Job Strategies for Entrepreneurship Students

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Job Strategies for Entrepreneurship Students

• Mark Brostoff
• Associate Director
• Undergraduate Career Services

October 2005
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Age andEntrepreneurial Opportunity

• No hard-and-fast rules concerning the right age
  for starting a business, some age deterrents do
  exist.
• Inadequacies in preparation and resources
• Career building experiences

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On the Right Career Path

• Early Career Concerns
• Getting an education
• Gaining work experience
• Acquiring financial resources

• Late Career Concerns
• Fulfilling family requirements
• Attaining seniority in employment
• Earning investment in a retirement program

20 25 years old
35 45 years old
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Ideal Time to Start ??

• Appears to lie somewhere between the mid-20s and
  the mid-30s
• Research shows that the highest percentage of
  start-ups is in the 25 to 35 year age group.
• Exceptions do occur, especially when a
  precipitating event occurs (lay-off, fired,
  unusual opportunity)

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Experience Counts

• For the aspiring entrepreneur, experience counts!
• Internships, part-time jobs
• Documenting this experience is also very
  important to success.
• Resume building
• Experience builds confidence.
• Confidence leads to success.

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Resume Building

• Internships and Full-Time Employment
• Consider these as training opportunities to
  develop skill-sets necessary to succeed as an
  entrepreneur
• Gain experience with established training
  programs
• Gain exposure to mentors
• Networking!
• Develop personality
• Learn who you are
• Test drive an idea or concept
• Succeed or fail with some one elses dollar

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Cover Letters

• Tell your story
• Go beyond an introduction
• Your career path
• Extraordinary skill sets or experience
• Where do you excel?
• Experiences in decision making
• Experiences in analysis
• Experiences working with people

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Interview Strategies

• Explore entrepreneurial opportunities within a
  company
• Factors to consider
• Growth, training, experience, decision-making,
  management exposure
• Do not expose your possible intentions during
  interview process
• You might decide to stay, why speculate!

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Seven Golden Rules of Interviewing

• Be Positive and Optimistic
• Be Specific
• Be Succinct
• Sell Yourself
• Be Honest
• Maintain Your Composure
• Pay Attention

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Company Research

• Many of todays best companies were started by
  entrepreneurs.
• Example
• Michael Dell (Dell Computers), Scott Cook
  (Intuit), Mark Cuban
• How many still possess this spirit?
• How can you tell?
• Who do you ask?
• Research, research, research

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Networking

• Art of building relationships
• Recent surveys show 64 of people find new jobs
  through networking
• Earlier chance at an opportunity
• Its about visibility
• Creating your own community
• Building alliances, not about job hunting
• Its about being recognized as talented

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• Best Cities for Entrepreneurs
• How does your city measure up? Check out the best
  U.S. cities for entrepreneurs.
• 1  Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN/WI
• 2  Washington, DC, MD/VA/WV
• 3  Atlanta, GA
• 4  Fort Lauderdale, FL
• 5  Salt Lake City/Ogden, UT
• 6  West Palm Beach/Boca Raton, FL
• 7  Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Newport News, VA/NC
• 8  Miami, FL
• 9  Charlotte/Gastonia/Rock Hill, NC/SC
• 10  Orlando, FL
• http//www.entrepreneur.com/bestcities

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UCSO Career Resources

• Industry Job Search
• Accounting / Finance/ Real EstateBusiness
  EconomicsEntrepreneurship / Small
  BusinessGovernmentInformation Systems /
  OperationsManagement / MarketingNon-Profit

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Companies Who Asked For Entrepreneurship Majors
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What do they do?
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Where do they work?
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Salary Statistics

• Entrepreneurship Majors (Class of 2005)
• Average Salary 42,300
• Range 32,000 - 55,000
• Management Majors
• Average Salary 41,870
• All Business Majors
• Average Salary 43,947

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Entrepreneurial Talent Wanted

• Another 150 companies that recruit seek similar
  attributes as entrepreneurial thinking students
• decision makers
• risk takers
• problem-solvers
• detail and goal-oriented
• communicators
• ability to adapt
• organized
• natural talent for developing relationships
• They may list any major or management as a
  qualification
• Seek them out at career fairs or company
  presentations

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Final Thoughts

• Dont be afraid to interview
• You will learn about entrepreneurial challenges
  within a small, mid-size or large company
• Experience mattersA LOTgain your fair share of
  experience through internships, jobs, etc.
• Be patient.