If you’re currently in business school or are thinking about pursuing a degree in business, you may be wondering what actions you should be taking now to help establish a strong foundation for your eventual career and open up as many professional doors as possible. Whether you’re hoping to pursue independent investing, entrepreneurship, or simply a nine-to-five job in the corporate world, remember to follow these four tips through graduation to help set yourself up for your future career and make the most of your education.
1. Learn To Prioritize Your Time and Avoid Frequent Procrastination
One of the biggest issues for many business students is procrastination and a difficulty completing work on time. To get the most out of your business education, it’s important to prioritize your time. You could:
- Write a daily to-do list every morning and organize the tasks by order of due date and importance
- Find fun ways to keep yourself motivated, such as working for an hour and then taking a relaxing ten-minute break
- Remind yourself of your ultimate goal to attain a degree and pursue a career in business or entrepreneurship
- Meet with your guidance counselor or academic advisor to pinpoint areas in your schedule where you might be wasting time to make room for more important work
2. Take a Wide Variety of Hands-On, Practical Courses
Although it may be tempting to sign up for lots of fun electives, it’s also important to stack up your class schedule with practical courses to gain basic knowledge and some hands-on experience. Before you graduate, make sure you’ve learned about:
- Foundational finances and accounting
- Advertising, marketing, branding, and public relations
- Public speaking, professional communications, and business or technical writing
- Negotiating and writing contracts
- Micro- and macro-economics
- Business administration and management
3. Explore Different Facets of the Business and Entrepreneurial World
Your school years are an opportune time to explore all the potential business career paths available. Talk to your counselor and explore different facets of the business and entrepreneurial world to find one or more avenues that look appealing to you. For instance, many business students go on to pursue a career as a:
- Business consultant
- Business owner, investor, or entrepreneur
- Public accountant
- Event planner or hospitality manager
- Human resources director or specialist
- Advertising and marketing executive
4. Make the Most of Your Connections and Various Networking Opportunities
Although you might be cautious of networking early on, the truth is that the sooner you can start making business connections, the wider a net you’ll have when entering the working world. Start taking advantage of your school’s networking opportunities to:
- Learn about different facets of the business and entrepreneurial industry from your connections
- Form potentially lifelong personal friendships and business relationships
- Begin crafting your professional reputation in the industry
Whether you hope to become an accountant, a public relations specialist, an entrepreneur, an event planner, or pursue another career path within the business world, starting to lay the foundation for your future career while still getting your education can give you a leg up in the industry. When in doubt, following these four rules of thumb can help get you through your school years and can help launch you into a fruitful business career.