DOYLESTOWN, Pa., July 1, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - After many dismal years of employment prospects, new college graduates might finally have something to cheer about. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a non-profit group, hiring of new college graduates with bachelor's degrees is expected to rise nearly 8 percent this year. "This is great news, but it doesn't mean that college students in upcoming graduating classes should automatically expect job offers," says Helen Brown, Academic Outreach Manager for Vector Marketing Corporation, the single-level direct sales division of Cutco Cutlery Corporation. Cutco is the largest manufacturer of high-end kitchen cutlery in North America. While the job market for recent graduates is improving, college students who maximize their career-building years while still in school will have the greatest chance of landing their dream job, according to Brown.
And Brown should know. In her capacity with Vector Marketing, she works with college career advisors and prospective employers across the country. And Cutco is sold primarily via a network of college students who sell the products via in-home personal demonstrations (not multi-level marketing or door-to-door sales).
"Prospects who meet recruiters at job fairs armed with an impressive resume that already reflects career experience will stand out from the crowd and have the greatest opportunity of getting their foot in the door," Brown says.
Brown says the perfect way to boost career experience while still in school is to take a college sales course that offers hands-on sales training. "More and more universities are recognizing the importance of sales in every career and are offering courses that provide not only theoretical training, but also real-world sales experience," she says.
Cutco partners with several colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada, including Purdue University and the University of Calgary, to provide their students with the ability to sell Cutco to real customers as part of the course.
"Classroom theory is of course extremely valuable, but there is no form of education I have found that beats getting out there and actually engaging with the real world," says Dr. Derek Hassay, who integrates selling Cutco as part of his advanced sales management class at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary. "I think this is particularly true in sales, which is driven by customer relations and interacting with people."
Brown agrees. "Our experience at Vector Marketing working with college students clearly shows that hiring managers who see real-world sales experience on an applicant's resume give that resume much more serious consideration," she says. She notes that this applies regardless of the field the graduate chooses to enter into upon graduation.
Students who participate in college sales courses offering real-world experience can expect to learn important skills that can be transferred to any job environment, including:
- Generating leads and subsequent referrals
- Building immediate rapport with customers
- Dealing with customers
- Handling rejection
- Setting/achieving goals
- Understanding consumer behavior
- Time management
- Demonstrating product advantages
- Overcoming objections
- Assisting customers with service requests
- Building self-confidence
- Team building
- Communications skills
"This experience enables graduates to prepare a resume offering potential employers real job skills right out of school, allowing them to stand out from the 'new graduate pack'," Brown says. "With competition as tight as ever, this can mean the difference of landing that coveted dream job or not."
About Cutco Cutlery Corporation and Vector Marketing Corporation
Cutco Cutlery is a 65-year-old company with headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Olean, New York. Vector Marketing is the company's sales division, coordinating all sales for Cutco Cutlery through a national network of college students who sell products through in-home personal demonstrations. More than 15 million US households have a Cutco product.
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