by The Cowl Editor on November 14, 2019
Campus
by Brian Garvey ’20
News Staff
This Wednesday, the Ryan Center for Business Studies hosted the Friars Sales Showcase. Featuring 12 of the leading business-to-business sales companies in the country, students were given the opportunity to network, gain information, and apply for jobs and internships.
The showcase provided something for everyone: major or non-major, freshmen or upperclassmen, job seekers or those looking for internships—this event was designed to give students a chance to learn more about business-to-business selling and build their network of business contacts. Joe McDonald ‘20, a member of the American Marketing Association Board, said, “This is a really important opportunity for marketing majors. I feel like accounting and finance jobs dominate the career fair, and this showcase gives more people the opportunity to take the next step towards their future career.”
Many students took advantage of this fantastic opportunity and felt that the showcase was a really important guiding opportunity for them. Peter Chin ‘20 said, “I attended this showcase to really gain more insight into the sales field. It has definitely made me more interested in pursuing a career in this area, particularly with the company Toast.”
One aspect of the showcase that people were most excited for was the discussion panel with other PC alumni. Students were able to pick the brains of those who once walked in their shoes and learned more about how to transition from college to the workforce. McDonald said, “This part of the showcase is what I found to be most valuable. It was very cool to see freshmen and sophomores learning from graduates, and I think that this advice is more valuable than anything from a textbook.”
The visiting companies were impressed with the turnout of students. PC students spent their afternoon filtering in and out of different company tables, and showed a real enthusiasm for the showcase. There were many non-business majors as well, eager to learn more about a potentially exciting field. Dylan Holmes ‘20, a political science major, said, “I’ve never really been interested in a finance or accounting degree, but I found that I love the relationships that drive sales. This showcase definitely makes me think more positively about this field, and is definitely something I’ll consider while I start my job search.”
The success of this event has opened the door to more career-specific events in the future. McDonald said, “We love being able to promote these fantastic events. Anything that can help out students during such a stressful process is something that is very important to the student body.” The event provided networking opportunities and valuable career information for students.
