<p>I'm pre-business and everytime the business school makes me go to something it's always about networking, getting an internship, and finding a job. I'm a FRESHMAN. I'm no good at networking and I'm an accounting major. I have no interest in working on Wall Street or at a fortune 500 company.
I keep getting told that if I want to get a full-time job I have to start looking now, but I don't like the competitive business world. I'd be happy working at H&R Block for the rest of my life. Everyone else in the business school seems like they're working so hard to impress everyone. I don't want to be like them, but sometimes I worry that they're doing the right things and I'm not.
What do you think? Do I really need to try searching for an internship and perfecting my resume right now? Should I change majors?</p>
<p>Our country is largely based on competition in a lot of aspects. You won’t escape competition especially in this economic climate. You just need to man up and I believe 100% your view on everything you posted will sometime change during/after your Sophmore year.</p>
<p>You have to network, meet and greet, impress others, be competitive in ANY career path you take.</p>
<p>Get some self confidence and suit up.</p>
<p>^^100% agree. You “not wanting to be like” your classmates is a cop out. You are saying they are better than you. As Steve Jobs said in his Stanford commencement address, you have to “stay hungry”. That means always finding a way to better yourself. You are clearly a shy, introvert, but that doesn’t mean you cannot come out of your shell and become great at networking. </p>
<p>If you are satisfied with a job that doesn’t require a college degree than quit wasting money and go apply at H&R Block. However, going through life with your attitude of not wanting to be competitive will fail you in the long run. It is the non-competitive drones (e.g., H&R Block employees) that are always first on the chopping block because your skills and personality are easily replaced.</p>
<p>Attend these networking events with an enthusiastic outlook. Practice your “elevator speech” - a 1 minute introduction that tells a recruiter who you are and why you’d be an asset. You’re young and I can bet that most of your classmates are pretty horrible at networking as well, but with time and practice it will become easier.</p>
<p>If you don’t think you have to do those things don’t do them. Just don’t be one of those guys that complains when he cant get a job</p>
<p>About 20% of college grads have a job before they put on the cap and gown. Keep it up and you WONT be in that group</p>
<p>I guarantee the young Occupy protesters had the same mentality as you, while their counterparts who were so focused on impressing are sitting in the offices of the buildings they are marching around (albeit slaving over spreadsheets, but you gotta start somewhere).</p>
<p>I networked, sent emails, kept in contact with employees/recruiters, showed face at every career event. As a result, I had a FULL TIME public accounting job offered to me as a sophomore. Although that didn’t last long when HR found out I was only in sophomore standing and asked me to reapply when I was a junior due to an agreement with the school lol - I guess that slipped through the cracks somehow.</p>
<p>Point is, you need to get your ass out there and hustle for a job RIGHT AWAY because it sure as hell won’t come to you. If you want something, you need to go and get it. It’s never too early to build the skills and confidence to make you successful at recruiting.</p>
<p>While I can understand not wanting to always having to compete (one of the reasons why I am in I.T. and chose to maintain having a security clearance), you ALSO have to keep an open mind to why some folks make much more money than others. Don’t be the person, angry about others and their wealth when you KNOW that they a) used more of their free time dedicated to their work and/or b) took riskier and faced more competition to progress.</p>
<p>Many times high risk DOES equal high reward.</p>
<p>You don’t need an internship every summer to get a full time job when you graduate. Your grades will matter the most in whether you get offers. As an accounting major the most important thing will be for you to get good grades and eventually pass the CPA exam. If you don’t like competition you can try the tax accounting route (not for HRBlock but for a firm that will do tax work for wealthy clientele and companies). Stop worrying.</p>
<p>^Although I agree with what you are saying, I still believe a few internships and networking will give him a better opportunity at a full time job right after graduation.</p>
<p>It is your freshman year of college! Live it up! Experience new things and find out what it is that you want to do. Business schools definitely have a different environment and in a way they have significantly evolved over the past 2 decade.</p>
<p>Rather than reject the process I would try to look at it differently. The term “networking” is often misconstrued as a means to an end, or a process to get the sacred business card. Somewhere along the way college students left behind the actual human interaction of the process.</p>
<p>These “networking events” are chances for you to meet new people, hear about their experiences and how they got to where they are. It can help you discover that "hey, maybe I really do like X career! or it can tell you what specific things you dislike about the career and it will help direct you towards a new path. Competitiveness is a great motivator for students. Competitiveness does not have to be negative in light. Try the best to find out what it is that you want to do and do great work on your assignments for your own benefit and not for the sake of beating out everyone else.</p>
<p>I used to work at a place that sold back office needs to help people to grow their businesses, and I was a marketing guy there. Most of the accountants that worked there (and most accountants in general) tend to be rather introverted. If you want to just sit in a chair and crunch numbers all day and don’t want to network, then that is fine. There is no doubt in my mind that you can get a job like that. Like I said, most of the accountants in my old job were quiet as a church mouse: They would come to work, do their jobs, then go home to their family. </p>
<p>HOWEVER, if you are the enterprising type that wants to grow your own business or DO want to work on Wall Street to help people to find the next BIG COMPANY to invest in, then I’m afraid that you will definitely be able to network. For what you are trying to do, you will not need those skills though.</p>