The 3 Unexpected Skills a Newhouse Degree Teaches You
There are a lot of things I’ve picked up during my time at Newhouse. There are the tools I can write on my resume like Google Analytics, how to use Simmons OneView and Mintel. There’s even less concrete skills like pitching, networking and staying up until 2 a.m. to finish a client project. Then there are skills that are hard to write on your resume and even harder to explain. I’ve realized over the last year that no one wrote these skills into a syllabus, no one made me learn these skills, but these are three skills I will be able to use no matter where I end up.
- Boldness
My first post for Newhouse Insider was about the mistakes you don’t want to make in your job search. After 6 months, I’ve learned that to be a successful in your job search you have to take some risks. Of course, you still shouldn’t make those mistakes, but if there’s an agency whose work you love and admire, a magazine you’ve been reading for years and would love to work at or a network whose programming you can’t get enough of, find someone who works there whose role you’re interested in and reach out. Be bold and tell them exactly why you love what they do and your passion will shine through more than you realize. - Relentlessness
This is a very recent skill I’m learning to hone fueled by Jason DeLand’s Eric Mower Forum. Relentlessness begins with the desire to achieve. Jason DeLand said that whatever you think success is, erase it and continue resetting the marker higher and higher each time. To be successful, you need to surround yourself with people who have the same ambition. Being at Newhouse is a great way to start working on this one. Identify classmates whose work ethic and brilliance you respect and build a relationship. Be relentless and know what you want and work towards it not just through your year at Newhouse but for the rest of your life.
- Resilience
Finding a role after graduation can be tough. As an international student, finding a role in the United States is a difficult and challenging task. The number of times we are told no is unfathomable. I cannot underscore how often an international student is told no because an employer doesn’t want to sponsor us or they don’t understand that they don’t have to pay for our Optional Practical Training (OPT) visa. Whether you are a domestic or international student, be resilient and fight through your rejections. For all students, making your case is easier if you make a connection, which the CDC can help with. For international students, find opportunities to explain that for your first year your future employer doesn’t have to sponsor your OPT visa.
Newhouse is a place to not only learn the tangible skills to make your resume stand out but to be bold, relentless and resilient.
-Neema Amadala is a graduate student studying advertising
