Career College Central

Subscribe at careercollegecentral.com 7 roughout 2017, Career College Central will focus on a specific career area in each edition, exploring Business and e Arts in the fourth and final quarter. In the Careers: Helping Students Succeed series, we look at the personality traits that predict success in each field, address the various learning styles common to students who choose these programs, and employment predictions for various industry career paths. Who chooses an arts or business career path? e fields of business and art are both many-faceted and include such juxtaposing career paths as accountant, sales manager, cosmetologist, and illustrator. It may be more accurate to describe "business and the arts" as anything that doesn't fall under the other three career categories (health sciences, mechanical sciences, and information technology), but even those lines aren't hard and fast—aer all, business acumen is certainly needed in health-care organizations, and design prowess brings life and user experience to technology. Choosing a career path in business or the arts can oen mean open doors in any other career field, because many of the core qualifications and benefits for business and arts careers are very similar. ese days, says Faisal Hoque, "more and more entrepreneurs are artists, and artists of all kinds are entrepreneurs." Recent technological innovations have transformed the way employees work throughout both industries—there are new platforms to contend with, new media to learn, and new expectations (and demands) from consumers and employers. But despite the ever-changing world around them, people who succeed in business and the arts have things in common: they're good written and verbal communicators, they pay attention to details and deadlines, and they understand how their roles fit into and contribute to a larger whole, whether they work for a corporation or for themselves. And these days, people in both fields don't have to be confined to an office from 9 to 5. e opportunities to work remotely or for yourself are more accessible than ever. While most positions within the fields of business and the arts don't technically require formal education, people who find success usually do so with the help of an education. Business e principles of business remain solid no matter the industry in which you work or the overall economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, "employment of business and financial operations occupations is projected to grow 8 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations, adding about 632,400 new jobs. A stronger regulatory environment is driving the demand for more accountants and auditors who prepare and examine financial documents." e median annual wage for business occupations was $66,530 in May 2016, which was higher than the median annual wage for all occupations of $37,040. The Arts As technology allows the world to have instant access to movies, music, and other forms of entertainment—and as other industries make use of design and gamification to sell their products and services—the arts will continue to play a larger role in the global labor force. Interestingly, those who are most successful in the arts are oen those with a degree of business intelligence as well. Aer all, the art they create, in whatever form, is a product or service that needs to be marketed and sold appropriately. Creative workers who end up self-employed or opening a business will need an even deeper background in economics, business principles, and legality. Personality traits of successful business and arts professionals For counselors or parents helping students decide on a career path, written personality tests alone can only help so much. While they may provide a handful of career options the student had never considered before (or confirm options they'd already been considering), the questions are oen either too specific or too vague to be truly helpful. Plus, it's common for test-takers to answer based on what they wish was true of their personality and predilections, rather than what is actually true—whether consciously or not. Admissions professionals can work with students to discuss aspects of their personalities, work habits, and life goals to determine which fields, and which specific professions within those fields, would be right for them. For the students themselves, it's tempting to romanticize a career field as glamorous or high-earning without considering the actual day-to-day minutiae. For students looking to begin a career in business, the following personality traits can help predict happiness and success in the field: Competitive: Steve W. Martin believes there's a strong correlation between people who used to play competitive sports and business success. He says competitive people are "able to handle emotional disappointments, bounce back from losses, and mentally prepare themselves for the next opportunity to compete." Achievement-oriented: According to Harvard Business Review, eighty-four percent of the top performers tested scored very high in achievement orientation. "ey are fixated on achieving goals and continuously measure their performance in comparison to their goals." Resilient: "Rejection is a very real part of selling a product, especially when focusing on cold leads. A great salesperson isn't easily discouraged, and doesn't take the rejection on a personal level," says Robert J. Moore of RJMetrics. Even for businesspeople who aren't in sales, the road to success is usually bumpy; learning to stand up, brush off your proverbial pants, and "fail smarter" next time is an invaluable skill in the field.

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