How to Market your Communications Degree to Employers

The BIGGEST MISTAKE you can make with a Communications degree is branding yourself as a “jack of all trades.” This is a common approach because Communication Studies is one the most interdisciplinary degrees a person can acquire at a university. Instead, market your degree within the framework of your brand and align it with the company’s values and the job description.

Communication Studies has often been described as preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet. Use this! This is your golden ticket. You are entering the workforce with unique but transferable skills. You might also want to create a portfolio of work you have completed during university. 

Communication Studies analyzes the performance and practice of human communication.

Instead of This…
Say This…
Why?
I am able to effectively communicate to a wide range of customers.
I am able to streamline complex industry jargon to appeal to a wide range of customers.
Any articulate person can communicate effectively.
I have strong written and oral communication skills.
I can speak confidently to communications planning, social training, and content marketing including white papers, blogs, and webinars.
You need to specifically explain what you are able to contribute-differentiate yourself from the rest.
I can create communication materials for internal and external use.
I can confidently articulate measurable value internally and externally to enhance customer engagement.
Explain what materials the company is missing in their content library and what the goal of their organization is.


Good Luck!

Comments

  1. Kristina Kyriakis23 March 2018 at 09:53

    Hello there, Fantastic post! I constantly find myself in a position needing to explain to my peers and elders that have no idea what Communication Studies entails. It is definitely a program that gets its students ready for the future. Strong communication skills is a asset to any position, plus with the contribution of our media understanding we are adaptable for any industry. It is important for us to prepare ourselves for interviews and networking sessions to properly explain the degree that we have been working for the past 4 years. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  2. Adam Kula24 March 2018 at 12:14

    I think every single Communications Studies student has once been asked, "What is Communications?". It's a question that always aggravated me personally, not because I cannot adequately answer it because I can, but because so many people are not knowledgeable about the power of this degree; the power of being a "jack of all trades". The fact of the matter is that Communications students possess a wide range of skills and knowledge that are highly desirable in the modern world. The media, which happens to be one of the primary areas of study in Communications, is ever powerful, as it spans across every single industry in the work force. With our advanced knowledge of the media and its implications on society, we become highly desirable candidates for employers. This knowledge is what makes me so comfortable with answering people when they ask me why I decided to undertake an education in Communications Studies.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sara Domaratzki26 March 2018 at 09:55

    I thought this to be such a creative and helpful post, so thank you for sharing. I think this is something that all of us as Communications Studies students struggle with. Yes we start out as first years with a broad 4 years ahead of us in terms of choice of career path, but we are not ones who know it all. What we come out with is unique skills that I believe to be adaptable to most jobs. I think it is so important in how you present your degree and your skills and your chart really helped narrow down the word choice. There has been nothing worse than answering the question 'what is communications studies' during my undergrad and not knowing how to pinpoint my areas of study into a concise and accurate statement, so thank you. Great post

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Changes in the Interviewing Process

Hi Everyone, Since most, if not all, of us are graduating and will be looking for full-time jobs, I thought it might be helpful to give some insight into how the job interview process in general has changed, so that we can be more prepared for them in the future. Spark Hire provides a useful comparison of then vs. now, helping to show the kinds of things that we should take into consideration for interviews. There are 9 changes in particular that are mentioned: Your reach is much more expansive Drastic improvements in video interviewing technology It’s much easier to schedule interviews An increased focus on cultural fit Candidates run the show There’s a greater emphasis on employer branding Networking happens in many different places The kind of employee hiring managers want has changed There’s a greater focus on data and analytics The two that I feel connect the most to what we have discussed in this course are number 6 (there’s a greater emphasis on employer bran...
Read more

Innovation Mirror

Image
Innovation is about the creation of new ideas as well as the revolutionizing of old ones. To me, innovation stems from creativity, the ability to use the imagination and foster original ideas—this is where innovation begins.
Read more

Technological Innovation and the Workforce - Amazon Go

Image
(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/180126023346-amazon-go-inside-780x439.jpg) Could technological innovation be a problem for the future workforce? In the past several years there has been a significant shift in workplace culture and the presence of employees in the workforce. The increased integration of technology into this workforce has been consider a large factor in these changes. As this integration becomes greater through increased technological development and changes in company operations, we are beginning to see a new workforce comprised of these new technologies. Companies are restructuring to put in place innovative technological systems, and this often means the removal of first-line workers (people who customers engage with).             Just like when we walk into a Shoppers Drug Mart or a grocery store, we can now see how technologies are increasingly being used to replace employ...
Read more