Career Development
Center
  Occidental College
 1600 Campus Road,
Coons 109
 Los Angeles, CA
 90041-3314

 Email: careers@oxy.edu
 Phone: 323.259.2623
 Fax: 323.341.4900

 
Career Guides to Assist in the Job Search

Marketing Your Liberal Arts Degree

As liberal arts graduates enter the job market, your direction may not be as obvious as that of your technically trained counterparts. For the most part, engineering or computer science majors know exactly where to target their efforts.

Liberal arts majors are less fortunate in that regard—such a heading cannot be found in the employment listings.  Yet the fact is that liberal arts majors, if they learn to target their aptitudes, have as good a chance as anyone else to find meaningful work.

Students no longer are necessarily hired just because they have a particular degree. Math and physics majors are getting engineering jobs and liberal arts majors are getting accounting jobs. The reason new graduates are being hired is because they have specific skills that meet the needs of the employer.

No one is more suited to this approach than the liberal arts major. What you need to do is to find out what you really want to do—regardless of your major. Students often ask, "What can I do with a major in philosophy?" But that is the wrong question. The real questions are, "What fascinates me? How can I find a job that matches my abilities, values and interests?  What do I really want to do to make my life meaningful?"

Once you have answered those questions, look at your possibilities. There are many more options than you might think. Do not to get stuck on titles. For instance, if you want to be an autonomous problem-solver, someone with good communication skills, who can do a good job of synthesizing sources (as in writing term papers), forget about the titles and look at the job descriptions. For example, management consultants, career specialists, personnel managers, teachers or trainers within organizations are just a few options.

As a liberal arts major, you have to do much more work in terms of researching different job markets and finding out where there is a demand. Plan on conducting in-depth research on any companies that may appeal to you and try to match their needs with your wants. You must be specific. It is possible to be too general, too open and too flexible. Traditionally, students have said, "I’m wonderfully trainable; I'm a fast learner."  However, employers have fewer opportunities to offer and, therefore, have to be much more careful in selecting one among many. Over the long term, the one chosen will be the one who shows the most direction.

To be successful, you should combine your long-term vision with short-term specificity. Present yourself to your potential employer as someone who both understands the broad goals of the company and has the ability to grow and contribute in the long run. But most importantly, show how you can excel in that specific job. If you’ve taken business courses, had work experiences, or utilized a computer in your liberal arts work, point out those strengths.

Once you have taken the time to determine your real interests and have set some long-term goals, map out a plan—long- and short-term—on how to get there. Resources are plentiful—from the Occupational Outlook Handbook or the O*Net to numerous general job search books, as well as those dealing with specific topics such as What to Do with a Degree in Psychology.

Your liberal arts education has equipped you to take a broad topic and research it. Use those skills to make the connection between what you want and what companies need. Once you find job descriptions that match your long-term interests, set about shaping your resume and, if need be, getting the additional specific skills, training or certification to get that first job.

That first job is not likely to match your long-term goal. But it is the first step. And that, at this point, is the all-important one.