As graduation draws near, UC Davis students are beginning to focus choosing a career path. To help encourage such students to enter the growing area of business marketing, the student-run organization Modern Market Technologies will be holding a seminar called “Getting On Top: Climbing the Corporate Ladder,” on Wednesday.
The workshop will feature two speakers – UC Davis alumnus and CEO/President of Sierra Energy Michael Hart and CEO of KIP Biotech Greg McParland – to discuss with students what it takes to become successful in the business world as well as provide some tips about what to do in college to get ahead.
“They’re going to be talking about their experiences in founding and basically being leaders of their companies,” said Baryo Dee, founder and executive director of MMT. “And they’re going to talk about what they did in school to help them in starting their career as professionals and what it takes to be successful in your work place.”
The workshop is also designed to expose students to life after college and what opportunities are out there for recent graduates.
“We hope that the workshop will give students a chance to hear firsthand about what life is like in the corporate world,” said Becka Fay, marketing director of MMT, in an e-mail interview. “The work world can feel so distant when you are attending a university and internships are often not easy to come by. Having workshops like this can be a great place for students to learn about what their life might be like after they graduate.”
Besides hosting workshops, MMT provides unique opportunities for students through an internship program.
“MMT does an internship program where we work with companies to build a product,” Dee said. “It’s really about giving students the chance to hold positions that they otherwise wouldn’t hold in a regular internship, such as being a marketing director.”
For students interested in the area of marketing, the MMT works to provide students with expertise to help built resumes and eventually get jobs even in this difficult economic time.
According to Dee, in areas such as Sacramento, the marketing business is declining because it is generally the first thing to go in a failing business, as it tends to be expensive and doesn’t show immediate results. So for students looking after graduation to enter the marketing area, working with the MMT to gain experience would give them the advantage needed to make it in a competitive market.
For UC Davis graduates, finding jobs in any business market has proved to be an increasingly hard challenge. According to the Internship and Career Center website, only about 52 percent of Davis alumni are working full-time one year after graduation, dropping from about 64 percent just one year before. With the fall of the economy, it is predicted that in coming years the job market will continue to get tougher for new graduates, meaning that every unique experience students can gain will give them a necessary edge over other candidates.
“Getting involved on campus and through internships is incredibly important, but one of the most important things today that you can do to gain an advantage when applying for jobs is to network,” Fay said. “Getting to know people already in the corporate world and having contacts that can speak for you is invaluable.”
More information on the MMT and the workshop can be found at http://mmtproject.weebly.com/.
CHARLOTTE YOUNG can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
