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While my focus in school was management, my overall
major was in business. This meant that while the majority
of the business coursework during my senior year was
geared more toward management related subject matter,
the other three years of my time at school had a more
general business focus while also mixing in the typical
smattering of general education classes.
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While I found many of these classes, both business and
general education, interesting and useful, there were certain
courses and aspects of school that I found more useful than
others. In many cases, I realized that that while coursework
was important, human resource rules and laws change, management
strategies are adjusted, software programs are updated and
improved upon, but there are certain skills that can last
a lifetime. These particular skills and the honing of these
skills are what I found to be particularly appealing while
at school and quite useful once out in the real world.
Communication
A significant aspect in the time I put in gaining my bachelor’s
in business was that of learning proper communication
techniques. For many, getting up in front of a group of
people or peers and having to make a speech or presentation
or even just discuss matters in a meeting type environment
can be a frightening proposition.
My freshmen year, I took the required public speaking class,
which was a great way to prepare me for the future projects
and presentations my business degree and later my work in
the management field would require. This course helped to
provide the confidence to be able to present ideas clearly
and effectively in a meeting atmosphere, and make me feel
more at ease and willing to step up and speak out than I
may have been otherwise.
I also found that paying close attention to the professors
who taught the classes involved in my bachelor’s degree
was also a pertinent aspect of acquiring proper communication
skills. When it comes to effectively communicating, listening
can be just as important, if not more so than speaking.
Listening to and understanding a professor’s expectations
is much the same as listening to a boss or manager when
out in the working world.
Project Management
Projects in school can be more than just about the assignment.
There is also the work and structure involved in completing
that assignment. That structure might involve coming up
with a plan and executing it, staying on task, seeing your
work through from start to finish, and understanding timelines,
time restrictions, and other constraints that you might
come up against.
This type of project management work when completing my
bachelor’s in business also helped me when on the
job to better understand the importance of avoiding procrastination
when it came to staying on task and knowing the value of
checking and double checking my work before submitting it
to the boss. Once I found myself out in the working world,
I was quickly presented with areas that were in need of
improvement. I found that being able to come up with business
plans and projects, put them into action, and see them through
to completion, while at the same time tracking and highlighting
my results was a quick way to prove myself and move up the
chain of command. Not only this, but doing so bought me
quality time with the bosses which can be a great way to
network and show that you’re ready to take on the
next challenge, whatever it may be. These days many colleges
offer project
management degrees and certicate programs which can
surely help in the real world.
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Teamwork
Much of my business degree work focused on group work. Depending
upon the teammates that I was paired with, this wasn’t
always a fun prospect. Not everyone took their college education
as seriously as I did, however; these experiences were valuable
in preparing me for the working world in a number of ways.
Like being paired with project members in college, we can’t
always pick the co-workers with whom we are assigned to
work or the employees we are assigned to manage. And again,
like in college, not everyone took their work as seriously
as I. Therefore, many of the skills I honed during my business
degree work came in handy once in the working world. I found
that being able to motivate, compromise, negotiate, convince
others of my ideas, think creatively and outside the box,
and convey my thoughts, ideas, and needs when collaborating
with or managing others were all quite important to making
my job and career efforts easier and more effective.
Resume Writing and Interviewing
The last thing I will say about getting a business bachelor’s
degree, or really a bachelor’s degree in just about
any area, is that if your school offers a class or two in
resume writing and interviewing, I highly recommend you
partake in such courses. At my university, we had such classes
and they have proved immensely helpful throughout my career.
Not only can such coursework help you attain better jobs
or positions, but they can help you when you are hiring
for such positions as well. Being able to write a great
cover letter and develop an effective resume that stands
out from the crowd and gets you an interview in which you
can express yourself and make a favorable impression, can
be valuable abilities.
If this sounds interesting, find out more about how you
can get a business degree online. Check out the Online
Business Schools directory today!
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