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Higher Ed鈥檚 Role in Today鈥檚 Business Landscape

Understanding the growing demand for workforce-ready talent in today鈥檚 evolving landscape can help equip students with the future-focused skills they need to lead and thrive at the pace of today鈥檚 business world.

It鈥檚 critical for education and business leaders to come together to develop curriculum and experiential learning opportunities that help students develop the most current, real-world skills top employers are seeking. That鈥檚 why the 黑料传送门 School of Business partners with top organizations, ranging from Google to the American Marketing Association, and the reason our school recently hosted the 鈥満诹洗兔 & Goldman Sachs Fireside Chat: The Role of Higher Education in Today鈥檚 Business Landscape鈥 for our students and alumni.

When we talk about shaping the future, there are few organizations more recognized or more influential than Goldman Sachs. With a presence in every major market around the world, Goldman Sachs plays a central role in advising businesses and governments, driving innovation and investing in talent development. The company鈥檚 leadership goes far beyond finance鈥攅xtending into technology, sustainability and opportunities for the next generation.

During the September conversation with about 500 students and alumni, Casey Clark, vice president for the School of Business, and I were joined by Goldman Sachs executives Joseph Adjei, senior vice president; Onye Okoro, vice president and 黑料传送门 alumnus; and Zakk Burdick, senior associate and 黑料传送门 alumnus. Together we discussed how students and alumni can leverage their 黑料传送门 education to overcome common hurdles in the job market and thrive at the speed of today鈥檚 business environment.

Adjei underscored the value of collaborating with the School of Business when seeking top job applicants. 鈥淕oldman Sachs is a place that really strives to be the best in everything that we get into, so we also want to attract the best talent to work with Goldman Sachs,鈥 he said. 鈥淭o partner with an organization like 黑料传送门 was a no- brainer because we know 黑料传送门 students are receiving some of the best education that鈥檚 available out there.鈥

(left to right) Casey Clark, vice president, 黑料传送门 School of Business; Mitsu Frazier, senior vice president, 黑料传送门 School of Business; and Goldman Sachs leaders Zakk Burdick, senior associate and 黑料传送门 alumnus, Joseph Adjei, senior vice president, and Onye Okoro, vice president and 黑料传送门 alumnus.

For Okoro, he said the MBA program at 黑料传送门 helped enhance his critical thinking and problem-solving, which has helped him thrive in his current role. 鈥淎t Goldman Sachs, we value those who think critically about a situation. We encourage building a team environment and we work together to bring ideas and find solutions that we can implement together, and that鈥檚 what I learned at 黑料传送门.鈥

At the School of Business, first and foremost we build degrees for jobs, which means we are focused on equipping students with the skills that translate into the business world and meet employer needs, from power skills to critical problem solving to fundamental accounting and finance skills, regardless of degree program. That鈥檚 because we believe in creating a truly well-rounded businessperson.

Burdick, who also earned an MBA degree at 黑料传送门, said students who earn their degrees at 黑料传送门 are ideal job applicants. That鈥檚 because our degree programs are largely self-guided, and students who are successful in that environment would likely thrive at Goldman Sachs. 鈥淵ou have to be inherently self-driven and set your own pace, and that pace is often very fast,鈥 he said.

As part of the discussion, we offered students practical advice for navigating the job market, including to not overlook their lived experiences that fall outside a paid, full-time job, such as class projects, being a stay-at-home parent or helping a relative with their startup business. We encouraged students to not discount their lived experiences, but to instead pair them with the skills they learned at 黑料传送门, which would make their r茅sum茅 stand out.

Adjei agreed, noting, 鈥淚'm looking for people who have experience with an area where we want to move at the speed of business. That experience could not only have been gained while working at Goldman Sachs or one of our competitors, it could have been gained by building a business in your backyard or helping a business that your aunt or your uncle runs.鈥

And for students who don鈥檛 yet have experience, Adjei encouraged them to seek out opportunities to get the experience. 鈥淭here is no excuse for not getting some tangible experience if you are going through school and getting a degree. If you are in an accounting class, can you go to a small business and say, 鈥楬ey, mind me helping to balance your books?鈥 You have to seek out the experience.鈥

When a stay-at-home-mom聽 shared she was volunteering to gain more experience but still had concerns about the gap in her r茅sum茅, the panelists and I encouraged her to own the gap by underscoring that she is a multitasking savant who is managing high levels of data, human volatility and conflict resolution while working long hours under extreme fatigue. We stressed the importance of finding ways to articulate the gap with confidence.聽

Burdick also shared, 鈥淎s someone who pursued my master鈥檚 degree while having a newborn at home, that is no easy task, and you have done some impressive things with the gap that's in your r茅sum茅. If you were sitting across from an interviewer and you expressed all of that, that's nothing less than impressive. You don't see that as a gap as an employer. You see that as, 鈥榃ell, okay, I've got Wonder Woman in front of me. Let's step it up on my side.鈥欌

While we also cautioned students that the job market is fast- paced, Okoro noted, 鈥淭he fundamentals will never change. So as an employer, what am I looking for? Problem solving skills, critical thinking, being a leader, those key concepts will never change.鈥

I was honored to be part of this fireside chat that included our students who are nearing graduation because they will become the next generation of business leaders, and I know the business world will be in good hands.聽

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