Career .'89The Daily Tar HeelMonday, October 9, 19893
international business job openings., decline
By WENDY BOUNDS
Staff Writer
The most profitable futures for
undergraduate business majors with
a concentration in international rela
tions may lie in graduate programs,
college recruiting or plain good luck.
The field of international business
is becoming increasingly difficult to
break into according to Sharon Wiatt,
associate placement director for Uni
versity Career Planning and Place
ment Services (UCPPS).
"A skill in a language will no
longer guarantee these students jobs,
but knowing a language and possess
ing other skills will increase their
chances."
In the fall of 1988, 53 students
were recruited from the UNC-CH
undergraduate buisness school. Re
cruiters rated, in order of importance,
'the top 14 qualifications for appli
cants. Of these 14 items, proficiency
in a foreign language was 13th, and
previous foreign travel was last.
In comparison, in the spring of
1989, only one international studies
major was recruited from UNC, and
no Romance or East Asian language
majors were recruited.
These figures do not include stu
dents who decided to pursue higher
degrees such as a masters in business
administration (MBA) or a masters
in international management (MIM).
The latter is a special degree earned
by students who are accepted to a
school such as the American Gradu
ate School of International Manage
ment, or "Thunderbird School," in
Glendale, Ariz.
The Thunderbird School offers a
competative graduate program geared
towards-a career in international
mangagement.
Most of the job placement is in
marketing and finance areas, and the
average starting salary for a Thun
derbird graduate is between $18,000
and $62,000, with an average salary
of $35,000.
Students with a degree like those
offered by the Thunderbird School
or with an MBA from other distin
guished business schools have a much
greater chance of breaking into a
profitable job market. Investment and
international banking are now domi
nating this market, according to Wiatt.
Major national and international
banks such as Chase Manhatten and
Citibank in New York and Continen
tal Illinois Corporation in Chicago
do recruit students and provide ex
tensive training programs.
Lisa Bower, assistant to the col
lege relations manager at Continen
tal Illinois, said the majority of the
students they recruited had a MBA,
graduated in the top third of their
class and had a year or two of experi
ence. However, she said the bank did
recruit some undergraduate students.
"We look at how unique the stu
dent is and see if they fit our profile.
It is a tough, competitive market,
though, and we just got through hir
ing one of our best groups ever. But
all of them were at the MBA level."
Businessinternational studies
majors can put their talents to use in
the Global Trading Market, but only
if they can get their feet in the door.
At Georgetown University in
Washington, 10 percent of the
school's business school students have
double-majors with concentrations in
International Management. But jobs
in Washington are more plentiful for
those students wanting to use their
skills in governmental service. One
of the largest recruiters for the these
positions is the Central Intelligence
Agency, CIA.
Mark Mansfield, spokesman for
the CIA, said that the agency was
looking for students majoring in busi
ness, economics, political science,
Groups offer advice,
aid for new businesses
By DAVID C. LLOYD
Staff Writer
When graduating seniors enter the
real world to start a business of their
own, they no longer have to make a
go of it alone.
'Too many people jump into small
businesses too quickly," said Kath
leen Mulrooney of the Small Busi
ness Administration (SBA). "People
need to research their idea thoroughly
before they open their doors."
Although the SBA does not offer
grants to to small businesses, Mu
lrooney said federal money was avail
able through guaranteed loans.
"We are here to get people into
business and stay there," Mulrooney
said.
Rollie Tillman, director of The
Institute of Private Enterprise at the
UNC School of Business Admini
stration, said writing a business plan
was good discipline for the would-be
entrepreneur. "It forces a person to
think.
"Many businesses start out as
hobbies. The entrepreneur should be
excited and enthusiastic about their
interests."
There also are campus clubs for
students interested in starting their
own businesses. The Association of
Collegiate Entrepreneurs is a group
of aspiring business people and those
who have started a business and lived
through the agony of doing it, he said.
The N.C. Small Business and
Technology Development Center,
headquartered in Raleigh, fosters the
development and expansion of small
businesses through. one-on-one coun
seling using the UNC system re
sources. The Service Corp of Retired Ex
ecutives offers free counseling ad
vice from retired business executives.
SCORE works from the Chapel Hill
Chamber of Commerce at 104 S. Estes
Dr.
The Business License Information
Office is a group of experts who sup
ply advice, instruction and applica
tion forms for the different types of
licenses needed for new businesses:
Read the DTH Classifieds
for job listings! !
T
BRING YOUR
DEGREE
TOBB&T
AND BUILD
A CAREER
YOU CAN
BANK ON.
Contact Your Career Planning
And Placement Center
For Interview Times
BB&T
h's M nvlkin A Hank. Its .An Attitixk-.
international studies and a variety of
other diciplines.
"Our agency is divided up into
four main directorates: operations,
intelligence, science and technology,
and administration. International stud
iesbusiness majors could fit well in
any of these areas, but the business
degree would make an administra
tive position more likely."
Despite what may seem like prom
ising prospects with the banks and
government agencies, students inter
ested in a career with business and
international studies must plan ahead
according to Wiatt.
"These students should check into
as many internship programs as they
can, and are well advised to work
with anything remotely related to their
majors".
An on-campus group, the Interna
tional Association of Students in
Economics and Commerce (AISEC),
arranges student internship programs
both in America and overseas. The
UCPPS has several books that list
the names of leading international
companies and corporations students
can contact.
"If they are lucky, these students
will make contacts during their in
ternships which they can use after
graduation," Wiatt said. "They need
to develop their skills early. The few
positions out there will go to those
who are prepared."
nterview us
before we
o o
interview you
?
Get a head start on knowing
where you might fit in our dy
namic, global enterprise. Learn
alxmt GE businesses that will
be interviewing on campus.
Ilien you'll be able to sign
up to interview the business that
best matches your interests and
goals. And use your interview
time to tell us alxmt vourselK
instead of asking alxmt us.
Minority Career Day
Date: Tuesdav,
October 10, 1989
l ime: 12:30 to 5:(K) p.m.
Place: Great Hall at the
Carolina Union
Disciplines: BA-BS-Business,
Accounting, Economics, Math,
Information Systems
GE Businesses: GE Lighting,
GE Capital, GE Capital
Mortgage Insurance,
GE Qvpital Commercial
Equipment Finance
Training Programs:
Financial Management
Program, GE Mortgage
Insurance Management
Trainee, Minority Financial
Management Summer
Internship Program
The mark of a leader.
r t t
i r t r f t .
.' I t t T