Career Preparation for English Majors

Evaluate your interests and strengths and discover the career paths for English majors.

• Exploring a Career
  • Take a Career Interest Survey
  • Visit our Career Design Center website to take a career interest survey and discuss the results with an advisor.
• Attend the Part-Time Job Festival (Fall)
• Career Workshop
  • Attend the Careers for the Common Good workshop held during the fall semester.
• Attend Research & Internship Day
  • Learn about English majors’ range of internships and research opportunities through Summer Undergraduate Research Program held during the fall semester.
• Attend Major/Minor Fair
• Join Eagle Connect
  • Eagle Connect is a Career Resource portal offered by SUNY Brockport.
• Order Business Cards from the Career Design Center
  • Have your name, major, and class year added to your business card and use them when you meet someone with an interesting job.
• Earn Good Grades & Find Mentors
  • Consider joining English Club, submitting a piece to the literary magazine Jigsaw or writing for the Stylus.

Develop a professional approach, gain the right tools and learn more about career options for English majors.

Choosing a Direction

• Attend Career Events
  • Part-time Job Festival
  • Careers for the Common Good
  • Jobs and Internships Fair (spring semester)
  • Greater Rochester Teacher Recruitment Day (spring semester)
  • Career Workshops
• Do an Informational Interviewing with 3 People & Ask to Job-Shadow 1 of Them
• Develop a Résumé & Have the Career Design Center Review It
• Volunteer with The Office of Community Development
• Take a Professional Writing or Career Preparation for English Majors Course
• Round Out Your Experiences
  • Think about studying abroad
  • Choose an unusual minor
  • Aim for a volunteer service award through the Office of Community Development
  • Attend Scholars Day and Writers Forum reading
  • Apply for the Washington, DC internship semester, the New York City alumni trip, or the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP)
• Apply for Scholarships

Build a professional profile with career credentials, internship experience, and interesting experiences.

Developing Credentials

• Possible First/Second Internship
• Continue to Attend Career Workshops
• Get a Professional Photo
  • The Job Fair offers professional photos for students that attend. use your professional photo to create a profile on LinkedIn.
• Take a Professional Writing or Career Preparation for English Majors Course
• Leverage Your Coursework
  • Present your work at Scholars Day, NCUR or SURC, cultivate a mentor relationship; keep your grades up; publish in the Stylus or Jigsaw; apply for scholarships.
• Research Grad Schools
  • Take qualifying exams (e.g. LSAT, GRE), gather letters of recommendation, craft personal statement and review with an advisor.
• Develop an “Elevator Pitch”
  • Develop an elevator pitch about who you are, what skills you have, and what you want to do with them.

Get Ready for launch! Polish and refine job materials, practice professional networking and interviewing skills.

Articulate & Target

• Complete a First or Second Internship or Do Student Teaching
• Present at Research & Internship Day
• Continue Research for Grad Schools
  
  • Re-take you qualifying exams, gather letters of recommendation, craft personal statement, and review with an advisor.
• Continue Attending Career Workshops
• Update, Scrub & Align All Your Social Media Accounts
  • Get a professional photo taken ad the Job fair if you have not yet done so.
• Visit the Career Design Center Express Desk
  • The Express Desk will help with résumés and cover letters. Send out your applications.
• Take a Capstone Course
  
  • Also consider taking Career Prep for English Majors or Professional Writing.
• Assemble an Interview Outfit
  • If you do not have the necessary clothes, visit the Professional Clothes Closet in the Career Design Center.
• Schedule a Mock Interview