How to choose college courses

How to choose college courses The September ritual of selecting classes usually takes place in a fog of bad criteria: uninformed friends, overly invested parents, and the never-ending quest for no early morning classes. I have some advice to add to the mix: If you plan on going into business, take courses that typically arent listed among the traditional requirements like accounting and marketing. Even if you dont want a business career, give my suggestions some thought, because youll have to work at some point, so you might as well make a little money at it. And besides, these courses will help not only your career, but your life. Acting This class will be a terrible ordeal for non-theatrical types, because theyll feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. But acting class is one of the fastest ways to learn how to convey what you mean. Successful people can do this by using verbal and non-verbal cues. We each feel many emotions simultaneously. Leaders manage their emotions so they convey the appropriate one at the appropriate time. Acting class will help you to understand if youre doing this well, and if not, how to improve. Im not implying that all business people are actors. In fact, I mean the opposite: business requires honesty, and a good actor must tap into his or her true emotions to act honestly. Most incompetent leaders try to lead with emotion that isnt genuine. You will avoid this by taking an acting class. Intro to Psychology Somewhere among the textbook pages of theories and statistics youll find invaluable nuggets of information on how people perceive each other in the workplace. The most interesting lessons are about how people make judgments about others and try to control the judgments that others make about them. You will learn that visual perception is everything and first impressions are hard to overcome. Once you understand why, youll be able to make a better first impression. Youll also learn why people remember negative traits more than positive traits; if you divulge weaknesses during job interviews, hiring managers will remember them more clearly than your strengths. Literature Emotional intelligence is an ability to understand other people, and many pundits believe that emotional intelligence is more important than business skills when it comes to success in the corporate world. A literature course teaches you to empathize with characters and understand other peoples values. So your best business text might be a novel. Gym People who work out regularly are more likely to impress interviewers and get promoted than people who dont. Knowing how to work out correctly is a big factor in whether youll keep it up once youre working. However, its a learned skill that takes time and a good teacher. At college youve got tons of time (compared to when you have a job, a mortgage, kids and a dog) plus use of the gym is free. Take a bunch of classes swimming, pilates, karate. Something is bound to stick. And its easier to learn them now than when youre 35 and bored with the your gym routine. What you love Having a balanced life and making time to do what you enjoy becomes harder after college. Use this time to figure out what excites you, not what excites your parents or grad schools. Growing up doesnt mean getting drunk on a school night. It means ceasing to worry about or rebelling against what others want you to do and starting to figure out what makes you tick. This isnt easy. But if you continue taking classes that you think you SHOULD take, youll be unprepared for work. Review the course catalogue honestly for what really interests you. Ask yourself what youd take if you could choose anything. Then take it. Youll learn about yourself. The class may be boring or it might be a great topic that you love learning. This is the same process youll use to find a career. You will probably do it two or three times in your life. So get good at it now, while someone else is paying your rent.