How to Talk About Your Degree When You Don't Know What Career You Want Yet
Not knowing exactly what you want isn't a problem. Communicating it badly is. Here's how to talk about your degree confidently.
Most graduates don't study something with a direct career path attached. History, English, Psychology, Philosophy, brilliant degrees, often followed by the question: "So what are you going to do with that?"
The answer most graduates give is a shrug, or a vague reference to something they're "keeping options open" for. Neither is compelling to an employer.
Lead with what your degree developed, not what it covered
No employer hiring a graduate into a commercial role expects you to have studied sales or recruitment. What they want to know is whether your degree made you sharper. Did it develop your ability to construct an argument? Synthesise information quickly? Handle large volumes of reading under pressure? These are all genuinely valuable, but you have to say them.
Connect your degree to why you want this role
Even a tenuous connection, expressed with conviction, is better than no connection at all. If you studied history and you're applying for a role at a fintech company, think about what drew you to both. Curiosity? Rigour? A fascination with how things change over time? Find the thread.
Acknowledge the uncertainty, then move past it
There's nothing wrong with saying: "I didn't study something that pointed directly at a career, but I've worked out what I want from the first few years, and that's what drew me to this." That's honest, and it shows self-awareness.
Not knowing exactly what you want is fine. Communicating it badly is what costs you interviews.
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