Help your liberal arts new hires and interns grow, learn and thrive in their careers
A new class of young professionals are about to start making their way into the sunlight, ready to grow and be awesome. Support their healthy growth by helping them find their place in business. Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Interns and new hires will be starting their new roles soon, including many stepping from humanities-focused academic programs into business roles. I checked in with the liberal arts grads in my LinkedIn network to see what advice they would give their intern-aged self as they step into business.
The overwhelming theme I heard was that a liberal arts degree teaches you how to think critically, to be curious, and to influence with empathy. You can see all the creative ways they said this in my original post.
As the suggestions got more specific, I saw themes around how to be a great writer in business, how to be confident that you have the skills to add a lot of value, and how to learn and learn and learn so you can grow in your career. I’ve summarized the wisdom here and invite you to share it with the liberal arts interns and new hires in your life!
The fundamental skills of writing are essential business skills
Nora Ephron famously said, “Everything is copy,” meaning that anything and everything that happens to you is fair game to write about.
The same expansive view applies in business – whether you’re talking about a formal writing project, influencing a team, or showcasing project performance. We’re always communicating, and the tools you use to craft a compelling essay work in a lot of business contexts, too. You can break down an audience, own a thesis statement and support it with evidence.
Brand Strategist Liz Beaudry agrees: “Know how to ask really great questions and read between the lines. Being a great listener first is a skill that helps bridge the gap from humanities to business.”
Using the fundamentals, you can apply lots of curiosity to your role: Steve Wehrenberg, a journalism professor and ad agency executive, puts it this way: “Being able to leverage research skills is important: understanding a company, its competitive set, its key constituents, the internal and external factors that influence how it drives revenue and profit.”
That last point is really important. I was at one company for a very long time, starting off in communications before moving into marketing and roles more closely connected to revenue generation. Once I understood how the business made money, I felt like I could do anything. Before that, I didn’t really know how things fit together.
Your audience is human – and busy
Story makes the world go round, but keep it short: your audience is BUSY. Joel Leeman, a brand content manager, says, “Remember that businesses are made up of people -- who are always, always fascinating if you take the time to understand who they are and what makes them tick. Regardless of your role, maintain the curiosity and hunger of a journalist. Always look for the great story, nugget or insight, no matter the medium or topic.”.
Wehreneberg also swears by story: “Both employees and customers are often driven by understanding an organization's sense of purpose. Great students of literature and humanities can really understand and decipher large cultural themes that connect with people emotionally. Businesses are driven by emotions.”
The caveat is, they are also busy. Brian Quinn, a product management leader, implores business writers to remember this. “Imagine your business reader has seven other things to do and two people trying to get their attention. You want to help that reader know something. How can you help them know it in their situation?”
Take an expansive view of your capabilities
A lot of advice came down to how you manage your own self talk and Karin Munksgaard, a human resources leader who has also led strategy, communications and marketing programs, says, “Your major trained you better than you might realize; your ability to see the big picture, connect dots, understand root cause, analyze scenarios, predict outcomes and communicate effectively to an audience will serve you well in Finance, Technology, Marketing, Operations, Sales, Strategy and any other business function!”
Translation: next time a confused uncle asks what you can do with a history degree, tell him “Anything I want.”
Lisa Schlosser, a nonprofit leader and former CTO, encourages us to think beyond business into how your expertise intersects with all STEM fields. She says, “It’s hard to find a career these days that doesn’t have cross disciplinary boundaries. Tech permeates every business role but it’s the critical thinking, empathy, curiosity, and purposeful communications that makes tech useful, trustful, and meaningful in our lives.”
According to Jayshree Seth, author of The Heart of Science: “Where STEM seeks to analyze, the humanities can help to synthesize.” She says that “humanities can help ground us in the ever important context as we develop the technology and marketing content for business success.”
Work your network
One challenge I had as an English major is that I didn’t spend any time in college exploring business careers. I loved every minute of my experience, but I do wish I had understood that I could be happy in a corporate setting. I just didn’t know how to picture myself there. It was dumb luck that I ended up at Thomson Reuters two years out of school and found my way to a great career, thanks to amazing mentors.
Marketing consultant Heidi Erdmann-Sullivan suggests getting your foot in the door and learning. “I was a German major and happened to get a marketing internship at a big German brand,” she says. “Internships are a great way to learn. It doesn't have to be with a big brand name, but experience working for a recognized company does help.”
Always be learning
Recent graduate Jayne Heitner suggests being patient and acknowledging that you still have a lot to learn (everyone does, even the business majors): “I got very hung up on the fact that I didn't have a specialized major. Most companies understand that as a recent grad you don't know much and are willing to teach you the technical skills necessary for success.”
Bridget Deutz, a marketing strategist, says that being curious will always serve you. “Asking questions, requesting meetings or assistance, being willing to learn and try and get feedback - that's such a game-changer and a trait (I'd say a skill!) that will not go un-noticed.”
Erica Holthausen, a freelance researcher and writer who is always learning new industries and voices, says that “There is nothing you can't figure out along the way…. You probably enjoy learning, so remember that your professional development is up to you. If you company supports your professional development efforts, that's great! Take those classes, attend those workshops, sign up for those conferences. But if your company doesn't support your professional development, do it anyway.”
I love that last line: do it anyway. There are so many things in our careers we won’t feel prepared for, but I tend to think that it pays do it anyway and see what happens.
My last piece of advice for people just starting out – regardless of their degree – is this: Our careers are long. Use the early years to try lots of different things – projects, locations, challenges. Be comfortable with change, and be willing to work really hard and learn a lot when your life is less complex. The leaps I took in my 20s equipped me for self-employment and the ability to do really good work in my 40s, and I’m so grateful for that.
Trellis is all about supporting healthy growth. This can include doing some very cool work for your business: developing marketing campaigns or systems, researching customer attitudes and challenges, and writing to help you connect with your customers to directly drive revenue growth. It can also include coaching and mentoring to support personal and professional growth on your team. I often work with individual contributors and new marketing leaders to help them connect business knowledge and marketing skills so they have the tools to do their best work.