To be successful in the workforce today, it’s crucial for people to earn an education. For many, it seems almost impossible to be considered for any job without a college degree. 

According to statistics from CNBC, after college many students and their employers, feel that many students are not fully prepared for the real world and they possess many weaknesses. 

While students at Sonoma State University continue to prioritize their GE requirements before their major, it can make a student wonder if they’ll ever use the information in the future. The Professional Sales and Marketing Club, or PSMC, at Sonoma State may be the answer. 

“The goal of the club is to educate business students outside the classroom,” President of PSMC Alicia Rivett said.

The PSMC feels that their club can better prepare students for the real world after college ends. “The ultimate goal of PSMC is to help each club member build their confidence and successfully find a job within [their] industry after graduating from Sonoma State,” Rivett said. 

While the club was only founded a couple years ago, the club has been exceedingly growing since then. 

“PSMC was founded two years ago by four male transfer students, Nick Mendelson, Nicholas Langer, Ryan Gradney and Max Heller who wanted students to have a club where they could become more engaged outside of the classroom,” said Rivett. Since its beginning in Fall 2014, the club has grown to 50 active members.

Like most clubs, PSMC also has weekly meetings for all their members. 

“This semester [the meetings] were on Tuesdays at noon in the Erin Fisher Room. We cover topics such as hosting guest speakers from firms of all sizes and industriesand holding hands on workshops including elevator pitches, mock interviews, resume building and more,” says PSMC Vice President Andrew Jarmicki. 

Through these different events and activities the club makes their main focus young professional networking. 

To help make their club more familiar on campus, they continue to make more public events and trips. 

“We have a social chair executive position that plans social events such as trips to Rebounderz, Epicenter, bowling, Lagunitas and LinkedIn photo shoot workshops,” said Jarmicki. 

Although their club has continued to grow PSMC has faced their fair share of bumps along the road. 

“In the beginning it was difficult to retain and gain club members because the club didn’t have brand awareness. It is amazing now that almost every business major knows of PSMC. It shows the importance of word-of-mouth and perseverance to develop and grow a name for the club on campus,” Rivett said. “This was achieved by meeting with teachers who spoke to students about the club and also Executive Board members dropping into business classes to educate the students the importance of getting involved on campus.”

PSMC does not only focus on helping students be more prepared for the workforce after graduating, but also helps people who hope to strengthen their credentials in sales and marketing. 

“The club started when the schools sales club and marketing club combined to build a bigger and better club in order to have a place for people in the marketing concentration, but also people who decide to go for their sales certificate,” said Riley Friar, PSMC’s marketing and social chair.

Many members of the PSMC, have goals for the club’s future. 

“We hope to continue to increase student involvement and increase the amount of public events we hold. We also hope to bring more students in from outside of the marketing major, so we can help them learn marketing and sales skills as well,” Friar said. 

“I would love to see PSMC club members reach out to me after I graduate and share with me how PSMC helped them gain confidence and land their dream job post-grad, that is the ultimate goal,” said Rivett.