This career planning paper outlines a structured 10-year path toward becoming a sales manager, beginning with an Associate of Arts in Business and progressing through a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a focus in corporate governance. The author draws on a Myers-Briggs personality assessment (ISTJ) to validate career fit and identifies relevant skills in bookkeeping, administration, and communication developed through diverse work experience. The paper maps a step-by-step career timeline — from entry-level store management to business administrator to sales manager — while addressing educational requirements, potential life obstacles, and methods for maintaining accountability and measuring success.
My career objective is to become an accomplished sales manager through the use of communication, administrative, and bookkeeping skills. As a sales manager, I will utilize these skills and proven techniques to ensure better customer service and generate more revenue for the business organization I work for. In order to achieve this, I have undertaken education related to sales management and gained experience by working in various companies and institutions.
I graduated from Experience High School in Guangdong in June 2008 and later enrolled at a university in Santa Clara, California, where I earned an Associate of Arts in Business with a GPA of 3.7, focusing on business math and accounting principles. Since August 2013, I have been a student at a university in California, where I expected to graduate in Fall 2015 with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a major in corporate governance. I have also worked in various companies and institutions where I gained experience relevant to a sales manager position, including Mayflower Restaurant, 99 Ranch Market, Montague Hills Dentistry, and Marina Grocery.
My choice of career has been influenced by the major experiences I have had over the past several years. I selected the sales management career because of my passion for contributing to organizational growth and productivity through better techniques that improve customer service. I have developed skills in bookkeeping, administration, and communication — all of which are crucial for working as a sales manager.
These skills include operating a cash register, recording sales transactions, answering phone calls, maintaining office appearance, assisting in a dental office, fluency in multiple languages, and serving as a peer counselor at college for two years. In addition, I enjoy organizing and helping institutions achieve their goals, which are core qualities of an effective sales manager.
As part of the process of determining whether a sales manager position is suitable for me, I completed a personality test based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The test showed that my personality type is ISTJ, which I found to be an accurate reflection of who I am. ISTJ is a personality type associated with people who are responsible organizers, motivated toward creating and enforcing order within organizations and systems. ISTJs, sometimes called "duty fulfillers," tend to be neat and orderly and develop procedures for all their actions, making them reliable and dependable ("ISTJ in a Nutshell," n.d.).
My areas of strength include the ability to organize, a tendency to develop well-thought-out action plans, the ability to work for extended periods of time, and dependability. Areas that need improvement include emotional intelligence and the need to create a better balance between work and other important aspects of life, such as family.
"Entry-level to senior sales manager career stages"
"Degrees, work experience, and additional training needed"
"Yearly goals and periodic reviews for career progress"
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