Having a specialized degree in an area such as teaching or engineering gives graduates an advantage over those with general degrees when competing in the job market.

However, for college students who have degrees in broader fields such as communication or general studies, the volume of potential jobs is immense.

Finding a starting point can prove stressful for the new graduate.

“The more focused your degree is, the more qualified you will be for a job in that field,” said Cindy Henderson, job fair coordinator for Career Services. “But students with broader degrees are qualified for a wider range of jobs when they graduate.”

Job recruiters who visit college campuses receive a variety of majors who may apply for a specific position. Emily Longmore, human resources manager at the Cintas Corporation, receives a variety of applicants with differing degrees in addition to the traditional business degree.

“It definitely is an advantage to have a degree in business if you’re going into a business field,” Longmore said. “But we look at all resumes equally. Half of the NIU interns we hired last year were working on some sort of business degree, and the other half were getting various liberal arts degrees that you wouldn’t associate with business.”

“If a student has that spark and good communication skills, we consider them above all others, no matter what their degree might be in,” said Joy McManus, recruiting specialist for the Sherwin Williams company.

“Students shouldn’t feel discouraged from applying for a job they’re interested in just because the degree they have might not correlate to that job. We also look at job experience and course work in addition to the degree,” she said.

Jody Kirchgessner, campus recruiter and student contact at Career Services, recounted a related story with a separate recruiter.

“A woman from the Federal Reserve Bank called who wanted to post a compliance examiner position on campus,” Kirchgessner said. “But she specifically did not want accounting or finance majors for the job. For that job she was looking for sociology, history and psychology majors because they needed people who could investigate different banks. Liberal arts and sciences majors have been trained to recognize social trends and discrimination, no matter how subtle they may be, while accounting and finance majors only have technical skills.”

“The best way to look at it is in metaphor,” Henderson said. “Life is the ticket that gets you on the plane, and the college degree is what moves you up to first class. It is a means to achieve success in whatever you want to do after college.”