I found that this plan panned out wonderfully… until right before graduation. It was then that I worried that people wouldn’t take me seriously because I was going to have a degree in visual art. Luckily, as it turns out, if you know how to talk about what you studied and make connections between what you did in college and what you can do at work, you can still find a great opportunity. All it takes is learning how to own your education.

I’m not saying it’s always easy: it took me three months after I graduated in 2012 to secure a corps member position with City Year. Since it was an AmeriCorps program, I was only involved for a year, so when it ended, it took another two months to end up at the nonprofit where I currently work. That being said, here are few tips that I think helped me find my job:

I identified transferable skills I gained in the classroom

In college I spent countless hours in one studio or another, often with paint/clay/charcoal on my face. This, though kind of gross, doesn’t mean I didn’t learn a lot, nor does it mean that I don’t have skills that are applicable outside of the art world.

Art didn’t just require me to refine technical and fine motor skills; I also built up skills in creative thinking, problem solving, and time management. Portfolio presentations meant public speaking skills, and crafting artist statements meant working on writing.

I found that though my studies suggested I pursue a job in the arts sector, the skills that I developed would also apply well to the needs of a nonprofit organization, which I had become very interested in. I used my list of skills to influence the type of jobs I looked for.

What you can do: An important aspect of making a liberal arts degree work for you is thinking about and presenting the skills that you’ve built. List out the transferable skills you built in various classes. You might be surprised by what you realize!

Get started: 6 transferable skills that hiring managers value

I reflected on what I did outside of the classroom

When I was in college, I wanted to immerse myself in the whole culture of it. I had a few different work-study positions, I volunteered, and I even took on two minors.

These experiences helped round me out: While art allowed me to thrive as the introvert I love to be, my job in my college’s resource center required me to have positive phone demeanor, give people guidance in finding materials, and become customer service oriented. As a student adviser, I took on event planning and organizing for my advisees and myself. Leading a volunteer trip helped me become a planner, gave me patience and challenged me to make decisions.

What you can do: Take a look back at your experiences and figure out what they’ve done for you, or take on a volunteer experience to see what you can get from it! Take my word for it: adding variety to what you do keeps your mind moving and introduces you to new opportunities. I’ve added my other experiences to my resume, and they are great examples of how I’ve been able to develop skills and manage my time.

Get started: 4 tips for finding a career-enhancing volunteer opportunity and How can you present your volunteer experience in a competitive job market?

I embraced my background!

This is arguably the most important aspect of making your liberal arts background beneficial to your job search. When interviewing for a position, I often found that interviewers were curious about my choice in major. They would ask why I chose it, and what I learned, and this always gave me the opportunity to talk a little about my love for art, how art helped me see multiple solutions to a problem, and why watercolors are my favorite medium. As a topic of conversation, my major has always given me a way to show interviewers what makes me different, and why my uniqueness is a positive.

At my current organization, it was openly appreciated that I had this background, because it was something that added to the dynamic of the existing staff. By talking about why you chose a particular field of study, what you gained from it, and how it’s contributed to your uniqueness, you’re giving the interviewer a glimpse of who you are while also acting as a champion of your own choices.

What you can do: Practice talking with a friend, roommate, or even your mirror about what you chose to study in college. Get comfortable with telling people why your choice to study a liberal arts topic was a good one.

Get started: Download this Google doc to help you prepare stories for a job interview

I made a game plan

Because a major in liberal arts gives you the opportunity to explore many different avenues, it’s very important to narrow down your options and make a plan around what jobs you’ll apply to.

I was able to define a path for myself by looking back at my experiences and finding a common thread. For me, my most enjoyable work/volunteer/life experiences involved bettering the lives of kids, so it made sense to apply to nonprofits based in education and education reform. I also care deeply about issues of equality, and hope to work with an organization that focuses on minority issues at some point. These are the types of jobs that I focused on applying to, and it ended up working out.

What you can do: Look back on your experiences and identify your common thread. Review your resume, or list out all of your experiences. Take note of any patterns you see (like my pattern of working with kids). Use this to figure out the common thread in your experiences. From there, figure out what you want out of a job and what you can offer.

Get started: Here’s how to find a common thread in your career and how to craft an attention-grabbing cover letter and resume.

Find your niche and apply to jobs that fit with it, and use these tips to become the best liberal arts student-turned-professional the working world has ever seen.

Ashley Lee is a graduate of Wheelock College. She majored in Visual Art and minored in Psychology and Women’s Studies, and now works for a Boston area nonprofit. She is an avid crafter, reader, and hopes to be a change agent in the city of Boston for some time to come. Connect with her on Twitter.

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The post How to Make the Most of Your Liberal Arts Degree While Job Searching appeared first on Brazen Life.

Career advice articles will call this “informational interviewing,” but I’d rather call it “relationship building.” Relationship building implies making authentic connections with people who could become friends, mentors or maybe future colleagues. And real conversations are where the magic is.

The power of informational interviews

In my recent search, I knew what I wanted (a career in sustainable fashion) and knew a bit about the field, but I was still an outsider to the industry. And as an outsider, I had a lot of questions about how I would fit in: What job titles should I search for? Where would my skills apply best? How do certain individuals ended up with these coveted CSR jobs in the first place?!

But it wasn’t until after my search that a friend told me I had done something unique. Over the course of my search, I became really good at sending cold emails, getting a 100 percent response rate and truly enjoying the conversations I was having.

I didn’t mean to engage in “informational interviewing”; I just love meeting people and had questions I couldn’t get answered any other way. I was living in a city where I wasn’t meeting people interested in what I wanted to do, so I had to search for them.

How you can get started

Somehow, at the end, I had a job without asking for one; I’d just wanted answers to my questions. So before we started, get rid of your expectations of talking to someone and magically getting a job.

Done? OK, now let’s focus on having a great, engaging conversation with someone you admire:

1. Identify what you want to learn

Whether you’re focused on one field or are feeling quite lost, reflect on where exactly you’re stuck. What questions do you wish you could have answered? They could be as broad as, “Would my job experience by helpful at a nonprofit?” or as specific as, “Do I have to have a graduate degree in sustainability in order to work in a CSR department?”

Take time to make your questions thoughtful; the more thoughtful the questions, the more likely you’ll get a response.

2. Identify who might be able to help you

Now that you know what you want answered, you need to find someone to talk to. If your questions are really broad (“What do I do with my life?”), consider a career coach. But if your questions are more specific to your goals or interests, finding someone who shares that experience will be really helpful.

I started by reaching into my own address book. Did I know anyone who could answer my questions? Did I know anyone who could introduce me to someone who could answer my questions, even if it was a distant contact?

Start with your personal networks: friends and family, your high school and university alumni associations and any clubs or organizations you might belong to. Truly use all of the networks you’re already a part of — a response is much more likely when you have a shared connection. Send an email to friends, peruse your alumni network directory online or send an email to an alumni coordinator and ask specifically if they know anyone who might be able to answer your questions. (Perhaps you even list a few of those you’ve written down.)

No luck? Then try the cold outreach. Think about who you admire. Can you find a way to get in touch with them? Did you read an article that mentioned someone who inspired you? Did you find someone on LinkedIn with your dream job and you want to know how she got there? Put on your detective cap and see if you can track down an email address.

3. Reach out

Now that you have the name and contact information of someone you’d like to connect with, it’s time to start the conversation.

Rule #1: Always email; no phone calls. You get more opportunity to spell out why you’d like to connect, and your potential connection is given time to respond on their own schedule without interruption.

A great introductory email should include:

• How you learned of this person (i.e. “my friend Jane” or “through an Idealist article”).
• A mention of any shared connections or interests.
• A brief summary of what you’re doing now, what you hope to do and where you’re stuck.
• Why you think this person could be helpful. (“I find your experience inspiring” or “It’s great to see a fellow alum with similar interests as myself.”)
• A very simple request to connect. Here’s what I found helpful: “If you would be willing to have a conversation by email or phone (or Skype), I would be incredibly grateful.”

What an introductory email should NEVER include:

• A request for a job.
• A suggestion of meeting over a full meal (too long!) or alcohol (too unprofessional!).
• Your whole life story. Give them enough information to understand your present situation, but not the whole thing.

Can you follow up?

Yes. Once. Give them at least a full week before you email again

Can you include your resume or a link to your LinkedIn profile?

Yes. You might want to say something like, “I’m attaching my resume for your reference if you’d like to see more about my experience.”

4. Listen!

If you’ve received a response and set up a time, congratulations! You’re already prepared — you have a list of specific questions and a time to talk to someone who potentially has a ton of experience you can learn from.

Before your “interview” time, take 20 minutes to review your questions, read the bio of the person you’re speaking to and the history of their organization, and then just be yourself.

Use this time to learn by asking thoughtful questions and listening to their answers. One of the best questions to open up the conversation is to ask, “How did you get to where you are?” which allows them to tell you a bit about their journey. And, as I mentioned earlier, ask for advice, not a job.

5. Say “thank you”

Send an email or a handwritten card to follow up, regardless of how the conversation went. Be grateful, and be specific about what you enjoyed about the conversation — this will show your appreciation as well as help make your connection memorable. Share anything you promised to follow up on, and feel free to include a reminder if they promised to help you out. (“Thank you for offering to introduce me to your colleague. I look forward to meeting him!”)

Depending on how your conversation went, keep in touch! You might feel comfortable sending updates, perhaps if you see a job posting or your situation changes.

At the end of the day, if it was an engaging conversation, this is the beginning of a relationship, not a one-off “interview.” Relationships require nurturing and sharing, so don’t forget to give, too.

This post originally appeared on Idealist.

Rebecca Magee works as the Social Consciousness Coordinator at EILEEN FISHER, Inc. When she’s not thinking about sustainable fashion at work, she’s writing about it in her free time on her blog, THIS I WEAR. She owes Idealist.org a huge “thank you” for connecting her to two full-time positions that led her to where she is now.

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The post The Trick to Landing a Job Through an Informational Interview appeared first on Brazen Life.