Articulating Transferrable Skills:
In this exercise, we will begin by identifying transferable skills and translating anthropological concepts that you can apply to resumes, CVs, application letters, and an elevator pitch or speech. An “elevator speech” is a short “pitch” that can be given immediately when a situation warrants. In this case, it is an introduction to yourself and your interests in an anthropologically relevant way. You will gear the speech to particular audiences at different times, but the bulk of it will remain the same most likely. (for example I have a different one for film festivals than I have for academics).
Objective: To think about and synthesize your anthropological learning these past years, and to articulate how and why this training is significant and useful to a wider public.
Outcome: A list of transferrable skills and translated anthropological perspectives you can use in an elevator pitch or other conversation with non-specialist audiences
You can think of this exercise in 2 parts:
I. Gather the Data:
1. Begin by re-reading Omohundro’s (1998) Actions piece on Career Advice for Anthropology Majors.
2. Think about the skills and perspectives you’ve learned as an Anthropology Major. To help with this, think through the activities we did and topics we talked about in class, i.e. Anthropology student learning outcomes, ‘What does Anthropology Do”, and “What I did in Anthropology Class”. (shown in the screenshot named “class material”)
3. Look at your own resume or CV, and see what kinds of skills you’ve developed over time both inside and outside of class.
II. Articulate Your Ideas:
1. Based upon Omohundro’s list of transferable skills, identify 3-4 that most closely align with your own experiences and future goals. List the skills.
2. For each skill you’ve listed, give at least two specific, detailed examples of fieldwork, labwork, or coursework that illustrate your training and capacity in that particular skill. Some skills may draw from the same experience (eg. archaeology field school), but different aspects and activities will be used to substantiate each skill set.
3. Next, pick three of the following Anthropological frameworks (or use one of your own) that best fit within your skill set and your future goals: holism, intercultural competence, biocultural change, empiricism, relativism & power, anti-ethnocentrism.
4. Then, for each anthropological framework you’ve listed, think about how you could explain its importance and meaning to a prospective employer, grad school, or funder with a story. The story is crucial, and one of the best ways to explain complex anthropology paradigms to non-specialists. You have two choices. You can either:
Provide a hypothetical scenario (“Imagine a world where”, your dream job, etc) in which these skills would be crucial;
Provide a concrete example from your own experiences that illustrate the concepts and their application.
The Short Activities Rubric will be used to grade this exercise.
1. Anthropological Perspectives (1) Exhibits awareness and understanding of ethnocentrism, cultural relativity, contexts, and power in all activities;
2. Course Concepts & Examples (1) Directly and appropriately utilizes course terminology in all writing and activities; Describes and utilizes appropriate examples from course materials (readings, films, individual fieldwork, media sources);
3. Follows Instructions & Puts in Effort (3) Is this a compare/contrast discussion? Did you find outside sources if required? Were you supposed to upload an image? Follow the directions!! And put in some effort.
