Career Plan - Post Chevening Scholarship
Upon my return to Pakistan I plan on rejoining my current company Artistic Milliners, which is a renown supplier of denim fabric and garments to many prestigious American and European brands. I intend to implement the knowledge and experience I have gained during my studies in the UK to transform management and marketing practices in this organization.
The main reason behind my decision to rejoin my current organization is that I am aware its dynamics and have strong network within the company so I can implement what I have learned more effectively and quickly as I am already aware of the challenges the organization is facing. This will also help me to learn a lot as practical is a lot more difficult than theory and I will be able to gain a first hand experience of the hurdles which come in the way of transforming the management practices of an organization. I also plan to switch my department for Research and Development to Marketing within the company so that I can get involved in day to day marketing and sales activities. This would enable me to bring about positive changes in the company's marketing strategies as well.
After two to three years I plan on starting work in the Pakistani fashion retail sector to gain hands on experience in the retail side of business while implementing my knowledge of global management practices and my industrial experience. Although this sector has experienced good growth in the last few years with various designer brands popping up here and there, it is catering primarily to the elite class and a majority of the population cannot relate to it. Therefore, I intend to work towards making Pakistani fashion accessible across all socio-economic groups thereby expanding the consumer base of the fashion industry. Secondly, it is facing a supply chain problem due to its lack of understanding of consumer behavior in the face of rapidly changing fashion trends and its ineffective utilization of digital media. I plan on making improvements in this area thorough my knowledge of marketing and management which I will gain during my studies in the UK.
Since most companies in Pakistan do not have dedicated training programs for their employees specially for fresh graduates, their knowledge is limited to their routine work only due to which they are unable to incorporate innovative or globally recognized practices in their working methodology. As a result they are unable to evolve, though the markets around them are evolving and so are their challenges. Therefore, after getting sufficient experience in the retail sector I plan on starting a training consultancy firm which will provide training and workshops to business organizations, educational institutions, small businesses and entrepreneurs at reasonable costs. This initiative will be extremely beneficial for small businesses and entrepreneurs as they have limited human resources, relatively less experience and financial resources. Through this organization they will be able to upgrade their human resources and utilize them more effectively.
