Students Associations in College

Recruiters like students who get involved with student associations. But very much like contacts, business cards and grades, being in a student association is only beneficial if you maximize the opportunity. Many students fall in the trap of using student associations solely to their own advantage. They tend to use the contacts they make at companies for their own subsequent job search. Professor relationships are used to secure letters for this and that. Important information about opportunities and events are usually kept private between association members. Do you seek a career in politics or in business? If you chose the latter, share what you know.

Inequality and injustice are prevalent in society. If you wish to make a positive difference instead of dwelling on the bad and the ugly, then how well you use student associations as a vehicle will determine what you will accomplish in your life.

Please The Masses

What you must remember is that you represent all students, not just your friends and those you wish to impress. In business, they advise you to focus on a niche market as opposed to blasting a message to everyone. In politics, you need critical mass to emerge victorious.

Cater To The Niches

Organizing events that benefit a large number of students at once is hard to do. What you should do is segment different groups and find out how you can make each one happy. Organize events by interest, time and number of attendees. Invite those that the event is targeting but keep slots open for outsiders.

Goal

What are you trying to achieve? Make sure that you know what you are going after to ensure that you reach your goal.

Bring Companies

Academia is nice and dandy but your primary function should be to extend an olive branch to industry. If you are fortunate enough to go to a top business school, firms will come to you. But if you are in the majority, you will have to go after the top firms. Reaching firms will make you stand out as a good marketer.

Talent is omnipresent, not just at the top schools. After all, Duke University and the University of North Carolina may be elite basketball programs, but one of the most dominant players in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Shaquille O'Neal, hails from Louisiana State University. Other notable anomalies include Julius Erving, a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and Hakeem Olajuwon of the University of Houston.

Reach Outside

Do not be shy to promote your events to all students even if a certain group will be served. In order to make sure that these are most targeted, book enough variety at different times to make sure that everyone yields the greatest benefit from each event.

In some events, it may make sense to invite non-business students to participate in one way or another. There may be no need to invite everyone to everything, but here are some cases where opening up makes sense:

Invite Psychology students to Marketing events: they will understand consumer behavior very well and tell you when something will not work.

Invite Economics students to Finance events: how does what you say stand in the greater economic environment?

Invite Engineering and Computer Programming students to MIS events: is what you preach easily implemented in the real world?

Professors Available To All

Professors are often invited to noteworthy events but sadly, association members tend to hog their time to get their attention. As association members, you are already making a good impression on them; they will know where to find you, so let the others students find them when they are at events. Your unselfishness will not go unnoticed.

Follow The Demand, Ask Students Whom They Wish To Hear And Go Get Them

Student association members are either elected officials of academic institutions or self-appointed representatives. For these reasons, some students get disillusioned with the self-serving nature of some association members. What they should do is pass by association offices and inquire about what is planned for them and follow up. Association members have a mandate to serve students.

Finally, very much like fraternities and sororities, associations should meet student demands on academic, personal, social and community matters to fulfill their mandates.