You studied Victorian literature and narrative theory. Your short story was published in your university’s online journal. In your senior year, you attended a writer’s conference and a few seminars. Now, after working for four years and earning your bachelor’s degree, you’re ready to join the workforce and pursue a career in a field you’re passionate about — sports.
Graduates who earned humanities degrees get a bad rap. Despite what a lot of “least valuable college degrees” lists say, your college education puts you in a unique position in the job market.
A 2015 survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that people who earned liberal arts and humanities bachelor’s degrees in 2015 experienced greater success in the job market than those from the Class of 2014. In other words, you’re still a valuable asset to many employers.
This is what you need to know about your liberal arts and humanities education and how you can use it to find sports jobs:
Your Value
Despite what many people say, you are not doomed to a career of teaching composition to angsty teenagers if you earn a degree in English. The truth is, you have a lot of valuable transferable skills that align with several sports jobs and employers.
A 2016 NACE report found that the top skills employers consider to be essential needs are critical thinking/problem solving, oral/written communication, and work ethic/professionalism.
As a student, you developed a strong work ethic. You were forced to manage your time and concentrate on meeting tight deadlines on papers and research projects.
These assignments were often specific to your subjects, such as philosophy, history, and religious studies, but the most important thing about your education is how these skills apply to various sports jobs. You built your communication and writing skills, developed critical thinking, and explored your creativity.
Another great skill you developed was learning how to deal with people and how to explain and sell an idea. For example, let’s say you wrote your thesis on postmodern authors and showed how they celebrate deconstructionism and the lack of authorial intent in texts.
While this doesn’t directly relate to sports, you created an idea, supported it, and convinced your audience that your stance is correct.
This is beneficial in many fields, like marketing, writing, law, sales, and management. Similar to how you don’t have to be an athlete to work in sports management, you also don’t need a specific degree to find certain sports jobs.
How to Promote Yourself
When you fully understand the value you bring to employers and know how you want to succeed in sports jobs, find the best ways to promote yourself. You need to stick out from the competition, and the best way to do that is to create social proof.
Social proof accomplishes two things — it showcases your strengths and demonstrates how ambitious and passionate you are about your interests. Do you possess the must-have skills for sports jobs? Show them off!
Here is how you can promote your value:
- Start a blog and create content related to the sports jobs you want. For example, if you want to become a sports photographer, write about photography technology and share sports photos you take during your free time.
- Create a MeetUp group related to your interests and the sports industry. This gives you a chance to network and meet industry professionals.
- Write about your personal success stories and post them on your LinkedIn page. This will not only draw attention from employers, but also will encourage your connections to endorse you for specific skills you have.
- Record a video resume and explain how your humanities education helped you develop skills you can apply to the industry. For example, describe a time you presented your art project to your peers and show how that aligns with working in sales.
What’s Next
When you find the sports jobs that best fit your personality and skill set, start to think long-term. Consider how you will stay relevant and competitive in the evolving sports industry.
Let’s say you want to pursue marketing. How will you set yourself up for long-term success?
Start by meeting people in the industry and pick their brains. Dedicate time and energy to continuing your education throughout your career. To do this, you can take online courses, attend webinars, and apply to master’s programs.
All sports jobs will vary. The best way to create your action plan is to talk to people in the field and stay informed about your industry. Stay active on social media and pay attention to the trends.
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How are you using your humanities or liberal arts degree to find sports jobs?
