liberal arts internbridge2b
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Using Experiential Learning to
Help Liberal Arts Students
Determine a Career Path
Lakeisha Mathews, GCDF, CPCC, CPRW
Assistant Director, Career Services, University of MD University College
Liberal Arts Students:
• Often complain about career services…
• Have a passion for their field...
• Choose liberal arts majors as a default or plan B…
• Do not think about career planning or job searching…
• Do not obtain internship opportunities…
• Do not realize or research their options…
• Can be annoying (Advil anyone)…
The Need
2
• To challenge career center professionals to develop programs
for liberal arts majors that aid in career exploration.
• To start a discussion among career development professionals
concerning liberal arts students engagement with experiential
learning for career exploration.
Goal s
3
• Discuss differences in career decision making for liberal arts and
business students.
• Explore how experiential learning opportunities can assist liberal arts
students with selecting a major and career path.
• Discuss how to market career services to liberal arts majors.
Object i ve
4
What is a Liberal Arts Education?
According to the Association of American Colleges and Universities:
“Liberal Education is an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares
them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. It provides students with broad
knowledge of the wider world (e.g. science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study
in a specific area of interest”
L ibe ra l A r t s Educat ion
5
L ibe ra l A r t s I n The News
Boston
University
“…academic major is the biggest factor in determining who gets a job offer before
graduation.” Accounting, business, computer science, engineering, and social sciences
majors led the field in both the number of jobs offered and pay levels”
The Chronicle
of Higher
Education
"It does matter what you major in.“ And the differences are striking: For workers whose
highest degree is a bachelor's, median incomes ranged from $29,000 for counseling-
psychology majors to $120,000 for petroleum-engineering majors. The data also revealed
earnings differences within groups of similar majors. Within the category of business majors,
for instance, business-economics majors had the highest median pay, $75,000.
Daily Finance
(AOL Money
and Finance)
"Sometimes liberal-arts majors struggle a bit more than other majors when launching their
careers, but the evidence shows that they tend to advance farther and be more sought out by
CEOs for high-level jobs,"
More Views About Liberal Arts
"You know what? They need to get education in areas where they can get jobs…I want to spend our dollars giving people science, technology, engineering, math
degrees…Those type of degrees. So when they get out of school, they can get a job.“
--Senator Rick Scott
“The liberal arts help one to think and understand the world; they also foster creative problem solving. Students gain intellectual independence, develop a sense of morality
and ethics and learn the responsibilities of citizenship.”
--Steve Jobs
The Christian Science Monitor:
July 25, 2011
• As David Kearns, the late Xerox chief executive officer once noted, "The only education that prepares us for change is a liberal education.“
• “most college students today aren't buying it…This preoccupation with the short term, unfortunately, is based on an old labor-market model that presumes job specialization is the key to success. This model doesn't work in a modern economy where adaptability is the key.
• New Liberal Arts Model – Every aspect of student’s life integrated
– Acceptance of experiential learning opportunity
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Debunk the Myths
MAJOR ≠ CAREER Different meanings:
Major
Job
Career
LIBERAL ARTS MAJOR ≠ NO JOB
Major Job Career
Business Admin Payroll Clerk HR Analyst
Hotel Mgmt. Front Desk Staff Event Planner
Communication Customer Service Rep. Call Center Director
English Advisor Higher Ed.
Marketing Salesperson Buyer
9
A New F ramework
• It’s our job as career practitioners to take hold of this new philosophy and help bridge
the gap between academia and the world of work.
• A New Framework:
– Technical programs, some business degrees and professional degrees focus on
specialized skills. This make it easy for the companies to come to the students.
– Liberal arts degree have a broad focus requiring a different approach to the
career development process including the job search.
• Instead of waiting for employers to approach them, liberal arts students must
aggressively explore their career options and approach companies.
Aggressive Career Exploration
• Occupations
• Industries
• PATHWAYS
• Minors/dual degrees
• Graduate school options
• Starting salaries
• Entry points
• Job progression
• Organizational targeting
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Pursue Experiential Opportunities
• Job Shadowing
• Internships
- Co-op
- Paid
- Unpaid
• Volunteer
• Leadership
• Informational Interviewing
• Part-time Work
(professional degrees)
13
Develop Programs & Resources
• Liberal arts career guide
• Major declaration/exploration
program
• CDP (Career Development
Plans)
• Career courses
• Networking nights
• Alumni panels
• Passport Program
• Computerized exploration systems
• FOCUS2, Discover, Kuder
• Job fairs esp. for LA
• Assessments
• Strong, MBTI, CareerLeader
• CareerBookstore.com
• St. of NJ Depart. Of Ed site
• Videos
• SCE/Ambassadors
Sample Liberal Arts Career Guides
SCHOOL NAME WEBSITE (LIBERAL ARTS GUIDE LINK)
Miami University http://www.units.muohio.edu/careers/cds/liberalarts.pdf
Loyola University MD http://www.loyola.edu/thecareercenter/documents/LiberalArtsGuide.pdf
St. Mary’s College of MD http://www.smcm.edu/careercenter/PDF/jobsearchstep.pdf
Muhlenburg College http://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/aboutus/careercenter/students/job/jsg/
Case Study: Career Programs for LA
I Declare
• Major exploration program built around university philosophy • Collaboration with Academic Advising and academic departments • Target freshman (some sophomores) • Self-directed
Job Shadowing
• Experiential learning program • 1-day (or half) shadowing experience (longer if possible) • Work with alumni and employer contacts • Career Coaching • Follow-up session: confirmation of major
Career Week
• Several job fairs in one week broken up by majors or interest areas like Liberal Arts • Allow employers to select which days they attend • Provide workshops each day relevant to the majors present
LA: Competitive Advantage
• Minor (build expertise in another
area i.e. CS, FI, AC, etc.)
• Consider certification options
• Learn another language
• Gain computer expertise
• Obtain relevant part-time jobs
• Join a professional association as a
student
• Develop a job search campaign
• Consider commission based
positions
• Consider companies with strong
training programs
• Consider large companies with
leadership development programs
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3 Essentials for LA
• Learn persistence (Guerilla Marketing by Jay Levinson & David Perry)
• Learn to market skills
– Confidence in degree
– 3 Strengths/3 weaknesses
– Not just interest testing (personality, values, skills)
• Learn to network
– How to reach out
– How to maintain relationships 18
Don’t Forget About…
• Professional degrees…limited internship opportunities
• Business degrees…still need to explore
• Graduate students…may still need guidance
• Adult leaners…if possible may need to consider experiential
learning
19
Professional Degrees
• Professional Degrees
- Future doctors, lawyers, dentists,
speech pathologists, et.
- Psychology, counseling
• Challenges
• Limited internships
• May have limited paid opportunities
• Confidentiality
• Strategies:
– Should consider shadowing
and/or informational interviewing
seriously depending on
occupation
– Always have a PLAN B
– Look into graduate admission
Sophomore year
Business Degrees
• Business degrees
- Still need to explore by
- Industry
- Company
- Occupation
• Strategies
– Choose a minor
– Take a career assessment
(Career Leader)
• Determine Interests
• Determine Values
– Set goals
– Choose a path and determine
key steps/roles
Graduate Students & Adult Learners
• Graduate students…may still
need guidance
- May not have a career in mind
- Racked up debt and may need
a certain financial level
- May be a career changer
- May not have real “work”
experience
• Strategies
- Assessments
• MBTI Career Report
- Relevant experience
• Internship
• Volunteer
• Part-time job
Coaching Techniques
• Manage expectations
• Explain the PROCESS of career
development
• Make exploration appealing and
easy
• Break up steps into manageable
pieces
• Determine appropriateness
(maturity level, self-awareness)
• Eliminate unnecessary activities
• Individualize
• ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS
provide next steps or homework
• Don’t take on their burden
• Let them be open to multiple
options (Happenstance)
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Theory: Happenstance, Life-Span
Happenstance: John Krumboltz
• The role chance plays in our career planning
• Viewing indecision as “open-mindedness” and not a problem
Life-Span Theory: Donald Super
• We all have differing interests, abilities and values
• We may be qualified for MORE than one occupation
• A variety of occupations are available to everyone
Gysbers, N., Heppner, M. and Johnston, J. (2009). Career Counseling: Contexts, Processes, and Techniques, 3rd Ed. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association
Tools for Counseling LA
• Values auction
• Elevator pitch outline
• Visualize yourself
• Create a Collage
• Plus/Minus chart
• “Why Not” game
• Rank (Using a career report like Strong)
• Cards Sorts (Knowdell Card Sort)
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Important Books to Read
How to Get Any Job with Any Major by Donald Asher
Discovering Your Career in Business By Timothy Butler & James Waldroop
Smart Moves for Liberal Arts Grads: Finding a Path to Your Perfect Career by Sheila Curran
Why, then, does this false dichotomy between the liberal arts and careerism
endure, and who is perpetuating it…The future of liberal education demands
that we reinvent and re-imagine it, especially for those unfamiliar with it.
-Robert Eisinger, Dean
- School of Liberal Arts at SCAD
27
Food for Thought
Contact Me
Lakeisha Moore Mathews, CPCC, CPRW, GCDF
Assistant Director, Career Services
University of Maryland University College
LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lakeishamathews
240.684.2714
President, Maryland Career Development Association (2011 – 2012)
References
• Association of American Colleges and Universities: http://www.aacu.org/leap/what_is_liberal_education.cfm
• http://chronicle.com/article/Whats-a-Degree-Worth-Report/127612/
• The Christian Science Monitor, July 25, 2011 Monday, Liberate liberal arts from the myth of irrelevance
• http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/10/28/4-tips-for-making-the-most-of-liberal-arts-degrees?PageNr=2
• http://www2.timesdispatch.com/business/2011/dec/19/tdmbiz10-economic-impact-is-a-college-degree-worth-ar-1553262/
• http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/04/04/what-good-is-a-liberal-arts-degree-in-the-job-market/
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-eisinger/advancing-the-liberal-arts_b_1154318.html
• http://charlesdthornton.com/florida/35-capitol/615-rick-scott-to-liberal-arts-majors-drop-dead
• http://www.fortwayne.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/SE/20111024/NEWS/111029772
• http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/03/01/gates_tells_governors_they_might_determine_public_university_program_funding_based_on
_job_creation