By Julia Ivy
In my earlier post on three starting points for personal strategy coaching, I shared stories of John (a veteran, 47), Tyler (recently graduated Millennial, 22), Dana (approaching graduation Millennial, 21), and David (multidimensional professional, 36) to illustrate that personal strategy coaching must start with the classification of the client’s “what’s next?” dilemma.
Introduction
As an undergraduate student rounding out her sophomore year of college, the idea of internships and future employment has been looming stronger than ever. Educational progression is linked to employability, as showcased by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
However, on a micro level, I believe that it is your choices within your education that affect your employability. Whether that be choosing the classes and clubs that best fit your interests, studying abroad, or refining your skills, higher education offers a wide variety of options to invest in your employability. However, the regiment of higher education can oftentimes lead to rules and pressures that inhibit students from exploring and broadening their academic horizons. A lack of applicable knowledge across various concentrations could damage a student’s employability.
What I Wish I Had More Of
If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. My parents have echoed this mantra to me for years, encouraging me to follow my passions in education and the workforce. I am a strong believer in this saying. However, finding your passions is not an easy feat. Since being accepted to college, I have changed my major three times. Luckily enough, I believe I have finally landed on the combination of majors that I most enjoy and interest me. However, I know now that my inability to settle down on a major is mainly rooted in general curiosity. Coming from a liberal arts background in high school, the transition to college was shocking. While my classes were important and academically enlightening, the strict concentration of major classes and regimens left me curious about what lie outside my major. I believe a liberal arts approach is imperative to strong employability. Niche knowledge can give a candidate a boost when applying to specific industries, allowing more room for growth and upward mobility. I believe a liberal arts approach in higher education would be beneficial.
Typically, real-world experience is gained outside the realm of education. I don’t believe these things should be treated as two separate entities. Schools offer a strong melting pot of fresh, young minds. Students should be challenged with real-world examples, problems, and cases, and they should have the opportunity to apply them independently from internships and jobs. While there are many opportunities, they are sometimes hard to find or participate in. Corporations’ investments in future employees are as important as future employees’ investments in themselves. By partnering with universities, professors, and classes, corporations can extend their recruiting reach and impact while bridging the experience gap for those unable to get internships due to underlying circumstances. Case studies and projects are a strong way for students to get involved and develop experience within their education. Therefore, these options should be emphasized to enhance a student’s employability.
In my International Business and Global Social Responsibility course with Dr. Ivy, we worked on a semester-long consulting project. Businesses were chosen through personal connections to capitalize on available information and correspondence. My group consulted for a former client of Dr. Ivy, which allowed for a personal and meaningful approach. We compared two different global markets for our client to enter through data analysis, CAGE, SWOT, HDI indexes, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, and other economic metrics. We applied these metrics by choosing the best-fitting positioning strategy, entry mode, and global strategy. Our consulting case was insightful to the practices and workings of the industry. Coupled with real-life consequences, expectations, and purpose, this opportunity was the most meaningful practice I’ve participated in as a student.
What I Wish I Had Less Off
The pressures of college are intense and unrelenting. 45% of American college students have claimed to undergo “more than average stress,” and 12.7% undergo “tremendous stress.” Students have found themselves worrying more about grades than absorbing and understanding knowledge. While grades can reflect your understanding of a topic, one must wonder if there are ways to reevaluate this metric so that it centers the students’ individual learning styles and approaches. Education is never one-size-fits-all, and, beyond testing accommodations, there is a lack of flexibility. It is important to evaluate students to hold them accountable, however, new versions must be created to protect students’ stress levels and mental health.
Similarly, tests and exams, while crucial tools for measuring ability under pressure, should not be the one-and-only way to examine students’ ability to retain and apply knowledge. Projects and cases are representative of a working environment as they test a student’s collaboration and application of theory. Tests are inherently unfair to students with learning disabilities and are not representative of a working environment. I believe that I retain and understand information better after using it in a project rather than an exam.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe that a liberal arts approach to my education and in-school experience opportunities would further enhance my employability. A vast array of knowledge would give me a competitive edge in various industries, as would an influx of experience. On the other hand, I wish my education were less stressful and focused less on exams. Stressful school environments can lead to weak knowledge retention and burnout before you even start to work, and exams are not representative of a workplace. Both can negatively affect your employability.
About the Author
Mackenzie Sucher is a sophomore at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. She is majoring in Economics and Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Data Science. Growing up in Hong Kong, she developed a passion for the international sphere of business and is interested in exploring and learning about new cultures. Furthermore, she is interested in environmental and sustainability economics and pursued a research opportunity regarding energy policy during the fall of her sophomore year. This spring she is excited to start her first co-op as a General Ledger Accountant at Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston. She is expected to graduate in the spring of 2025.
March 27, 2025
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If you find these questions resonating and you nodded yes on each of these questions, then you surely need to be aware of BE-EDGE Institute and its products. This is where you can get the solutions and answers to all these questions and more of your career-related confusions.
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