Practical skills you can apply right away, diverse career opportunities: economics and management

Dr Piroska Hoffmann, Adjunct Professor at the Department of Management and Business Law, ELTE GTK, is a seasoned marketing and strategy professional with more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and education. During her career, she has acquired outstanding expertise in corporate strategy, leadership, organisational behaviour, marketing management, coaching and global business administration. She received her PhD in September 2023 and has been a full-time lecturer at Eötvös Loránd University since January 2024, where she helps economics and management students acquire modern business and leadership skills. In addition to teaching, she inspires students with her extensive practical experience and supports them in building their own successful careers.

The importance of finding your way

Ms Hoffmann's knowledge of working in a multicultural environment and her broad horizons enable her to convey theoretical and practical knowledge to the university community in an authentic and understandable manner. She is also a great speaker, able to talk about business education in an engaging and captivating way - which is why she was invited to speak at the Faculty's Open Day on 20 November about the country's most popular economics and management programme and the career opportunities available with a degree in this field.

She began her talk with a personal story, a perfect example of how choosing a career is not a single, final decision, but a long journey with the possibility of changing direction. She reminded the audience that the period around graduation is a difficult and stressful time for many young people, because they have to make decisions that will have a major impact on their future lives. She used her own example to show that the initial search for a new path is perfectly natural. Although she had a degree in healthcare, after a few years of work experience she realised that it was not her calling. She then decided to change and study economics and management, which turned out to be one of the best decisions of her life.

She emphasised that when choosing a career, we should not only listen to the opinions of our environment, family or friends, but also to our own interests and inner motivations. Her personal example proved that it is okay to find your true path later, as there is always room to start again, to learn and to grow. This message is particularly important for young people, who tend to see their choices as permanent and irreversible.

What does a manager do?

In the main part of the presentation, Mrs Hoffmann gave a detailed introduction to the job of a manager. She emphasised that the role is about much more than analysing data or making spreadsheets. Managers are professionals who can work with others to create value, solve problems and take responsibility for their decisions. She explained that a good manager is able to see through complex situations and respond quickly to challenges, while inspiring and supporting their team.

She used examples to illustrate what the profession means in practice. For a student, organising a school dance might be the first experience to demonstrate the skills needed to be a manager. While others are just talking about what needs to be done, the person with managerial skills is already making a list of things to do, taking action and making sure everything runs smoothly. This kind of proactive, problem-solving attitude is essential in this job.

What skills do you need?

A career in management requires a wide range of skills and abilities, of which Ms Hoffmann highlighted several important ones. Innovative thinking, empathy, effective communication and decision-making skills are all essential for a successful manager. She emphasised that these skills can be developed and that one of the main aims of the economics and management programme is to ensure that students master them and apply them with confidence.

Emotional intelligence is particularly important because managers do not just allocate tasks but also work with people whose motivations, problems and feelings need to be taken into account. A good manager is able to put themselves in other people's shoes and find solutions that are best for everyone. This skill is particularly valuable in a multicultural environment where people from different backgrounds need to work together.

Diverse career opportunities

The professor placed particular emphasis on presenting the wide range of career opportunities offered by the Economics and Management degree. She explained that graduates can find employment in a wide range of areas, from project management to human resource management, logistics, operations management or even strategic planning. Throughout the presentation, she gave specific examples of how these roles can contribute to the success of businesses.

What she found particularly exciting was that the skills offered by the Economics and Management degree can be applied not only in the business world, but also in many other areas. The knowledge gained is flexible, which means that students can easily adapt to changes in the labour market and meet the challenges of the future.

The programme not only provides professional skills but also helps in acquiring a new way of thinking.

One of the key messages of the presentation was that economics and management education provides not only professional skills, but also a new way of thinking. Even in the first semester, students acquire basic skills and knowledge that can be put into practice immediately. In addition to learning the principles of management, leadership models and motivational techniques, students take self-awareness tests, solve case studies and practice decision-making through real-life problems.

According to Hoffmann, this programme is beneficial not only in the classroom but in all areas of life. The knowledge gained helps students enter the world of work with more confidence and become professionals who can shape and lead the future.

Photos by Bence Végh