National Career Development Month: Emily Aktar
Tell us about yourself!
My name is Emily Aktar and I currently work at Henkel as a Senior Customer Logistics Analyst.
What career accomplishment are you most proud of?
Creating new standard operating procedures and process within my first few months as a new Transportation Planner. As well as, b**uilding and cultivating relationships with carrier partners to improve operational performance.
How do you plan to continue your professional growth?
Creating levels of career depth and breadth within the supply chain while working on improving standards of leadership.
What was the biggest success/challenge you faced going from college to your job?
One of the biggest challenges graduating in 2020 was starting my career in a remote working environment. Learning new systems, processes, and daily tasks all via Microsoft Teams posed many unique challenges. At the same time, I would say that my ability to learn and excel in a time with supply chain volatility at an all-time high was a big success.
What is the most important risk you've taken and why?
The most important risk I’ve taken was switching companies and starting a new role in a different area. After two years of working within the same team and learning the ins and outs of transportation, I made the switch to Customer Logistics.
What do you feel you took most from Penn State to your current role?
With my current role being heavily focused on customer collaboration and relationships, I think the interpersonal skills I learned at Penn State have been extremely valuable.
Penn State offers a great balance of academics and extracurricular activities that simulate corporate organizational structure. For example, I was part of an organization that had budget management, executive boards, etc that actually parallel how larger public company’s function.
What is your dream job if you had no limitations?
While it’s hard to think of a dream job, I feel like different aspects are part of the enjoyment. I continue to like working with others, building my skills, creating positive social atmospheres, and improving things at every stop. I feel like these things will be core no matter where I end up down the road.
