The UNC Business Essentials program is a comprehensive certificate program aimed at preparing non-business majors for a world in which every graduate needs to understand the basics of business. Created by the capable educators of the Kenan-Flagler Business School, the certificate program gave me an edge and helped me feel more prepared and confident about my future, especially in this rocky economic atmosphere. Business Essentials covers an introductory overview to the business sphere, accounting, economics, marketing, business operations, and targeted writing skills. I learned to create a balance sheet, to organize a supply chain, to write a proper memo, and to manage inventory, among many other skills. And as a very busy college student, I greatly appreciated the flexibility of Read More
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Knowledge That Can Be Used Immediately
I was working on the Business Essentials program between working full-time at Ogilvy, a public relations firm, exploring Washington, D.C., and getting ready for my senior year at Carolina. I was about halfway through my internship when I finished the module on financial accounting – the module I thought was the most difficult, by the way. I was going through each of the narrated lectures and interactive activities more than once trying to wrap my head around it, and it was finally sinking in. The next day, the interns at Ogilvy were scheduled to go to lunch with Chris Graves, the CEO of Ogilvy Worldwide, who happened to be stationed in our office. As we were eating, someone asked a Read More
A Lesson in Transitions
Coming back to Carolina after nine months of being away from the University, interning with Amnesty International in Washington D.C. through the Burch Washington Seminar program during the spring and traveling throughout Asia while studying Chinese Foreign Policy in Hong Kong, was a transition for certain. However, the Business Essentials program, an online initiative created by Kenan-Flagler to give non-business major undergrads an opportunity to gain a topical grasp on a plethora of business issues, was a wonderful transition between the two. With an emphasis on a tangible skill set, the flexibility of the UBE program allowed me to become an ambassador and complete the program, despite intermittent Internet access and the epitome of an erratic schedule. In return, when Read More
Staying Ahead of the Competition
As a Public Health, Health Policy and Management major, I knew that knowledge in business would be relevant in whatever career field I choose to undertake. UNC Business Essentials is a program that allows you to go at your own pace while having the end goal in mind: attaining a business certificate from a nationally renowned business school and being able to compete with other qualified students. Under the UBE program, I took courses on business writing and communication, economics, and management, among others. Because everything is online, I set my own schedule as well as my own pace, which was very important with such a busy summer. Just because it is online, however, doesn’t mean I was left to Read More
Business Essentials Sets You Above the Rest
I decided to take the UNC Business Essentials program this summer because I knew that it would improve my knowledge about the business world, while also looking great on my resume. As an environmental science major, I often feel that I do not receive much information about business and economics unless it is to teach me about how much a company is polluting during their production process, or how profit driven marketing is causing an overconsumption crisis. My ultimate goal for my career is to be able to bring both of these disciplines together in my own sustainability consulting firm, but in order to do that I needed to acquire some quality business knowledge. UNC Business Essentials was the perfect Read More
Business Essentials – The Key to Opening Doors
For a long time I was adamant about wanting “nothing to do with the business world”. I thought I could escape from ever having to deal with anything business related. Well, that was fairly naïve of me. Luckily I’m graduating with two degrees from an incredibly prestigious school, but then again, so are a lot of other students. I needed something that could set me apart from the competition when recruiters were looking at my resume and deciding whether or not to interview me. I came across the UNC Business Essentials Certificate program in an email I received, and decided it was worth looking in to. And was I ever right. This program taught me about everything from business finance Read More
Business Essentials Matters to Employers
I initially chose to get involved with Business Essentials because I thought it would look great on my resume, but I soon found out how much more value the program has to offer. As a result of completing the certificate program, I have the skill set to expand my career options. With a thorough understanding of financial accounting, economics and finance, marketing, business operations and business communications, I’ve made myself more marketable for employment. This is tremendously valuable in today’s competitive job economy. Completing the Business Essentials program in association with the Kenan-Flagler signals your self-drive and commitment to academic excellence – attributes highly valued by employers. I know this from experience. During an interview at a congressional office this Read More
Truly Essential Skills
I am terrible with numbers. What possible other reason could there be for the decision I made to take 20 hours per week of class this summer while working another 35 hours? But, in all seriousness, I am a bleeding-heart liberal arts major who always figured I could save the world without ever managing a budget. My assumption was extraordinarily incorrect. I have been faced with the challenge of setting and sticking to a budget several times, and each time I have found the task incredibly daunting. Enter UNC Business Essentials. Business Essentials offered me education in a skill set that I never would have chosen to study as part of my four year plan to see the world, learn Read More
Beef Up Your Resume
The thought of graduating college and having to become part of the real world is terrifying for most students. On top of the worries about navigating life on our own, my generation is faced with another stressor—how are we going to get a job? We are constantly bombarded with horror stories of college graduates who were forced to move back in with their parents and work at fast food restaurants just to make ends meet. I always thought a college degree was a “golden ticket” of sorts that guaranteed a well-paid job and an independent lifestyle upon graduation. But in this economy, and with so many people attending college, a bachelor’s degree isn’t as powerful as it once was. I Read More
Business Essentials Helps You Interpret the Word in a New Way
UNC Business Essentials can be described in many ways on paper, but for me it is more than a new line on my resume, it has changed the way I learn and interact in the business world. UBE has given me a new sense of confidence in my everyday interactions. I now feel comfortable discussing marketing strategy and balance sheets in detail, something I would have struggled through before UBE. The course is structured to give students the ability to learn and practice. After studying the vocabulary and concepts, the student is given the chance to write about them in the context of a real world situation. I really loved this because it forced me to take my interpretation to Read More