{"id":3594,"date":"2023-04-07T01:52:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T17:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594"},"modified":"2023-04-07T06:13:50","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T22:13:50","slug":"graduate-business-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594","title":{"rendered":"Why the Best Graduates Practice Business Development"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a graduate, practicing business development is an excellent way to jumpstart your career and set yourself apart from your peers. Whether an account, auditor, engineer or environmental scientist, learning to interact with your market and customers at the beginning of your career is gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First and foremost, business development is an essential aspect of any company’s success. It involves identifying new business opportunities and developing strategies to acquire new clients and expand existing relationships. As a graduate consultant with a business development focus, you make opportunities to work closely with senior leaders and customers whilst having a direct impact on the growth and success of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, business development is a versatile skill that applies to many different industries and roles. Whether you’re interested in consulting, finance, technology, or healthcare, being able to identify and pursue new business opportunities will be valuable in any field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Get started with business development:<\/strong> Grab Your Guide<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Why would a graduate want to practice business development?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Practicing business development as a graduate consultant allows you to gain a wide range of skills and experience. You will learn to identify new business opportunities, develop sales and marketing strategies, and negotiate deals. These skills are not only valuable in a business development role, but also in future leadership and management positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, focusing on business development, gives you the opportunity to network with a wide range of people and organizations. This can open doors to new job opportunities and help establish yourself early as a thought leader in your industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, practicing business development as a graduate consultant can be a smart career move. Not only will you have a direct impact on the success of the organization, but you’ll also gain valuable skills and experience that can be applied to many different roles and industries. It also provides a great opportunity to network and open doors to new job opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An example from my career<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a graduate hydrogeologist in London I never really practiced business development but kept in touch with my Masters cohort from university. I was at the pub one evening with one of these fellow graduates who had brought some friends. One of these worked for a large oil company and we inevitably started talking shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turned out that they were looking for a company to assist them in remediation. It sounded exciting. we exchanged details and the conversation drifted to other topics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next morning I went to see my boss, explained the situation and we followed up with the company. This short chat with a fellow graduate turned into a multi million dollar remediation job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine what else I could have uncovered if I had been more purposeful in my approach. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Networking with other graduates can really boost your business development skills<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

How does a graduate practice business development<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I recognize that as a graduate with limited work experience practicing business development can be tough. However, there a number of things you can do to build your skill and network that will set you up well for the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find other graduates to network with<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the easiest ways to begin your business development journey is to begin networking with other graduates. Find graduates in your company, customer organizations and wider industry. Reach out and grab a quick coffee with the aim of comparing notes on the industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These meetings should be relationship building in nature. Be curious, have a learning mindset and share knowledge. You are creating the foundations of a network that will add real value to your career, treat it with care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engage industry mentors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Completing a quick assessment of the main players in your industry will uncover a number of professionals who may be a good fit as a mentor. Experienced professionals are often pleased to be able to pass on their knowledge to keen up and comers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, entering these conversations with a learning mindset will set you in good stead. Using these opportunities to learn about the industry, customers and how things really work will yield gold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Network at Industry functions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Attending industry functions and networking is an opportunity that surprisingly few people take. Getting into this habit early gives a significant step ahead of your peer group. Meeting the movers and shakers of your industry on a regular basis gets you known. Providing opportunities to both win business and open up future career paths. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Finding mentors and engaging with industry events will begin gaining you a reputation outside of your immediate workplace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Be purposeful and plan <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While there is lots of opportunity for the graduate business developer, it’s easy to get carried away. Chasing every shiny thing results in fatigue and potential disillusionment. Be purposeful and plan accordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making sure that the people you are contacting are a good fit and relevant to your current and future work aspirations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going into meetings with a mindset of “what can I get” is a recipe for disaster. Instead try to learn as much as you can, build rapport and explore ways that you might be able to help the other person. Remember, you are setting up a business development network for the long term, not for immediate results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, as you learn interesting information or uncover opportunities make sure to pass them on to your leadership. You never know, you might be instrumental in winning the next big job! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graduate Business Development <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we know, you are not born with business development skills. They must be learned. What better place to start than by downloading my fast business development guide below. This gives a list of actions and activities to set you on the right path right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

If you’re asking what is business development? My definition can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are enjoying my free conent and want to get more in depth I would ask you to consider buying a copy of my new book Business Development Begins Here<\/em>. It is available to order on Amazon<\/a>. Visit the link to reserve your copy now.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Order your copy now!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Coaching<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you want a more proactive and personal approach to your work winning I am available to help. Through one on on discussions I’ll set you on the right path and keep you accountable to future activity. I currently have space available on my 1on1 personalized coaching program. To learn more click the button below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Coaching for Revenue Growth<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a graduate, practicing business development is an excellent way to jumpstart your career and set yourself apart from your … <\/p>\n

MORE +<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[13,3,68],"class_list":["post-3594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-action","tag-business-development","tag-graduate","featured-image-below","featured-image-size-"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy the Best Graduates Practice Business Development<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As a graduate, practicing business development is an excellent way to jumpstart your career. In this post I explore the why and how.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why the Best Graduates Practice Business Development\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a graduate, practicing business development is an excellent way to jumpstart your career. In this post I explore the why and how.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tom Watkin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-06T17:52:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-06T22:13:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/patty-brito-l5sAmrAOw9g-unsplash.jpg?fit=418%2C627&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"418\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tom\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=3594#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=3594\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tom\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7e1c58bd748e7906ab3c3f7258d6b9a\"},\"headline\":\"Why the Best Graduates Practice Business Development\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-06T17:52:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-06T22:13:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=3594\"},\"wordCount\":1083,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=3594#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/patty-brito-l5sAmrAOw9g-unsplash.jpg?fit=418%2C627&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Action\",\"Business Development\",\"Graduate\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=3594\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=3594\",\"name\":\"Why the Best Graduates Practice Business Development\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=3594#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=3594#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/patty-brito-l5sAmrAOw9g-unsplash.jpg?fit=418%2C627&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-06T17:52:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-06T22:13:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7e1c58bd748e7906ab3c3f7258d6b9a\"},\"description\":\"As a graduate, practicing business development is an excellent way to jumpstart your career. In this post I explore the why and how.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=3594#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=3594\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=3594#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/patty-brito-l5sAmrAOw9g-unsplash.jpg?fit=418%2C627&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/patty-brito-l5sAmrAOw9g-unsplash.jpg?fit=418%2C627&ssl=1\",\"width\":418,\"height\":627},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=3594#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why the Best Graduates Practice Business Development\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tom Watkin\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7e1c58bd748e7906ab3c3f7258d6b9a\",\"name\":\"Tom\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2c22fcff7c29a8e6f407f211b77652405c1cd5f1179f50500b3f5c470df8e0fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2c22fcff7c29a8e6f407f211b77652405c1cd5f1179f50500b3f5c470df8e0fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2c22fcff7c29a8e6f407f211b77652405c1cd5f1179f50500b3f5c470df8e0fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tom\"},\"description\":\"Tom is an author and business development leader with a passion to help professionals be more purposeful in their BD efforts.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/tomwatkin\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why the Best Graduates Practice Business Development","description":"As a graduate, practicing business development is an excellent way to jumpstart your career. In this post I explore the why and how.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why the Best Graduates Practice Business Development","og_description":"As a graduate, practicing business development is an excellent way to jumpstart your career. In this post I explore the why and how.","og_url":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594","og_site_name":"Tom Watkin","article_published_time":"2023-04-06T17:52:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-06T22:13:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":418,"height":627,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/patty-brito-l5sAmrAOw9g-unsplash.jpg?fit=418%2C627&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tom","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tom","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594"},"author":{"name":"Tom","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7e1c58bd748e7906ab3c3f7258d6b9a"},"headline":"Why the Best Graduates Practice Business Development","datePublished":"2023-04-06T17:52:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-06T22:13:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594"},"wordCount":1083,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/patty-brito-l5sAmrAOw9g-unsplash.jpg?fit=418%2C627&ssl=1","keywords":["Action","Business Development","Graduate"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594","url":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594","name":"Why the Best Graduates Practice Business Development","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/patty-brito-l5sAmrAOw9g-unsplash.jpg?fit=418%2C627&ssl=1","datePublished":"2023-04-06T17:52:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-06T22:13:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7e1c58bd748e7906ab3c3f7258d6b9a"},"description":"As a graduate, practicing business development is an excellent way to jumpstart your career. In this post I explore the why and how.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/patty-brito-l5sAmrAOw9g-unsplash.jpg?fit=418%2C627&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/patty-brito-l5sAmrAOw9g-unsplash.jpg?fit=418%2C627&ssl=1","width":418,"height":627},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=3594#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why the Best Graduates Practice Business Development"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/","name":"Tom Watkin","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7e1c58bd748e7906ab3c3f7258d6b9a","name":"Tom","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c22fcff7c29a8e6f407f211b77652405c1cd5f1179f50500b3f5c470df8e0fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c22fcff7c29a8e6f407f211b77652405c1cd5f1179f50500b3f5c470df8e0fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c22fcff7c29a8e6f407f211b77652405c1cd5f1179f50500b3f5c470df8e0fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tom"},"description":"Tom is an author and business development leader with a passion to help professionals be more purposeful in their BD efforts.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tomwatkin\/"],"url":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/patty-brito-l5sAmrAOw9g-unsplash.jpg?fit=418%2C627&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3594"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4113,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3594\/revisions\/4113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}