How to Start a Career During College
#1 Tip on How to Start a Career in During College
As a business undergraduate at UC Berkeley, it is still out of the ordinary for students to pursue a non-ABC (Accounting, Banking, Consulting) career.
Devoting my past three years in marketing, I have been asked many times on how I first started out pursuing a career while in college. My response: let experience precede all else. For new readers, you can catch up on my previous piece on the Top 3 Qualities for Job Seeking Students During College and 5 Successful Tips for Internship Recruiting.
First gig...
From my last piece, my entire marketing career started when I got my first college unpaid gig with a start-up in the Bay Area. Yes, it was unpaid! I had absolutely no marketing experience before this role, and was grateful to have had that experience. In that role, I worked as the start-up's campus ambassador and product marketing intern for UC Berkeley.
Thoughts on unpaid opportunities...
Although I oppose unpaid opportunities, I still recommend students, especially underclassmen, with no background experience to start with these roles as long as they do adequate research. In my case, before applying to this role, I did my due diligence where I knew that I was a fan of the company and its products. Most importantly, the role provided experience that I wanted to learn and develop: social media, product marketing, and grassroots campaigns.
And to be realistic, I had no past work experience in marketing prior to this role, thus I was willing to do anything to get my feet wet in this industry. It was about the experience, not the money. Despite being an unpaid gig, I excelled in the role during that school year, and landed my first paid internship that following summer among the 75 campus ambassadors who were in the program.
In essence, this role was the launching pad to where I am today. I keep mentioning "unpaid," but looking back, the role paid itself in the experience it gave me. My advice for underclassmen and those who are beginning to explore a non-ABC career like marketing is to get your feet wet first—find a company you are a fan of, outreach, and apply! Let your passion guide you when you first start out. Especially when you have no past experience, think of an unpaid role as an opportunity to network and be mentored. Swallow some pride, and use these unpaid opportunities as your gateway to other opportunities. And if you are lucky enough, you might even land paid opportunities.
Three roles and three internships later...
Following this unpaid role, I landed my first social media position with UC Berkeley where I worked with the university's campus-wide social media channels. Subsequently, that role led to my first research assistant and another social media gig with the Haas School of Business. Two years later after my first unpaid marketing gig, I landed two internships in the Bay Area for the summer of 2014 at Samsung Electronics and Flextronics. Today, I am teaching an undergrad elective course in Social Media Marketing & Networking at UC Berkeley.
Let experience precede everything else
What is the key takeaway? It only takes one experience, one role, or one gig to be the launching pad to a career of your dream. This applies beyond marketing for fields such as finance, human resources, and sales. Take the initiative and get your feet wet—unpaid or paid. Not to sound cliché, but college is definitely a time to learn and grow, thus once again: let experience precede all else!
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Tai is currently a business undergraduate at UC Berkeley. He is ready to disrupt the tech industry with his infectious passion and energy for marketing! Learn more about his marketing and networking course at the Haas School of Business.
Reach out via email: [email protected].
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Like what you read? Share, like, and comment. Follow me for more pieces on undergraduate education and social media marketing. You may also enjoy:
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- Crucial Advice for Starting a Career During College
- Successful Tips for Internship Recruiting
- Top Qualities for Job Seeking Students During College
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CEO at Skylab | Forbes Agency Council Member | Grad student at Harvard | Yotpo Finalist for Best Digital Marketing Agency - North America
8 年Very informative. :D
Senior Digital Marketing Data Analyst at Phase2
8 年Thanks
Product at Upwork | Ex-Facebook, Good Eggs
9 年I agree that although unpaid internships are not ideal, they are sometimes necessary to receive the experience that will prepare you for future (hopefully paid) ones. I also think it is important to note that even though some internships are unpaid, it is no reason to take it less seriously or commit less to your company.
Founder @ Accentir | Commercial real estate analysis for small/mid-sized institutions, family offices, and individual investors
9 年What are some time management strategies we can use to fit a part-time job and a full load of courses into our schedule? Do you recommend any way of arranging our schedule? (i.e. leaving certain days of the week open, leave large gaps, take all morning classes, etc.) What works and what doesn't?
Pinnacle at Pinnacle Managment
9 年ya i am top parfomer i do internship from Pinnacl Managment company Now i am HR department in Pinnacle International Company For Human & Managment Development (ICHMD)