On Wednesday, March 27th, SCSU students and faculty had the privilege of hearing two recent English graduates speak about their careers after college. Ryan Meyer, who graduated in 2016 with his B.A, works as an Assistant Marketing Manager at Globe Pequot Press. He specializes in Falcon guides, outdoor and adventure titles. The second speaker was Katie Williams, who received her M.S in 2015, works as a North American & Asia Pacific Facilitation Manager of Employee Development for Indeed.com.
Throughout Ryan’s college career, he participated in as many clubs and campus-wide events as possible. He explained how important it was for him to be involved on campus and that that has helped him with communication skills in his current job position. This also helped him learn the importance of time management. In Ryan’s career in publishing, his main responsibilities include reaching out to authors and trying to get their books out there. Ryan is also an author himself. He published his own work of poetry and learned how to market himself.
Katie Williams was also very involved throughout her college career. She landed an amazing internship with Disney during her years as a student. From her internship, she went on to teach English abroad. She explained that her experience through teaching helped her to land her first job through Disney and also her current position with Indeed.com.
At the end of their presentations, they gave helpful advice to Southern students about job searching and interning. The first piece of advice that they gave was to put yourself out there! Make sure to be networking through your undergrad and using resources, such as LinkedIn.com, to make employer connections. The second piece of advice was to apply to as many positions as you can! You have nothing to lose by applying, the worst they can say is no!
Finally, Katie and Ryan explained that the process of job searching is stressful, but you have to remember that your peers are in the same boat! Be patient, as long as you are proactive, the right job opportunity will come your way.