1. Using Experiential Learning
to
Help Liberal Arts Students
Determine a Career Path
Lakeisha Mathews, GCDF, CPCC, CPRW
Assistant Director, Career Services, University of MD University College

2. The Need
Liberal Arts Students:
• Often complain about career services…
• Have a passion for their field...
• Choose liberal arts majors as a default or plan B…
• Do not think about career planning or job searching…
• Do not obtain internship opportunities…
• Do not realize or research their options…
• Can be annoying (Advil anyone)… 2

3. Goals
• To challenge career center professionals to develop programs
for liberal arts majors that aid in career exploration.
• To start a discussion among career development professionals
concerning liberal arts students engagement with experiential
learning for career exploration.
3

4. Objective
• Discuss differences in career decision making for liberal arts and
business students.
• Explore how experiential learning opportunities can assist liberal arts
students with selecting a major and career path.
• Discuss how to market career services to liberal arts majors.
4

5. Liberal Arts Education
What is a Liberal Arts Education?
According to the Association of American Colleges and Universities:
“Liberal Education is an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares
them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. It provides students with broad
knowledge of the wider world (e.g. science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study
in a specific area of interest”
5

6. Liberal Arts In The News
Boston “…academic major is the biggest factor in determining who gets a job offer before
University graduation.” Accounting, business, computer science, engineering, and social sciences
majors led the field in both the number of jobs offered and pay levels”
The Chronicle "It does matter what you major in.“ And the differences are striking: For workers whose
of Higher highest degree is a bachelor's, median incomes ranged from $29,000 for counseling-
Education psychology majors to $120,000 for petroleum-engineering majors. The data also revealed
earnings differences within groups of similar majors. Within the category of business majors,
for instance, business-economics majors had the highest median pay, $75,000.
Daily Finance "Sometimes liberal-arts majors struggle a bit more than other majors when launching their
(AOL Money careers, but the evidence shows that they tend to advance farther and be more sought out by
and Finance) CEOs for high-level jobs,"

7. More Views About Liberal Arts
"You know what? They need to get education in areas where they can get jobs…I want
to spend our dollars giving people science, technology, engineering, math
degrees…Those type of degrees. So when they get out of school, they can get a job.“
--Senator Rick Scott
“The liberal arts help one to think and understand the world; they also foster creative
problem solving. Students gain intellectual independence, develop a sense of morality
and ethics and learn the responsibilities of citizenship.”
--Steve Jobs

8. The Christian Science Monitor:
July 25, 2011
• As David Kearns, the late Xerox chief executive officer once noted, "The
only education that prepares us for change is a liberal education.“
• “most college students today aren't buying it…This preoccupation with the
short term, unfortunately, is based on an old labor-market model that
presumes job specialization is the key to success. This model doesn't work
in a modern economy where adaptability is the key.
• New Liberal Arts Model
– Every aspect of student’s life integrated
– Acceptance of experiential learning opportunity
8

9. Debunk the Myths
MAJOR ≠ CAREER Major Job Career
Different meanings: Business Admin Payroll Clerk HR Analyst
Major
Hotel Mgmt. Front Desk Staff Event Planner
Job
Communication Customer Service Rep. Call Center Director
Career
English Advisor Higher Ed.
LIBERAL ARTS Marketing Salesperson Buyer
MAJOR ≠ NO JOB 9

10. A New Framework
• It’s our job as career practitioners to take hold of this new philosophy and help bridge
the gap between academia and the world of work.
• A New Framework:
– Technical programs, some business degrees and professional degrees focus on
specialized skills. This make it easy for the companies to come to the students.
– Liberal arts degree have a broad focus requiring a different approach to the
career development process including the job search.
• Instead of waiting for employers to approach them, liberal arts students must
aggressively explore their career options and approach companies.

11. Aggressively Explore
Research Programming
Experiential Career
Learning
Path
11

12. Aggressive Career Exploration
• Occupations • Starting salaries
• Industries • Entry points
• PATHWAYS • Job progression
• Minors/dual degrees • Organizational targeting
• Graduate school options
12

13. Pursue Experiential Opportunities
• Job Shadowing
• Leadership
• Internships
- Co-op
• Informational Interviewing
- Paid • Part-time Work
- Unpaid (professional degrees)
• Volunteer
13

14. Develop Programs & Resources
• Liberal arts career guide
• Computerized exploration systems
• Major declaration/exploration • FOCUS2, Discover, Kuder
program
• Job fairs esp. for LA
• CDP (Career Development
• Assessments
Plans)
• Strong, MBTI, CareerLeader
• Career courses • CareerBookstore.com
• Networking nights • St. of NJ Depart. Of Ed site
• Alumni panels • Videos
• Passport Program • SCE/Ambassadors

15. Sample Liberal Arts Career Guides
SCHOOL NAME WEBSITE (LIBERAL ARTS GUIDE LINK)
Miami University http://www.units.muohio.edu/careers/cds/liberalarts.pdf
Loyola University MD http://www.loyola.edu/thecareercenter/documents/LiberalArtsGuide.pdf
St. Mary’s College of MD http://www.smcm.edu/careercenter/PDF/jobsearchstep.pdf
Muhlenburg College http://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/aboutus/careercenter/students/job/jsg/

16. Case Study: Career Programs for LA
I Declare • Major exploration program built around university philosophy
• Collaboration with Academic Advising and academic departments
• Target freshman (some sophomores)
• Self-directed
Job • Experiential learning program
Shadowing • 1-day (or half) shadowing experience (longer if possible)
• Work with alumni and employer contacts
• Career Coaching
• Follow-up session: confirmation of major
Career • Several job fairs in one week broken up by majors or interest areas like Liberal Arts
Week • Allow employers to select which days they attend
• Provide workshops each day relevant to the majors present

17. LA: Competitive Advantage
• Minor (build expertise in another • Develop a job search campaign
area i.e. CS, FI, AC, etc.)
• Consider commission based
• Consider certification options positions
• Learn another language • Consider companies with strong
• Gain computer expertise training programs
• Obtain relevant part-time jobs • Consider large companies with
• Join a professional association as a leadership development programs
student 17

18. 3 Essentials for LA
• Learn persistence (Guerilla Marketing by Jay Levinson & David Perry)
• Learn to market skills
– Confidence in degree
– 3 Strengths/3 weaknesses
– Not just interest testing (personality, values, skills)
• Learn to network
– How to reach out
18
– How to maintain relationships

19. Don’t Forget About…
• Professional degrees…limited internship opportunities
• Business degrees…still need to explore
• Graduate students…may still need guidance
• Adult leaners…if possible may need to consider experiential
learning
19

20. Professional Degrees
• Professional Degrees • Strategies:
- Future doctors, lawyers, dentists,
– Should consider shadowing
speech pathologists, et.
and/or informational interviewing
- Psychology, counseling seriously depending on
• Challenges occupation
• Limited internships – Always have a PLAN B
• May have limited paid opportunities – Look into graduate admission
Sophomore year
• Confidentiality

21. Business Degrees
• Business degrees • Strategies
- Still need to explore by – Choose a minor
- Industry – Take a career assessment
- Company (Career Leader)
- Occupation • Determine Interests
• Determine Values
– Set goals
– Choose a path and determine
key steps/roles

22. Graduate Students & Adult Learners
• Graduate students…may still • Strategies
need guidance - Assessments
- May not have a career in mind • MBTI Career Report
- Racked up debt and may need - Relevant experience
a certain financial level • Internship
- May be a career changer • Volunteer
- May not have real “work” • Part-time job
experience

23. Coaching Techniques
• Manage expectations • Eliminate unnecessary activities
• Explain the PROCESS of career • Individualize
development
• ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS
• Make exploration appealing and provide next steps or homework
easy
• Don’t take on their burden
• Break up steps into manageable
• Let them be open to multiple
pieces
options (Happenstance)
• Determine appropriateness 23
(maturity level, self-awareness)

24. Theory: Happenstance, Life-Span
Happenstance: John Krumboltz Life-Span Theory: Donald Super
• The role chance plays in our career • We all have differing interests,
planning abilities and values
• Viewing indecision as “open- • We may be qualified for MORE
mindedness” and not a problem than one occupation
• A variety of occupations are
available to everyone
Gysbers, N., Heppner, M. and Johnston, J. (2009). Career
Counseling: Contexts, Processes, and Techniques, 3rd Ed.
Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association

25. Tools for Counseling LA
• Values auction • “Why Not” game
• Elevator pitch outline • Rank (Using a career report
• Visualize yourself like Strong)
• Create a Collage • Cards Sorts (Knowdell Card
• Plus/Minus chart Sort)
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26. Important Books to Read
How to Get Any Job with Any Major by Donald Asher
Discovering Your Career in Business By Timothy Butler & James Waldroop
Smart Moves for Liberal Arts Grads: Finding a Path to Your Perfect Career by Sheila Curran

27. Food for Thought
Why, then, does this false dichotomy between the liberal arts and careerism
endure, and who is perpetuating it…The future of liberal education demands
that we reinvent and re-imagine it, especially for those unfamiliar with it.
-Robert Eisinger, Dean
- School of Liberal Arts at SCAD
27

28. Contact Me
Lakeisha Moore Mathews, CPCC, CPRW, GCDF
Assistant Director, Career Services
University of Maryland University College
lmathews@umuc.edu
LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lakeishamathews
240.684.2714
President, Maryland Career Development Association (2011 – 2012)

29. References
• Association of American Colleges and Universities: http://www.aacu.org/leap/what_is_liberal_education.cfm
• http://chronicle.com/article/Whats-a-Degree-Worth-Report/127612/
• The Christian Science Monitor, July 25, 2011 Monday, Liberate liberal arts from the myth of irrelevance
• http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/10/28/4-tips-for-making-the-most-of-liberal-arts-degrees?PageNr=2
• http://www2.timesdispatch.com/business/2011/dec/19/tdmbiz10-economic-impact-is-a-college-degree-worth-ar-1553262/
• http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/04/04/what-good-is-a-liberal-arts-degree-in-the-job-market/
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-eisinger/advancing-the-liberal-arts_b_1154318.html
• http://charlesdthornton.com/florida/35-capitol/615-rick-scott-to-liberal-arts-majors-drop-dead
• http://www.fortwayne.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/SE/20111024/NEWS/111029772
• http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/03/01/gates_tells_governors_they_might_determine_public_university_program_funding_based_on
_job_creation