Almost every occupation requires strong analytical, communication, organizational, team management skills in addition to the ability to solve problems, adapt to new situations and work within the diverse global framework of the world today.
Your Ability to Learn: you can take information that is given, break it down, build on it, create from it and produce a product or end result.
(Hint: these may come in handy during an interview. Practice describing the specific ways that you have been able to enhance these skills through things such as student organizations, campus jobs, internships, class projects etc.)
In addition to your broad liberal arts education, it is still wise to obtain:
"The Goldman Sachs partner confessed that because he has to
spend the better part of his days around a conference table with the same group
of people, he "damn well better like them." Those with liberal-arts degrees,
he's found, are much better company than your average business major, and
equally, if not more, competent."
Chronicle of Higher Education, 2005
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"In addition to all the engineering and business courses, I also studied four years of psychology. . .I'm not being facetious when I say that these were probably the most valuable courses of my college career. ..I've applied more of these courses when dealing with the 'nuts' I've met in the corporate world than all of the engineering courses in dealing with the nuts (and bolts) of automobiles." (Engineer Lee Iaccoca's, autobiography)
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In a study done by Hobart and William Smith college 90 percent of CEOs believe that critical thinking is derived from an education with a core humanities curriculum and the ability to solve problems is derived from an education specializing in Liberal Arts studies. (Fortune, 1997)
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David Masci found that "business executives ... value employees who are taught how to think and are prepared to pursue a long-term career-rather than being groomed for their first job" (1998). Roger E. Herman, a strategic business futurist, in his article titled "Liberal Arts: The Key to the Future," found that employers recognize the importance of Liberal Arts Curriculum that places value in critical and creative writing, speaking, and critical thought. (2000) These employers, Herman added, believe "too many of their employees have serious difficulty constructing written sentences and producing quality memos, letters and reports" (2000). In addition to writing skills, the ability to communicate effectively is yet another area where students, and thereby employers, benefit from traditional Liberal Arts education. (Herman, 2000)
Recognizing the importance of critical thinking and problem solving skills, employers may look for "broad based candidate(s), rather than the one-field specialist" (Herman, 2000). Herman believes that broad based candidates will bring with them the ability to "think, collaborate, create, problem solve, communicate and lead" (2000) and that the "demand will be high for individuals who have learned how to learn, have a strong multidisciplinary education, and are able to adapt easily to whatever comes their way" (Herman, 2000).
In the article "The Case for Liberal Arts," Roger E. Herman expands on his thoughts on Liberal Arts education by recognizing that those students "who specialized in accounting, engineering, computer science, pre-med, or theory professional orientations during their college days are discovering that there is something missing in their education" (2000). He believes that because they did not attain the adequate "knowledge, skills, background, and insight that a liberal arts education offers" (Herman, July 2000), Liberal Arts colleges and universities will begin to offer Masters Degree programs in Liberal Arts, itself. From his standpoint, Herman agrees that this is "logically the next step in the process of learning for those who have been educated in a single discipline" (July, 2000).
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"… computers and information technology have revolutionized business organization and increased the demand for social science and humanities graduates …
" First, there is an increased demand for people who can understand the information generated by computer systems, analyze it, relate it to the world, and act on it. These kinds of general intellectual abilities are the sorts that are developed in humanities and social science programs. It is for this reason that the use of computers has led to the growth in demand for people with those degrees.
" Second, organizational structures have become flatter. Instead of multiple layers of managers doing routine information processing, there are fewer layers in the hierarchy, and employees are charged with analyzing and acting on the greater volume of processed information available. There is a much greater demand for people who can make critical and independent judgements, and those capacities are cultivated in social science and humanities programs.
" Third, the new-style middle managers need greater interpersonal and communication skills both to deal with clients and to work together in self-directing teams. Humanities and social science programs can produce more effective employees in this regard."
Robert C. Allen, SSHRC Report, November, 1999.