Why arts and humanities degrees are valuable for your career: you have a treasure trove of skills

You have a treasure trove of skills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Communication skills? Excellent command of written English? Innovative problem solver? Research and analysis? Organisation and self-motivation? Creativity? If you took or are taking an arts and humanities degree, then some or all of these must apply to you. These are the ‘transferable skills’ that your degree has given you.

‘Transferable skills’ is a buzz-phrase that you won’t emerge from your degree without hearing to the point of being sick of it. But happily, it is a genuinely useful way of marketing yourself to a potential employer. When you graduate, most employers won’t expect you to have huge amounts of specific industry expertise, but they will certainly be on the lookout for soft skills.

In a 2014 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, over 70% of employers surveyed rated leadership, team-work, written communication, and problem-solving as the qualities they look for first in a graduate job-seeker. These are skills that arts grads generally rate highly in.

Just remember, writing a list of skills and sending it off won’t impress an employer – you need to provide examples from your experience that prove you’ve got the goods.

“Why arts and humanities degrees are valuable for your career” is a guest blog series written by Claire Kilroy.  Claire works as a content writer for leading graduate recruitment agency Inspiring Interns. If you’re looking to get a start in your career, take a look at their graduate jobs London vacancies, or for more graduate careers advice, head over to their blog.