I'm an extremely lost business student, very depressed.

College Majors Business Major
1

<p>Hi, I am currently a sophomore business student. I am 20 years old and have never had a job or done an internship before. I am frightened by the idea of "selling yourself" and being proactive in making connections. For example, I have never been to a career fair and I have a linkedin profile that I literally never use (was required to make one in a course I took). </p>

<p>Perhaps business is not right for me, but I really want to make it work because there are so many job opportunities that require business skills and there seems to be much more opportunities for job advancement and higher-pay. I got an A in an Intro to Accounting course and while that doesn't mean much, I am not just someone who expects a decently high-paying job (80k or more), perhaps its naive for me to put a number on it but it would be vague otherwise). </p>

<p>I haven't even looked into internships because I have no idea what to put on my resume--as stated earlier, I've never had a job before. I am just a student who literally only goes to classes, come home, and study. I am attending Rutgers Business School and am earning decent grades, but I don't know how to make the transition from academic performance to entering the work force. </p>

<p>I am quite shy and introverted (I am absolutely terrified of doing presentations in front of the class) but I try not to be awkward. I avoid getting-to-know-each other activities. Based on who I am, it' easy to take Marketing off my list. </p>

<p>Based on the information given, I have several questions:
1. Can I realistically get a decently high-paying job based on my personality and lack of motivation (a result of me being shy/introverted)? I believe I am willing and capable of doing well academically, but how can I make the transition to being in the work force if I am so shy/introverted?</p>

<ol>
<li><p>How screwed am I for being 20 years old without a single job or any experience in internships? Where can I get started taking into account of my shy/introverted personality?</p></li>
<li><p>I am thinking of getting a degree in Accounting because it is so broad and provides me with lots of opportunities and even time to think about what I really want to do in a few years in the work force. Are there any jobs that would fit my needs/personality? </p></li>
<li><p>How essential is it to have an up-to-date linkedin profile? I phased out of Facebook ever since the start of college, although I still keep in contact with close friends. I really don't want to have to deal with making connections or keeping in touch with business peers outside of the office. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Answers/advice/recommendations are much appreciated. I literally am developing sleeping problems thinking about all this--I have never been able to sleep before 3AM since the start the the fall 2013 semester. Every time I lay down on the bed I automatically over think things. I keep reminding myself that I am a failure, especially when I'm the oldest sibling who should be setting an example. My sister has a job and she's in high school.</p>

2

<p>Head on over to the career counseling office, right away. They will be able to help you take some simple tests, etc., that will help you see what career paths might fit best with your personality.</p>

<p>Then get a job–any job–to start building your confidence, and your skills. Even something as simple as working in the library, or checking IDs at the gym, will help you.</p>

<p>Right now, don’t worry about your end game–just concentrate on taking those first baby steps.</p>

3

<p>MindStormer, see below…</p>

<ol>
<li>Can I realistically get a decently high-paying job based on my personality and lack of motivation (a result of me being shy/introverted)? I believe I am willing and capable of doing well academically, but how can I make the transition to being in the work force if I am so shy/introverted?</li>
</ol>

<p>ANSWER: No you can’t, not even a Burger King job and that’s just the honest truth. If you aren’t motivated to work, how do you expect to earn compensation? Being shy and introverted isn’t the big problem here, the problem is your lack of drive and your overall LACK of a career plan right now. You are like many college students, you just signed up for a college major because you “heard” someone say it was cool, and you are literally going to college everyday completing courses without a damn thought in hell on what all of this means. You have no career plan, thus, you technically have no idea who you are, where you are, and where you are going. You must develop a career plan IMMEDIATELY. </p>

<ol>
<li>How screwed am I for being 20 years old without a single job or any experience in internships? Where can I get started taking into account of my shy/introverted personality?</li>
</ol>

<p>ANSWER: The shy/introverted personality isn’t the main problem as I mentioned, see above. Also, I used to be “shy” as well, you grow out of being shy. Life puts you in situations where you will have to either speak up or die, so trust me as you continue to go through life and handle your duties in the work force, your “shy-ness” will be outgrown. </p>

<ol>
<li>I am thinking of getting a degree in Accounting because it is so broad and provides me with lots of opportunities and even time to think about what I really want to do in a few years in the work force. Are there any jobs that would fit my needs/personality? </li>
</ol>

<p>ANSWER: No career plan. You need to conduct serious research on what your talents, passions and skills are, then what industries they relate to, and then a listing of every single type of position within those industries to create a “Top Ten” list of the best type of positions that fit YOU. From there, you can determine the answers to a number of additional questions such as what to major in (or if you don’t need to be in college you will know that), what city you should be in, who you should be networking with, what types of internships/entry level positions you ought to be working in RIGHT NOW, the starting salaries so that you can make sure you don’t go to a college that costs too much and you won’t be able to pay for the student loan during the early years of your career, etc. etc. etc. I mean I just don’t get college students today, how in the HELL are you going to construct a career without a damn plan? Who is raising these groups of people lol? If I went to the bank and asked them for a bank loan on a business that I haven’t even started yet, have no business plan for, have no research done on the industry for, have no unique value proposition for, no networks established, no NOTHING…the bank would not just decline the loan application but they would laugh me out of the door.</p>

<ol>
<li>How essential is it to have an up-to-date linkedin profile? I phased out of Facebook ever since the start of college, although I still keep in contact with close friends. I really don’t want to have to deal with making connections or keeping in touch with business peers outside of the office. </li>
</ol>

<p>ANSWER: LinkedIn is excellent for Networking and as a potential business professional it gives you an additional online presence. Many employers and prospective clients look up the individuals they are about to hire on the internet to see if they have any internet profiles (LinkedIn, Manta, ZoomInfo, Press Releases, etc) to see how “relevant” they are. If you have no online professional profiles, it’s as if you aren’t even relevant.</p>

4

<p>My son is in a different field from you but he felt basically the same as a soph. After spending the summer btw freshman and soph year sitting on the couch playing video games, he realized that wasn’t how he wanted his life to be and he knew he was going to have to kick it up a notch. He started out by going to career fairs to see what types of internships were available, and eventually accepted one for the summer. He started out feeling like a fraud that knew nothing, but I the end he had a successful experience. He also realized he didn’t like that type of company, so tried something else (in another state) the next summer and again learned a lot. At this point, altho he still lacked some confidence, he had learned enough about work in his field to determine an effective approach to finding his first job. He’ll be starting in July at a great company. He’s still nervous about what he has to bring to the table for them, but his previous work experiences have taught him that he can get the job done.</p>

<p>As other posters have said, your school likely has a great career services office where they can and will help you get started. You may lack confidence or direction now, but they can help you figure out the first step. There are many shy, introverted people in the workforce - it doesn’t have to be a barrier unless it keeps you from getting started. Good luck!</p>

5

<p>There’s some good advice in this thread.</p>

<p>You need to find a job soon. Graduating from college and not ever having any kind of job will not look very good to employers. The job will help you with your shyness since it will force you to deal with coworkers and/or customers.</p>

<p>What jotucker83 said about lacking motivation is completely true. If you want a “decently high paying job” then you’re going to need to sort out your priorities. Do you want to (a) stay in your comfort zone or (b) reach outside your shell and make opportunities for yourself happen?</p>