How to Make Your Liberal Arts Degree Marketable
Let’s be honest – liberal arts majors have gotten a bad rap over the years. You may have loved what you studied in college, but as you watch your friends with STEM majors land jobs with eye-popping paychecks, it’s natural to question your choice of the humanities over a technical major. Before you throw yourself a pity party, remember this: Liberal arts majors land great jobs every day. Use these tips to successfully market your liberal arts degree in Boston.
Know Your Focus
It’s not just skills that land your STEM counterparts jobs so quickly. It’s the fact they ran a focused job search. Someone who majored in business intelligence, for example, is only looking for jobs in that field. Liberal arts majors tend to run unfocused searches, applying for various job titles across different industries in the hopes of landing something, which leads to frustration.
It’s up to you to sit down and determine where you want to take your career. You wouldn’t set out on a road trip without an endpoint in mind and a good look at your GPS map. The same is true for your career. Once you know where you’re going, it’s much easier to map out a route to get there.
Sell Your Skills
Many employers actively recruit liberal arts majors because they are uniquely suited for today’s collaborative and diverse corporate world. Every day in school, you discussed and debated new ideas with your peers. You were required to draw from a variety of sources to craft research papers and you had to draw logical conclusions based on diverse data and evidence.
These skills are extremely important to companies today. One of the biggest complaints of managers is their teams lack critical problem-solving skills. You spent four years perfecting those skills, and it is important to showcase them in your cover letter, resume and during interviews.
Leverage Real-World Experience
Part-time jobs, volunteer experience, club leadership experience and internships armed you with valuable skills. Don’t shy away from listing these skills and experiences on your resume. Bullet out the skills you learned and list out any achievements to paint a clear picture of the value you would bring to an employer.
Work With a Recruiter
A professional recruiter that specializes in helping liberal arts majors start their careers will be an invaluable tool in your job search. Contemporaries, Inc. in Boston does just that. We help connect recent graduates with unique opportunities to get their careers off the ground. Our recruiters have strong relationships with the top employers in the Boston area; these relationships help us secure employment for candidates. In addition, our team can help you map out a strategy, polish your resume and prepare for interviews so you always shine. Test out different types of employers and work environments and determine where you want to go with temporary-to-hire opportunities with Contemporaries Inc. Contact us today to get started.
Recent Posts
How To Keep Going In Your Workplace
A key component of persevering is remaining motivated. So, today we’re looking at ways to do just that within any workplace! And having the right mindset is essential to building up your motivation. Mentally persevering entails finding opportunities within any...
Monday Mood Booster: Persevere
Welcome back! We know that after having time off last week, entering into this week might feel like a huge challenge. Which is why we’re encouraging you to persevere! Set the tone for the rest of your work week by getting off to a strong start. Remember that you’re...
Wednesday Wellness: Gratitude
Happy Hump Day! As the end of the week draws nearer, this is a great time to reflect on the opportunities that have come your way. And to practice gratitude for even the little things, as the way to reach your goals is one step at a time. Each small opportunity you...
How to Best Express Professional Gratitude
So, you’ve realized that you have a lot to be grateful for within your professional environment. Now what? If you’re looking for ways to express your appreciation--and to do it most effectively--you’ll want to make sure to not only read but internalize today’s tips...
Monday Mood Booster: Gratitude
Welcome back! We hope you had a wonderful weekend. This week, we’re focusing on gratitude. We know that this year has brought with it ample difficulties--and so it might feel really difficult to find things for which to be grateful amidst these present, unprecedented...
Feel Good Friday: Clarity
Happy Friday! As the week draws to a close, know that you’ve managed to navigate all of the twists and turns that life has thrown your way--and find strength in that knowledge. Know, too, that the weekend will offer up plenty of time to access even more mental clarity...
Finding Clarity In Any Professional Setting
Today we’re examining both digital and physical ways to help you gain mental clarity. Whether you’re working remotely or in person, we know that technology can often come into play throughout your work day. And we also know it can be very easy to stray from your...
Wednesday Wellness: Clarity
Happy Hump Day! And welcome to the week’s midpoint. This is a perfect time to take stock of both how far you’ve come this week and how far you’d like to reach towards your goals by the week’s end. To help you dive into that exploration, make sure you’re also taking a...
Finding Mental Clarity At Work
We know it’s easy to get swept up in the latest news cycle or distracted by social media. And as understandable as those tendencies are amidst our current, unprecedented circumstances, unfortunately employers are far more likely to view your scrolling as a detriment,...
Monday Mood Booster: Clarity
Welcome back! Amidst our turbulent times, it can be easy to get distracted and overwhelmed. You very likely (and understandably) have a lot of thoughts running through your mind right now. This week’s focus will help you pare those thoughts down, allowing you to find...
Feel Good Friday: Readjust
Happy Friday! Congratulations--you’ve made it through what we know was a weird week for many of you as you readjusted to professional environments with a bit less uncertainty. We know, too, that even that sort of change is still a change, and that it may feel...
Actively Adjusting Your Workplace Performance
Amidst our current, turbulent circumstances, it’s important to remember that not every change that comes your way is outside of your control. You can create change, too! Make sure that you’re not only reacting and readjusting to situations that you encounter. Instead,...
Wednesday Wellness: Readjust
Welcome to the week’s midpoint! You’ve made it through the first half of this week, readjusting to your work routines and adjusting as necessary to any new changes that your professional environment has thrown your way. Congratulations! But we know that the week isn’t...
How To Adjust To A New Workplace
Continuing our theme this week of adapting to change within your professional environment and beyond, today’s focus will be on concrete ways to adjust and readjust as needed. Making on-the-fly changes is a skill that is especially appreciated in situations where you...