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DTH Nancy London
Peggy McAllister works with student in her Hanes Hall office
What's the best major to select
if you want to go into banking?
How about management? The
computer industry? If your answer
is business or computer science,
then you may be living with a 1970s
mentality about preparing for
your future.
"Back in the 1960s, all it took
was a bachelor's degree in almost
any field to land a good profes
sional job," said Peggy McAllister,
a career planning counselor with
University Career Planning and
Placement which advises fresh
men, sophomores and juniors on
the best ways to prepare for
various career fields.
. "The '60s student could take a
very passive approach to prepar
ing for his or her future. Then in
the 1970s, the job market got
tighter, and specialization greatly
increased. Students were encour
aged to pick the right' major for
their intended career. We had
business majors going into busi
ness jobs, science majors going
into scientific fields, education
majors going into teaching , and
liberal arts majors going wherever
they could find a job many of
whom ended up in graduate
school. The majority of the 1960s
and 1970s students took a very
Psst! Want a job? Here's some tips
Getting a job often seems like a job in itself,
especially in difficult economic times.. But there are
jobs out there, and students who are willing to
commit themselves to the time and effort required
in the process are finding satisfying entry-level
professional jobs.
There are some tips that experts advise job seekers
to use when searching for those elusive employment
opportunities:
Think positively. A mind-set in which you as
a job candidate determine to analyze the accomp
lishments that demonstrate successful coping With
life is the first step towards effective articulation
of goals and personal abilities to a potential
employer. You know best what personal qualities
and skills can be used to open up new opportunities,
and if you do not promote those abilities and
qualities, no one else will do it for you. Look at
all your experiences not just those that came
through paid employment. Your real strengths may
have been revealed far more clearly in extracur
ricular activities, community involvement or
academic performance.
Target your efforts. Begin by deciding that you
will concentrate your attention upon a particular
geographical area or a certain field of employment.
Such focus provides a more manageable search and
increases the likelihood of making more relevant
personal contacts and being able to articulate your
possible contributions to a specific situation.
Use every source of job information possible.
In order to keep the flow of information abvout
job openings as broad as possible, use classified
advertizements in newspapers and professional
journals, job-related information offered by family,
friends and acquaintances, state and federal
government agencies, placement offices, and
perhaps employment agencies as sources of vacancy
leads. In addition, do not be afraid to extend yourself
to initiate contact with individuals whom you may
not know, but who would be willing to talk with
you about career opportunities in a particular field
or a specific organization and about the most
effective way to land those jobs.
Assume that a job might be available anywhere.
A vast "hidden market" of jobs exists that is never
made public. That market can be tapped to some
extent by using the contacts you have made and
by direct approaches to employing organizations
to persuade them of your interest and your
motivation. Broaden your horizons, too, to include
types of organizations that in better economic times
you might overlook because they seem to be too
small or too local to satisfy you. Challenging
positions can be found in all organizations, and
experience in a smaller organization does not rule
out the possibility of association with a more
nationally-known organization in the future.
Statistics point to the fact that 65 to 75 percent
of new hirings each year are created by firms with
25 or fewer employees.
Tailor your resume and interview to a particular
situation. Research the general functional area for
which you are applying for employment and study
job descriptions in that field carefully to determine
what personal qualities and actual skills will be
useful there. Describe your own experience in the
language of the field, and analyze your total life
experience to indicate where you have exhibited
those qualities and skills yourself. Specific examples
drawn from your work, schooling, or extracurric
ular experiences will make you more memorable
to a potential employer than vague generalizations
about your character and your abilities like "I'm
a good worker."
Know your career goals, your strengths and your
weaknesses. Employers like to hire individuals who
display the ability to make careful, thoughtful
decisions, and usually the thought-processes which
brought you to college and led to your decision
to seek work in a particular field is a clear
demonstration of your rational decision-making
ability. A process of self-analysis, also, reveals an
attitude of personal self-worth and willingness to
learn from experience. Dont apologize for instances
where success was not complete, but indicate
See TIPS on page 4
passive approach to preparing for
their futures. Most waited until
their senior year to begin thinking
about a career, hoping that the
'right majors' would open the right
doors upon graduation.
Unfortunately for many people,
senior year and the years following
presented a succession of frustrat
ing experiences."
Often, students are not encour
aged to talk with anyone about
how to prepare for their future.
"I had a passive attitude toward
my education," said Rick Palmer,
director of instructional develop
ment at UNC's Media Center.
"Now I believe hat if you don't
make an active choice in that area,
then circumstances are going to
drag you around."
McAllister blames several lost
years after graduation on a lack
of career planning during her
college years.
"I knew I wanted to help people,
so I chose psychology as a major.
Beyond that, I never tested out my
career fantasies. It never occurred
to me to learn about the different
types of helping professions
beyond a superficial understand
ing. The real jolt came during my
first semester in graduate school
when my career fantasies
crumbled as they met up with
reality. It took me three years of
trial and error with various jobs
and other experiences before I was
able to define a clear career path
for myself."
The 1980s student needs to
change his or her concept about
preparing for careers, she said:
It always seems such a shame
when I encounter a student who's
decided to major in business or
computer science when Shakes
peare and Thoreau are their first
loves. Such students really need to
hear that there are many ways to
become marketable while studying
a subject they enjoy. All it takes
is early planning, and knowledge
of effective career planning
techniques."
Many students are still under
the impression that the best way
to prepare for a career is to pick
the "right major." While this is true
for some very technical careers, for
accounting careers, and a few
others, most entry-level positions
require skills that can be developed
in any number of ways. An aca
demic major represents only one
of several options students can
choose from in planning for a
See PLANNING on page 4
Degrees in liberal arts
can make jobs with help
"A liberal education teaches
you how to operate a very
special piece of machinery: your
mind," states the Association of
American Colleges. "It teaches
you judgement, historical pers
pective, the ability to "reason,
and the art of communication
. . . four skills that are more
necessary than ever to meet the
challenge of the future."
Despite this, however, many
students are advised by parents
or peers to avoid studies in the
liberal arts because they are
often thought to be impractical
when the time comes to put a
college education to work in the
job market.
But today, liberal arts majors
who have done some early
career planning at UNC are
finding some very good
positions.
"Recent UNC liberal arts
grads have taken positions in
marketing management, bank
ing, manufacturing manage
ment, computer sales, corporate
communications, and more,"
said Vicki Lotz, liberal arts
placement counselor at Univer
sity Career Planning and Place
ment. "Companies who have
hired UNC liberal arts grads
have included Wachovia, Duke
Power, American Hospital
Supply, the Federal Reserve
Bank and General Electric,
among others."
Many employers are now
finding that attracting liberal
arts majors is in their own best
interest. Recent studies by firms
like AT&T and Chase Manhat
tan Bank show that liberal arts
majors are promoted more
rapidly than technical majors,
and that those with undergrad
uate degrees in liberal arts
develop stronger banking skills
than those with graduate or
MBA degrees. Many firms are
now beginning to join the ranks
of General Motors, American
Can and Morgan Stanley, who
have established programs espe
cially to recruit and train liberal
arts grads.
Despite the growing trend by
many firms to encourage the
hiring of liberal arts grads, not
all companies are eager to hire
them. Some of the more stand
ard reasons companies give for
not hiring liberal arts grads
include:
A lack of exposure to basic
business procedures espe
cially in financial and account
ing areas.
Lack of career direction.
Failure to communicate
skills and strengths that would
relate to positions.
Lack of technical skills.
Failure to research career in
enough depth.
Lack of career-related
experience.
Such obstacles can be over
come, however, by liberal arts
students who plan wisely for
their futures. Proper commun
ication skills will also help to
overcome these obstacles.