Our triple-certified Bachelor in Business Administration has been designed to produce the next generation of business professionals in the digital age. And it checks out—98% of the class of 2023 report that they’ve used their newly acquired skills and knowledge to find roles or launch their own ventures in diverse sectors and on every continent.
That statistic is particularly illuminating in such a competitive labor market. In business, marketing and sales, in particular, our Career Report for the 2023 Bachelor in Business Administration cohort demonstrates that it’s an essential program for anybody seeking professional success.
One reason is the head-start our students gain on the paths that they find most interesting. The program achieves this through eight specialist concentrations that allow them to focus on the skills, knowledge and experiences that best align with their individual ambitions. Let’s take a deeper look at our Branding, Marketing and Sales concentration, which imparts multidisciplinary skills to give students a distinctive professional profile and accelerate their careers.
A range of career pathways in sales, marketing and business
The Branding, Marketing and Sales concentration is built around customer experience, innovation, consumer behavior, content and the use of emerging tech. Students learn to develop successful branding, marketing and sales strategies to differentiate their business, leveraging data as a critical tool to inform strategic decision-making.
These competencies are in great demand in a rapidly evolving and sometimes challenging business ecosystem, not to mention one that’s being disrupted by technologies at a faster rate than we’ve ever seen before. So, mastery of these skills—and demonstrable experience in using them—opens opportunities at junior, middle and even senior levels.
For anybody taking their first steps along this career path, the Branding, Marketing and Sales concentration will place you front and center for roles such as sales representative, account executive, sales analyst or marketing executive.
Those slightly more experienced professionals refreshing their skill sets will be ideally placed to compete for mid-level roles such as sales manager, business development manager, key account manager or brand guardian.
And later on in your career, the program’s overall global vision—combined with the specific skills of the Branding, Marketing and Sales concentration—will position you to stand out when pursuing one of our master’s degrees as part of your journey toward a more senior role, such as sales director.
Regardless of your own level of experience and specific career ambitions, the networking opportunities at IE University are unmatched. What’s more, our strategic alliances with corporate and institutional partners around the world mean you’ll have the chance to meet and talk to recruiters from every sector.
An entire ecosystem built for career success
The connections we’ve built have facilitated 1,500 worldwide networking events, and the Bachelor in Business Administration perfectly illustrates their importance. The program’s Corporate Mentorship initiative, for example, supports its students by putting them in direct contact with the business world from the beginning of their studies.
Working with top companies including EY, Santander, SAP, BNP Paribas and more, mentees receive invaluable, one-to-one insights from an experienced industry professional. This gives them a real taste of business, as well as the chance to work on specific skills and build lasting connections in the corporate world.
It doesn’t end there, either. Starting in the third year of the program, unmatched internship opportunities at world-leading companies are available, putting students to work on real-world projects with all the challenges and expectations of professional life. It’s all part of an ecosystem designed to maximize career opportunities—specialized workshops, labs and events focused on sales and business strategies complete a holistic approach that extends far beyond the classroom.
And, of course, our graduates join a worldwide alumni network over 80,000 strong, with connections in every industry and on every continent, for life.
Dreaming big
One such alum is Nicolas Fernández, a Bachelor in Business Administration graduate from the class of 2023. He has secured a Senior Sales Manager role at Procter & Gamble in Madrid, and stands firm in the belief that his IE Experience played a large part in helping him do so.
Don’t even think twice. There are a wide variety of universities, and many of them are very good, but there are none like IE University. Choosing to study at IE University is a decision you will never regret.
Citing the institution’s outstanding reputation, and describing working with the diverse community of students and faculty as a privilege, he says that IE University “teaches you to dream big, putting tremendous tools at your disposal.”
For Nicolas, the soft skills he gained at IE University allowed him to stand out from the rest and walk confidently into the interview process. His ability to prioritize efficiently and work well in diverse teams helps him seamlessly navigate the inevitable challenges of sales and marketing. Most importantly, he learned how to discern what’s important by listening to customers and colleagues alike.
IE University’s global network comes up in conversation with Nicolas, too. Bonding with alumni, he found that everybody he met who had studied at the institution tried to help him. In fact, the second person to interview Nicolas at Procter & Gamble was an IE University alum! He is absolutely unequivocal in recommending IE University. “There’s no other university that matches the international recognition that IE University has. I’d give it a ten,” he told us.
Tips for marketing, sales and branding success
For anybody at IE University who’s looking to follow in Nicolas’s footsteps and secure a sales or marketing role, we’ll finish with some tips that should give you the very best chance of success:
- Make the most of the unparalleled internship and networking opportunities available to you. Your future career could be founded on the connections and experiences you build during these important periods.
- The importance of continuous learning cannot be overstated. Ongoing professional development, including certifications, will keep you right up-to-date in an evolving sector.
- Put yourself out there; get involved in related competitions, complete case studies on real-world scenarios and join one of the myriad business-related clubs run by IE University students.
- As in corporate life, branding is important. Work on building a personal brand and leverage the opportunities that social media offers to enhance your profile and drive career growth.
With the prestige and value of our Bachelor in Business Administration, the right concentration combined with a variety of resources and a global network at your fingertips, we could very well be telling your story of career success in the future!