UWM History Grads Talk about Their Careers and Finding Jobs after College
On Tuesday, February 17, four former UMW history majors came back to campus to talk to current students about their career paths and how best to prepare yourself for the job market. Our guests were Nina Besser, who works in the Office of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (Illinois); Mark Bushman, who works at the Department of Agriculture; Will Collins, who works at a legal foundation in DC; and Stephanie Hamlett, who works in the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia in Richmond.
The panelists’ discussion covered many topics ranging from the application of writing skills learned in college to the importance of study abroad. What follows is a summary of major points the panelists and others made. If you would like to ask the panelists more questions, please contact Dr. Blakemore or Dr. Harris, and we’ll forward their contact information to you.
* Why choosing a major you like is important: We’re often told to follow our interests and passions, but sometimes it’s hard to see while sitting in a lecture class or researching your HIST 299 literature review what the connection and payoff will be down the road to steady employment. The panelists, in particular Stephanie, offered a clear answer to this most vexing of questions.
If you choose a major you like, you’re more likely to do well in it and keep your overall GPA high, which are two things that work to your advantage when looking for a job or applying for graduate programs and law school.
You want to show prospective employers and graduate programs that you can excel at what you do. The alternative – whereby you suffer through a major you dislike and end up doing poorly – does not position you well for either a job or postgraduate studies. It may make your parents happy to know you chose a major they wanted for you, but unless they’re planning to employ you, this will not work to your long-term advantage if you do not do well in that major.
* The value of writing skills: Panelists emphasized how important good writing skills are for landing a job and keeping it. When making hiring decisions, some employers actually test candidates by asking them to write a report relevant to the job being sought. Panelists noted how they have drawn upon the writing skills they learned in their history major. Mark explained that he has applied the skills he learned from writing the paper proposal for HIST 299 to proposals and reports at his job.
The panelists explained that condensing material and communicating it clearly in writing are invaluable skills that will set you apart from the competition.
In addition, they also noted that even the time-honored undergraduate tradition of writing papers at the last minute will serve you well in jobs that require reports to be written immediately. As Nina noted, a member of Congress on the Hill may ask you for a three page report in twenty minutes, so knowing how to produce such a paper in a short amount of time is a critical skill.
* Having several jobs before your dream job: The panelists emphasized that career paths today typically take you through several jobs before landing your dream job. They emphasized that this is a good thing. Since you may not know exactly what you want to do with the rest of your life, going through a few jobs in your first years out of college is a great way to learn what you like and don’t like, while gaining valuable experience in the process.
* Clean up that Facebook page! You’ve probably already heard this, but it’s worth repeating, as the panelists did: clean up your Facebook page and other personal information floating out there on social networking websites BEFORE your job interview. Employers do look up this information, sometimes in the middle of an interview.
* Geographic flexibility: The panelists urged everyone to think beyond Northern Virginia and DC when setting out to find a job. In these tough economic times, there are obvious practical reasons for this strategy: the more places you look for work, the more likely you are to find a job. But finding work elsewhere is also about enjoying and enriching your life. If you’ve always really wanted to live in a particular city or country, why not simply move there and make finding a job the second order of business? Now’s the time in your life when you can easily move to a new place, the panelists pointed out, so do it while you can before you settle down.
* Study abroad: The job market today, panelists explained, is a global one and the more you’re connected to, understand, and have experience living in the wider world, the more employable you will be. The panelists urged students to take advantage of study abroad opportunities while in college or soon thereafter. In Nina’s case, for example, she graduated from UMW and went straight to Cambridge University in England where she completed a Masters in international relations.
* Government jobs: For those interested in federal government jobs and non-profits, you’re obviously well situated geographically to land a job in these fields. Will recommended that students check for internship and job ads on www.idealist.org and Mark suggested that you consult the federal government’s main job search engine, www.usajobs.gov. Stephanie suggested a similar website for state jobs in Virginia: http://jobs.virginia.gov.