Tag: Media & Communications

What Types of Skills Are Best for a Literature Major?

Before you decide to officially become a literature major, it’s important to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into in terms of the skills you’ll need to succeed in the major. Here are the top 5 qualities you need to make sure you possess to ensure that you rock the literature major.

Reading skills

It goes without saying that you’ll be reading a lot as a literature major. However, being a “good” reader goes far beyond just getting through the pages and books you’re assigned in a timely manner.

The best readers are also star annotators and note-takers, and they know how best to categorize and remember the information they read for later.

Writing skills

Literature majors will spend lots of time crafting their thoughts on various works into essays and papers, so the most successful majors are those who have strong writing skills and also aren’t intimidated by writing prompts.

Critical thinking skills

Being a literature major means being able to think deeply about everything you read and dissect. You’ll need to be able to look at a work from all angles and consider what is the most important. Then, you’ll need to articulate those thoughts well.

Communication skills

Literature majors need to not only read and write well, but they need to be able to explain their thought processes and ideas effortlessly to professors and peers in the classroom. Additionally, the best literature majors aren’t intimidated by speaking in classes ranging from small seminars of under 15 students to lecture halls of over 100 people.

Time management skills

Because you’ll spend so much time reading, writing, and expressing your thoughts and ideas in class, the best literature majors have superior time management skills to keep track of it all. This means knowing when and where you work best on campus and being willing to spend some extra time in the library to make sure you understand the material (even on weekends).

 

Next, learn more about this college major such as Architecture and get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as How to Get the Job You Really Want.

How to Answer: What Gets You Up in the Morning?

 

One of the most common questions you’ll encounter during an interview for an internship or entry-level job is: “So, what gets you up in the morning?” This question is meant to give the hiring manager an insight into what inspires you and gets you going.

Here are some things to keep in mind when preparing your answer.

Talk about what motivates you personally and professionally

The hiring manager is interested in more than your previous internship experience or the classes you’ve taken. They want to know what motivates you to get up every day, so be sure to tell them that. If you’re interested in leading your own team one day or learning a specific kind of skill, mention it and explain why it’s important to you.

Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to talk about big goals. After all, there’s no better way to show that you’re truly motivated to succeed.

Give specific examples

Talking about what inspires you is a great start, but it’s important to back it up with concrete examples. Be sure to explain why it’s meaningful to you and how you plan to work it into your life. This is especially important if the goal is career related since you’ll want to show the steps you’re taking to achieve it.

Say something like: “I’m really motivated by helping kids from low-income backgrounds and I’ve done a lot of volunteer work in this area throughout my time in college. It’s easy to be passionate about something so meaningful, but it’s especially important to me because of my background and where I’m from.”

Explain how it has shaped your career path

Once you’ve explained your goal and outlined your plan for achieving it, connect your answer back to the position you’re applying for and show why you’d be an asset to the company. Be sure to demonstrate that you’ve truly thought about the position and how it will fit into your life.

Say something like: “I know I couldn’t have gotten to where I am today without the help of mentors from a local organization in my hometown. In fact, this volunteer work has been a major driver in my decision to start a career in elementary education and I’m looking for a position where I can develop the skills that will allow me to do that successfully.”

By talking about your future goals and how they inspire you, you’ll show the interviewer that you’re thinking ahead and taking proactive steps to shape your career. This is a great way to stand out from the crowd and help potential employers see your value.

Next, get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as How Do I Get a Job in Another City or State? and find answers to common interview questions such as Tell Me About a Time You Went Above and Beyond the Requirements for a Project.

How to Become a Communications Specialist

An intriguing field with plenty of career opportunities, the field of communications has a lot to offer recent grads. If you’re interested in becoming a communications specialist, you might be wondering about the best way to get started. Should you look for an internship or attend networking events? Ideally, you’ll want to do both with a few other things mixed in.

Here are the steps you need to follow in order to become a communications specialist.

1. Decide what area of communications you’re interested in

Like the field of public relations, communications focuses on building and maintaining relationships between a company and the public (including customers, the media and industry thought leaders). However, unlike public relations, communications is a broader field which also includes creating internal communication strategies and training programs for specific companies. In order to give yourself the best chance of success in the field, it’s important to research the different type of communications you’re most interested in. For example, if the idea of being the public face of a company appeals to you, then a role on an external communications team could be a good fit. On the other hand, if you think you’d rather work to build communications policies within the company, then an internal communications role might be a better choice.

Pro Tip: If you’re not sure what each type of role entails, reach out to people who work in the industry — either from your own network or from your school’s alumni network — and ask to set up a 15 minute chat so that you can find out more about the roles and decide which one is most appealing to you.

2. Develop your skill set by taking relevant classes

In addition to learning about the field itself, it’s also important to develop your skill set by taking relevant classes and working on independent projects. Good classes to take include those that fall under the umbrella of a communications major — such as marketing, sociology and business classes. These will give you a better understanding of the field as well as helping you to develop useful skills like crafting press releases.

Pro Tip: If you’re interested in more than one subject, consider taking on a double major or minor to help you learn about communications while also giving you the chance to explore other subjects.

3. Intern with a communications agency

Internships are another great way to learn new skills and get hands-on experience and interning with a communications agency is a great way to gain exposure to all the different aspects of a communications position. During your internship, you’ll attend strategy meetings, create materials for distribution and learn how to handle media enquiries. Best of all, you’ll get a sense of how all of these different tasks fit together to create an integrated communications plan.

4. Grow your professional network

One of the best things to do in any industry is to grow your professional network. When it comes to communications, this is especially important since you’ll frequently liaise with journalists and customers, as well as working closely with other communications professionals. The best way to do this is by reaching out to your network of friends, professors and peers and identifying those people who have direct experience in the field. Beyond that, it’s also a great idea to stay in touch with former co-workers and managers from your previous jobs. Since communications is a tight-knit field, they’re likely to know about new opportunities as they come up and they can help connect you with hiring managers for those roles.

Working in communications is an exciting opportunity to be both the public face and internal core of a company. By following these tips, you’ll be sure to find an opportunity that’s right for you.

Next, get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as 5 Tips for Getting an Entry-Level Job Unrelated to Your Major and find answers to common interview questions such as Why Do You Want to Work Here?

Entry-Level Graphic Design Job Guide

Junior graphic designers are problem solvers that communicate through visual mediums. In other words, they create and employ type, images, animations, and other design elements to help communicate ideas, advertisements, products, interfaces, and more. Another related, potentially confusing term is “visual design”. While graphic and visual design have subtle differences, they are very similar design disciplines in the current employment market.

What is an Entry-Level Graphic Designer?

It’s common for entry-level graphic designers to go 1 of 2 routes: join an agency, or work for a company that produces a product (in-house).

  1. Agency designers typically work on a multitude of projects for a diverse group of clients. The beginning roles are often production related, requiring a designer to spend their days in Photoshop or Illustrator churning tweaking mockups, photos, and minute illustrations.
  2. In-house designers typically work on a single company’s product, marketing or advertising teams. They are often responsible for the visual communication of the company’s product or service on their website, in written publications, on social media, and most other channels.

It’s easy to get confused by all of the different types of design jobs available to recent grads. Here is a good guide
to help you differentiate between the available careers.

Common Responsibilities of Entry-Level Graphic Designers

Some primary tasks include things like:

  1. Creating or editing illustrations in Illustrator.
  2. Building compositions with type and imagery for advertising.
  3. Developing brand language and guidelines for companies to use to communicate their brand.
  4. Creating a visual system to convey emotion and feeling through an interface (UI).
  5. Implementing visual designs in CSS on the internet for clients / companies.

Types of Entry-Level Graphic Design Jobs

As long as you stick strictly to the terms “Entry-Level Graphic Designer”, you’re not going to find too many different types of jobs. The primary differences you’ll notice are agency versus in-house (as mentioned above), and the medium on which you’ll produce your work. Some companies are purely digital (e.g. tech startups) and will have you working fully digitally. Other companies will still work at least partially in print (e.g. publications) and you’ll be spending time in InDesign or similar programs as well.

If you step outside of the strict search terms, you’ll find there are several ways to search for relevant roles, for example:

Salary Expectations

The median salary for entry-level graphic designers is $39,645.

The range is $29,674 – $54,421.

Location is one the largest factors in calculating salary, so it’s particularly helpful to consider the entire salary range.

The Bureau of Labor expects the number of graphic design jobs to grow by only 1% over the next 10 years.

Who Typically Gets These Jobs

Every year, we survey over 20,000 students and recent grads in an effort to understand the internship and entry-level job market. Based on the results of our State of Hiring report, the students or recent graduates that apply to these entry-level jobs have several things in common:

  • While many students are willing to look at jobs unrelated to their major, graphic design majors are not. 80% of them only want to consider design jobs. However, getting a full-time design job is hard. 43% of recent graduates currently employed are not working in a design role.
  • New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle are the most popular destination for graphic design grads.
  • Graphic design majors often work side jobs during school. Over 80% have had a paid side job. Employers see this as a major benefit when looking to hire a new employee.
  • Only 26% of graduating seniors majoring in graphic design have no internship experience.
  • 54% have taken a computer science course.
  • Most graphic design students expect to have between $25,000 and $75,000 in debt when they graduate.
  • Almost 40% of seniors majoring in graphic design have taken an online course related to their major.

Related Entry-Level Fields

Despite it being somewhat rare that graphic design majors seek jobs outside of their immediate major, it does happen. When they do go outside, here are the areas they’re most likely to look at:

  1. UI Design
  2. UX Design
  3. Product Design
  4. Industrial Design
  5. Motion Design

Additional Resources

  1. It never hurts to brush up on a few graphic design topics. You can take a few online courses to get back in the swing of things.
  2. For more salary information, head over to Payscale.
  3. For more advice on starting your entry-level job search, check out our guide!
  4. And finally, to prepare for an entry-level job interview, prepare for the top 20 entry-level job interview questions.

Search for Entry-Level Graphic Design Jobs Now

Next, get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as What is an Entry-Level Job? and find answers to common interview questions such as Tell me about yourself.

How to Become a Journalist

An exciting and fast-paced career, journalism is a great fit for recent grads who are interested in current events and passionate about storytelling. If you’re considering a career as a journalist, then you’re probably wondering how to get started. For example, is there anything you can do to hone your writing skills and get employers to notice you? Absolutely!

Here are the steps to take if you want to become a journalist.

Earn your bachelor’s degree

One of the keys to starting a career in journalism is earning your bachelor’s degree. Depending on the type of journalism you want to pursue (for example, investigative journalism or broadcast journalism), you should pick a major that will help you learn about that specific type of journalism while also giving you a sense of the broader journalistic landscape. Majors to consider include journalism, communications and English.

Pro Tip: If you’re interested in reporting on a particular subject, such as politics or technology, consider taking on a double major or a minor. This will help you develop specialist knowledge of your subject while also giving your the reporting skills you need to succeed in the field.

Develop your writing skills

In addition to getting your bachelor’s degree, it’s important to hone your writing skills by writing extensively across a broad range of subjects. There are two great ways to do this: 1) By starting a blog where you can develop your voice as a writer and 2) By pitching and writing articles on a freelance basis. This will help you build up your portfolio while also helping you grow your professional network.

Pro Tip: Creating a personal website is another good way to showcase your work and establish an online presence. This is quick and easy to set up with templates like those found in WordPress and Squarespace and will make you stand out from the crowd when it’s time to find a job.

Establish connections with reporters and editors

Networking is important in any field and it’s especially important in communications-focused fields like journalism that rely on strong professional networks. The best way to approach networking is by reaching out to reporters and editors you admire and asking them to set up a time to chat (either on the phone or in person). Once you connect with them, tell them a bit about your experience and professional goals and ask them for any advice that can help you get started.

Pro Tip: Always follow up after a meeting or phone call to let the person know that you appreciate their time and that you found value in the meeting. This is a great way to keep the relationship going and to develop a long-term connection.

Intern with a newspaper, magazine or media company

An important step in any journalism career, an internship will help you gain exposure to the field while also giving you a feel for what a the day-to-day life of a journalist looks like. As an intern, you’ll be fact-checking stories, collaborating on story ideas and and maybe even helping with the final editing before the piece gets published.

With new publications continuing to pop up on an almost daily basis, the field of journalism has many opportunities for recent grads. By following these steps, you’ll be sure to set yourself up for success as you begin your career as a journalist.

Next, get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as How to Use Social Media to Network Online and find answers to common interview questions such as Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?

Top Interview Questions for Social Media Jobs

Social media is one of the fastest-growing and most exciting fields around. From posting stories on Snapchat to creating engaging posts for Facebook, there’s a lot you can do as a social media manager to increase brand visibility and connect with customers. Whether you’re trying to land your first social media internship or an entry-level job as a social media manager, one of the keys to doing well in an interview is showing that you’re just as analytical as you are creative.

We sat down with Juliette Dallas-Feeney, Senior Social Media Manager at Birchbox, to get the inside scoop on what to expect during your interview.

Here are some questions you should prepare to answer in an interview for a social media job:

What is the future of social media?

“This is a really essential question because it shows that you’re thinking ahead and you understand that social media is a fast-moving industry,” Juliette explains. When she asks this question during an interview, she wants to know that candidates are thinking several steps ahead and that they’re able to anticipate new trends before they happen. “I want to know that you’re thoughtful and creative and are thinking more than just ‘in the now’,” she says.

To nail this answer, do some research on new platforms and trend forecasts for the upcoming year. Come prepared with at least two examples to discuss. One of these should focus on a trend for an existing channel while the other should mention an emerging platform that could be the next big thing.

How would you describe Facebook vs Snapchat vs Instagram vs any other social channel?

This is another key question that tests your knowledge of the industry and of the differences between platforms. “Not all channels are created equal,” Juliette explains. “You can’t just post something across all channels and have it be the same,” she adds. When she asks this question while interviewing potential candidates at Birchbox, it’s because she wants to know that candidates have a detailed understanding of each platform and can develop strategies that are specific to each one. “I really want to get an understanding from you that you have done your research on these channels, that you are a practitioner on these channels and you know what works and what doesn’t work on each one.”

To answer this question, give an example of a post that you think would perform well on a company’s Facebook page and another post that would do well on Instagram. Then explain why they would be successful on their specific channels.

Pro Tip: Looking at the company’s past activity and finding trends among channels is a great place to start. This will give you important insights into the brand voice and help you understand what types of posts perform well for them.

Who is your favorite brand/personality on social media and why?

This question is a great chance for you to give the interviewer an inside look at your personality and to talk about what media brands and personalities inspire you. When preparing your answer, be honest but don’t pick the most obvious choice. “Don’t say that it’s Birchbox because that’s cheating,” Juliette jokes. Instead, show that you know the social media space and that you’re familiar with brands and influencers who are making a difference. Mention the name of your favorite account, approximately how many followers they have and give a specific reason for why you like them such as the fact that they post funny memes on Instagram. This will show that you understand what goes into making a successful brand or personality on social media.

Tell me about your own social presence.

This is a chance for you to show off your own social media presence and talk about how the insights you’ve gained will help you increase engagement for the company’s brand. “I want to see that you have your own following,” Juliette says. She’s also interested in how you’re able to maintain a cohesive voice across different platforms while ensuring that you’re posting content that works best for each one. “I want to see something that shows me that you really understand social media so that you can bring that experience into working for a brand.”

When talking about your social presence, frame your experience in terms of goals. If you’re aiming to a thought leader in a specific area (like entertainment or politics), mention that. Then talk about the strategies you’ve used to increase engagement and reach your goals.

Pro Tip: Make sure to clean up your social media channels before the interview. This will ensure that you’re putting your best foot forward with the hiring manager and spotlighting the things that make your work unique.

In a fast-moving industry like social media, landing a great job is all about showing that you’re up-to-date with the latest industry trends and that you’re able to leverage them to build your personal brand and the brand of the company you want to work for. By preparing your answers to these questions, you’ll impress your interviewer and to get one step closer to your dream job at a great brand like Birchbox.

Next, get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as Top 10 Things You Should Look For In An Internship and find answers to common interview questions such as Why Do You Want to Work Here?