Okay, so I'm down to my last few weeks of college before I graduate from the University of Oregon with a degree in economics and a minor in business admin. I've had about 4 interviews so far. 1 was for Sales at Bleck & Decker. and the other 3 were for financial service/insurance companies. And I have about 5 more interviews for 5 more different financial/insurance companies. Most of these financial companies are management trainee positions so I would be learning a lot my first year or so getting licenses etc and then building a clientele over my tenure. Such companies I'm refering to that I've interviewed for or am considering are Nationwide, Mass Mutual, First Investors, NorthStar, Country Financial, etc etc. I feel as though these financial companies can give me the oppurtunity I'm looking for and the benefits I want since I'm willing to put in the hard work. And it involves sales to an extent and I'm really interested in that. Another route I'm considering is sales for Xerox or Pharmaceutical sales (since I have some In's on that). I am unsure which path I should take. I was wondering if people who are in the job market currently can give me some advice or tips if you work in the pharma/sales/financial-insurance industry have worked or whatever. What should I expect? what shouldn't I? the good? bad? ugly? any tips, ideas and or input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I graduated from college 3 years ago and had a job lined up before I graduated. I worked 3 summer internships while I was in college and the hiring manager told me that the internship experience was the #1 reason I was hired. (my grades weren't particularly stunning, but they were OK) Do you have any applicable work experience while you were in college? That really helps land jobs. As for beginners advice...the thing that has helped me over the last 3 years has been the fact that I am willing to do the dirty work that others don't want to do, try new things, ask questions, and learn from any co-workers willing to teach me anything. I've gone from a college hire knowing next to nothing, to being a strong performer that people come to when they need something done correctly. Learn, learn, learn. Volunteer for tasks that you think you can deliver. Help coworkers and learn from them. Don't be afraid to ask "WHY?" something is done a certain way if you can think of a better way to do it. I am often surprised at how simple suggestions really help out the work flow.
There are lots of factors like location, salary, what you would be doing. But some of the intangibles you may look for when all things are equal are the size and respectability of the company. Your resume looks a lot better for the next job if the future boss knows and respects your current employer. Congrats and good luck!
Thanks for the tips guys. ArtV I agree on picking the company with the bigger name and more respectability. Holding all else constant in terms of salary, location etc like you mentioned there's so many of these financial/ins firms that do pretty much the same thing only different name and reputation.
If you're about to go out into the real world, take Rodney Dangerfield's advice from Back to School....don't go!
I would be weary of getting into financial/insurance services directly out of college. Its an extremely competitive field and the turnover rate in these firms is incredible. A majority of successful people in this field have worked in other industries before and have a base of contacts/clients or specialized industry knowledge. I would recommend getting a position in which you are learning much more technical information whether it be in a financial analyst position within investment finance or even a financial accounting type position. Either way you are learning technical skills and getting experience that looks much better for graduate schools and to other employers if you decide sales is not you're thing. But once you've only had sales experience its hard to go to something more technical, whereas you can go from a technical field to a sales one.
Early on it's probably good to go with the bigger name, but not 100% sure. You may not be the type of person that works well in that environment. I worked for a real big firm straight out of college. I had no problems per se, everyone liked me, I did a good job, etc., but I quickly realized that it wasn't what I wanted to be doing. And there are different skill-sets to learn at each. I only mention it because the jobs you are rattling off would make me want to shoot myself. But that's just me. Fit is very important, because it leads to job satisfaction, which leads to job performance, which leads to money, ultimately.
JayZ... I agree completely and people have told me to be weary of the type of places I mentioned making them want to shoot themselves. I was wondering what your currently do or what path you ultimately decided to take?
Very good points. The larger places are generally less satisfing than others. But since it is a starting position, experience in a large company I think gives you a better resume to go where you truely want to go. Work there for a few years, then head out to the place you want to go if you are not satisfied. That is if you can't get into the place you really want to go first or you're just getting a feel for what you want to do. Edit: Also if they are a company that has stock, check out there record over the past couple of years. If they are climbing, that generally means that things are run well. If they are falling, they may be in some turmoil that you may not want to be a part of. But my general rule is that my resume is my stability - not the company.
Most of my aspirations are entreprenuerial. I'm just not interested in working my way up the ladder of a Fortune 500 company - not that there is anything wrong with it, just not my cup of tea. I'd echo F.D. Khan. It can be helpful to take a job where you get a broad scope of finance skills, after which you can more actively pursue an area you are interested in. Conversely, if you are comfortable with the jobs you are currently interviewing for, there is no harm getting as early a start as possible. Sorry to be so on the fence in advice. The answer is that it is entirely possible to be enormously successful regardless of the path you take.
Depending on your personality, of the jobs listed I would lean toward the sales career. I'm sure you know, but the perks and freedoms of not working in an office really make the job that much more worth it. Of course a ton of it depends on what products (drugs) you sell and how they are precieved in the market. If you have an connection for a pharma. sales job go for it, there are a lot of pham. companies don't hire people right out of college and if you don't like it, the sales experience that you get is very valuable for anything that you want to do next. Expense accounts rock!
