Career Mentor Engagement (20%)

3400THS Assessment Guide – Trimester 2 2022

Introduction

The mentor I chosed, has a 20 year career experience in digital business industry, in
a leadership role for a software company, Mr. Stephen has worked internationally,
has strong leadership and communication skills and is genuinely enthusiastic about
the future of our industry, especially in an upcoming digital world. I aim to become a
leader in a new age digital age company after my graduation I need to improve my
digital marketing skills. I like to focus on business innovation, business intelligence
and development of new business models. Mr. Stephen has some really good points
to share which are giving me a lot of insights and inspirations to improve my own
skills, I want to capture this information and use it as a stepping stone towards
achieving my career goals. Therefore, I chose Mr. Stephen as a mentor to assist me
to develop my career decision. My mentor has a passion for digital transformation,
and deeply understand the massive impact it will have on organizations in terms of
productivity, resilience, cost reduction, customer satisfaction and more. This
reflective essay aims to identify what I learned and how this could benefit me in my
future career.

The top Trends Impacting Digital Business Innovation

I really wanted to connect with someone in a senior leadership role who understood
digital, is passionate about it and willing to share and collaborate with me. Someone
who could teach me how to understand the deeper areas of digital business change
and to think about it holistically. I also wanted someone that was good with
technology and innovative ideas. Therefore, the first question I asked my mentor in
our interactions through Skype is about the top 3 Trends Impacting Digital Business
Innovation. He stated that clearly Edge-Native Applications, Mission-Critical
Deployment of IoT, Real-Time Sustainability, will be on top of all things digital in
business. He then followed that with the biggest trend, which is the accelerating rate
of innovation with new ideas coming along every day. He mentioned that we can
never be sure when or how these ideas will take off, but if we keep at it, we will be
successful in these spaces. So, the best advice from my mentor for my future career
developement in the digital business was to connect with and learn from people who

1
are highly creative, passionate and committed, to be aware of the current trends, and
be prepared to tackle whatever challenge comes up. The three most important skills
that a person must have are communication skills, humility, and love of what you are
doing.

Desirable skills required in the Digital Business job or industry

I wanted to focus on my future career in the digital industry, and asked him what
were some essential skills and qualities needed to succeed in the space. He
mentioned that the key skills and qualities needed in this space are: to be able to
create impact, connect with people, and solve complex problems. He also suggested
that another key element that people need is an interesting and unique point of view.
He also mentioned that our industry is changing every day, and it's important for
people to remain ahead of the curve and to stay agile in their thinking. He also
mentioned that a good way for me to do this is to communicate on a daily basis, and
connect with people and colleagues on a personal level. Sumter et al., (2021) also
suggested that one needs to be able to work in a fast-paced environment, be able to
think out of the box, and be happy with what they are doing and where they are
heading in their career. My mentor suggested that it will need a good range of
communication skills to succeed in any role that involves working with people, and
that we need to continue learning new skills so we can stay competitive. He also
suggested that there are two key things that he likes to see from all his employees: a
drive to develop more, and more diverse skills in order to meet changing demands.
He then pointed out that "caring" is the most crucial skill that a person needs for
success in an industry like digital business, since one has to be able to build strong
relationships, and care for their clients. He suggested that it's a great opportunity for
me to try out some new skills, since in the future there will be a lot of change in the
industry, so I should be prepared for whatever comes in my path. He also mentioned
that it will be important for me to understand the technology that I use, and that it will
also be important for me to learn and apply to this new knowledge my passion for
these areas.

The key skills or competencies that I would need to succeed in Digital Business
Industry?

2
My mentor mentioned that I have to be open-minded, have a passion for knowledge
and development, and have a growth mindset. He also said that I have to be flexible
and always be learning new skills to stay relevant. He pointed out that my potential
to excel lies in the fact that I have already started to think outside the box, I am
extremely passionate about what I do, and I am working on continuously developing
my skills and competencies. He also mentioned that it's important for me to start
engaging with people, and interact with people on a regular basis. He advised that
it's important to be ready for some change in my future career. Fischer and
Friedmann (2015) said that I should develop a positive, optimistic attitude, be curious
about the world, and embrace change. These suggestions are in line with findings in
research of Németh, Németh and Szép (2021), who state that , the success of
people in 21st-century workplaces and in their personal lives are intertwined, as the
future success of people will depend on how well they are prepared for the future,
especially for the digital era.

Conclusion

In summary, the short and long-term benefits are starting to really sink in, and I can
feel that I am making positive progress towards my career goals. But I'm also feeling
a lot of pressures, and some of the best parts of my mentorship experiences have
been the soft-skill training that I received, and also working on some of my own soft
skills. My mentor has also given me some great ideas about what I can expect in the
future, and the challenges that I need to face as I advance my career.

Reference list

Fischer, D. and Friedman, H.H. (2015). Make Yourself Indispensable: Skills

Employers Desperately Need to Succeed in the Knowledge Economy. SSRN
Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2648691.

Németh, E., Németh, K. and Szép, K. (2021). The Development of Competencies for
Employability Digital Competencies. GiLE Journal of Skills Development, 1(2),
pp.68–81. doi:10.52398/gjsd.2021.v1.i2.pp68-81.

3
Sumter, D., Koning, J. de, Bakker, C. and Balkenende, R. (2021). Key Competencies
for Design in a Circular Economy: Exploring Gaps in Design Knowledge and Skills
for a Circular Economy. Sustainability, 13(2), p.776. doi:10.3390/su13020776.

I had conversation with Stephen for 2 hour after we finished work at 3pm on September
25 at The St.Aly Coffee. He shared with me about the digital business working
environment. During our direct interaction, I asked her the following questions:

1. How would you describe the digital business industry's growth dynamics?
2. What is the key driver for the digital business industry?
3. What are the significant changes in the industry?
4. What are the specific requirements that someone needs to be successful in the
digital business industry?
5. How would you identify the challenge of the Digital Business Industry?
6. How would you explain the opportunities in the Digital Business Industry?
7. What are the key competencies or attributes that a person needs to be successful
in the Digital Business Industry?