Students gathered in Kerckhoff Grand Salon last night eager to
learn the tricks to landing the perfect job after graduation.
The event, called “Gain a Competitive Edge in Your Job
Search,” was hosted by Alpha Kappa Psi, a co-ed business
fraternity on campus, and featured guest speaker David Lee, author
of “The Go-Getters: Market Driven to Career
Success.”
Lee encouraged students to approach their job search from a new
perspective. Since many jobs are created and filled without ever
having being advertised, the traditional means of finding a job
““ career fairs, job Web sites and newspaper classifieds
““ can lead to disappointing results.
“But if job hunters can find out how to find these
(career) opportunities, they would have an advantage over other
types of job hunters,” Lee said.
To do this, job seekers “should upgrade their
mind-set,” he said. Rather than treating the job search as a
job, students looking for jobs should work hard toward their goal
and approach their search with a “market driven
entrepreneurial mentality.”
This business approach to finding a job includes figuring out
what companies will be creating new jobs and then pro-actively
approaching these companies for a job.
Alpha Kappa Psi Vice President of Administration Jason Yeh
believes that Lee’s presentation is of interest to students.
“It’s very applicable to all types of industry. It
doesn’t matter what type of jobs you’re looking
for,” Yeh said.
Alpha Kappa Psi is one of the many economics-based groups on
campus, as well as one of two business fraternities.
“We’re very business-minded, very driven,
self-motivated individuals,” Yeh said. The group is open to
all students, regardless of their major. “We think that
success is not limited to economics majors,” he said.
A number of undergraduate student business groups exist on
campus that cater to specific interests of students. Those
interested in the financial industry and investment can contact the
Undergraduate Investment Society, whereas those who prefer
accounting might prefer the Student Accounting Society.
Furthermore, several ethnically based groups include the Latino
Business Student Association, The Black Business Society and the
Pacific Rim Business Association.
As a fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi focuses on business, as well as
social activities. They combine these two aspects to plan and
execute “Trilogy,” their biggest party and business
venture.
“Trilogy” provides members of Alpha Kappa Psi with
the opportunity to practice business skills, such as marketing and
fund-raising.
When they hosted the event four years ago, attendance was over
2,500. For this year’s event, scheduled for the Winter
quarter, they hope to see at least 5,000 people.
The other business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi, whose members are
strictly economics-related majors, has a similar philosophy of
mixing business with pleasure. Their motto “Work hard, play
hard” illustrates this balance. They combine professional
business events with social activities, community service and
fund-raising.
Economics majors interested in “developing their career
and having fun” are encouraged to rush Fall and Winter
quarters, said Delta Sigma Pi President Irene Jiminez.
“Being in an organization with only economics majors has
definitely been a benefit for all those in the fraternity. Since we
have each other in almost all of our classes, we automatically have
study groups and people to go to for tutoring and advice on classes
and/or past professors,” Jiminez said.
“Our purpose is to train students for the professional
world … to teach basic skills to succeed in business,”
Jiminez added. The group frequently holds professional events open
to all students, such as Entertainment or Entrepreneurship Night.
In addition, they offer workshops for their fraternity members on
topics such as marketing, stocks, resume writing and interviewing
skills.
Next Wednesday, they will host an event, “Beyond Audit and
Tax at Big Four Accounting Firms,” with representatives from
PricewaterhouseCoopers, among others, who will talk about the many
job opportunities at accounting firms for people without accounting
degrees.
Several other business-related clubs exist at UCLA.
The Undergraduate Business Society, the largest of these groups,
has about 900 students registered as “Blue Members.”
With this free membership, students get admission to events and
receive email announcements about upcoming events.
Some students have opted for a $15 Gold Membership, which allows
them to join special committees, receive emails about job and
internship opportunities, and get priority for special events, such
as mock interviews.
While the group consists mainly of business-economics and
political science majors, membership is open to all undergraduate
students interested in preparing for a career in business.
“Being around business-oriented people is beneficial in
and of itself,” said the society’s president Albert
Brothers, who believes their society is different than other
student business groups because they “encompass many more
industries, especially finance.”
The Undergraduate Business Society holds various events
throughout the year, to “provide students with information
and recruiting opportunities so they can achieve their career
goals,” said Brothers.
The society regularly hosts corporate outreach events, alumni
dinners, business etiquette dinners, workshops on resume and cover
letter writing and mock interviews with alumni. “We try to
reflect the interests of the students (in our events)”,
Brothers said.
One of their major events, the Undergraduate Business Society
Job Fair, has been held annually for the last 23 years, according
to Brothers. Last year’s fair had up to 50 firms and 1,500
students.