theoretical background, but I believe that good organization and tight schedule at Goldman Sachs’ or Pfizer will help me to make up for these drawbacks and gain precious work experience. My primary duties as a sales person will include to interest wholesale and retail buyers in the pharmaceutical merchandise as well as address their questions and concerns. As Goldman Sachs’ and Pfizer are the leaders in pharmaceutical industry, I am looking forward to a highly professional environment with multiple opportunities where the work outcomes depend totally on me. Sales representatives spend much time traveling and need to possess strong communicative skills, be able to motivate people, analyze the situation, react fast and be creative in selecting motivation strategies. Being a person with an active life position, I believe I fit well into the company and the scope of my interests, preferences, and skills will contribute to Company’s success.
Being realistic, I will certainly face hardships on the road to professional success. Preparation of technical reports, sales and price monitor and analysis, too flexible schedule, as I might have to work on evening weekends attending sales presentations to meet potential clients are the drawbacks of a sales person profession. Besides, pharmaceutical industry is unique and requires theoretical preparation, as I will have to know the merchandise and its’ constitutes well to be able to analyze clients’ needs and suggest a solution. As such, it may take quite a long time to get myself well acquainted with the production of the Company. Aside from this, a highly unstable environment with productions outsourcing to Third World countries and technological advance that allows online sales – open a wide range of opportunities alongside with challenges. I will have to adjust fast to the new market conditions. Going even further then this, development of e-sales industry will most likely modify my profession requirements and duties. I look up to market changes and fluctuations, as I know one core principle – when there is stability in a company, there is hardly a possibility of fast and successful carrier. At the same time, when environment is unstable, it is both dangerous and opportunistic – instability does have adverse consequences, but it opens opportunities unattainable in situations when things just flow smoothly.
In the long run, I am planning to continue my education. After I gain work experience and make sure I am on the right road, which is in 3-5 years, I am planning on applying for a degree in either Marketing or Finance. A combination of Management skills with either Marketing or Finance will help me to become a highly skilled business professional and give me an opportunity to take the leading management positions. When it comes to speaking about life time goals – I try to stick to the path “least traveled by”, as I want to bring change into this world for the better.
