This is the third article in an article series of four parts.
In the first and second article in this series, I interviewed current and former students at Antioch Santa Barbara to find out how they felt about their education and their future chances of reaching their dream career, but also how their education have affected their career since graduating. In this part, I have met with faculty members to listen to what they believe that the true value of an education is, and also how students can get the most out of their time at campus to increase their career opportunities. Here is what they said:
So what does faculty think?
After conducting these interviews I sat down and tried to make sense of it all. What became apparent was how no one mentioned what hard facts they had learned in school, but rather focused on how they developed as human beings or are currently developing.
The soft skills developed are truly of great importance. Moreover, I was happy about finding out that students did not go to college expecting to land their dream job right after graduation, but that they are and were ready to fight. Almost every person that I interviewed mentioned Antioch’s extensive internship program and the irreplaceable value they had gotten out of it. So I met up with the Internship Advisor at Antioch and to hear what his thoughts on the topic were.
Don Blumenthal – Affiliate Faculty Member and Internship Advisor
What do you think are the big hurdles for graduates in the job market today?
– I think the biggest hurdle is a student having the ability, or in some cases, the inability to market and brand themselves. I think it is important for students to have a sense of self to be able to brand themselves and to differentiate themselves from the next guy or lady – that is the biggest problem many students have.
What does Antioch provide that can help students with this?
– I think that the internship program is a very good way for students to gain confidence in themselves and to learn if this really is the occupation that they want to do. By having them try out those jobs for three months, they are provided with enough background to understand if that is something they want to do in the long run.
Why would you say that education is still of great importance when people tend to feel concerned even with a degree?
– Knowledge is power, I think that is true to a degree. But I think that stamina and perseverance are going to differentiate you from the next person. It is difficult, there are jobs out there but when someone says we want someone with a little bit more experience, it is like “how can I get experience if you don’t give me a chance?” I think that right there is something that students that are graduating, when they do go on interviews, need to bring up. What I know about Antioch and the internship program, is that I think it gives students a chance to network, but it is tough out there so you got to keep plugging, you got to work harder than the next guy.
What would be your recommendations for students that graduate this summer and may feel concerned about the job searching process?
– I am going to reiterate – the internships are incredibly important. Also, experience is not just previous jobs that you have had, but also the courses that you have taken. For instance, if you apply for a marketing job, tell them about the class Brand Development and what project you did and so on. Use your courses as a part of your resume because when you graduate when being between 21 and 25 years old, you are not going to have that much job experience. Talk to the people that are interviewing you about the projects you have worked on or what you have created in your classes.
“Experience is not just previous jobs that you have had.“
Elaine Gail – Interim Chair of the BA program
– I think that it is a really competitive job market, that is one thing. I think students have to be really prepared and you can’t make any mistakes. Your cover letter has to be fantastic and you have to make sure that you have spelled the person’s name right that you are applying to, you just have to go the extra mile in every single way to stand out of the crowd. I think that it is really important right now.
What does Antioch provide that can help students with this?
– I think that Antioch’s mission is taking a greater view, it is almost like a bird’s eye view. You are looking for contribution, how you can contribute to an organization and how the organization can contribute back to you. The energy of a good job placement is always a two-way street so you always want to think about what is the fit here and how I can contribute and how can I be contributed to. I think our students leave feeling empowered and that they recognize what knowledge and skills they have in the world.
Why would you say that education is still of great importance when people tend to feel concerned even with a degree?
– I love that question. There are so many times in life where we are set up strategically where we think “I am going to do this to get this” and then I will be happy. Of course, education is strategic in some ways, you want to get your diploma that will open doors that you did not even know were shut. The diploma is a key that unlocks doors that you did not even know was there, so the diploma is an incredibly important and valuable step. No matter what classes you took, just the fact that we are privileged enough to sit around in a classroom for three hours a week and consider these ideas and topics and cultivate your opinion of something, your intuition, your heart and your mind and your body together so that it is all humming in your life.
What would be your recommendations for students that graduate this summer and may feel concerned about the job searching process?
– Every generation faces this. When we graduated in the nineties we were all really scared. There were no jobs, it was so competitive and we were all freaking out. I think every generation phases their own economic and social crisis of the times that they are in. You can graduate and be concerned about the job market, I think that is fair and smart and practical. But to go in with fear about it I think can diminish what you really want to pursue. And you can make choices based on fear instead of making choices based on what you love. Always go towards what you love, and if you have to make short-term sacrifices then do it.
How do you feel that Antioch stands out with developing hirable graduates?
– One thing that I really notice is the class size. The class sizes have doubled in most institutions and that has a big effect on the job satisfaction for the professor and a big impact on the quality of the education for the student. And also the shift away from the emphasis on grades towards more qualitative and narrative assessment of learning is a big game change for us that have taught in a quantitative, grade obsessed system. You end up with more mentoring from professors, more connections, real relationships that go deep and we can actually write you a letter of recommendation that has a lot of meaning and depth to it, we can serve as a reference on your CV.
“The diploma is a key that unlocks doors that you did not even know was there.”
“Getting a Bachelor’s Degree nowadays…”
There is really a huge fighting spirit in the Antioch Community. The interviews make it apparent that college students have to accept that the world has changed and that it is, in many ways, fundamentally positive. The fact that so many people now get the chance to get a college degree compared to previous generations is essentially good, more fair and important, even if this increases the competition between graduates. It seems like getting a Bachelor’s Degree nowadays is more about becoming a hirable person, with confidence, perseverance and communication skills. On these three things, students have expressed their gratitude towards Antioch and its concept.
However, the statistics do not change by this. It is a fact that it has never been more challenging for a college graduate to start a successful career as it is these days. I am glad to find though, that students feel that Antioch does not only teach them about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, SWOT-analyses or the Channel Islands, but it also teaches them how to be the best versions of themselves. In a highly competitive market, there is a need for grounded and confident candidates for every level within a business, and Antioch has decided to be a leading institution in filling that need.
