It is important for an individual to be successful to have knowledge of different subjects and fields rather than only one. Moreover, working experience at the same field helps the individual in polishing and improving his skills. I have the knowledge in the field of finance and have working experience of working at different hierarchy in a financial institution, Bank Center Credit. However I have not restricted my knowledge to only this subject but have learnt other related subjects as well including Economics, Management, Business management etc. In addition to this, it is also significant for an individual to have knowledge regarding the structure and regulations of the financial markets along with how the capital markets and commodity markets work if he wants to be successful in this field. All these important ingredients are included in me. I have been able to diversify and learnt such knowledge over the years and therefore this has made me an individual that differentiates from all others in this highly competitive job market.
There would be many individuals having background knowledge in Finance however my degree from University of York in Great Britain in Economics and Finance along with other certifications such as CFA Level 1, courses in accountancy and certificate in Econometry have helped me in developing much more equipped and skillful individual than others. Besides the qualification that I have achieved over the years, working experiences at different levels have also helped me in making me a better person. I started my career from being a Credit Risk Manager in the Credit Risk Department in Bank Center Credit. Considering my performances, my knowledge, my skills and my ability to help others as well as to lead from the front have made me one of the most renowned and acknowledged employees at the organization. I have been employed at Bank Center Credit since 2009 and still I am at the same organization because of what I have achieved from the organization as well as what the organization has given me over the years. It is not only about the financial incentives and rewards that the organization has given me during this time period, but I have been blessed with many non-financial benefits that have encouraged and motivated me over the years. Like different scholars, I now agree that non-financial incentives are as important as financial incentives (Bratton, J. & Gold, 2009; Maritz, 2007, Ulrich, & Smallwood, 2005; Maybey, Salaman, and Storey, 1999). Some of these most important non-financial rewards include; a working environment that encourages me to give my best (Henry, 1995), my colleagues at the organization that have always supported and helped me in my difficult times, acknowledgement that I have received for my performance at the organization, promotions and many others. I have been blessed with a great management that has always encouraged my efforts.
My proficiency, ability and knowledge at the Bank Credit Centre have been appraised by the management and therefore I have been rewarded with different promotions at the organization. In the year 2010, I was given the responsibility of being the Leading credit risk manager and then after successfully working at this level, I was made the Chief credit risk manager. Moreover, after accomplishing my tasks and showing my ability at this level, the management decided to make me the Project manager and now I have a number of responsibilities as a project manager. I manage a portfolio of over 350 million USD of credit loans and this also includes management of recovery procedure of troubled loans. I am looking after different sectors like agriculture, retail trade, food production and metallurgy. As a project manager, my other major responsibilities are to analyze and assess the financial performance and condition of the organization, and to make sure that the organization is not exposed to operational, industrial and legal risks. I also formulate strategies for future growth of the organization. Besides this, I manage and monitor the overall activities at the department as well as controlling of legal and technical support for different projects. I also come up with different strategies and reports for the top management for recovery of loans.
With a diverse range of certifications and knowledge in economics, business management, finance, capital markets etc I can analyze things from different perspectives. It has been one of the issues with financial managers that they tend to focus only on the profitability or financial affairs, however having knowledge in Economics and other subjects have helped me in identifying how a change in one strategy can influence a change in the other. Thus it has helped me in making a better person.
With the changing environment and advancement in technology, it has become important for individuals to be well aware of different tools that are used at the organizational level. I too have learnt such different tools as well. Some of the tools that have been used and learnt by me are Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, Access, and Power Point. Moreover, I have knowledge of HTML and PCGive 10 as well. Microsoft Office is used for different purposes at the organization whereas PCGive 10 helps me in using econometric modeling. Knowledge of these important software have helped me in making me a productive person at the organization.
Today organizations not only look for individuals having good knowledge of the subject, but they also tend to identify other important skills like team player, team leader, the sense of responsibility, initiator etc (Price, 2007; Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2009). Among these several skills, I possess a number of them. Some of these personal characteristics and skills included in my personality are; initiator, leadership, ability to work in a team and help others in a team as well as the ability to lead the team, managing the work life balance, etc. I have also participated in different courses like Team Development and Putting Skills to Work and these have helped me. Participation in such courses has helped me in using my skills in a better way.
So, I consider myself as a successful individual at this point of time. However, I still believe that I have a lot to achieve and for this, I have planned to further continue my studies and learn more about finance. I need to continue my efforts and create short term goals so that I can achieve my long term goal of being at the highest level of a financial institution. Continuing my study is one of the most important short term goals so that it can help me in achieving my long term goal.
References
Bratton, J. & Gold, J. (2009). Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice, 4th edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Henry, C. (1995). Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach to Management. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Jackson, S., Schuler, R., & Werner, S. (2009). Managing Human Resources. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Maritz. (2007). Non-Cash Rewards Are Best for Performance Improvement. Available from http://www.rewardsdirect.com/direct/module/pdf/NonCashRewardsAreBestForPeformanceImprovement.pdf [Accessed 4 May, 2012]
Maybey, C., Salaman, G., and Storey, J. (1999). Human Resource Management: a strategic introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
Price, A. (2007). Human Resource Management in a Business Context, 3rd edition. London: Cengage.
Ulrich, D., & Smallwood, N. (2005). ‘HR’s New ROI: Return on Intangibles’, Human Resource Management, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 137-142.
