Market a Liberal Arts Degree

Over the past couple months, I've realized how great criticism is. I like to think I've gotten more mature but I think its just that I've grown a thick skin from the constant trash-talking that comes with living in a fraternity house.

Anyway, criticism is the to-do list you're not willing to tell yourself. I've started actively pursuing criticism in some aspects of my life, and one of those was the value of a liberal arts degree. Unfortunately I couldn't attend President Paino's "How to Market a Liberal Arts Degree" presentation at the start of the Career fair.

Marketing a Liberal Arts Education...yoink

Take the popular interview question, "Why should I hire you?" The unspoken full version of this question is "Why should I hire you over every other candidate? What makes you special?" Here's a good liberal-arts way to answer the question:

"Because I know that the one constant in organizational life today is change. I know your company will undergo change, and my strong liberal-arts education has prepared me with the flexibility to adapt to the changes I'll inevitably face."

And another:

"The cultural awareness I've developed as a result of my solid liberal-arts education prepares me to collaborate in a team-oriented and diverse workforce."

Or how about if the employer is even more explicit: "Why should I hire you over a graduate who has business training?"

"Because one of the hallmarks of the excellent liberal-arts education I've attained is the ability to learn. I'm confident I can get up to speed quickly and meet your needs in this job. My education has also prepared me to be an articulate written and oral communicator, so I know I can be a real asset to your firm."

These answers are...as close to perfect as I've found.

My Mom goes "when are you going to start making money from video games?"

When I have enough free time to get really good at them. But I'm going to school, Mom. Jeese.

"The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks."

—Albert Einstein