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It’s yet another semester and Bentley students are getting into the full swing of things with group projects, assignments, and examinations for their spring classes. Remember, your courses this semester are not just important for your academics, but can also lead to work opportunities by receiving a highlight on your resume or being discussed by you in an interview. Here are some things to think about while you’re going through the semester.
- Are any of my group projects relevant to jobs that I want to apply for?
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- If so, make sure to note your thinking processes through the semester, as well as remember specific details on how you were able to blend and mesh ideas with others to achieve something great. This is a great time to add another experience to your arsenal of what you can discuss with an employer when they ask about your ability to work with others.
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- What professors can I network with?
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- A lot of your professors are industry experts that also teach on the side or now teach full-time because they enjoy the world of academia. These professors are already seen as good academic resources, but they can really help you in terms of mentorship, shadowing, or just exploring career options. Email a professor about setting up a meeting or an office hour that’s unrelated to your class and your professor about his or her career path.
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- Can I go further with my coursework & connect it to my dream industry?
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- Are you spending a lot of time on homework this semester? Why not go a step further and try to connect what you’re learning in classes to what you might want to do post-grad. Find finance or accounting example problems specific to your dream role, or practice thinking up a marketing campaign for a company you may want to join in the future. Things that you do for fun on the side can turn into real projects that help you get jobs or simply just impress others. Many students in the past several years have turned their coursework and passion for different industries into real business ideas, and then even started up businesses. By connecting what you might want to do long-term with your current business classes, great things can happen.
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- What am I going to prioritize this semester?
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- We all make countless choices, every day and every semester. There’s a lot going on this spring, so make sure you decide what you’re going to consider being most important. Will you focus on academics and GPA so that your resume’s education section can have an extra boost? Will you pour your efforts into an organization on campus that you have a leadership role in? Are you working tirelessly to start up a business or another type of side hustle? Bentley students are busy students and nobody is expecting you to be perfectly well-rounded. This semester, try to figure out what is important for you, and realize that you have limited time in a day to reach those goals. Prioritize what you want to get done, but remember that it’s a tough time for everyone, so don’t forget to give yourself a break.
We discuss a lot about what you should be doing for your career, such as updating your resume and other application materials, applying for jobs, reaching out to alumni, etc. It should be noted that being students and completing difficult coursework, collaborating with your peers, figuring out more about your major, or talking with your professors are all career-related activities when we take a moment and think about it. So, continue making those career connections in your mind while you go through this semester, and you will subconsciously and indirectly build up skills that you might need to pull out in an interview or in a casual elevator pitch.
