Boot camp whips liberal arts majors into shape
VIRGINIA GALT,
WORKPLACE REPORTER
Joseph D'Cruz has three academically accomplished sons any parent would be proud of -- one is working on a PhD in philosophy, another has just completed a linguistics degree and a third is thriving in a liberal science program in the United States.
Yet, like so many parents of liberal arts and science majors, Prof. D'Cruz, frets about "what they are going to do when they grow up."
As a professor of strategic management at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, he knows -- better than most -- that it takes more than fantastic marks and an excellent education to break into the business world. Employers look beyond marks and want to know what else job candidates have done, either through prior work experience or volunteer activities, he says.
So, drawing from his own family experience and borrowing a page from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, Prof. D'Cruz created and conducted a "bridge to business" boot camp for liberal arts majors this June at Rotman.
His first class of 57 students included philosophy, criminology, anthropology and English lit majors. Prof. D'Cruz threw some engineering grads, economics majors and a PhD candidate in molecular genetics into the mix, and then immersed the entire group of twentysomethings in a month of intensive business training -- 12 hours a day, six days a week. (He marvels that they still had the energy to party after class.)
To give students real-world experience, professors created a miniature version of the New York Stock Exchange trading floor, where they participated in an "open outcry auction," buying and selling shares. In the finance lab, they sat at workstations "just like the ones on Bay Street, with access to financial data from all over the world," Prof. D'Cruz says.
The students also created marketing plans for two music groups that are actually signed with Sony BMG -- and Sony now plans to incorporate some of their ideas.
At the end of it all, the students emerged "market ready," most with at least one solid job offer. The only ones who did not have immediate new job prospects were those who already had jobs, or who planned to return for post-graduate studies.
As he did for his boot camp grads, Prof. D'Cruz advises all students, especially liberal arts majors, to get as much experience as they can outside of school during their undergraduate years. University teaches them to think and write, but that is not enough to launch a career, he says.
"Liberal arts grads know how to formulate problems, and how to address them rigorously and intellectually, but they have no idea what the job world is like and they actually have no immediately marketable job skills," he says.
The "bridge to business" program -- at $5,000 a pop for those without scholarships -- gave them a definite edge, the graduates say.
Olesy Alekseev, who has a double major in criminology and communication, discovered an aptitude for finance, and learned how to apply the analytical skills she picked up in four years of undergraduate study.
Just as important to her career prospects, she found, are the leadership skills she developed as an adviser to younger students. Employers have expressed interest in her management potential. "Get involved in your community," she advises her peers.
Charlotte Sobolewski, who majored in peace and conflict studies, says it is important to understand what makes business tick, whether or not one plans to enter corporate life. "It gives you a context for future action."
Ms. Sobolewski, currently on staff with the non-profit organization Free the Children, learned marketing strategies that could be applied to her organization's fundraising efforts. She also learned a lot about listening and teamwork -- "sometimes it's not the loudest people who are the most effective."
Sean Burrowes, who is working on his masters degree in mechanical engineering, also benefited from the diversity of viewpoints. "As an engineer, I looked at problems from an analytical or numerical aspect; however, others in my group . . . would look into the psychological aspects that I wouldn't have normally considered."
And Robert Woolstencroft, the PhD candidate in molecular genetics, found the finance lab an incredible learning experience. "It's definitely an eat-what-you-kill mentality, and a bit of a rush. Maybe I missed my calling," he says.