By Yahya Khan
Peers for Careers/SCDC Correspondent
(As originally published in The Ticker – http://ticker.baruchconnect.com/)
Freshman year is a transformational time for many college undergraduates. For some, it marks the boundary from teenage to adulthood, for others it signals the opportunity to leave old issues behind and start afresh. Whatever the approach, it is a time of great importance and requires some deliberate planning and execution.
In the first semester of freshman year, it is probably a wise idea to focus a lot on studies and to get a grasp of how the education system works and hopefully achieve high grades. Even though this advice is relevant through the four years of college, it is extremely important in the first semester because a bad first semester, academically speaking, can set you back for the entire duration of the four years. While a good semester will allow a degree of freedom and a cushion for the future, a bad semester will force the student to be always playing catch up and trying to rectify the mistakes made in the first semester. Therefore, the first semester is vital from an academic perspective. Secondly, freshman year should be used to widen your personal and professional network as much as possible and to start thinking about major and career choice. A good idea is to become involved in a student organization on campus and to start attending a few of the professional and networking events held on campus. Freshman year can also be used to join leadership programs such as T.E.A.M Baruch or other opportunities on campus as long as the focus is personal and professional development.
Sophomore year should be focused on maintaining and improving your academic standing, but also making some serious choices about majors, minors and careers. It is a good idea to start attending workshops regarding resumes, interviews, networking, career fairs, etc. at the STARR Career Development Center while also attending corporate presentation and recruitment events held on campus by companies. Furthermore, this is the time when a leadership position should be sought after in an on-campus club or organization. Such an experience will not only allow for a wider personal network, but will also instill the traits of leadership and how to multitask given a wide range of responsibilities. For those looking for a structured professional program, the STARR Center offers the Rising Star Sophomore Program (RSSP). Building upon the groundwork laid in the freshman year, sophomore year should be used to have a fun college experience while still keeping up a robust academic performance.
For many students, especially Accounting and Finance majors, junior year holds great significance. It marks the period when summer internships and leadership programs must be very actively pursued and a lot of time and effort will be spent in the recruiting process. For students trying to obtain a summer position, it is important to participate in the STARR Center’s On Campus Recruitment (OCR) process, as well as, attend a wide variety of corporate information sessions, networking events and generally immerse oneself in the world of recruiting. It is also a time when most students begin to actively pursue their major classes and studies become more challenging. For these reasons, junior year has the distinction of being probably the most stressful academic year. Opportunities are also available to study abroad for a semester and many students do so in order to travel and gain more cultural perspective. Care must be taken as a junior to make sure that all academic requirements are on track to being met and to take any winter/summer classes if necessary. Apart from that, there are several opportunities to be had in this year; the Financial Leadership Program (FLP) conducted by the STARR Center is an extremely prestigious opportunity that becomes a gateway for internship/fulltime opportunities in large financial institutions later. There are also a myriad of case studies happening which can be taken advantage of to gain practice and exposure to a real world work environment. This is also a good time to seek a further leadership role in a campus club and to hone your leadership and time management skills.
Senior year is undoubtedly a time of both nostalgia and hard work. It is the last year of college life for a large number of undergraduates and therefore, the last chance to enjoy the whims and charms of student life before heading out into the work force. For others it is the chance to actively reach out to companies and try to obtain a full time position after graduation. By senior year, professional and personal circles have largely been formed and affiliations with clubs and on campus organizations are coming to an end. This is the time when students transition from college to career.