Why bother with a business course at all? Students looking at their CAO forms between now and June might well wonder what it will do for their professional trajectory and whether it’s worthwhile.

Eileen Moloney works with Brightwater Recruitment, which helps place candidates with firms in the business world.

“A general business degree is a very good stepping stone,” she says. “Areas like business can be quite a broad degree, but what employers are looking for is sense and a good work ethic – and a good course will help to develop these skills.”

Business is often thought of as a world of high-rise offices full of cubicles, but it is one of the most diverse career paths of all.

There is no industry whatsoever that does not involve some understanding of business, from the media producing this article to the school teaching students, to the restaurant industry to medicine and health sciences, the civil service and charity sector.

They might be working as accountants, human resource experts, marketing or communications specialists, sales or procurement and logistics. They might be a whizz at numbers, or they may have unrivalled people skills to help them thrive in a sales role. It’s a career with good prospects for high salaries and advancement and promotion opportunities.

Practical skills

Dr

Anne Sinnott

, executive dean of business at

Dublin City University

, says that business qualifications should equip graduates with the practical and theoretical skills to analyse and make decisions in the workplace.

“Employers are looking for students who have the knowledge and expertise in their professional areas combined with a can-do attitude, an enterprising mindset and an ability to work comfortably in a team environment, both domestic and global.”

One college isn’t necessarily better than another, but employers are looking for graduates who have some experience of the real world; in choosing a course, it’s worth looking at how much real-world experience of the business world it offers, whether through placements, internships or in-class exercises.

Internships are controversial because they can require graduates to work for free or very little money, and this is an additional financial burden on many students and their families. But, like it or not, they can open doors to further employment opportunities.

Faced with a slew of graduates with a 2:1 degree, employers are increasingly looking for people who have done an internship, whether during transition year in secondary school or during their time in college, says Moloney.

“Internships have become more widespread and expected. Some colleges will have links with industry to help people get into a career.”

Sinnott agrees that work experience is invaluable for students. “Having the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills in real contexts is the difference between the map and the territory.

“Working with companies on live projects, whether as part of the course or as part of our one-year INTRA programme internalises and accelerates learning in a way that a classroom experience can’t.

“Business is about relationships and these projects and internships build relationships and networks that ultimately have a huge impact on graduation and on the professional trajectory of graduates.”

In any course, it’s not all about internships and good grades: life experience counts too.

“It’s a world with great prospects for travel and, indeed, graduates with overseas travel experience are highly valued.

“For a lot of employers, they look positively on students having gone on Erasmus [student exchange programme] while in college, whether to learn a language or just to go abroad,” says Moloney.

“It’s about moving out of the comfort zone, which is worthwhile in any case. When we’re employing people to work for us at Brightwater, we are looking for an all-round team player. It doesn’t have to be a sports club or a student society; it can be projects or getting involved in a charity, but we want to see if they have initiative and can be a self-starter.”

Personality is also going to stand out. There’s no ideal personality as such, but different organisations might be more suitable for different kinds of people.

“As a recruiter, we visit our clients and match the right candidate to the culture of the company. Some of the big tech companies are very social but also quite driven and high-pressured, which isn’t always for everyone.

“We might turn to a client and tell them that a particular candidate is not right for their team, but that same candidate could be a perfect fit elsewhere.”

Willing to learn

A business graduate looking to advance their professional trajectory can have all the knowledge, skills and experience in the world, but they have to be willing to learn.

“While it’s not fair to tar every generation with the same brush, we have created some unrealistic expectations,” says Moloney. “Students won’t leave university and go straight into a glamorous job, so they need to show willingness to learn. Those who will shine are those with a strong work ethic.”