Marketing Yourself as an IR Major
Marketing Yourself as an IR Major
The IR major at BYU is not like international relations/studies majors at most other universities. It is also not like other social science and humanities majors at BYU. It is harder. It takes longer. And it develops a broader set of vital skills. So make sure you convey that information to potential employers and graduate schools. Here are some of the important real-world skills you should include on your resume, in cover letters, and in interviews:
- Advanced statistics—name the software you’ve used.
- Excellent writing—talk about your ability to write everything from short summaries to long research papers.
- Analytical thinking and research design—tell them about a research paper you wrote and what you found.
- Foreign language competency—name the languages you’re conversant in (you don’t have to be completely fluent) and any others you’ve studied. Which language doesn’t matter that much: They will want to know that you can learn languages at a high level.
- Cultural awareness—tell them about the places you’ve lived and adapted to for a prolonged period (but not the places where you just visited and went sightseeing).
- Highlight the fact that you completed the core classes for BOTH an Economics and a Political Science major—they will know what that means
Planning Ahead
Be thinking ahead to job and school applications throughout your undergraduate career. Good advice to keep in mind: “Don’t Be Vanilla!” There are lots of other people competing for the same jobs, so you have to stand out. As a BYU IR major, you are already “not vanilla” because of the exceptionally broad and thorough training you have received. But there are other things you might want to think about doing that will help you be even less vanilla:
- Internships—domestic or international
- Research assistantships, including the Global Politics Lab (ask your professors if they have openings or how to prepare for a future opening)
- Minors—a minor in Business or French or International Development or something else sends an important signal about your training and capabilities
- Writing—publish a paper in Sigma (https://kennedy.byu.edu/international-relations/student-journal) or another student journal or present a paper at the Fulton Poster Conference (https://fultonconference.byu.edu/)
- Language—earn a certificate in your foreign language through the Center for Language Studies (https://cls.byu.edu/programs/certificate/about)
Most of all, be confident! You have worked exceptionally hard and are extremely well trained. Don’t be afraid to tell employers what you can do. You earned it.