Passion and persistence are key.
This is the message seven people from the Fredericton community delivered to arts students at a career week session last Thursday.
Held in the University of New Brunswick Student Union Building, “So you’re pursuing an arts degree…What’s next after graduation?” was part of UNB/STU career week events.
The panelists, all established in the Fredericton job market, told students what to expect and how to prepare for post-graduation.
“We have a huge hidden job market here in the Fredericton area and New Brunswick in general. I would say only about 10 per cent of jobs are even advertised,” said Carrie Monteith-Levesque, the employment and student life coordinator at STU, and one of the organizers of the event.
Most employers have too many people at their door to worry about advertising. This is why the panel emphasized networking.
But for Naz Ali—one of the panelists and co-owner of Caribbean Flavas—there’s more to it.
“Networking is cool, but you also have to be real with yourself,” he said.
The problem is very few people know what they want to do.
Ali hasn’t always wanted to run a restaurant. But while studying at UNB, he won praise for meals he made at the McLeod meal hall and started selling sandwiches for $2.
This led to a class project that got him a C+, and then a failed application for a loan (though he was offered a loan to open a Tim Hortons). He managed to get started anyway and Caribbean Flavas has become an award-winning restaurant. It has also allowed him to pursue his passion as “DJ Nasty Naz.”
More than any other point, finding out what you’re passionate about was the biggest piece of advice the speakers offered.
“The bottom line is that you’ve got an education,” said Tanya Sparks, a recruiter from social media monitoring company Radian 6. “What you specialize in school is just one part of the story and the rest of the story is about, you know, where’s your passion, what do you want to do, where do you want to be?”
And it can’t be faked. Sparks said that the biggest sign that someone is a good fit for the company is in their voice.
“On the phone, I know within the first 15 to 30 seconds, I know if they have it. It’s all in how they say hello, it’s all in how they address you, it’s all in…how excited they are to talk to,” she said.
It used to be that pursuing an arts degree was the “highest possible achievement,” said Dr. Dennis Desroches, a STU professor and president of the New Brunswick Faculty Association.
But now, there is something ambiguous about the arts.
“The fact of the matter is that we have a culture that is obsessed with metrics. That measure accountability and measure the…commercialization of knowledge,” said Desroches.
“That is, how do we turn knowledge into a product that we can sell and make money from? That’s what counts as knowledge now.”
The implications are worrisome beyond the ability to pay the government back your loan.
“The less knowledge—critical thought—people have, the more easily led they are. The fewer problems you will have with unrest,” said Desroches.
“When I look at your generation, the prospects are not good—what you really need is a capacity to critique and change the way things are.
“The value in an arts degree is its capacity to create thinkers who can produce new knowledge. And it’s that capacity that we’ve witnessed being hollowed out of all our social institutions in the last 30, 40, 50 years.”
For better or worse, arts students are graduating into a time where the money-making ideas are becoming as intangible as “critical thinking.” And “problem solving” applies to a lot more than just math.
The first step is finding what you care about, something that isn’t necessarily course specific. But there are some on just about everything else.
“It’s not really what you’re studying, it’s how you can take that and apply it to your everyday life,” said Ali.
Tips from the panelists
-Be persistent
“If you die off with the energy level, then they realize that you’re not really serious. You have to come back harder and stronger.” – Naz Ali, Caribbean Flavas
-Don’t be afraid to reach out to people
“The unique thing about being in Fredericton is that it’s a small pond and there’s a lot [of] big fish here. You have a lot of ability and access here that you don’t have in other cities…you have unparalleled access to people who are moving and changing things.” – Jordan Graham, city councillor.
-Take the time to find your passion
“Everyone wants to come and work for Radian 6 and that’s why passion sets them above the rest.” – Tanya Sparks, Radian 6
-Develop your public speaking skills
“If you want your career to be on the rise, you need to be able to address a room full of people.” – Shawn Quinlan, Skillsoft
-Reflect your personality
“In an industry such as ours [Skillsoft], to come across and reflect your own personality in an email is very important. Are you short and factual, are you full of smiley icons, are you someone who is full of short personal stories? Whoever you are, reflect that.” – Shawn Quinlan, Skillsoft
-Start small
“Get familiar with an organization, work your way in. Commit to some small things first and do a really good job at it and then go from there.” – Shannon Myers, Bluedrop Performance Learning
