The College of Arts & Sciences Career and Networking Week kicks off Monday, January 30, with a session on Maximizing Your Arts & Sciences Degree.
Dr. Robert Frank, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and Imants Jaunarajs, Assistant Dean of Students for the Career and Leadership Development Center, present on the usefulness of an Arts & Sciences degree. The presentation opens with each person in the room sharing something about themselves; usually name and major. Although the presentation is geared more to undergrads, the message also rings true to grad students and beyond.
Dr. Frank talks about the skills employers want as well as what a liberal arts education provides:
- Written and oral communication
- Quantitative information literacy
- Critical thinking: such as problem solving and decision making
- Teamwork
- Breadth of knowledge
- Intellectual competence
- Civic engagement
- Ethical reasoning
The message that resonates most with me, being an undergrad in the college, is to think about networking relationships long term and to be strategic with your time spent enrolled. All to often students fail to utilize the many tools and resources at their disposal.
Some resources that often go unknown or unused are the vast workings of the CLDC (Career and Leadership Development Center). These resources include, but are not limited to, mock interviews, career coaching, certificates, resume help, and walk-in visits.
The Bobcat Career Link is a resource in which current students and alumni can connect on opportunities such as salary positions, internships, part-time jobs, and much more. It is an amazing networking tool that I find more and more valuable as my time at Ohio University grows.
Your career “pathway is not linear”, meaning that you do not necessarily stay on a straight line after college to retirement. This lesson is important, especially for liberal arts students to remember since more often than before people end up in a career field unrelated to their majors.
A great way to deal with such unpredictability in the job market is to take your skills and apply them to future positions. Dr. Frank presents this model for such thought:
- Catalogue – your experiences and skills
- Translate – them into job related terms
- Practice – talking about what you know and can succeed at
- Pursue – opportunities to expand your professional network whenever possible
The College of Arts & Sciences Career and Networking week continues today, Thursday, February 2, and tomorrow, Friday, February 3, with career panels.
Please visit the College of Arts & Sciences Career and Networking Week page for the agenda of remaining events.
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