Communications & Media

Communications and Media cover a variety of career paths, including journalism, public relations, corporate communications, marketing, digital communications, editing, publishing, and writing. In these fields, you are asked to employ creativity and design thinking with your liberal arts strengths: writing, research, and critical thinking.

Meet your Advisor!

Suzannah Haasbroek
she/her/hers
Assistant Director of Arts, Communications, and Entertainment

Make an appointment with Suzannah.
Email Suzannah.

Resources to Prepare

Portfolio Q&A

Software

Canva: Great for social media and event content
Adobe Suite, particularly Illustrator, Photoshop, and Lightroom: More advanced photo and graphics editing software. Proficiency in these is a must if you have an interest in graphic design, photography, or branding/marketing.
Squarespace & Wordpress: Website editing. While these programs are usable at a novice level, using them at a professional level requires skill & practice; Coursera offers several courses to build your proficiency
SalesForce, RaisersEdge, and/or other CRM platforms: For the strategy and analytics side of Marketing & Development, proficiency in these systems can make you a very competitive candidate. Coursera is also a good resource for learning how to use these tools

Annual Conferences and Events

Publications & Professional Networks

Job & Internship Search

A job or internship search can be a daunting task, especially if you haven’t done it before. Media and Communications careers can take you to a variety of types of organizations and roles, so no 2 job searches will be exactly alike. However, most job searches can be divided into 3 phases: Self-Evaluation, Researching Opportunities, and Experiential Learning

Self-Evaluation

As you consider Media & Communication career paths, carefully consider some of these more specific questions, in addition to the general exploration questions found here [link to exploration page]:

-What kind of communication skills do I have, written, oral, graphic art, or something else?

-Are there other interests or industries that I’d like to incorporate into my career goals?

-What do I value in an industry/organization, such as organizational culture, values, compensation, etc.?

-Do I want to be creating content?

Researching Opportunities

In Media & Communications, any of the general exploration research strategies can provide valuable insight; the most important thing is to diversify your research. Communications roles at a software company will be vastly different from a communications role at a non-profit, just as a technical or copywriting role at a large corporate organization will be very different from an editing role with a small publishing house. Talk to people doing the things you’re interested in at several different types of organizations to help you narrow down your focus. Learn more about talking to alumni in informational interviews here [link]

Experiential Learning

Now you’re ready to look for a job or internship! For Media & Communications roles, you’ll want to make sure you have application materials ready to go, including a targeted resume [link], a well-written cover letter [link], and a portfolio (especially if you’re looking for a writing, editing, or graphic design/art role). Many jobs & internships in this area are posted on the job boards linked below, but keep your options open and look on more general sites as well. For internships especially, idealist.org and Handshake can be great starting points! Find an unpaid summer internship? Check out our ASIP funding page [link]

Recruiting Timelines

Not all organizations recruit on this timeline, but many do, so use this graphic as a general guide with the understanding that you may still find great opportunities outside of this suggested timeline!

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