When selecting a college major, it’s tough to follow your heart these days—that is unless your heart happens to be in one of the select fields seeing growth in this economy, like engineering. However, if your calling is in a major with average (or below-average) job opportunities, you’ve likely battled many adversaries—parents, counselors, etc.—to stand by your dream of studying history, English, women’s studies, or other industries struggling in the current market. Alas, the state of the economy doesn’t change your talent for ceramics or passion for Eastern studies. What's a prospective student to do? Enter the business minor. Most students entering these competitive fields—particularly liberal arts subjects—should get a minor simply to round out their résumé before graduation. I took a range of business classes to add to my degree. So what does a business minor tell future employees that boosts your chances of landing a job?
You know how a company functions
If I only had my Journalism major and English minor after college, potential employers would say, “Great, she can write.” Throw in some business classes? “Great, she can write and she understands the workings of a company.” Though I spend my time writing and assisting with various online communications, I understand how my time, abilities, and day-to-day responsibilities are factored into the company’s overhead. There's no field you can enter without requiring some knowledge of running a business. For example, are you going into art? You need to know how much of your time and supplies that painting took. No matter what degree you earn, a little knowledge of topics like accounting, management, or business ethics can’t hurt.
Related: The Best Prep for the Real World: Business or Liberal Arts Degrees?
You have added in-demand abilities
Let’s bring the focus back to your major. If you’re hard-pressed to find a job in your major field, a Business minor opens doors to a range of options at companies or organizations. Sure, if your degree is in Creative Writing, you likely don’t want to be stuck in a cubicle hammering out redundant corporate diction. But you have to start somewhere. If you’re stuck, emphasize your Business minor when finding a job, and consider some of these organizations—but while doing so, try to tailor your search in favor of companies that appeal to your major abilities and skills. Sticking with the Creative Writing major as an example, look at some publishing companies for positions in their business department, or find companies that need an editorial assistant for things like a company blog, PR work, or promotional writing.
You can provide a new perspective
Companies will favor liberal arts majors with a business minor because you have the business expertise through your minor, but there’s a bonus: your major likely provided you with communication skills, worldly knowledge, cultural awareness, or expertise in government/politics—all things beneficial for an organization. Furthermore, employers will know you’re driven because you ultimately followed your heart, and they’ll certainly appreciate the time management and organization of someone who can balance a major and minor in college. So when searching for a job, be sure to sell the right qualities—oftentimes, those are found beyond just what you learned in class.
Related: The Top 10 Hard and Soft Skills All Employers Want
It's tough to follow your heart these days—but your calling is your calling and that's worth pursuing. Since the state of the economy doesn’t change your passion, work with it to the best of your ability rather than against it. Get a Business minor, or any minor that can enhance your prospects, to round out your résumé before graduation.
If you don't have a major yet but are still thinking of the benefits of business, read our blog The Best Majors to Pair With a Business Minor to help you make some tough decisions.
