vKellie Coulter Business Major

On April 14th, students gathered in Jewett Auditorium for the Business Club’s Speaker Series. The first portion of the evening was an open discussion about transferring to the University of Southern Maine. USM speakers suggested that students should motivate and lead, network and make contacts, and they encouraged participating in internships and peer-tutoring. During the Q&A, students were able to ask about their GPAs being transferred and their class flow from SMCC to USM. At USM, students begin with a clean slate when it comes to GPAs. Business classes transfer to their accounting and finance majors, which are two separate programs at USM.

After a brief introduction from Business Club Officer Hannah Brimigion, main speaker Andrea Gleason presented insights on important topics for college students and general guidance on life goals. Andrea is a CPA, entrepreneur, and job recruiter for Pro Search.  Andrea’s discussion focused mainly on the job market for students who plan on staying in Maine, career paths, salaries, and what to do for an interview. Presentation was a keyword that she brought up multiple times. As a professional recruiter for a top agency, Andrea’s advice was absolutely valuable to all of us here at SMCC.

Understanding how businesses run from their financial statements is beneficial. Andrea said that while you will have more movement in a large company, you will get better exposure in a small company. By wearing a ton of hats at a small company, you can get broader experience, and you should always advocate for yourself by taking on more projects. While your Associate’s degree will open many doors for you, a Bachelor’s degree will open even more and will make your career path a true “profession”.

Andrea told us that if you don’t know how to start networking professionally then LinkedIn is a great place to begin, and every business student should have a LinkedIn account. As for interviews, we should know by now to make sure that you go fully prepared! With all the social media options and websites available, there is no reason not to properly research whatever company you are interviewing with. Presentation is key!

Thank you, everyone who attended. You all contributed to making this the largest crowd we’ve ever had for the Business Club Speaker Series!

• For more information about Pro Search, visit PSICareers.com.
• For more information regarding transferring to USM, you can email questions to cwfox@maine.edu.