5 May 2015

Alternative Careers for the English PhD

Kate Juhl

Notes from Talk

The career decision process is a cycle:

  1. Assess yourself (skills, values, and interests)
  2. Explore career options (internship, part-time job, volunteer)
  3. Gain experience
  4. Consider additional schooling
  5. Job search

You may find yourself starting over as you work through the process and learn more about yourself and your options.

Transferable Skills with an English PhD:

  • Influencing and persuading
  • Clarifying ideas
  • Problem-solving
  • Comparing interpretations
  • Thinking independently
  • Writing at all levels (from abstracts to manuscripts)
  • Creative writing
  • Presenting alternative viewpoints
  • Public speaking
  • Organization
  • Developing hypotheses
  • Summarizing ideas
  • Revising and editing

Applications of / settings for transferrable skills:

  • Government
  • Political
  • Non-Profit/Associations
  • Private/Corporate Sector
  • Legal
  • Military (Civilian)
  • International
  • Non-Government Organizations

*Keep in mind there are different strategies for different sectors

- For example, a resume for the corporate sector is 1-2 pages, but is more like a CV for the government sector

Resources for English degrees:

-whatcanidowiththismajor.com/major/English

-LinkedIn’s Alumni Sorting Tool

  • Connections > Find Alumni
  • Search “English” under “What they studied”
  • Study the skill list
  • See group connections

-Evisors: umd.evisors.com

  • UMD Alumni Advisor Network—alumni who have specifically signed up to give career advice
  • Free while enrolled at UMD
  • After graduation, must be a member of the Alumni Association to access

Keep in mind that most jobs are obtained through informational interviewing and networking

Personal Branding:

-What is your unique selling point?

-Go beyond the resume to social media

-Possible ideas:

  • Start a blog (put blog on resume)
  • Contribute guest articles to influential blogs
  • Join and contribute to LinkedIn groups
  • Create an email signature
  • Attend relevant conferences/meetings/networking events, etc.
  • Look for public speaking opportunities related to your interests
  • Take classes outside of English
  • Volunteer, intern, or find part-time jobs related to your interests

Career assistance available at UMD:

-Careers4Terps (careers.umd.edu; 1118 Francis Scott Key)

  • Virtual mock interviewing
  • Job postings (high success rate for a job board; search by skill)
  • Employer directory (employers who have had connections with UMD; many include recruiting contacts)