Master Your Career?
By Melanie Joy Douglas, Monster.ca 
When looking for an editorial assistant for his Toronto website, Bill Hollingsworth stumbled across one resume that seemed too good to be true. And that was the problem. Douglas Joyce had a Master's Degree in Professional Writing. "The perception is," says Hollingsworth, "that even though the candidate applied for the job, if their qualifications are too high, they aren't going to stay in the role. We'll waste our time getting them started, only to see them leave shortly after."
He decided to interview Joyce despite this and ended up hiring him. What did the candidate do to overcome the first impression of being overqualified? "He was so passionate when he spoke about the creative energy he could bring to the role," Hollingsworth explains. "He convinced me that this job was really the opportunity that he had been looking for to take his career in a new direction. I knew within five minutes of talking to him, that this was the guy we wanted."
While in this case, Douglas Joyce was able to connect with the opportunity he was looking for, many educated Canadians are struggling with the unexpected situation of having their assets become liabilities. Masters of Arts grads, in particular, have to deal with this issue at length. They often come out of school, having spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on their education. A good portion of these grads might spend months, even years, wondering why they are unable to find work in their fields of study.
Unfortunately, having a Master's of Arts can at times appear to be detrimental to one's prospects on the job market--at least initially. Many grads find themselves stuck in an unforeseen rut, overqualified for entry-level positions, and yet not possessing the on-the-job experience to move into higher-level opportunities. And even those who manage to land an interview, sometimes have to defend themselves to employers who are concerned that they are overqualified, or will become bored with the job in question.
Daniel Petrangelo knows all too well how hard it is to find work upon graduating with a Master's of English Language & Literature. After almost two years of constant searching, and applying for jobs, Daniel was only recently offered a position as Publication Specialist (Editor) at a large Canadian retailer. Even though he is currently on a six-month contract with the company, he is hoping to attain full-time employment later this year. Read about Daniel's struggles and how he finally got a job in his chosen field!
Carey Campbell, now an anchor and photojournalist for CTV news, is a good example of someone with a Master's degree in English Language & Literature, who worked hard to gain the necessary experience she needed to get into journalism. Find out more about Carey's hard work and sacrifice to start her career as a reporter.
Neil Randall has been a Professor of English and Writing with the University of Waterloo for eighteen years. He is also a regular freelance writer of fiction and tech articles and magazines, trains small business web-site designers, and designs and develops historical games. He shares his years of experience in seeing MA students being perceived as overqualified. Read about Conquering the O-Word!
While there are no clear-cut answers, successful people who have lived through the struggle give their best Advice. Check out Six Valuable Tips for Landing a Job that Wants You and Your MA!
Master Your Career: When Your Educational Assets Become Liabilities: An Interview with Daniel Petrangelo
by Melanie Joy Douglas, Monster.ca
"When things are that bad you just have to laugh and keep pushing forward."
Current Position: Publication specialist (Editor) at large Canadian retailer.
Education: Honours B.A., English Language & Literature, University of Western, 2000; Master's of English, University of Waterloo, 2003
What have you been doing since graduating?
I graduated in October 2003 from the University of Waterloo with a Master's of Arts Degree in Language and Literature. Since that time, I've applied for hundreds of jobs, worked construction to make ends meet, and I've started my own business (digital media production company) to give myself relevant work experience that no one else would give me.
Roughly how many jobs have you applied for since graduating? What types of jobs?
In a year and a half I applied for almost six hundred jobs. Those six hundred applications resulted in just a handful of email responses and even fewer interviews. I applied for many different types of work, from sales and marketing to writing and editing, from call center solicitation to data entry.
Why do you think it was so hard for you to find a job in your field?
Potential employers were afraid that I would be bored. Completing a Master's degree is no small feat. In fact, it is quite challenging. Many jobs, on the other hand, can be straightforward and monotonous. Once you've past the learning curve, the job becomes routine and for someone who's used to greater challenges, the greatest challenge of working is to not get bored. When I was interviewed for my current position, the interviewer expressed these concerns outright and I had to reassure her that boredom would not be an issue.
At what point did you begin to think that your Master's degree was more of a liability than an asset? Did you take it off your resume?
It finally dawned on me that my "hyper-educated" status might be a liability when three out of four employment agencies refused to help me because they considered me "over-qualified." I deliberated at length about whether or not to take my Master's degree off my resume, but in the end, pride in my accomplishment won out. I invested two years of sleepless nights, I worked countless hours researching and writing, spent thousands of dollars and gave up thousands more to earn that degree. I wasn't about to erase it from my academic history.
How did you land your current job?
"It isn't what you know, but who." An old family friend who works for a large Canadian retailer found out about my situation. He asked for my resume, then he spent the next couple days calling up colleagues, referring me to anyone who would listen. He really went out of his way to help me out. By week's end I had an interview. I went in for my interview and I was hired that day.
What advice would you give someone who was in the position you were until recently?
While unemployed, make sure you are constantly upgrading your skills. While I was searching for work I was always learning new computer skills. I taught myself desktop publishing and web design and many other types of skills. Then, I showcased these skills on my resume. Since I started working, I've had numerous opportunities to show off some of the skills I taught myself during my long period of unemployment. I'm constantly surprising my boss with the wide range of self-taught skills I possess.
Master Your Career: When Your Educational Assets Become Liabilities: A Profile of Carey Campbell
by Melanie Joy Douglas, Monster.ca
"Enjoy the ride because the ride lasts and lasts and the end is constantly changing."
Upon graduating from the University of Toronto in 2001, with a Master's of English Language & Literature Degree, Carey Campbell tried her hand at a variety of jobs--from working in a flower shop to politics, from waitressing to handling corporate affairs. She even spent a year up north, locked in a cabin, trying to make a go of a writing career. Nothing really seemed to fit.
In the midst of this day-job trial and error, she began volunteering at a local cable station in the Niagara Region, where she grew up. The more she worked in the media, the more she knew it was her calling. Carey, however, confesses that she had a hard time coming to terms with this realization. "The biggest thing for me was really owning up to what I knew I could do, and really wanted to do," she admits. Once she acknowledged what she wanted, she went about pursuing a career in the media with much determination.
As all the media jobs in which she was interested required a degree in journalism or "equivalent," she continued to volunteer on local television, and developed a solid portfolio. She applied for roughly twenty reporting positions, before she got the magic call: it was from a news director whom she met applying for a different job months ago. She had kept in touch with him, and sure enough, he was calling to offer her a job. The catch: the call came exactly the day after she had purchased a house in Niagara Falls. Moreover, the reporting job was ten hours north-in Timmins.
Never one to back down in the face of adversity, Carey packed up her life, said a temporary goodbye to her family, friends, and new house, and arrived in her new surroundings (and minus 45 degree conditions)--all within two weeks. The move took great courage and determination. Carey recognized the necessity of her choice.
And yet nearly a year later in the great white north, hard choices and even harder work aside, her career still does not pay the bills; she was forced to take a second job--back to cleaning off people's dirty dishes. "Even though I'm here, and my real job is what I love, it's still not supporting me adequately, without waitressing," she says. "I was skipping my biggest payment every month--my student loan."
And so goes the plight of the MA grad. As Carey says with a smile, "I'm kind of happy I'm way up North, because it's a good metaphor for what I'm doing. If I were just in Windsor or something, it wouldn't be such a hardship. I'm up here paying my dues, and I know I have to be here for a while. Who knows how long the dues go on, but I figure, better to pay them in the middle of winter in the North, than on the beach in L.A. I mean, the payoff has got to come eventually."
We're all socialized to believe in, focus on, and dedicate ourselves to achieving the end result, to reach the destination, to get the payoff. Perhaps the hardships, delays, and setbacks encountered by the MA grad almost force her to find a contentment in the journey, in the process. "Enjoy the ride because the ride lasts and lasts and the end is constantly changing," Carey agrees.
Though Carey still misses her home, family, and friends, she continues to dedicate herself to telling other people's stories. "Follow your heart as soon as you hear it speaking to you, and get started, work hard, be determined, and endlessly confident," she advises. "Give it everything you have. If you want it, you will almost certainly be tested and have to exhaust yourself in every sense of the word."
Master Your Career: When Your Educational Assets Become Liabilities: A Conversation with Neil Randall about Overcoming the 'O' Word
by Melanie Joy Douglas, Monster.ca
"My belief is that this knowledge and skill set can be transferred to a job setting, often with little difficulty, and that experience in a particular job is badly overrated by too many employers. People can usually learn how to do a job quite quickly; they can't learn, nearly as quickly, the skills and knowledge they get from their degrees."
Dr. Neil Randall, has been a Professor of English and Writing with the University of Waterloo for eighteen years. He is also a regular freelance writer of fiction, tech articles and magazines, trains small business web-site designers, and designs and develops historical games. He sees, firsthand, the Master's of Arts struggle for employment, and gives his thoughts on the "O" word.
Why are so many Master's of Arts graduates considered overqualified?
MA graduates routinely get turned down for even office jobs, first because they don't have office experience, and second because employers perceive them as overqualified, which is somewhat ridiculous, because they're most certainly not overqualified for jobs they've never done before.
Sometimes graduates are deemed overqualified, or employers believe they will want to leave jobs that don't challenge them. There's certainly reason for that perception, because indeed schooling does give you some expectations and hopes that you don't want to give up on. But employers forget that people need jobs, and that even a receptionist's job is perfectly fine for some people for a while, especially if there's room within the company for different kinds of challenges. Our MA graduates are smart, and they tend to adapt well; adaptability should be far higher on the list, than it often is, for those looking to hire good people.
Do universities understand this problem? What can they do to help?
Yes, universities understand this problem. Are they doing anything to help? To a degree, yes. The University of Waterloo has a co-op program that includes graduate students, for instance, and we do have career counselling. But you have to understand that university education is not necessarily about finding a job, and universities hold very strongly to the important idea that we teach knowledge and skills for life, not for careers. My belief is that this knowledge and skill set can be transferred to a job setting, often with little difficulty, and that experience in a particular job is badly overrated by too many employers. People can usually learn how to do a job quite quickly; they can't learn, nearly as quickly, the skills and knowledge they get from their degrees.
A word to the wise?
Dig hard, keep trying, and don't stop until you get what you want. Be highly professional, build a portfolio (even if it's only one you do on your own), join organizations in your chosen field, and make polite, serious, and professional contact regularly with possible employers and other people in your growing network. Make well-considered proposals for freelance work. And never stop learning about the field you want to join. If all else fails, start a company on your own, or with someone in precisely your position, and plan to spend 3-4 years getting it to the point where you can live off the proceeds.
Master Your Career: When Your Educational Assets Become Liabilities: Six Valuable Tips for Landing a Job that Wants You and Your MA!
by Melanie Joy Douglas, Monster.ca
1. Exhaust All Possibilities with Friends and Family
"It isn’t what you know, but who you know." Don’t be afraid to make your family, friends, and acquaintances aware that you are searching for employment in your field of study. After two years of searching for work, Daniel bumped into an old family friend who was not aware of his lack of success in finding a job, and even questioned why Daniel hadn’t told him earlier on about his search. The friend asked him for his resume, and spent the next few days calling up colleagues at large Canadian retailer where he worked. By the end of the week, Daniel had an interview, was hired on the spot, and has been working there ever since.
2. Be Relentless and Take Chances
After years of applying for reporting jobs, the day after she had purchased a home in Niagara Falls, Carey got a call about a reporting job for CTV. The job was hers; however, she had to be willing to move ten hours north, and endure minus 45 degree winters. Knowing it was then or never, she put her life in Niagara Falls on hold, and within two weeks, she ventured alone up north to begin her career. "Get started, work hard, be determined, and endlessly confident," she advises. "Give it everything you have. If you want it, you will almost certainly be tested and have to exhaust yourself in every sense of the word."
3. Never Stop Learning
Don’t be afraid to teach yourself new skills. Computer courses, for example, can be really expensive, especially when you’re unemployed, or working at a temporary job which barely covers the bills. If you want to learn web design, then buy yourself some used software and a couple "how to" guides. Use whatever free time you have to pick up these new skills, and apply them with confidence. Learning new skills will not only keep you busy while you’re waiting for the phone to ring, but when that employer does call, you will be even more of an asset. Daniel has been constantly upgrading his skills since graduating: "While I was searching for work I was always learning new computer skills. I taught myself desktop publishing and web design and many other types of skills. Then, I showcased these skills on my resume. Since I started working at my current job, I’ve had numerous opportunities to show off some of the skills I taught myself during my long period of unemployment. I’m constantly surprising my boss with the wide range of self-taught skills I possess."
Never stop learning about the field you want to join. As Dr. Randall argues, the possibility for work in your chosen field is always there. "The question is, what are you willing to do to fulfill that possibility. Sometimes it requires another course or even degree, possibly at a community college." It’s up to you to do the work even past your degree.
4. Volunteer
In Carey’s case, potential employers required a journalism degree or equivalent. She had a Master’s in English; however, she needed to attain the "equivalent" in order to even be considered for a reporting job. So, she spent two years volunteering at a local TV station, gaining confidence on camera, boosting her interviewing skills, accumulating a network of resources, and most importantly, creating and building her on-air portfolio.
Daniel, on the other hand, took a different approach to gaining the necessary experience he needed. After teaching himself desktop publishing, he created his own digital media production company, Forget-me-not Films. This entrepreneurial move landed him some freelance copywriting opportunities with Plank Creative, a company that, Daniel says, gave him a chance when no one else would. And the domino effect continued as this copywriting work played a major role in solidifying his current position.
5. Try Some Freelance Work
A great way to start building a reputation, portfolio, and relationships with influential people is to try to get work as a freelancer. Dr. Neil Randall, who works as a freelance writer in addition to his normal gig as a University Professor at UW, writes everything from fiction to tech articles. He advises people just getting into the business to "figure out where you want to publish, research that topic until you know a lot about it, contact editors asking if you can submit something for them to look at, and you do that immediately." "In other words," he suggests, "do the work up front, and impress them that you know a great deal and that you can articulate it. Do not, under any circumstances, simply make a blind call, with nothing prepared, and express the fact that you’re interested in writing for them. They have no lack of people who are interested in writing for them, and they need to see precisely how interested you are. So do the work, and show them that you mean it."
5. Network
Join associations and organizations in order to make the contacts you need. As Dr. Randall advises, "Make polite, serious, and professional contact regularly with possibly employers and other people in your growing network."
6. Explore All the Possibilities Your Degree Might Offer You
Do not allow yourself to be pigeon-holed because of your degree. Think outside the box! Dr. Randall agrees that, "for MAs, however, the greater issue is the fact that many students aren’t aware of possible career paths." Do the homework, and explore all the possibilities your degree offers you:
Other Monster Resources:
Check Out Job Options for the Liberal Arts Degree
Think Positively and Use Your Talents!
Resume & Interview Tips for Being Overqualified