Show your skills: What to do with a liberal arts degree
Natalie Olivo
Issue date: 1/26/10 Section: Up Hill, Down Hill
As Denison students, we've all had to justify pursuing a liberal arts degree at one point or another during our undergraduate careers. Senior economics and history double major, Brian Cox, found himself having to do so during an interview for an internship last spring.
Cox explained to an interviewer that his "liberal arts education had helped [him] learn how to think rather than what to think." The interviewer eventually agreed with Cox's reasoning and said that in a quickly-evolving business world, flexibility would ultimately serve Cox very well.
With just one semester before graduation, seniors like Cox are preparing for life after Denison. Learning how to make a liberal arts degree attractive to potential employers in today's competitive job market is an important part of that preparation.
Explaining to job interviewers how your time spent majoring in history or English applies to a specific job may seem like a hopeless task.
However, Ryan Brechbill, associate director of career services, knows that demonstrating the relevance of a liberal arts degree, regardless of your major, is not impossible, and that students do not need to be trained for a specific profession to be successful after graduation.
In a seminar hosted by career services, called "Articulating and Applying your Liberal Arts Education," Brechbill discussed the skills that a liberal arts education develops within students. This variety of skills includes, first and foremost, an aptitude for learning, thinking and problem solving. "These problem solving skills will apply to any job you seek. They show that you will be able to challenge the status-quo," Brechbill said.
Students need to know how to communicate these skills and their relevance to potential employers. Therefore, the seminar discussed methods that students can use to demonstrate to graduate schools and potential employers the skills they have developed through a liberal arts education.
Cox explained to an interviewer that his "liberal arts education had helped [him] learn how to think rather than what to think." The interviewer eventually agreed with Cox's reasoning and said that in a quickly-evolving business world, flexibility would ultimately serve Cox very well.
With just one semester before graduation, seniors like Cox are preparing for life after Denison. Learning how to make a liberal arts degree attractive to potential employers in today's competitive job market is an important part of that preparation.
Explaining to job interviewers how your time spent majoring in history or English applies to a specific job may seem like a hopeless task.
However, Ryan Brechbill, associate director of career services, knows that demonstrating the relevance of a liberal arts degree, regardless of your major, is not impossible, and that students do not need to be trained for a specific profession to be successful after graduation.
In a seminar hosted by career services, called "Articulating and Applying your Liberal Arts Education," Brechbill discussed the skills that a liberal arts education develops within students. This variety of skills includes, first and foremost, an aptitude for learning, thinking and problem solving. "These problem solving skills will apply to any job you seek. They show that you will be able to challenge the status-quo," Brechbill said.
Students need to know how to communicate these skills and their relevance to potential employers. Therefore, the seminar discussed methods that students can use to demonstrate to graduate schools and potential employers the skills they have developed through a liberal arts education.
Be the first to comment on this story