How to Market your Liberal Arts Degree

By: Caitlin Charles

The Liberal Arts Degree can sometimes be thought of as less valuable than other degrees for their lack of focus on a particular skill or trade.  It is also difficult for students graduating with a diploma in a Liberal Arts area of study to translate their major into an actual job.  This does not mean however that Liberal Arts graduates can not market their degrees to land that dream job. Motivated by 10 Ways to Market Your Liberal Arts Degree by Katherine Hansen Ph.D., I would like to highlight a few main points for making the most out of your degree.

Step 1: Find Your Focus.  Liberal Arts students graduate with a wide range of skills across many subjects.  Use this to your advantage.  You have the ability to hone in on the areas that are of interest to you, and really market them.  If you enjoy technology and computers for example, this is a great asset to your degree, so don't be afraid to let employers know what all you can offer and how you can apply your range of skills to benefit their company.

Step 2: Cover Letters and Portfolios.  While your resume may not show that you have mastered the ultimate financial strategy, use your cover letter and portfolio to show companies how you have actualized your talents and efforts into results.  It is not always as easy for employers to make the connection between past job experiences in Liberal Arts fields and the skills you acquired from them, so you need to make that connection for them.

Step 3: Know your Strengths.  Liberal Arts students certainly have a lot to offer.  Know what you do offer and what you don't.  Find those areas that are not as strong for you as perhaps a non-Liberal Arts major and work on them.  If you know that your management skills are lacking, take the opportunity to work on them in your next group project.  Once you start improving upon those areas that may not have been focused on as much with your Liberal Arts studies, you can prove to your interviewer that your degree will stand up to any other.

There are many things Liberal Arts students can do to market their skills to future employers.  Students should be proud of their degrees and not afraid to prove that their Liberal Arts skills are right for the job.