As a graduate student, it can be difficult to balance coursework, projects, and career development. Fortunately, numerous tools are available to help you streamline your academic and professional work. Let’s explore some of the most useful ones that every Master of Business and Science student should know about.
Rutgers Libraries
Rutgers offers an extensive amount of LibGuides, or online research guides compiled by Rutgers librarians. Take a look at the guide specifically tailored for the MBS Capstone course. Key resources include:
- Market research: Access premium databases like MarketLine, Mergent Online, and PrivCo for company revenue analysis, SWOT insights, and competitor benchmarking. Industry and market research reports from IBISWorld, Mintel, and Sage Business offer valuable data that would otherwise cost thousands of dollars. Statista provides extensive statistical data with over 80,000 topics in various fields and Factiva provides access to thousands of national and international news articles. All of these can support your work in not only Capstone, but also courses such as Market Assessment and Analysis, Principles of Accounting and Finance, and the Externship Exchange Program.
- Business plans: Free sample business plan templates guide entrepreneurial projects.
- Patent searches: Learn how to navigate patent databases for research, particularly beneficial for the Fundamentals of Intellectual Property class.
Rutgers libraries offer additional resources.
- Chat virtually with a librarian: Chat instantly with a librarian for personalized assistance.
- Access the Wall Street Journaland New York Times. Take advantage of free subscriptions to these publications and more.
Polish your writing skills with Grammarly
Rutgers provides students free access to Grammarly, a powerful tool for refining writing, eliminating grammatical errors, and ensuring clarity.
Improve your job search with Jobscan
Navigating Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) is a common challenge for students seeking internships and jobs. Jobscan is a tool that helps applicants optimize their resumes and cover letters by analyzing them against job descriptions using AI. Rutgers MBS has a number of licenses available, providing students with an edge in their job search. You can check out our previous Virtual Friday workshop, which went into detail about the benefits of Jobscan.
Boost your resume with certifications
Enhancing your skill set with industry-recognized certifications can help you stand out in a competitive job market and showcase your expertise to potential employers.
- LinkedIn Learning: Offers courses in business strategy, marketing, leadership, and more. Many courses provide certifications that can be added directly to your LinkedIn profile. As a Rutgers student, you have free access.
- Coursera: Provides certifications from top universities in areas like data analytics, finance, and product management. Coursera offers many courses you can audit for free.
- Google Career Certificates: A great option for students wanting to quickly gain skills and knowledge in different areas, such as data analytics, UX design, or cybersecurity.
Create impactful presentations
Presentations are a crucial part of the MBS curriculum and professional life. These tools can help elevate your presentation quality:
- Microsoft PowerPoint Templates: Pre-designed templates that suggest a polished and consistent look for business and academic presentations.
- Canva: A user-friendly design platform offering pre-made templates for various presentation needs.
- Google Slides: Check out templates built into Google Slides or find free templates online.
Project organization tools
Juggling multiple projects and deadlines requires structure. These tools help keep everything on track:
- Notion: A versatile tool for note-taking, task management, and collaborative projects, ideal for tracking assignments.
- monday.com: Although this is designed for larger teams, students can use this to organize assignments, track deadlines, collaborate on group projects, and manage their schedule.
- Trello: A visual task management tool using boards and cards to keep projects on track. It is highly customizable and suitable for smaller teams or a solo entrepreneur.
Collaboration and teamwork tools
Effective teamwork is key to success in both academia and the workplace.
- Miro: A digital whiteboard for brainstorming, concept mapping, and interactive presentations, great for workshops and ideation sessions.
- Calendly, Doodle, and When2Meet: Simplify meeting scheduling by helping teams find common availability effortlessly.
- Otter.ai: Real-time transcription for Zoom meetings, making it easier to review discussions and extract key insights.
Other MBS resources
The MBS team offers a variety of resources exclusive to our students for professional success.
- Virtual Fridays. MBS Executive Coach Abbe Rosenthal hosts a series of Virtual Fridays for MBS students covering professional topics, such as how to level up your LinkedIn profile, stand out in the job market, improve your job search process, and more. Check out our events page to stay up-to-date.
- Alumni Network Connections. We offer a formal alumni-student mentoring program and invite alumni to our events to mingle with students.
- Executive coaches. Meet with executive coaches to create actionable plans for career goals and success at MBS and beyond.
- Academic advising. Meet with your academic advisor 1:1 or in a group.
Leveraging these tools efficiently can be a game-changer in your journey as an MBS student. From conducting research to organizing projects and delivering compelling presentations, these resources will help you succeed in your coursework and beyond.