To graduate on time, you probably needed to declare your major by
your first year. But by the time graduation rolls around, it wouldn’t be
surprising if your career ambitions have shifted to something outside of
your major. Perhaps an internship didn’t turn out how you expected, or certain
courses dampened your passion for the occupation you thought you wanted to
pursue. So, now you’re in a tough spot, where your degree doesn’t quite line up with what it is you
want to do.
want to do.
The upshot? There’s no need to panic. "It’s natural for
college students to change their career direction," says Donald Asher,
author of How to Get Any Job with Any Major.
Furthermore, employers aren’t as hung up on your major as you might think.
"Once you step off campus, hiring managers care a lot less about what your
major was," says Asher. "They care more about the fact that you have
a college degree."
After you’ve secured a
diploma, it’s time to convince a potential employer to hire you, regardless of
what your degree is in. These five steps can help you start off on the right
foot.
You know what you don’t want to
do, but before diving into your job search, you need to determine what it is
you do want to do. Your best play is to identify what
industries are hiring and what skills are in demand, says Anne Brown, co-author
of Grad to Great: Discover the Secrets
to Success in Your First Career. Refer to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, which publishes job
descriptions, salary information, and hiring forecasts for more than 300
occupations.
Once you’ve narrowed your search to one field, assess whether you
meet the basic requirements to get hired in that
industry. If you’re looking to break into a specialized industry (e.g.,
nursing), you might have to take more college courses before you can start applying
for jobs. Fortunately, "for nine out of 10 of occupations, you don’t need
additional coursework or training," says Stephanie Waite, senior associate
director at Yale’s Office of Career Strategy.
Want to work in a niche industry that demands specialized skills?
You might need internship experience first, especially since most companies
intend to convert their interns into full-time employees, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ 2016 Internship &
Co-op Survey.
If you don’t want to commit to a full-length internship, you could
shadow an employee for a week, says Asher. According to Waite, a growing number
of Yale students are using short-term shadowing experiences to get a taste for
what jobs are like. Shadowing can also be a great networking opportunity.
BUILD YOUR NETWORK
Although you don’t have a degree in the field you’re pursuing, you
don’t have to build a network from scratch. Tap your school’s alumni database
and go on informational interviews to learn more about the industry. Asher
recommends reaching out to employees with five years of experience. "You
don’t want to contact a vice president who hasn’t looked for a job in 10 years,
and you don’t want an entry-level employee who doesn’t know the ins and outs of
the industry yet," he says.
If you’re
looking at jobs in other cities, don’t hesitate to do informational interviews
by Skype or phone, says Asher. Joining professional associations and attending
industry events can also help build your network.
LEVERAGE YOUR TRANSFERRABLE
SKILLS
Okay, so you majored in a different subject than your desired
field. You likely still took a handful of general liberal arts courses—and
those classes equipped you with some universal skills like
writing, problem solving, verbal communication, and organization, says Kelly
Kennedy, a career counselor at the University of Virginia. And if you took a
leadership role on a class project, you may even have some project management
skills in your back pocket. These transferable skills make you pretty
marketable to employers.
Brown recommends seeing what skills are mentioned in job postings
and then tailoring your cover letter accordingly
to each position.
HONE YOUR INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE
To show employers you’re worth hiring, you need to prove that
you’re knowledgeable about what’s going on in the field. And while that’s a
good idea for every job seeker, says Kennedy, it’s especially crucial if you
don’t have relevant education or internship experience. Stay current by subscribing to company
newsletters, reading industry media outlets, and following prospective
employers on social media.
info curled from fastcompany.com and monster.com
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