Careers should be managed wisely in order to achieve job satisfaction throughout an individual’s career (Inkson 2007). The following paper outlines job opportunities, training & skills, responsibilities and career progression in a sales and marketing job. It also draws upon the career development approaches of Levinson and Savickas in assessing issues to be considered during career progression and the usefulness of such approaches.
Sales and marketing job opportunities can be found in industries that deal with services or goods. Currently, manufacturing firms have realized the need to become market- oriented with an aim of handling the rising competition between industries (Miletsky & Hand 2009). The career path for sales and marketing may range from sales, brand management, merchandizing, services marketing, market research or marketing consulting. For example, everyday new manufacturing companies are coming up, producing similar commodities as other existing companies. In order to handle the growing competition, manufacturing industries are investing heavily in the sales and marketing department so as to create brand awareness and maintain their client base (Miletsky & Hand 2009). Nowadays, service industries are also involved in sales and marketing, aimed at selling their services in a smart way. The most competitive fields in which sales and marketing is highly valued are the banking industries, hospitality sectors and ICT service provider industries (Della Mura 2009). For example, banks, hotels and Internet service providers constantly need to come up with the best marketing mix and strategies in order to remain at the top level in the market.
For a successful entry into the field of sales and marketing, a candidate needs to posses a bachelor’s degree in a business related course such as business management (Panagopoulos et al. 2011). A business related course usually exposes a candidate to a great understanding of management and business skilled that are relevant in the sales and marketing profession (Sherwood et al., 2012). The undergraduate program usually takes three to four years depending on the university. Another qualification is a Certified Sales Professional certificate that provides an added advantage to a candidate. This certificate gives a candidate the necessary knowledge regarding sales and marketing skills. The most crucial skills in sales and marketing are excellent communication skills and the ability to build relationships (Valentine 2009). This is because; in such a profession, one meets with different people from diverse origins and so one needs to possess the required customer service skills to form lasting relationships. Also, passion, multitasking, writing skills and thinking outside the box are essential skills for this job type.
Once in the sales and marketing occupation, an employee is expected to perform all duties related to the sales and marketing of the company’s goods or services. One must be ready to get involved in tasks such as price development, performing customer satisfaction surveys, contributing to the creation of products, and usability testing (Panagopoulos et al., 2011). These are core issues in the business; hence must be tackled with utmost efficiency, accuracy, and effectiveness. They are tasks related to the leadership of the company since, it is in their goals, to serve clients better; hence achieve loyalty among clients. The employee is supposed to participate in marketing responsibilities such as creation of brand recognition, following leads that culminate into sales, development of sales, and marketing collateral such as brochures and presentations (Fernando et al., 2009). In order to achieve these responsibilities, the employee needs to gather diverse information from clients so as to create strategies that will differentiate the company from other competitors. They need to find ways that can manage advertising and promotions through promotional and marketing mix. Management of client relationships must also be a part of their core responsibilities, and this can be achieved through activities such as conducting events and sponsorships, developing loyalty cards and monitoring competitors.
The entry level in this occupation would be sales representative/ sales executive. Most candidates enter into the commercial functions of the company as sales representatives for that company (Bennett 2009). In this role, they engage with customers, mostly on the phone or face- to- face. After establishing oneself as a determined sales executive, he may become an account manager or sales and marketing specialist whereby he or she participates in deeper commercial functions such as setting up prices and selecting marketing strategies for the company. The other level that one may move in the career path is a Sales supervisor whereby he or she oversees the operations of sales and marketing team while reporting to the manager (Bennett 2009). From that point, the person may be appointed the sales and marketing manager for a company whereby he or she oversees the whole business unit that deals with marketing and sales (Sarin et al. 2012). Also, one may venture into marketing research and become a market research analyst, or a survey researcher at a corporate level.
According to Levinson (1986), career development should have a systematic approach whereby it should conform to the stages of human development. In his approach, he divided the career development approaches into three stages namely early career (this is the establishment and achievement stage of career development), the midcareer (it follows the early stage closely), and the late career normally composed of old people (Levinson 1986). As I progress through my career in sales and marketing, I would mold my early career by getting into a sales executive as the entry level job. Through hard work and determination, I would work my way up to the level of sales and marketing supervisor in a different company during the midcareer. At this point, I would take up a professional course in leadership while aiming at becoming a sales and marketing manager in a big corporation.
According to Savickas (2006), career adaptability is the best way of gaining career development. In fact, Savickas feels that this way of development should replace career maturity in the development theories of career paths. Adaptability refers to the ability to change easily through career development in order to fit into the changing times (Savickas 2008). In this respect, I would assess how well I am equipped with the necessary skills of moving up the career ladder. For example, in order to move to managerial level in the sales and marketing sector, it would be particularly vital to ensure that Leadership and management skills are sharpened to ensure smooth adaptability to different tasks and responsibilities.
The first approach through developmental stages is vital in ensuring that a person understands what he wants in life at a certain stage of life. During the early stages of career development, one understands the steps that should be taken so as to handle properly midcareer and the late career. However, it fails to prepare an individual in terms of job adaptability (Elten et al., 2011). It becomes hard for an individual to understand that changes can occur anytime without necessarily waiting for the mid career stage and late career stage for change.
The second approach of career adaptability is also useful in the sense that it keeps one at a level where he or she is ready for change anytime. It does not constraint an individual at certain stages of life when developing career wise (Jenny & Lucy 2010). The advantage is that even at an entry level, an employee starts preparing for career development regardless of the age or stage of life (Arnold 1997). However, an individual may not have a systematic plan to go up the career ladder. This is because one feels sufficiently ready to handle any job type in that field without a clear plan on when and how such goals should be achieved.
In Conclusion, I would feel qualified to pursue a job in sales and marketing upon completion of my degree course. There are many job opportunities available for this occupation including sales, brand management, merchandizing, services marketing, market research or marketing consulting. A degree is usually preferred from a business related field, with a certificate in sales and marketing is an added advantage. The most crucial skills required are the ability to build relationships and excellent communication skills. Once employed, an individual is expected to perform duties related to sales and marketing and career progression may see someone move from sales representative to a sales manager in a corporation. Career development approaches can either consist of articulated stages of development or career adaptability. These two approaches are useful in helping one to develop career-wise, although one should choose the most appropriate approach.
Bennett, R 2009, 'Reaching the Board: Factors Facilitating the Progression of Marketing Executives to Senior Positions in British Companies', British Journal of Management, 20, 1, pp. 30-54, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Della Mura, J 2009, The Marketing Toolkit: Bite-Sized Wisdom, Perfect For Busy People Who Would Sooner Be Succeeding, Not Reading--, n.p.: How To Books, eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Elten, B, Fernando, J, & William A., W 2011, 'Perceived barriers to career advancement and organizational commitment in sales', Journal Of Business Research, 65, pp. 937-943, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Fernando, J, Jay Prakash, M, & James S., B 2009, 'Bringing meaning to the sales job: The effect of ethical climate and customer demandingness', Journal Of Business Research, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
References
Inkson, K 2007, Understanding careers – the metaphors of working lives, Sage, California.
Jenny, B, & Lucy, H, 2010, 'Resilience and career adaptability: Qualitative studies of adult career counseling', Journal of Vocational Behavior, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Levinson, D 1986, 'A concept of adult development', American Psychologist, American Psychological Association Inc, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 3-13.
Miletsky, J, & Hand, M 2009, Perspectives on Marketing: The Agency Perspective, n.p.: Course Technology, eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Panagopoulos, N, Lee, N, Pullins, E, Avlonitis, G, Brassier, P, Guenzi, P, Humenberger, A, Kwiatek, P, Loe, T, Oksanen-Ylikoski, E, Peterson, R, Rogers, B, & Weilbaker, D 2011, 'Internationalizing sales research: Current status, opportunities, and challenges', Journal Of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 31, 3, pp. 219-242, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Sarin, S, Challagalla, G, & Kohli, A 2012, 'Implementing Changes in Marketing Strategy: The Role of Perceived Outcome- and Process-Oriented Supervisory Actions', Journal Of Marketing Research (JMR), 49, 4, pp. 564-580, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Savickas, M 2006, ‘Career construction theory’, in J Simpson & C Brown, (eds), Australian Career Practitioner, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 8-9.
Savickas, M 2008, 'David V Tiedman: engineer of career construction', Career Development Quarterly, vol. 56, March, pp. 217- 224.
Sherwood, S, Black, G, Daughtrey, C, & Duber-Smith, D 2012, 'State of the Economy and Attitude Toward Sales Careers', Atlantic Economic Journal, 40, 3, pp. 343-345, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Valentine, S 2009, 'Ethics training, ethical context, and sales and marketing professionals' satisfaction with supervisors and coworkers', Journal Of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 29, 3, pp. 227-242, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Arnold, J 1997, Managing careers into the 21st century, P. Chapman, London.
Bennett, R 2009, 'Reaching the Board: Factors Facilitating the Progression of Marketing Executives to Senior Positions in British Companies', British Journal of Management, 20, 1, pp. 30-54, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Della Mura, J 2009, The Marketing Toolkit: Bite-Sized Wisdom, Perfect For Busy People Who Would Sooner Be Succeeding, Not Reading--, n.p.: How To Books, eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Elten, B, Fernando, J, & William A., W 2011, 'Perceived barriers to career advancement and organizational commitment in sales', Journal Of Business Research, 65, pp. 937-943, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Fernando, J, Jay Prakash, M, & James S., B 2009, 'Bringing meaning to the sales job: The effect of ethical climate and customer demandingness', Journal Of Business Research, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Inkson, K 2007, Understanding careers – the metaphors of working lives, Sage, California.
Jenny, B, & Lucy, H, 2010, 'Resilience and career adaptability: Qualitative studies of adult career counseling', Journal of Vocational Behavior, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Levinson, D 1986, 'A concept of adult development', American Psychologist, American Psychological Association Inc, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 3-13.
Miletsky, J, & Hand, M 2009, Perspectives on Marketing: The Agency Perspective, n.p.: Course Technology, eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Panagopoulos, N, Lee, N, Pullins, E, Avlonitis, G, Brassier, P, Guenzi, P, Humenberger, A, Kwiatek, P, Loe, T, Oksanen-Ylikoski, E, Peterson, R, Rogers, B, & Weilbaker, D 2011, 'Internationalizing sales research: Current status, opportunities, and challenges', Journal Of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 31, 3, pp. 219-242, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Sarin, S, Challagalla, G, & Kohli, A 2012, 'Implementing Changes in Marketing Strategy: The Role of Perceived Outcome- and Process-Oriented Supervisory Actions', Journal Of Marketing Research (JMR), 49, 4, pp. 564-580, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Savickas, M 2006, ‘Career construction theory’, in J Simpson & C Brown, (eds), Australian Career Practitioner, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 8-9.
Savickas, M 2008, 'David V Tiedman: engineer of career construction', Career Development Quarterly, vol. 56, March, pp. 217- 224.
Sherwood, S, Black, G, Daughtrey, C, & Duber-Smith, D 2012, 'State of the Economy and Attitude Toward Sales Careers', Atlantic Economic Journal, 40, 3, pp. 343-345, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
Valentine, S 2009, 'Ethics training, ethical context, and sales and marketing professionals' satisfaction with supervisors and coworkers', Journal Of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 29, 3, pp. 227-242, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 September 2012.
