No matter what career you chase, there’s a way to incorporate your artistic experience

Employers spend a lot of money trying to search for, recruit, and hire the right people at a company. Who are “the right people”? That depends entirely on the organization. But one thing is consistent, and that is the need for an employer to understand the real you. The real you includes hobbies and interests that seem unrelated to a “normal” career. 

Playing the guitar, building decks, writing code, designing wedding cakes, singing karaoke, and photography are all creative outlets that shape people. 

Be creative in how you describe your hobbies & interests

Don’t skip over your artistic experiences in cover letters, college essays, and your portfolio personal statements. If you spend significant time in the arts, then think of ways to describe how you’re growing as a young adult. Hiring managers will be pleasantly surprised at your ability to connect the dots across life experiences. 

Here are 12 strategies that mentors will likely recommend as ways to stand out from the rest of your peers who are jumping into the workforce with you. 

By thinking of these tips through the lens of actual things you’ve created, you’ll learn to be a personal storyteller. Some may seem to contradict others, but it’s all about context (e.g. patience and ambition). Alright, let’s go!

1. Patient. 
2. Risk taker. 
3. Active listener. 
4. Well-mannered. 
5. Humble. 
6. Ambitious. 
7. Curious. 
8. Adaptable. 
9. Responsible. 
10. Kind. 
11. Well-spoken.
12. Dreamer.

The power in personal storytelling is that you’ll convey what you’re capable of, while everyone else is focused on what they’ve done. Employers don’t want a list of experiences, they want to know what kind of person you are and are becoming.

Check out this short talk about maximizing your potential.