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Business program offers students career advice from the pros

Business students will find out what it is really like in the work world during the second annual Business Pathway to Success program from noon to 3 p.m., Wednesday, April 19 in the Alumni Center.

The business students will get a chance to talk frankly with working professionals—many of them alums of Sacramento State—in fields such as accounting, finance, human resources, international business, risk management and insurance, management information science, marketing, real estate, and management and operations.

“This is an opportunity for our students to learn how they can prepare themselves right now for success in the business world,” said Bonnie Burnell, student affairs coordinator in the College of Business Administration. “Students don’t normally get a chance like this to really talk candidly with business professionals in their fields about career advice while they are still in school.”

Representatives from more than 20 companies will be on hand to answer questions from the more than 75 students expected to attend the event, sponsored by the College of Business Administration’s Office of Student Affairs, the Sacramento State Business Alumni Chapter, the Career Center and Associated Students. Companies and organizations attending include Aerojet, Target, Ernst & Young, Union Bank, Hewlett-Packard and the California Franchise Tax Board.

The event begins with lunch, during which the students and the professionals sit together for informal discussions about jobs and careers. After, the two groups meet in an adjoining room for a more formal talk about career success. And the students also get a chance to visit individual company tables to discuss career opportunities.

“The alums and the company representatives talk about their professions and how they go about their work, and what things in college were helpful to them later on in their careers,” Burnell said. “This is not a job fair but students will be able to get a lot out of this event for their career development.”

At last year’s event students posed questions such as what qualities are sought in a new college graduate, what a typical day is like on the job and what do professionals like most and least about their profession.

“The students can learn from professionals about what it takes to be competitive in the job market,” said Burnell. “Students can take this advice and sharpen their skills before they get out of college to become better job candidates when they graduate.”