Jobseekers’ Diaries by Andromachi: Less chances as a humanities graduate? Think twice!

By: Together Abroad by Andromachi Kokkinou 04-11-2014

Categories:* Jobseekers' Diaries,

This is a new series of Jobseekers’ Diaries by Andromachi, an expat, job seeker and recent graduate with a Master’s degree in English Literature and Culture.


I can’t recall how many times I’ve been posed with the same question in the past few months while job-hunting: Why did you pursue a degree in the Humanities? Why did you study English?

To me, the answer is pretty obvious: I chose to follow a discipline that truly inspired me to do my best and not half-heartedly drag my feet to its completion. However, this question comes from a well-meaning place, given the challenges it entails finding a job with a Master’s degree in Literary studies. It doesn’t take long for the tiny demon of self-doubt to start pestering your mind with unnecessary guilt. In such instances I have to remind myself that the persistent question hides a misconception about the nature of my studies and what skills you develop along the way, apart from the language skills.

Nowadays, the amount of information produced is enormous; university departments have to find new ways to transfer and present knowledge which is relevant to a fast-changing environment. Most programs in The Netherlands and worldwide become highly customisable and interdisciplinary; in other words, as a student you can choose where you want to focus on by choosing specific courses and you get trained to think and write about and for a variety of disciplines. This results in researchers producing original, compelling material that crosses the borders of their assigned discipline. To be a good researcher in literature, you have to develop a wide understanding of different eras and genres, study and produce work under various methodological scopes. You are expected to play with concepts borrowed from the social sciences, political sciences, psychology, or even seemingly incompatible disciplines like architecture, biology, physics and so on.

We all know what it’s often said: As a humanities student you have a disadvantage compared to other graduates in the job market. But during my studies what I had to constantly face was coming up with a way to leave my own mark while working within existing frameworks. In other words, I had to be adaptable and think out of the box at the same time. I started off with a lot of ideas. Along the way I had to discern which ones can be actually realised and which ones have to be discarded. In short, I had to be critical. I had to learn how to present myself and my ideas through effective communication. Do all these examples sound familiar? It’s because I had, in fact, been working towards developing skills that are practical and sought after.

In the end, it’s all a process of understanding, evaluating and translating the title you acquired, be it Master of Arts or Master of Science, into a set of skills that are in demand in today’s market. We’re asked to be self-starters, creative and adaptable. But this is what we’ve been doing all along!

My piece of friendly advice to fellow job-seekers would be: What you’re looking for is probably out there, but might be disguised under another job title, in a different area of expertise. You might mislead yourself by limiting your job-search in ventures that don’t correspond to current expectations. All in all, it doesn’t have to be a struggle! It’s a great adventure and we’re working our way through it.

Until next time,
Andromachi