If you’re caught up with my articles this year, you’d know that I’m spending this semester working a full-time internship in NYC. I’m working in the Marketing & Events department of two major fashion brands, and it has definitely opened my eyes to the real world of corporate America. A lot of my perceptions about the approaching working world have been proven untrue, so I decided to share the wealth.
Depending on the industry you go into post-grad, your GPA does not matter. After talking with a lot of people in my office, and networking with many HC alums, one of the common things that I heard was how they have almost never been asked what their college GPA was. Of course, if you’re planning on going to grad school, or going into a field like medicine, law, etc. where GPA cutoffs are necessary, this may be different for you. However, as someone who is working in fashion (and business!), I have come to realize that my GPA is not a good measure of my ability to do a job correctly. More often than not, employers look at the college you went to rather than your GPA. Even more importantly, employers want to know you’re a go-getter outside of the classroom, especially doing so in ways that relate to your field of interest. So, don’t sweat it if you get a B instead of an A in that random Psychology class you took in your sophomore year of college. I can guarantee you, it truly doesn’t matter as much as you think.
Going off of my first bullet, your major is also not as important as you think. My Holy Cross professor (who literally runs the Holy Cross NYC Semester program!) told us that she has never once been asked what she majored in in college, nor did it ruin any of her opportunities of getting a job. Again, this is totally contingent on what industry you’re interested in, but a majority of the time your college major isn’t what’s going to teach you how a specific company operates. At one of our networking dinners, we spoke to two Holy Cross alums who majored in totally different things, but both ended up in media and advertising. One was even a Spanish major, but worked for Hulu and Roku for many years! The world is your oyster, so major in whatever TF you want!
Not every single 9-5 job is going to look exactly the same. Boy, was this one a shocker to me when I started my internship this semester. Out of all my friends participating in this program in NYC, I would argue I have the most traditional internship style out of everyone. I sit at a cubicle in a fluorescent-lighted office, and everyone sits at their desks most of the day grinding away at whatever projects they have. However, some of my friends work similar jobs as me, but their environment is totally different. Whether it be more collaboration between departments, a totally different office layout, or different hierarchical structure, each job you encounter is going to be different than the next. So, be sure to know exactly what kind of office environment and structure you want!