How to Make Your Masters Count

One of the most effective ways to ensure your master’s translates into better employment prospects is to choose a program which includes practical and professional experience. This is one of the key messages from the 2014 report “Taught Postgraduate Employability and Employer Engagement: Masters with a Purpose”, published by the UK’s Higher Education Careers Service Unit (HECSU).

The report notes that employers are significantly more likely to be impressed by graduate degrees which incorporate work-related experience – and that a master’s qualification in itself is not enough to make up for a lack of relevant experience.

A growing number of universities worldwide are recognizing the importance of helping students gain professional experience. As a result, it’s increasingly common to find internships, professional projects and other work-based elements incorporated into master’s programs. If your chosen subject doesn’t lend itself so well to this course format, look into local opportunities to gain relevant experience through part-time work, volunteering or internships.

The HECSU report also highlights the importance of opportunities for students to network with professionals, through initiatives such as guest lectures, networking events and mentoring schemes. As well as helping students build a network of relevant connections, this can also serve to contextualize course content, demonstrating how classroom material will be applied.

While opportunities to connect with professionals and prospective employers are invaluable – in some cases even leading to direct job offers – these are by no means the only networking avenues available. In fact, the richest networking pool may be found among your fellow classmates and the alumni community you’ll become part of.

When choosing your master’s degree, find out about networking initiatives both during and after the course, and try to get a feel for the type of employers involved and the make-up of the student/alumni community. Researching the wider campus life, including popular student associations, could also help you get a feel for the community you’ll be joining: make sure it’s one you’re excited to be part of.

Having chosen your master’s degree, the next challenge is to do justice to all the opportunities on offer – one of the most effective ways to boost your ROI. After all, there are few times in life when you’ll have the chance to try so many new things, so conveniently and often at no additional cost. Aside from all the fun to be had, the additional skills and experience you acquire may be what sets you apart in the graduate labor market.

Take the chance to learn a new language, or practice an existing one. Assume a position of responsibility within your department or in a student association. Find internships or relevant part-time work nearby. Attend events organized by the careers service.

In short, push yourself to learn and develop in as many ways as you can – without, of course, jeopardizing your academic success. You may discover a new passion, reveal a whole new set of aptitudes, or even meet a future business partner. Who knows which experience, event or new acquaintance could end up being the one that changes your life?

The last (but by no means least) of your challenges is to convince potential employers of the value of your master’s degree. Don’t assume recruiters will already know what you learned or gained. In fact, the HECSU report found that many employers are relatively unaware of the benefits provided by postgraduate study, so it’s up to graduates themselves to communicate these.

Ultimately, master’s or no master’s, your employment prospects will ultimately come down to your own self-marketing skills. Crucially, you need to show you’re the best match for the specific role in question, drawing on concrete examples to demonstrate your relevant skills and experience.

Be ready to talk about how the specializations and course modules you completed have prepared you for this exact job. And show how factors such as work experience, extra-curricular projects and international study have added even more to your arsenal, perfectly equipping you for the challenges ahead. Finally, make sure your online profiles, on platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn, present a consistent message; many recruiters will check these out.

To conclude, simply having a master’s degree won’t guarantee you better employment prospects or a higher salary. But the rich pool of experiences, knowledge, skills and connections you gain should give you more than enough material to draw upon when marketing yourself in the labor market. The ROI is in your hands!