Career Planning with Credentials (script)

Whoever said it, said it right; dream jobs cannot be secured without facing hundreds of
thousands of obstacles on the way. I wish to become a financial advisor; it is my dream job. My
choice of financial advisory as a career is influenced by my personal skills, attributes and all
experiences in the professional domain. In addition, the corporate world has undergone
tremendous structural changes over the years, influencing my choice of this career path. I studied
the assigned readings, watched the video and also referred to the micro-credential; everything
made me mindful of the changes in the corporate world and the significance of my personal
skills and values. If I talk in terms of financial advisory, it is more about managing the
information that the clients trust their advisors with. Advisors must always make an effort to
understand their clients and keep up to their expectations. In this manner, the retention rate will
likely shoot up. Amongst the five ways work is most likely to change in the future, the future
will mark an ever-strengthening association between the employers and freelancers. In other
words, the “human cloud,” comprising of freelancers working remotely, has enlarged. Financial
advisory is a job that can be performed at remote locations (Fox & O’Connor 2015). The growth
in freelancing is what I consider a challenge for myself. Freelancers tend to work remotely for
very little pay. Financial advisors working at corporations tend to reap ostentatious monetary
benefits. Freelance financial advisors might be preferred by the corporations in the future
because they tend to charge low. I plan to respond to this challenge by developing on my skills.
Not everyone can become a financial advisor; it takes a meticulous and sharp individual to be
able to speculate the financial markets and offer financial planning advices. If I work on my
skills and get better at what I do, clients might choose me over freelance financial advisors for
my quality, dedication and merit.
A review into the Issue Brief regarding Individuals, Work and Society suggests that the future of
work will be highly automated (International Labor Organization 2018). Technology has
transformed the world (The Economist 2019). The prevalence of automation in the corporate
world has replaced much of the labor (Fox & O’Connor 2015). While technological
developments may drive innovation, they can also be destructive to a certain degree. It has been
predicted that automation is likely to increase in the future, machines replacing humans. Robots
tend to enhance productivity and work faster than labor. In fact, automation has now become
more affordable and versatile. Any transactional or manual activity is likely to be automated in
the future. Therefore, the rate of unemployment may increase in the future. Ever-increasing
unemployment is what I find to be a challenge. If people go unemployed in the future, I doubt I
will be able to make a career and establish myself in the industry. Automation in the corporate
world may also affect the bread and butter of the financial advisors. This is particularly because
of the emergence of robotic advisors. The media and news have widely publicized the emergence
of robotic advisors. These advisors assist the investors about where they could profitably invest,
after a thorough analysis of the financial markets and institutions. One of the key problems that I
may face in pursuing my dream career is my face-off with a robotic advisor. A robotic advisor is
likely to offer the same services as me at a lower rate. This may result in me getting out of job,
contributing to the rate of unemployment. While unemployment is a challenge, the cause of
unemployment (the emergence of robotic advisors), may be handled. There are many arenas in
which robotic advisors cannot replace a human financial advisor. For instance, it is not possible
for the robotic advisors to assess the risks associated with an auto insurance. Following the same
premise, robotic advisors cannot be engaged in a conversation alluding to the business’
succession plan. It requires a human financial advisor for the job because they are the ones who
can understand the customers and the business, and the capabilities of the businessmen to deal
with the triage. This is the primary reason why I stand out as a financial advisor. As discussed in
the Module 1 of the micro-credential, strengths allow an individual become better at what they
do and be more productive. Similarly, the weaknesses of a robotic advisor are my strengths, as a
financial advisor. My strengths represent me at my best, and I must always develop on my
strengths so that I am preferred over a robotic advisor.
Financial services have become highly integrated. This integration of financial planning and
advisory services has got onto a global scale. However, this may pose certain threats for me as a
financial advisor. There is a high likelihood that the organization of work may also disintegrate
and disperse. The integration of financial services has made the working time very inflexible.
According to Lee and McCann (2011), the working hours have been prolonged, and more
financial services are being demanded at lower rates. In addition, the institutions have become
really weak at bargaining. Having said that, the 2013 Global Survey of Financial Advisors
suggests that many financial advisors are not very good at managing their time (Natixis 2013).
The time management skills of financial advisors are very poor implying that each client is more
likely to demand prolonged time periods to avail the financial advisory services. In the event that
the financial advisors fail to streamline all their financial operations, they will become inefficient
and might not be able to manage time. In order to cope with this challenge, and pursue a career
in financial advisory, I feel that I must work towards understanding the importance of time. In
other words, I will try to become granular with time. I can do this by using the calendar as a tool
and maintaining a to-do list. As little and easy as it may sound, it is actually effective. Besides, I
will try to improve my operations and systems by using the latest technology to become more
efficient.

References
Fox, K & O’Connor, J 2015, ‘Five ways work will change in the future’, The Guardian, 29
November, viewed 11 August 2019,
<https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/29/five-ways-work-will-change-future-
of-workplace-ai-cloud-retirement-remote>.

International Labour Organization 2018, Individuals, work and society, viewed 11 August 2019,
<http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---
cabinet/documents/publication/wcms_618163.pdf>.
Is your job safe- collaboration, automation, annihilation? | The Economist 2019, streaming
video, The Economist, viewed 11 August 2019,
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUc5oN_ffRo>.

Lee, S & McCann, D 2011, ‘Negotiating working time in fragmented labour markets: Realising
the promise of ‘regulated flexibility’’, in S Hayter (ed.), The role of collective bargaining
in the global economy, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, pp. 47–75.

Natixis 2013, 2013 Global Survey of Financial Advisors, viewed 11 August 2019,
<https://www.ostrum.com/Content/Documents/Presse/va/France_Global%20report_Finan
cial%20advisors_FINAL.pdf>.
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