In a previous post, I talked about searching online for jobs when you are an Anthropology major. In this post, I’d like to talk about tips for job interviews for Anthropology majors.
In a Job Interview
So, you’re sitting in an office, in the beginning of a job interview. And the interviewer says, “Oh, I see that you have a degree in Anthropology. Well, we don’t dig up dinosaurs here, you know.” And so you explain that Anthropology is NOT digging up dinosaurs, and you tell the interviewer that Anthropology is actually the study of people, and then you briefly explain each of the 4 fields.
“Okay,” the interviewer replies. “But how is what you learned in this Anthropology degree useful for this job?” And your eyes open wide and you freeze, not sure exactly how to answer the question. So what do you do?
Well, you need to explain the relevance of an Anthropology degree to potential employers. So, how ARE the things you learned while studying Anthropology relevant to the workplace? Well, you don’t need to spend a long time thinking up answers to this question. The Anthropology Career Readiness Commission has you covered! They have created a great document that lists tons of things you may have learned during your Anthropology degree. And it explains exactly how each is actually a skill that is relevant to the workplace.
Example: Group Projects
So, here’s an example. Maybe in one of your Anthropology classes, your professor had you complete a group project. Some students hate group projects, mainly because your grade is partially dependent on the rest of your group’s efforts.
And there always seems to be somebody who doesn’t do their work. And you have to arrange a time to meet with the rest of your group, and you need to figure out who is going to do what, and you have to handle arguments between the group members, and so on.
But, the Anthropology Career Readiness Commission document explains that all this has taught you how to work with others towards a shared goal, how to divide up and delegate tasks, and how to manage conflict. So, you have skills in collaboration and teamwork, which are important aspects of many jobs. You can tell the interviewer all about your group project, and how you worked as part of a team.
Example: Class Presentations
Here’s another example. Maybe in one of your Anthropology classes, your professor had everyone give a presentation in front of the class on a certain topic. Some students hate giving presentations, because they don’t want to have to speak in front of everyone, and after the presentation, you have to be able to answer questions.
But, the Anthropology Career Readiness Commission document explains that all this has taught you how to create relevant presentation slides, and how to field questions effectively. So you have skills in data and research translation, presentation development, communication, and public speaking! And these skills are important in many jobs as well. Now you can tell the interviewer about your presentation, and how you learned all these skills.
Want Other Examples?
There are lots and lots of other skills that you may have learned while earning your Anthropology degree! Just check out the Anthropology Career Commission’s document! Go to AnthroCareerReady.net and click on “Resources” and then “Commission Materials.” Then just scroll down the page until you see the section called “One Page Tools.” Click on the “Skill Translator” image, and download the PDF. You can also download the document directly from this link.
Remember, this is not a complete list of every single possible skill you could learn from studying Anthropology, but it will give you a ton of skills to work with! You’ll go into your next job interview totally prepared to explain how the skills you learned with Anthropology are relevant to the job. And I’ll talk more about Anthropology jobs in another blog post.
I hope you enjoyed these tips for Anthropology majors on how to explain the relevance of Anthropology in job interviews! I also made a short TikTok video that shares the information from this blog post, so be sure to check it out! The video is embedded below, or you can view it on your computer browser using this link. Also, you can follow me on TikTok at this link, or you can search for my profile “anthropology4u.”
Thanks for reading!