English Major Job Tips

Industry expert explains why choosing to study English sets you up for a great career.

Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love British Literature.

Why most English majors self-sabotage their chances at a satisfying, lucrative career

If you had to guess, what would you say employers are looking for in a fresh-out-of-college candidate?

• Insane proofreading skills?
• The ability to apply formalist theory to corporate memos?
• An encyclopedic knowledge of Jane Austin’s work?

None of these (though you’d probably already guessed where this was going).

The top skill employers need English majors to have isn’t the ability to read long texts. Nor is it a mastery of grammar (those both of these are valuable skills).

No, the top skill employers want is much more fundamental.

What Employers Need Most

There’s no way to prepare for everything you will encounter in the workplace. Every job tends to rely on a different set of skills, and every workplace has its favorite tools.

Trying to learn all of them is impossible. You’ll wear yourself out.

So don’t do it. Instead, take a smarter approach that will make you a much more flexible, attractive candidate: learn how to learn.… Continue Reading