Entering the job market with a humanities or arts degree Anne Krook @akrook, www.annekrook.com Wichita State University, Wichita, KS March 28, 2019
Agenda You: How to think about looking for a job (4) Hiring managers: What employers look for (6) You: Talking to hiring managers (3) Optimism Public engagement
Today We have an hour, which includes time for questions: don t be shy You may tweet or post during the session I will send a PDF of the slides for posting
How to think about looking for a job Where to start Learning about yourself Learning about jobs Before you find an interesting job
How to think about looking for a job Do not start by asking what jobs should I apply for? The list of jobs in the world is effectively infinite You don t know which ones you might want Without a personal stake in a job, you are a less effective applicant You need a way to narrow the universe of jobs to ones you want Start by asking what problems do I want to help solve? Make a list of ten problems that interest you Think big ( Get plastics out of the ocean ) Stack-rank them, most interesting to you first Start learning what jobs help solve those problems
Learning about yourself Ask yourself How you like to solve problems (research? talking to people? experimentation?)? How do you learn (from other people? In a class? Solo, from teaching materials?)? What kind of work group you like (lots of people? smaller groups? solo work?)? What kind of work environment do you like (crowded? quiet? open-plan?)?
Learning about jobs Talk to a lot of people who have jobs, and ask them how they found it Talk to a lot of people who have jobs, and ask them What surprised them about their job once they got it What problems they solve on the job What they wish they had known about the job before they got it What they wished they had known how to do before they got it What s the most challenging thing they do at their job
Before you find an interesting job Get any job It is easy to explain why you are working at a short-term job You may find the short-term job has opportunities for advancement
Hiring managers What I expect of everyone I hire What I expect of college graduates Why I value majoring in a subject Why I value humanities and arts What I need when I hire someone What I don t do when I hire someone
What I expect of everyone I hire Honesty Reliability Best efforts in the workplace Good treatment of all co-workers Excellent treatment of all customers Willingness to learn more about their jobs Willingness to learn more about the business
What I expect of college graduates Experience with a lot of different people (studying, working, socializing) Understanding human differences Empathy for human differences Ability to work independently More advanced problem-solving skills than those without university training usually have College provides you with concentrated experience of difference, people and knowledge, while you are (relatively) independent
Why I value majoring in a subject Advanced work teaches people how to recognize when they don t know enough about a subject: you will be taking on work that you don t yet know enough about your entire professional careers Advanced work teaches people how to learn more about a subject: employees will be learning about what they do not yet know their entire professional careers
Why I value humanities and arts The humanities and the arts examine the products of the human mind across cultures and time You will encounter and assess differences between historical times, cultures, and groups of people You will develop empathy for experiences, cultures, and peoples other than your own Humanities and arts training is a net business benefit to any employee who deals with customers, colleagues, or problems that change over time
What I need when I hire someone people with evidence of showing up, working hard, and being persistent people with skills people who can show me how what they can do is relevant to what I need, either to do current work or to take on new kinds of work people who are willing and able to learn new things People who can work with other people
What I don t do when I hire someone I have never hired a degree of any kind, ever I have never hired a major of any kind, ever
You, talking to hiring managers College vs. workplaces Describing your skills to a hiring manager Template exercise Don t have the currently talked-about skills?
College vs. workplaces College values achievement as represented by papers, exams, projects, and grades Workplaces value achievement as represented by customers, products, services, budgets, projects, and schedules Most of what you accomplish in college is done on your own Most of what you accomplish in workplaces depends on other people as well as on you You must describe your skills in terms that make sense to workplace hiring managers Your message to a hiring manager: My skills can help solve your challenges
Describing your skills to a hiring manager 1. Evaluate all your college and work experiences Every educational effort, particularly group efforts Every paid and volunteer job Every role at a club or interest group or living space 2. Pick a few key experiences (3-5) Describe what you were responsible for Describe what resulted from what you were responsible for 3. In your résumé and cover letter, link the results of your skills to your employer s stated need: My skills can help solve your challenges; here s proof
Template exercise It should help you remember what you did, which is more than you think It should help you identify people who can provide your references It should help you identify achievements you want to describe to hiring managers It should help you create a dataset of experiences from which to write a résumé
Don t have the currently talked-about skills? You can get them outside formal educational settings: the ability to learn skills in many settings is a key aspect of a good employee You can learn them on the job The currently talked-about skills (e.g. 2019: coding) will change over time
Optimism Once you start working, your work history is immediately more relevant than your major, GPA, college awards, or degree for every future job Some jobs are going away, but new ones are being created every day You will change jobs more often than your parents generation did Some jobs you will hold may not exist now Some organizations you work for may not exist now The gig economy means that piecing together a living out of different jobs is more possible and more common
Public engagement You must use your education for the public good You must vote You must register to vote wherever your live You must vote in every election, forever You must nag your friends to register and vote and take them to the polls (VoteWithMe app) Consider running for a local office Figure out how running for office works (Amanda Littman, Run For Something) Consider working on a local campaign
Copyright Anne Krook, 2018-2019