Liberal Arts Graduates Thriving in a Business World

The eternal college major question: do I follow my interests and risk employment hardships, or do I put my dreams on hold for a tedious degree that will net a lucrative career? It's a worry that has troubled future college students for centuries, and many times the decision rests between the disparate worlds of the liberal arts degree and the business degree. Many students interested in the arts hold back, for fear that an arts degree will keep them from reaching their full potential in today's business world.

The catch: in today's business world, it is starting to look like the two majors are not as different as they once seemed.

According to Financial Post, many business and staff-recruitment centers have realized the potential and broad education that graduates of the arts bring to the table, and are even actively seeking them out for their different approaches to thinking. "We've noticed a general shift with our clients because they feel arts grads are more well-rounded and have the ability to think outside the box," says one Toronto-based recruitment specialist, adding that many arts-based students tend to still possess the research and presentation skills necessary for an office job, but with the extra touch of new skill sets.

Executives are specifying a need for diverse individuals to fill their employment needs, with both critical thinking skills and creative minds. This is something that graduates of most any degree tend to possess, but arts graduates do sometimes lack one key skills that makes all the difference: the ability to sell his or her abilities in the business world. "People in the arts tend to put our academic smarts first on our resumes," says former liberal arts major Katie Schleifer. "That doesn't work for the business world, because it doesn't communicate what kind of worker you could be."

Rather, the resume is the perfect place to show how an arts degree can add richly to a corporate environment. By showing how you can not only perform the job as well as any other business graduate, but in fact make a better contribution through a fresh take and a different understanding, you can corner job markets you never thought possible. Says Mauro Lollo, founder and chief technology officer of Ontario's Unis Lumin, a tech company, arts and technology coming together can make for great business. ""At first blush it seems unusual to have people with philosophy or English degrees in the tech business. But the reality is we're looking for critical thinkers with creativity, despite what their educational background and experience might portray. We want people who can fit inside a box, then get outside it and be masters of multiple things."