Let me start this post out by saying, I’m happy with my choice of a major. I’ve run into several people who have simply chosen a college major because it was easy, without considering marketability. With the career market being uber competitive, I believe people need to make extra effort to stand out from the crowd. In order to make sure they don’t add to the unemployed masses when they leave college, even business undergraduates need to be prepared to do some critical thinking. I graduated with my Bachelor in Business Administration. I’d been in school for six years now, so that’s no joke. I learned a LOT when it comes to being a student, finding a career after school, and just generally living after college. Here’s what I think is super important for business majors to know:
1. Have a Long Term Plan
No matter how far into your business degree you are, it does not hurt to know where you are going. Do you want to head straight into the job market? Do you want to move directly to an advanced degree? Developing a long-term strategy is always a good idea.
2. How to get an internship
If you have big dreams that involve big companies, you are going to need to know when and where their internships are, what they require, and how to get through the application process. Knowing how to get an internship is important. Internships are a great way to get a foot in the door in an otherwise competitive industry. Yes, the pay might not be so good and your job might be getting coffee for everyone in the office, but this is how you build a resume in the real world.
3. Know What Is Happening In The Job Market
Whether you are ready to apply for jobs or not, it is always a good idea to know what is happening in the job market. A degree in journalism might be a very risky endeavor these days, as technology continues to change the industry. The interwebs are full of articles like this one, that claim the very nature of work is going through a huge change. By being aware of unemployment trends, you can stop yourself becoming another jobless statistic.
4. Know What Is Happening In Business News
If you want to seriously impress your professors when writing essays, recruitment teams when applying for internships, and contemporaries when networking, I think it’s a good idea to keep up with the current business press. There are plenty of good sites out there, but it also never hurts to pick up a copy of the Financial Times or The Economist. I learned in – surprise! – Economics class that the Economist has the highest incomed demographic of any magazine/news publisher out there. It can’t hurt to absorb the knowledge that all of those rich people are also absorbing.
5. Learn How To Write Well
In the future, business undergraduates will need to write their resume, covering letters, and proposals. If your spelling, grammar, and punctuation sucks, people might assume that you do too! A great grammar book worth checking out is The Elements of Style. It’s short and easy to read and required reading for many college writing courses.
6. Take Small Classes
Usually, business college classes are so large that professors rarely have the opportunity to get to know students well enough to write glowing recommendations. I know the first time I sat in one of those colossal teaching auditoriums I felt like I was in a sea of people. With thousands of students attending their classes, professors can’t be expected to know who you all are. Attend small ones, and you may just get noticed.
7. Learn to Look at Business (and Life) Situations From Multiple Angles
Socrates was famously quoted as saying, “I know one thing, that I know nothing.” If you are one of those people who constantly must be right, how can you learn anything? A business undergraduate needs to be open-minded. By broadening your mind, you will develop new skills you would not have picked up otherwise.
8. Take Your Education To New Places
I’ve always heard that taking courses in international business is a good idea. Daring to step away from your backyard will make you unique and the new world economy is going to need people who think with a global perspective.
9. Develop Relationships With Your Professors
Platonic ones, that is! Getting to know your professors is a great way to develop connections that may prove valuable in the future.
10. Gain Experience
This is a great time to volunteer and meet people in the business world. If you play your cards right you may just parlay your relationship and experience into a job!
“Learn how to write well”… would that more undergrads follow that little nugget of advice. I would add “exceptionally well”. A new graduate will need to stand out from the herd.
Golden words! It took me forever to learn to write well (English is my third language after all). But boy it still pays off!
I was a business major! I definitely recommend getting an internship and networking like crazy.
I was an accounting major. The best thing I did was get an internship which led to my first full time job even though I graduated into the horrible economy of the last few years. Set me up well for the future.
Number 7 for me is the big one! If you want to get anywhere in the business world, you need to grasp the understanding of seeing thins from different angles!
My undergrad was in History, but got an MBA in Finance a few years ago. This is a great list. I tend to think that #7 is key, as well as #4. It’s key to know what’s going on in the business world as well as being able to look at issues from different vanatage points. Being able to do that can really help set you apart and help you appreciate other viewpoints.
I did International Business in undergrad and Supply chain in Grad. Network and get work experience like crazy.
I don’t regret majoring in business. Someone much older and wiser told me to study for a major that would get you a job that can support your true passion.
Good tips! I never considered majoring in business, not really my interest, but I think a lot of those tips can be applied to other fields as well.
For me, the key was a co-op program. It helped pay for school, and gave me great experience – and a job as soon as I graduated!
Funny enough when I graduated I only stuck to one of these: networking. It paid huge dividends down the road. Today I’m a networking whore, always carry business cards, small talk and relish at the opportunity to meet someone who’d serve well in the future.
Your list is fantastic. I’d add starting a blog in conjunction to being a good writer. This way you can showcase your writing skills, as 95% of others don’t have a blog.
I was a business major. I can’t say I’m happy with the decision I made (it was mostly a spur of the moment thing). Looking back, I would much rather go for an accounting degree or an economics one. Upon graduating, I was unable to find employment that would consider a business degree in particular. It seemed like all most employers cared about was the fact that I HAD a 4 year degree, not what kind of degree it was. Business major was the reason I had to stick it out on my own. I guess in a way it pushed me to be a smarter / harder working individual that I am today. It pushed me to be self-reliant and taught me that only I can make my own future with the work that I put in. I learned the hard way – the way of life, that if you don’t get a degree which can lead you directly to employment, it’s going to be a tough ride. For that, I suppose I could thank my business major. However, every time a new payment is drawn out of my account for student loan repayment I think to myself: “Why? Why did I major in business? Did I really need to spend all that money on student loans only to be taught a lesson that school on its own means nothing unless you can apply the knowledge directly in employment?”
What a great post daisy and it shows how prepared you are. Thinking about the job market is so important as I’ve seen many people I went to University with still struggling to get a job. It’s important to have passion for what you study for if you don’t have that love, it will be a flame that will burn out slowly but steady. No sense wasting time on something that will never be and many kids do this. Hold your head up high and be proud you made it to the end of a new beginning in life… Cheers Mate. Mr.CBB
I wrote a similar post a couple months ago, though you bring up some different points that are definitely good takeaways. Learning how to write is huge! I also wish I had fostered better relationships with my professors. I feel I missed out on some key connections that were right in front of me (literally, right in front of the class lecturing 3 days a week!) that could have been good contacts post-college.
Good tips! And I definitely agree with choosing a major that you can market later, though I grew up with parents saying do what you love. So I did a film degree. I don’t regret it but there are some difficulties working in marketing and moving up the chain when I don’t actually have a marketing degree. Though it is a great conversation starter, I will say that.
Daisy, being a student of business, I can tell you these are all great. But I especially like number 4. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read CNN before going to an important lunch, and its lead to some great discussion beyond what other people contributed. It’s such an easy thing to do and very effective.
Great article. I started out as a business major, but my passion took me elsewhere. I’m finding that a lot of my former peers who went on with the program are having trouble finding jobs in the post Wall Street crash economy. I know you’re doing amazing (mostly due to your crazy hard work,) but do you find your former classmates struggling?
Congrats and strut your stuff when you take that walk this week!
Nice tips Daisy. Getting good internship experience is a big one and definitely something that hiring firms expect these days when they are looking through resumes. A lot of times it means working for nothing in internships, but it’s worth it if it gets your foot in the door when you graduate.
I have a business degree and I think it’s a great degree to get started with. I think that developing relationships with professors is a great way to get a heart felt recommendation letter and the inside track of potential, unadvertised jobs.
The other best point is gaining experience. I took a co-op degree program that was great for this. I gained real experience, got paid well and had a network of employers to fall back on when I was finally out of school.
Good post!