Non-STEM Student? Here’s Why You’ll Have To Work Harder To Find A Job

If you’re not majoring in a STEM field, you’ve probably heard your job prospects aren’t as great as your friend’s in engineering or computer science.

It’s true, there’s more demand for STEM graduates than ever.

But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for non-STEM students to land a great job after graduation.

I once worked with a student studying nutrition and fitness. She wanted to get an internship as a freshman.

To be honest, the odds were against her.

She had no experience, was far from any major cities, and wasn’t in a field with many internship opportunities. She did have one advantage.

She had a real passion about nutrition and healthy living. Her experiences as a child influenced her tremendously and gave her true passion.

And even though she had no relevant experience, we were able to help her land an internship.

Why? Because she brought her story to the interview, with true passion and drive. She really conveyed what drew her to nutrition and why she had such a strong desire to pursue a career in this direction.

Graduating with a non-STEM degree means you have to find passion and drive within yourself.

You have to work harder and do more outside of the classroom to land the job you want. Here’s how you start:

Create Constraints

When you graduate as a non-STEM major, you’re usually unprepared to meet the economic realities of different jobs and markets.

No one spent time teaching you about the concepts of supply and demand.

Universities say students should be able to study whatever they want, to explore freely without any constraints. They don’t expose students to the emerging economy, and they don’t force them to work within its constraints.

But you need to understand the realities of the economy if you want to beat out the competition.

You have to know what skills and qualities are in demand to make yourself more attractive to potential employers.

Build Technical Skills

If you’ve never liked math, and the thought of trying to write a computer program makes you ill, that’s fine.

You don’t necessarily have to teach yourself to code. But you should try to improve your analytical and quantitative capabilities.

Let’s say you’re majoring in marketing. It’s worthwhile to learn about metrics relevant to the industry, because professionals who read, analyze, and understand data are increasingly in demand.

Look at entry-level jobs descriptions in your field. See what tools or skills companies want their candidates to have.

Chances are, you might only have a couple. Figure out how you can teach yourself more of these skills on the side so you can point to them when interviewing.

Tell Your Story

As a non-STEM student, you graduate without a tangible skill set like engineering, biology, or math majors.

So, you have to be persuasive — extremely persuasive.

You need to understand your own story and tell it flawlessly. A story that emphasizes your passion, work ethic, and mission.

When sitting down for an interview, you have to sell something to the person in front of you. If you don’t have a ton of experience or a specific skill set, sell something unique to you.

This really comes down to practice.

•Build your story over time, develop it, and repeat it until you’re sick of saying it.

• Go to networking events and tell your story.

• Look for opportunities outside of school.

• Find mentors and advisors, and practice your story again and again.

• Build your network and get better at pitching yourself at the same time.

That’s how to develop the confidence you need to persuade an interviewer when the moment comes.

If you’re not majoring in a STEM subject, you have to work hard to land a job after graduation. There’s more competition out there.

You have to be ruthless about prioritizing your development and learning the skills you need to stand out. It’s not impossible by any means, but you have to do much more outside of the classroom to get the job you want.

Matt Wilkerson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Paragon One, a career advisory network that has helped hundreds of students and recent graduates land competitive jobs and internships.

For business and career advice, follow him on Twitter and Quora.