Advice for How English Majors Can Begin Building a Resume

As I am nearing the end of my college career with a major in English, it’s beginning to sink in that my parents might have been right. There aren’t a lot of jobs for English majors (or any of the humanities for that matter) and what jobs there are require that you have skills to back up a mere degree. We live in an age when more people are getting college degrees, so in order to be competitive, English majors must begin working on building a resume early. It doesn’t matter which sector English majors go into—editing, publishing, writing, or teaching—having writing and communication skills that you can demonstrate by a portfolio is crucial to landing your dream job. Even if you don’t plan on actually writing for your dream job, displaying your ability in this skill is necessary. The following are all-inclusive tips applying to all branches of the English major—even for those looking into graduate schools. These are all bits of advice you should begin using as soon as you declare an English major at your college. Online and Print Markets: Low Pay or No Pay—It’s All Worth It The Internet is a great place to get your name and writing out there. While some English majors are lucky enough to find a website or magazine that will pay a living wage, your concern should be more focused on writing quality articles that you can later direct your potential employers to. While online writing sometimes tends to be a bit more causal and less formal, make sure you choose your markets carefully and write detailed and error-free material. Keep in mind that even though you might stand to make a few bucks from this writing, your writing is working double-duty: providing you with a little extra book money and building your portfolio for the future. Many other English majors I’ve talked to at my university seem to think it’s difficult and tedious to get published. This is not so—there are literally thousands of websites that will take free articles written by anyone and even though there’s no pay involved, being able to show your work later is the prime directive. While online markets are easier to get into for college English majors since the level of skill, specialization, and previous writing experience isn’t as high sometimes, print markets are your best bet for building a portfolio. Being able to have published clips to be shown in a glossy, full-color magazine speak volumes to potential employers—especially if they realize how competitive the print markets can be. Keep in mind that buying a current “Writer’s Market” is the best tool and remember that rejection is part of any writer’s experience. Don’t aim too high (for instance, selling your very first article ever to “Vanity Fair” and expecting it to be published next week). Set your sights on smaller magazines that cater to niche markets and interests and no matter what—write your very best. In print especially, these published articles will be around forever and you want the quality to be top-notch. Local Magazines and Newsletters: No Matter How Small—It’s Still Published! If you want to avoid the rat race of magazine publication, start off small by contacting a local magazine or newsletter. These venues often have a small pool of writers and photographers, but are usually always looking for fresh young voices. Tout your knowledge of what’s hip with the young set and let them see your energy—you’re almost guaranteed to find publication. While again, it might not pay in terms of money, being able to show off what you did as a young English major will impress employers—especially since they’ll be able to see you’re a “go-getter”, that you went out and found a market instead of waiting for opportunity to knock at your door. Granted, the “glory-factor” in publishing an article in for the Hilltop Senior Center’s Backgammon Club isn’t fancy—but hey, it’s a sample of your writing in print. If you’re lucky, they’ll like what you do so much that they’ll hire you on as permanent help, which might involve only a few articles per month. This is good for two reasons: First, again, you have several more articles to show off and secondly, it will provide you with professional references to include on your resume. Many employers look at an English major’s references and if you can only list people you’ve met through the sometimes impersonal nature of online markets, then you may have less of a chance landing that job. One of other side benefit of working for even the smallest print media organization is that you can list your affiliations when you try to publish with larger markets. Most of the bigger magazines and websites want to know not only what and if you’ve published before, but with whom. While the “Hilltop Senior Center Backgammon Club” isn’t all that impressive, it’s better than listing nothing—thus you can keep building your portfolio and employers can see that you worked from the ground up, from the beginning of your English major to the bitter end… (Did I just say “bitter”—how about “bittersweet”?) You’ll find that many small and local print and media outlets are very willing to work with regional college students. They often understand that kids are looking for experience and are generally willing to teach you some of the tricks of the trade. On this note, it is important to not let them take advantage of you. By this, I mean—never let them take the rights from your work—otherwise your name won’t appear on the final article. Make sure what you write is guaranteed to have your name (and even a bio if you can) so you can prove it is yours later. After all, kiddo—that’s the point of the whole thing, right? Internships: Good Opportunities—Sometimes Just about everyone that takes their education seriously does some sort of an internship if it is available to them. However, if you decide to do one with a publishing or other company, don’t count on that alone to boost your resume. Instead, spend some of your free time outside this internship working on perfecting your English major resume since the more that’s on it—the merrier. Many English majors I know (me included) have done internships that were very low paying or simple labor and involved tasks like running out for coffee and bagels instead of immersion in a skill necessary for English majors. As my mamma used to say “don’t put all yer eggs in one basket”—excellent advice—especially for English majors. Career Services for English Majors Nearly every U.S. college has some form of career services for English majors and others in Humanities departments. These poor people look haggard for a reason—they’re trying to fit a million English majors into a tight market. It’s time to take the initiative and look at career services, see what they’ve got, and if nothing suits you—expand, explore on the web for even small opportunities and before you know it you’ll have an impressive resume. The web is the best place to start looking at the types of jobs available for English majors and you can scan the lists to see what sounds interesting to you. Will it be copywriting or ghostwriting? There are opportunities that are waiting now and will still be around when you graduate with an English major and in order to remain competitive against the gazillion other English majors—get going on that portfolio! There are several great books every English should read, including: "What Can You do With a Major in English" by Shelley O'Hara--a great reference tool for finding out what jobs for English majors interest you the most. Also, along the same lines, you might want to read Blythe Camenson's "Great Jobs for Liberal Arts Majors", which offers other career ideas for all humanities majors.