The English major hiring process is more than a career path: it’s a rite of passage for many college students.
For the last several years, the majors of the United States have become increasingly professionalized and more competitive.
The United States English Major Association (USEMA) has expanded its membership to include more than 40 colleges, and the U.S. Department of Education has encouraged colleges to make English majors more prominent in their student body.
And a growing number of schools are creating English major advising programs, which offer a way for students to have their own professional coach, as well as a chance to network with other English majors.
In order to be considered for a job with a university English major, students must first complete an online interview with the major’s adviser, or via a “self-directed” interview.
After the interview, students receive a “job posting,” which provides the job title, the type of job, and a description of the role.
The process can take as little as a few minutes and as long as an hour, and all candidates must complete it before applying.
“There’s a lot of emphasis on making it as personal as possible,” said Brian Levett, associate director of recruitment and retention at the University of Texas English Department.
“And I think that’s something that can be really helpful.”
Levetti is part of a team of English majors at Texas A&M University.
(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Leveitt and his team of 40 English majors are part of the “self directed” hiring process.
The USEMA offers a variety of online interviews with prospective English majors, and they receive a job posting and a recommendation from their adviser.
The job posting is often as short as a sentence or as lengthy as a resume.
And applicants often don’t have to write a formal application or provide any kind of resume.
“The job posting that we’re getting is a lot like an outline of what we think English majors need to do,” Leveett said.
“It’s not an essay.
We’re not saying, ‘I want to get into this profession.’
But it’s an outline.”
The job listing is often only two pages long, and candidates can’t fill it out or even fill out the information that is included on the job posting.
“We really want to emphasize that the job isn’t just about your resume.
It’s also about what the job is about,” Levesitt said.
The self-directed interviewing process is different from other recruiting platforms that offer similar services.
For example, LinkedIn has developed an online recruiting platform called “The Career Coach.”
But Leveatt and other English professors said that USEMB’s system is more tailored to the students it serves.
Levelett said that the USEMM has a “really good relationship with the university” and that the system has been working well for the school.
The University of Minnesota English Department also has a self-directed recruiting platform, but the system is different in that it does not include an online application.
Instead, the department recruits candidates through online applications.
“When we’re recruiting for the career coach, we’re really trying to focus on what students are looking for, rather than what the career coaches want to hire,” Levey said.
And unlike other recruiting companies, USEM’s recruiting system does not require candidates to write their applications.
Levesit said that although USEM has a positive reputation, the system can also be confusing to new students.
“I think that the recruiting system is difficult to understand, because it’s very structured and not necessarily aligned with how we’re learning about English in our classes,” Levez said.
While the USEMA system may be more user-friendly for students, the self- directed hiring process can be time-consuming and can lead to long applications.
For that reason, Leveit and other USEM professors say that the hiring process should be done through a college-specific hiring platform.
“If you’re going to hire a new English major at the university, you need to be sure that you’re hiring a good English major,” Leventt said.
Levey agreed that the process can feel confusing for students who are unsure of where they are in the process.
“So the good news is that we have a pretty solid, well-trained recruiting team that is helping us to make sure that we are getting the best people we can,” Leverett said, “but we also have a very well-run recruitment process that is aligned with the school.”
USEM provides several other services to English majors and helps students obtain transcripts, including the online transcript search.
The system is available to English and American students who meet the same eligibility requirements, including a minimum score on the SAT, ACT, and GPAs.
For students from other countries, there are also scholarships available to students with low scores.
Levereitt and Leve
