TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATION

ESSAY

CAREER ORIENTATION IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

TOPIC: BUILDING A CAREER PLAN IN FOUR YEARS OF

STUDY AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT ORIENTATION IN
THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

Instructor: NGUYEN THI HONG HANH

Student: LE PHI TRUONG
ID student: 720I0489

HO CHI MINH CITY, JANUARY 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 2
CHAPTER 1: PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT 3
1.1 Self-Assessment 3
1.2 SWOT analysis 5
CHAPTER 2: DETERMINATION OF CAREER TARGET 6
2.1 Define long-term and short-term goals at work 6
2.1.1 Short-term goals (First and second year) 6
2.1.2 Long-term goals 7
2.2 Use SMART rules to define career goals 8
2.2.1 Use SMART rules to define short-term goals (First and second year) 8
2.2.2 Use SMART rules to define long-term goals 10
CHAPTER 3: WORK RESEARCH 11
3.1 Find out the kind of job fits your needs, interests, and abilities 11
3.2 Recruitment websites 12
3.3 Find out the nature of work through people in the profession you know 14
CHAPTER 4: CAREER ORIENTATION 16
CHAPTER 5: SET UP AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 17
5.1 Identify important knowledge and skills for import-export career 17
5.2 Lesson schedule for each semester 18
5.3 Soft skills enhance schedule 20
5.4 Work plan for the future 20
CONCLUSION 21
REFERENCES 22

1
 INTRODUCTION
“Dream in a pragmatic way.” – Aldous Huxley, this is my favorite quote for many
consecutive years. When I was a child, my parents, who worked in the business,
often told many stories about the economic field. Perhaps this has led me to the
passion for business during my high school years. Since then, I have also regularly
read a wide range of books about entrepreneurs around the world and economics. I
tried my best to get into a well-known university with my dream major, which is
International Business. International Business can be simply understood as
transactions and exchanges taking place in countries around the world. It can be
deemed as one of the majors that attract a huge number of younger generations.
Indeed, under the strong influence of the movement trends of the world economy,
the increasing trend of regionalization, and globalization, international business
activities have become an extremely essential field in the modern international
economy. Besides, Vietnam with the strength of the "Gold Silver sea forest" is
affirming its position through International Business activities. I awareness that if I
decide to follow this field. As a result, I have more opportunities to accumulate and
enrich experiences for myself, which is beneficial for enhancing my abilities at
work in the future. International Business is a trend-catching industry in the era of
globalization, therefore, I keep my figure on the pulse so that it comes in handy for
catching up with the trend of the world. From there, I will be motivated to gain a
deeper inside into the knowledge related to my job as well as I also advance my soft
skills on a daily basis. I believe I made up my mind with a wise decision because
International business can be considered as an opportunity that I can reach a
reasonable position with huge amount of salary in work environment, thus, as a
changeling that gives me to demonstrate my remarkable capacity to achieve major
advances in these areas.

2
 CHAPTER 1: PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT
1.1 Self-Assessment

Interests Worth living

★ Read books related to business
administration, entrepreneurs
and business communication
skills.
★ Update knowledge about the
global and domestic economy
regularly.
★ Have a serious working attitude,
both individually or in group
work.
★ Put the sense of responsibility
and solidarity first.

Skills Personality
★ Make it a habit to manage my ★ Sociable, cheerful, kind, willful
personal time in the most and ambitious person.
effective way.
★ Have the ability to adapt well to
★ Read books related to training different situations.
skills in communication and
★ Have a passion for business and
participate in online courses.
a dream for the future.
★ Define learning goals and try to
complete the program on time.
★ Take English and computer
science courses to improve my
knowledge

3
1.2 SWOT analysis

Figure 1. Swot analysis

4
 CHAPTER 2: DETERMINATION OF CAREER TARGET
2.1 Define long-term and short-term goals at work
2.1.1 Short-term goals (First and second year)
Knowledge/ Specialization
● Completing the basic and
foundation subjects with a Good
grade (7.0 or higher) as well as
trying to understand the
knowledge of these subjects. As a
result, it is beneficial for building
my specialized subjects on a solid
foundation in the next two years.
● Learn and read more materials
related to the subject being
studied through the Internet, the
library, and reference books.
● Practice the exercise after each
lesson.
● Sign up for English courses and
Informatics certificate courses
during the first school year.
● Achieve IELTS 5.5 according to
the requirements of the major and
the computer degree issued by the
school in the second year of study.
● Learn a new foreign language
(Chinese) in the second year.
Skills
● Soft skills hone:
➔ Join online soft skills training
courses.
➔ Practice self-study skills,
teamwork skills,
problem-solving, Time and
financial management skills.
● Take part-time some part-time
jobs.
● Join university clubs including
soccer, and swimming to expand
relationships during the first
school year.
● Participate in school volunteer
activities during the second school
year.
● Participate fully and on time in
school and classroom sessions.
5
2.1.2 Long-term goals

Knowledge/ Specialization Skills

● Graduated with a major in ● Communicate fluently in English

International Business from the in the 4th year.
university within 4 years.
● Have good soft skills.
● Get IELTS 7.0 or higher in year 4.
● The relationship was extended for
● Have a wealth of knowledge 4 years of study.
related to International Business
● Gain experience through part-time
in 4 years of study.
work during 4 years of study.
● Apply for a job as an
● Internship at a company in the 3rd
import-export officer after 2 years
year of study.
of graduation.

My long-term goal is to have the skills, knowledge and experience to become

an import-export specialist in an international company within five years of
graduating.

6
2.2 Use SMART rules to define career goals

2.2.1 Use SMART rules to define short-term goals (First and second year)

Short-term goals
★ Completing the basic and foundation subjects -

S Specific GPA > 7.0

★ Learn a new foreign language (Chinese)

M Measurable ★ Practice the exercise after each lesson

★ GPA > 7.0

★ MOS Word > 800

A Achievable ★ MOS Excel > 800

★ Achieve IELTS 5.5
★ Chinese B1

★ Trying to understand the knowledge of these

subjects. As a result, it is beneficial for building
my specialized subjects on a solid foundation.
★ Soft skills hone.

R
★ Take part-time some part-time jobs.
Realistic
★ Join university clubs including soccer, and
swimming
★ Participate in school volunteer activities.
★ Participate fully and on time in school and
classroom sessions.

7
 ★ Learn and read more materials related to the
subject being studied through the Internet, the
library, and reference books.

★ Achieve IELTS 5.5 in October 2021.

T Time bound
★ Achieve tiếng Hoa B1 in December 2021
★ Take part-time some part-time jobs from
February 2021.

8
2.2.2 Use SMART rules to define long-term goals

Long-term goals
★ Graduated with a major in International Business
from the university.

S Specific ★ Apply for a job as an import-export officer

★ Become an import-export specialist in an
international company.

★ Practice the exercise after each lesson

M Measurable

★ Graduation classified pretty good

A
★ Achieve IELTS 7.0 or more
Achievable
★ Chinese B2
★ Communicate fluently in English

★ Have good soft skills

R Realistic ★ Gain experience through part-time work

★ Internship at a company

★ Achieve IELTS 7.0 or more in October 2024.

★ Achieve Chinese B2 in January 2024

T Time bound ★ Internship at a company in January 2024

★ Become an import-export specialist in an
international company within five years of
graduating.

9
 CHAPTER 3: WORK RESEARCH

3.1 Find out the kind of job fits your needs, interests, and abilities
Your choice of a career can determine your future satisfaction, success and
achievement. If you choose a career that's right for you, you'll be more likely to be
overjoyed. Therefore, before I make a decision on which career to choose, I always
consider carefully that give me a head start to my future. In fact, humans possess
different needs, interests and abilities which depend on the personality of each
person, thus when I made up my mind with a future decision, I always gain a deeper
inside into what careers might be right for me.
In terms of demand, If I had a gold opportunity I will choose a career with a stable
salary which ables me to advance myself in the future. Regarding hobbies, I am
not a bookworm, but I’m fond of reading books related to famous businessmen,
especially successful person who rose to riches from the very bottom. Besides, the
documents related to the world economy and the relationship between countries in
the economic field also bring me considerable interest. In terms of my own ability,
I am a person with good time management ability, teamwork skills, and able to
withstand work in a high pressure environment. In addition, I am also a careful,
hardworking and dedicated person. I always want to improve my expertise and
skills, and always explore and learn new things and economic trends in the world.
Since then, there are jobs that are suitable for me such as economic consultant,
customer care, import-export specialist, external affairs specialist, financial
planner.
3.2 Recruitment websites

Recruitment Visitors
Link Characteristic
websites /month

3 million employers.
Helping businesses build
https://vn.inde
1 Vn.indeed.com 2.8 triệu brands
ed.com/
Suitable for recruiting
positions abroad.

10
 Focus on the candidate's
mobile application experience.

The feature of creating and

designing an online CV right
on the recruitment website,
https://topcv.v
2 TopCV 2.5 triệu has become a popular
n
destination in the job seeker
community, especially new
graduates.

It is suitable for the

recruitment needs of
https://www.vi experienced positions,
3 Vietnamworks etnamworks.c 2.2 triệu especially there is a section for
om/ recruiting senior officials with
salaries up to thousands of
dollars.

Looking for candidates with

high qualifications and
https://careerb 1.89 experience.
4 Careerbuilder
uilder.vn/ triệu Profile filtering feature is
superior to other recruitment
websites on the market.

Trusted partner for recruitment

agencies.
https://123job. 1.34 The advantage is having a
5 123Job
vn triệu thorough screening of the job
as well as the candidate before
posting

6. Ybox.vn - 1.09 million visits/month

11
Link: https://ybox.vn
7. Timviec365 - 1.07 million visits/month
Link: https://timviec365.vn
8. Jobsgo - 868 thousand visits/month
Link: https://jobsgo.vn
9. Timviecnhanh - 861 thousand visits/month
Link: http://www.timviecnhanh.com
10. Vieclam24h - 731 thousand visits/month
Link: https://vieclam24h.vn
11. Jobstreet - 682 thousand visits/month
Link: https://jobstreet.vn
12. JOBOKO - 659 thousand visits/month
Link: https://vn.joboko.com
13. ITViec - 604 thousand visits/month
Link: https://itviec.com
14. Topdev - 479 thousand visits/month
Link: https://topdev.vn
15. Timviec.com.vn - 444 thousand visits/month
Link: https://timviec.com.vn/
16. Glints.com/vn - 400 thousand visits/month
Link: https://glints.com/vn

12
3.3 Find out the nature of work through people in the profession you know

Necessary skills Job advancement

Daily work
for the job prospects

★ Carry out ★ Working group

transactional
★ Planning skills.
activities,
negotiate and sign ★ Ability to work
contracts with independently
customers and ★ Fluent foreign ★ The trend of
suppliers. language international
★ Complete the ★ Communication integration
Import-export formalities and ★ Vietnam's
skills
specialists documents. economy
★ Be careful, develops
★ Manage and track meticulous, strongly in
orders. know about both breadth
★ Receiving, customs and depth.
inspecting and procedures ★ Enterprises
comparing have many
imported and opportunities
exported goods for
investment,
★ Research and ★ Serious, import and
understand requires export
international trade investment, business.
policies and training, ★ Equal
Trade international research, competitive
promotion trends in the self-updating position.
specialist marketing of
★ Agile,
products.
enthusiastic,
★ Research and with good
synthesize communication
information of skills

13
 import customers ★ Understand the
by each market. problems of the
business.
★ Evaluation of
development
potential and
direction.
★ Build and develop
relationships with
customers and
suppliers.
★ Propose strategies
and activities to
promote trade and
investment
promotion.

14
 CHAPTER 4: CAREER ORIENTATION

After analyzing and self-assessing my personality and interests and finding out
information about suitable jobs in chapter 3, I continue to give certain evaluation
criteria with two selected jobs. My favorites are:
➢ Import-export specialists
➢ Trade promotion specialist
I construct a rating board and score it according to criteria such as values, interests,
personality, and skills to find the job that best suits me. There are 5-point scales:

Benefits - Personality- Skills -

Value - Promotion Active, Negotiating,
Stable career opportunities outgoing, absorbing Total
path , income, learns new new score
reputation things environment

Import-ex
port 4 4 4 5 17
specialists

Trade
promotion 4 3 4 4 15
specialist

After carefully considering between the professions, I decided to choose the

profession of import-export specialists.

15
 CHAPTER 5: SET UP AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

5.1 Identify important knowledge and skills for import-export career

Knowledge/ Specialization Skills

● Graduated with a major in ● Communicate fluently in English.

International Business from the
● Working group
university within 4 years.
● Planning skills.
● Get IELTS 7.0 or higher in year 4.
● Ability to work independently
● Have a wealth of knowledge
related to International Business ● Communication skills
in 4 years of study. ● Be careful, meticulous, know
● Maintain the import and export about customs procedures
process.
● Certificate in International Office
Informatics.
● Have a certificate of customs
declaration.
● Master how to prepare import and
export documents.
● Know how to make international
payment transactions.
● Fully equipped with product
knowledge and market conditions.

16
5.2 Lesson schedule for each semester

English 1
Fundamentals of Informatics 1
Communication Skills in University
University Learning Methods
Semester 1 Effective time management skill
Introduction of Laws
Mathematics in Economics
Careers in International Business
Swimming

English 2
Fundamentals of Informatics 2
Microeconomics
Teamwork skills
Semester 2
Commercial law
Statistics in Business and Economics
Physical Education 1

English 3
Writing and Presenting skills
Practices of International Trade
Semester 3
Macroeconomics
Principles of Management
Research Methods in Business

Principles of Accounting
Foundations of Finance
International Cargo Transportation and Insurance
Semester 4
Principles of Marketing
Office Management
Human Resource Management

International Financial Management

International Business
Semester 5 Customs Procedures
International Trade Law
Customer Behavior

E-Commerce
Semester 6 Business Information and System
Managerial Communication

17
 Financial and Managerial Accounting

International Strategic Management

Cross Cultural Management
Semester 7 International Management
International Supply Chain Management
Asian Business and Management

Business Analysis and Reporting

Social and Ethical Environment of Business
Semester 8
Graduation Examination and Practicum
Business Psychology

5.3 Soft skills enhance schedule

Skills Plan

● Communicate fluently in English. ● Take English communication

skills courses and practice
regularly.

● Working group ● Take advantage of skills training

subjects, regularly hone soft
skills.

● Planning skills. ● Participate fully and on time in

school and classroom sessions

● Ability to work independently ● Join online soft skills training

courses.

● Communication skills ● Take part-time some part-time

jobs.
● Join university clubs including
soccer, and swimming to expand

18
 relationships during the first
school year.
● Participate in school volunteer
activities during the second school
year.

● Be careful, meticulous, know ● Practice carefulness in work,

about customs procedures practice the habit of arranging
work, order and tidy papers

5.4 Work plan for the future

After four years of studying at Ton Duc Thang University and one year at an
affiliated university in Taiwan, and fully equipped with specialized knowledge of
Good or better, I will apply to companies related to import and export. to learn and
improve expertise. In the first 2 years of working, I will regularly improve my
knowledge about the import-export economy by updating regional and global
trends. When I have learned a lot of experience, I will apply to large import-export
companies such as Saigon Newport Company. After 5 years of working, I will
become a good import-export specialist with a high salary. Besides, I will always
maintain enthusiasm for work, always have a clear, careful plan and work with a
high sense of responsibility.

19
CONCLUSION
I would like to sincerely thank Ton Duc Thang University and the Faculty of
Business Administration for giving me the opportunity to be exposed to an urgent
issue of career choice for the future. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the
lecturers of the course for their thoughtful comments to improve my essay.
My essay consists of 5 contents spread out in 5 chapters. First, I did a
self-assessment and conducted a SWOT analysis to clearly see the advantages,
disadvantages, opportunities and barriers. Since then, I have made short-term and
long-term plans for 4 years of study and 5 years after graduation based on the
SMART rule.
Next, I searched for information from social media and friends and drew an initial
analysis of my career choice. I have chosen two jobs that I feel most like that are
import-export officer and trade promotion officer. I conducted an analysis of the
nature of work, skills and future advancement possibilities of these two professions.
I also carefully built a criteria table for grading, and in the end I decided to become
an import-export officer, moreover a good import-export specialist later.
Based on the analysis of the four chapters, I have developed a plan to develop the
skills needed for my chosen career and future career plans. I believe that the above
specific analysis and the planned plan will become the driving force for me to
achieve my dream.

20
REFERENCES
https://quanlydoanhnghiep.edu.vn/khai-niem-va-vai-tro-cua-hoat-dong-kinh-doanh-
quoc-te/
https://goacademy.vn/kinh-doanh-quoc-te/
https://bmtoolbox.net/tools/empathy-map/
https://careerlantern.com/2019/06/03/career-goals/
https://www.careercliff.com/smart-career-goals-examples/
https://clockify.me/blog/productivity/smart-goals/
https://jobsgo.vn/blog/nganh-kinh-doanh-quoc-te/
https://resources.base.vn/hr/danh-sach-cac-trang-web-tuyen-dung-hang-dau-viet-na
m-194
https://blog.topcv.vn/6-ky-nang-quan-trong-cua-nguoi-lam-xuat-nhap-khau/
https://ducanhduhoc.vn/nghe-xuc-tien-thuong-mai-de-tro-thanh-cau-noi-giao-thuon
g-hieu-qua/

21