Fresh grad from high school, just enroll first year in college, only had minimal sales experience during high school years, and I need to ask what other options do I have available as a college student without having completed their B.A. I'm interested in looking something more professional and well-paid jobs since now I'm going to a business school here in Atlanta. I've seen people working full-time in office environment, varying from insurance to banking, I'm just wondering how do people apply for those jobs. What's are the minimal requirements in order to qualify?
If your short-term goal is to set yourself up for success after graduating college (getting a decent job), then I have a couple thoughts for you.
Getting internships is certainly a good strategy during college, although I would say that it is not required. To give you an example, I never did ANY business-related internships while I was a student, but I was able to land an awesome leadership development program job at a large Silicon Valley tech company when I graduated. The reason why is that I first and foremost focused on doing well in school, and I also took on extracurriculars (research, clubs) that were related to technology.
Doing well in schools and extracurriculars are something completely under your control and in my opinion the most important factor for your full-time job candidacy.
Specific to internships though, I think that the key to success ultimately is networking. If you have family or close friends in industries you like, ask them directly to look out for positions for you. If you have the ability to do this also, consider approaching companies and offering your services for free. My friend did this at Morgan Stanley while a college student and ended up getting a full-time offer there after he graduated.
In any case, just know you are ahead of the game. I'm impressed that you found this community and posted this thoughtful question so early on. The fact that you did this means you are taking a more strategic approach to your career management, and I'm sure you're going to go a long way.
Hope you come back in a few years when you are ready to take your GMAT and apply to MBA programs!
All the best!
