Work hard, market yourself on social media, network and follow your passion, students were told.
Humanities graduates were advised to “take risks like an entrepreneur would” and to use social media to sell themselves at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) careers evening on August 17.
You are the brand, Kenneth Diole from the Gordon Institute for Business Science (GIBS) told the audience that included students and graduates from Wits, the University of Pretoria and Monash University.
He added that graduates must use the skills that they acquire during their studies to market themselves.
Diole was one of the keynote speakers at the event, along with Megan Harrington-Johnson from Schindlers Attorneys, Itumeleng Komanyane from non-governmental organisation Sonke Gender Justice, and radio and television personality Gareth Cliff from Cliff Central and One on One Productions.
FROM LEFT: Kenneth Diole, Megan Harrington-Johnson, Itumeleng Komanyaner and Gareth Cliff
The discussion looked at career options for students in the humanities faculty, with the panelists giving students advice and motivation by sharing their personal experiences.
Komanyane told students to never stop dreaming, to give back to their communities, to never stop learning and to work hard. “We tend to think that having a degree puts you there (higher in your career), but it does not,” she said.
Overall, the panellists advised students to network themselves well in all career fields, to work hard and to follow their dreams and passions.
David Kabwa, a 1st year political science student from the University of Pretoria, said that he is taking a holistic approach to the study of humanities. He said that he learned that “you can approach the humanities faculty from a very interdisciplinary perspective. Through humanities you can branch out and you have skills that many other degrees do not have,” he said.
Five international organisations offering scholarships to students who wanted to further their studies were also at the careers evening.
The SAIIA and KAS annual careers evening took place on August 17 at the Dalrympl House at Wits University.
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