Is Business Right for Me?

Are you considering a career in business, but unsure if business is a good fit for you? Many soon-to-be students have wondered the same thing. “Business” seems like such a broad field, and you may wonder what you’ll actually end up doing after you graduate from a business program.

The good news: Business is a broad field, so there are seemingly endless career opportunities for students studying business. More good news: Many students who enter a business program are able to identify a specialization or concentration once they’ve taken a few intro courses and understand what careers and topics they like best.

Are you still curious if you are a good match for Business on a broad level? Read on to learn about the skills, personality traits and education you will need to be a good fit for a business career.

What traits are a good fit for a business career?

Common traits among entry-level business office workers include the following¹:

• Active Listener: Gives full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Comprehensive Reader: Understands written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Effective Speaker: Talks to others to convey information effectively.
• Socially Perceptive: Is aware of others’ reactions and understands why they react as they do.
• Good Time Manager: Manages one’s own time and the time of others.
• Effective Writer: Communicates effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Service-Oriented: Actively looks for ways to help people.
• Critical Thinker: Uses logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Additional qualities include²:

• Dependable: You should be reliable, responsible and dependable.
• Have Integrity: Businesses need workers to be honest and ethical.
• Attentive to Detail: You should be careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
• Cooperative: You should be pleasant with others on the job and display a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
• Show Self-Control: You should be able to maintain your composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

If you believe you can check off most or all of the above, business is probably a good career choice for you. If you feel like you may only have a few of these traits and qualities, but are still interested in business, you likely can improve in the areas you feel you need work and still succeed in a future business career.

What skills will I need for a business career?

Entry-level business careers often require common skills, such as (but not limited to):

• Customer and personal service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction³.
• Clerical: Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, and other office procedures and terminology³.
• Understand business law and ethics: Know the laws affecting businesses and their operations, including ethics related to law, business and society, contract, sales, torts and intellectual property⁴.
• Know management principles: Understand how to effectively plan and organize, and know social responsibility, delegation, leadership styles, decision making, time and stress management, and employee relations⁴.
• Be familiar with accounting fundamentals: Comprehend the basic accounting equation, the double entry accounting system, financial statements, general ledger, general journal, the accounting work sheet, adjusting entries, closing entries, post-closing and trial balance⁴.
• Know business math applications: Have a firm understanding of arithmetic processes, decimals, fractions, percentages, weights and measure. Know how to perform calculations associated with interest, retail, purchasing, merchandising and other general business applications⁴.
• Computer literacy and applications: Understand computer concepts and be able to use productivity software, such as word processing, spreadsheet, presentations and email⁴.

All of these skills can be developed and improved while completing a business program. Most colleges offering a business administration program help students learn these processes and skills in foundational business courses.

After completing foundational coursework, students will likely have identified which area of business interests them the most. For example, a student who shines in an accounting fundamentals course may take more focused courses on accounting later in his or her program, and plan to become an accountant. Or, if a student easily picks up and displays management principles, he or she may go on to a business management concentration.

How to Enroll in a Business Administration Program

If it sounds like business is a good fit for you and you would like to learn more about the coursework and career opportunities associated with a Business Administration program, contact San Joaquin Valley College. SJVC’s Business Administration Certificate program provides a framework of business knowledge and skills that can help you adapt to any company’s operation. You can graduate in as little as eight months and earn a Certificate. Call toll-free 866-544-7898 to learn more.

¹www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-9061.00#Skills

² www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-9061.00#WorkStyles

³ www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-9061.00#Knowledge

⁴www.sjvc.edu/blog/what-do-you-learn-in-business-administration