Get Involved #4- You Can Get Experience for Your Resume

To conclude my discussion on getting involved in student organizations, I will share with you what I believe is the greatest benefit of major-specific student organizations: you can get valuable experience to put on your resume and talk about in an internship or job interview. At the end of the day, we go to college to earn our degree and get a job, and employers are going to want to know what skills and experience you have that is valuable to their company. They definitely do not want to hear about how badly you need the position, so if you impress them with what you've accomplished instead, you're definitely more likely to get hired!

So what do I mean when I say you can get experience? Let's say, for example, you join an organization that focuses on marketing, and in that organization they have a digital team. If you're a digital marketing student, you definitely want to be a part of that team. You could have responsibilities ranging from updating the club's social media pages (which you might be asked about on a job interview...I know that from experience!) to putting together a digital campaign when a local business approaches your organization asking for help. Giving a real world example like that to an employer, along with some results of your efforts (followers on your club's twitter, owner of the business citing your campaign as helping drive traffic to the business), will absolutely impress recruiters.

Now you might be wondering, what does all this talk about student organizations have to do with digital marketing? Well, as far as choosing a college, you definitely want to go somewhere that has not only a great program but also an active campus that has many opportunities to get involved. The University of Michigan- Dearborn, a great school for your digital marketing degree, has a very active and involved campus, and there are many organizations for students to be a part of. 

At the College of Business at UMD, business majors can choose from five different organizations that are in their areas of interest: American Marketing Association (AMA- great for marketing and digital marketing!), Information Technology Management (ITM) Club, Supply Chain Association, Beta Alpha Psi (accounting, finance), and Alpha Kappa Psi (formerly Students in Free Enterprise, welcomes all majors and is in the process of colonization).

Get Involved #3- You Can Explore Your Career Options

Another great reason to join a student organization is the opportunity to explore your career options. Your major is not set in stone, and the last thing you want to do is graduate, get a job, and realize you hate what you're doing. I once had a speaker in my class tell a story about how he was giving his senior presentation on his engineering project (days before he was expected to graduate) and he realized he could not picture himself doing this for the rest of his life. He ended up going through undergraduate school again to obtain a marketing degree. Joining a student organization could prevent this from happening to you!

Whether it's guest speakers or projects, if you join a major-specific organization you have the opportunity to get information on your currently selected career path. Guest speakers provide you with the opportunity to ask them questions about what they do in their field. Projects give you the opportunity to do the work you can expect to do in an internship or entry-level position, without as much fear of failure or pressure from managers. Some of the students in the organization might already have done an internship as well, and they can share that experience with you.

Whether you're unsure about your career path or you know where you want to go, student organizations provide you with a great opportunity to learn more about your options.

Get Involved #2- You Get the Opportunity to Help Others

Continuing the discussion about getting involved in student organizations, today I'm going to focus on the opportunity to help others. Most organizations have some sort of service component to them. Greek organizations especially have a service requirement from all members. What's great about major-specific organizations, however, is that you get the opportunity to work with others in ways that relate to your area of interest. For example, in business organizations you could help a non-profit organization organize a fundraising event and help with marketing that event. Or an accounting student could help run the books. Everyone wins in this case, and these types of opportunities can help you see if your chosen major is really what you want to go into.

Get Involved #1- You Meet New People

Last week I posted an overview about why you should join a student organization at your college or university. Today I will expand on the first reason I mentioned, that you get the opportunity to meet new people.

When you're in school, you really don't think that your classmates are more than friends or acquaintances. In reality, these are people who are interested in the same field as you (assuming you're in a business class, or another class specific to your major). One day you could be working with them, and they could even be potential job leads, or vice versa. Either way, business students know that connections and relationships are essential to success. You can't be a businessperson in isolation!

So where do student organizations enter this equation? They are the perfect way to meet people in your area of study, and since you won't be busy with lectures in class, you'll actually be able to have fun and get to know them. Most importantly, if you're on a commuter campus, student organizations are a great way to spend some time with your classmates. Instead of just going to school and returning home, you can get involved and make lifelong friendships!

The University of Michigan- Dearborn offers many organizations to get involved in, and they range from typical university sponsored organizations such as student government and the student newspaper, to social and professional Greek organizations, and a whole host of other recognized student organizations. Specifically in the College of Business, there are organizations for every area of interest. These include: American Marketing Association, ITM Club, Supply Chain Club, Beta Alpha Psi (Accounting, Finance, ITM), and SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise).

Get Involved!

Before you start your college career and when you're visiting universities, you might here some current students talk about student organizations.  You might here them say that you should get involved your first year of school, and they might say they got involved as sophomores and regret not getting involved right away.  And you, like me, might think, nah, what's the point?  I'll get involved as a sophomore or junior.  Are you thinking like that?

Don't.

I know everything that students say about getting involved in student organizations is going to sound cliche, and you still might be in a phase where involvement "isn't cool" or maybe you're just too shy to even think about joining an organization by yourself (I guess that was my problem!).  Let me tell you, most student organizations want to have as many active members as possible, and if you're willing to put in some effort, they will fully embrace you, so don't be scared!

I'm going to give you a few reasons why you should get involved, and over the next few days I'll expand on these reasons:

1. You meet people.
2. You get the opportunity to help others.
3. You can explore your career options.
4. You can get experience for your resume.

Most of what I am going to discuss is focusing on major-specific clubs.  While social clubs are a great way to get involved and meet people too, clubs that focus around business, engineering, medicine, etc. are going to provide you with more valuable experience.  Get involved in whatever you're interested in and what you can manage with your schedule, but one club should be geared toward your major.

University of Michigan- Dearborn

Today I'll be taking a look at the University of Michigan- Dearborn's digital marketing degree program. I'll also take a look at some of the advantages offered by UMD beyond their academic program.

If you attend UMD and you decide to major in digital marketing, you'll receive guidance on how to proceed through the degree program, obtaining your B.B.A. and also taking 31 credits of Liberal Arts courses.  Some of the B.B.A. core requirements include Operations Management, Statistics, Business Economics, Organizational Behavior, and Business Communication, to name a few.  The most important courses, however, are the ones related to the digital marketing major.  The two required core courses include Digital Consumer Search and Marketing and Digital Analytics and Content.  Three other courses are required for the digital marketing major, but they integrate both traditional and digital marketing.  To complete the major, students must choose two other courses from a listing of six marketing or information technology management classes.  The College of Business recommends double majoring in ITM, especially since the ITM courses that can be chosen would count towards the major.

UMD has a very strong academic curriculum, but what is offered beyond the classroom also sets this university apart.  Even though UMD is a commuter campus, the community aspect is stressed by the availability of student organizations.  There is a club in the College of Business for every major, and these clubs are: AMA (American Marketing Association), ITM Club, Supply Chain Club, and Beta Alpha Psi (for Accounting, Finance, and ITM majors).

Finally, the opportunity to develop your career through an internship is an essential part of any university's offerings.  The College of Business has a great internship program that is looking to bring companies who are looking for top talent to hire UMD students.  The internship office has relationships with many companies who know they can find great students to hire from this school.

If you're looking to major in digital marketing, the University of Michigan- Dearborn is definitely a school to consider.