A Shopping List for Berkeley Club Recruitment

Every year, Berkeley students have the opportunity to join a variety of different business clubs on campus, all with avenues for professional and academic growth.

I’ve been part of Venture since spring of my freshman year, but over the last year and a half I noticed that the facets of the club that were most impactful for me were different than what I had anticipated before going through the application process. This article acts as a sort of “shopping list” of the factors to look out for when checking out orgs, in order to make sure that you have the tools to make an informed decision about where you want to go (or if you even want to recruit for clubs!). I’m glad Venture checked off this “shopping list” for me, though I also know others who excelled at seeking out these experiences on their own in a less structured fashion, often through courses and decals, talking with mentors in their major, or just personal connections.

Exciting clients and name-recognition have their value, but in my opinion, it’s the more “under the radar” experiences like the academic advice, professional development, receptive feedback, and social culture that shaped my experience.

Advice from Peers

I came to Berkeley in a pretty small engineering major, and wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with classes or career paths. The wealth of experiences and tips that Venture upperclassmen were willing to give me was super helpful, and thanks to their help I took on a double major and am really stoked about tutoring in one of those classes! I encourage you to think more broadly about what sorts of people or experiences would help you through your college experience, not just alumni.

Professional Development

Thanks to those really knowledgeable upperclassmen, I’ve had the fortune of receiving lots of in-depth advice on getting started in college: resumes, cover letters, interview prep, Handshake, LinkedIn, and more; these sorts of skills aren’t generally taught in classes but are often just as important. I had minimal experience with this before I got to Cal, but the people teaching me were super enthusiastic about giving back and helping out the next generation of new members. This culture of only being one text away for feedback or tips on anything has been crucial for me, and I really encourage all of you to keep it in mind. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter how many “one in a million” internships older members have had; it matters how willing they are to turn around and help you on your own path.

Feedback-Oriented Culture

This part rolls off of the last one — figure out the importance that the org puts on self-examining how to better serve their members, the school, and the larger community. In my experience, this comes with having a strong feedback culture, where members are able to voice thoughts or concerns without fear of retaliation or discomfort.

The corporate business world has a reputation for being homogenous and exclusionary. However, members within Venture have been working hard to better our processes and help ensure we’re not part of the problem. One of the things I’m most proud of is helping to create a Recruitment Taskforce that rigorously analyzes our recruitment process and club practices. We were able to create a space where members can come together and address issues like DEI and classism, making steps through new events, partnerships, and reworking our recruitment pipeline and timeline. We’re by no means done, but I’m honestly proud of the number of voices in Venture that have also spoken up about wanting to scrutinize and better the system from the inside out.

Social Life

The last part (honestly it’s so important that it should’ve been at the top) is having a social component. Berkeley is hard. Period. You gotta make sure that you meaningfully connect with the current club members because you’re gonna be spending lots of time with them. Being online was difficult, but I really loved how much effort Venture put towards bringing us together through events, which will only become easier as we get back to being in person *knock on wood*. I see my club buddies as a different group of friends who I can rely on for homework help or, more often, to procrastinate with me ;)

In my experience, these are the main things that I think you should keep in mind no matter what professional or academic clubs you’re looking at, particularly those whose importance I had only recognized after I spent some time in the club:

1. Academic and professional advice from upperclassmen always willing to help out
2. Professional development and skills sessions, starting from the basics
3. Strong feedback culture and inward-facing look at improving processes and equity
4. Social component so you aren’t working all day and night

I am glad to have checked these items off my shopping list in Venture, but they exist all around you. If you have any Venture-specific questions or just want to chat more about what I wrote above, you can use this Calendly link! Returning to school will be an adjustment for all of us, so good luck with everything :)