Cardinal Directions

Helping Ball State humanities majors pivot from college to career.

Archives

  • people watching a speaker

    Need direction? We’ve got you covered.
    August 24, 2022 by

    Check out our schedule for Fall 2022. Cardinal Directions (formerly known as “Stars to Steer By”) is a career series geared to students in Anthropology, English, History, Modern Languages & Classics, and Philosophy & Religious Studies. Remember: recent alumni still looking for jobs or interested in a career pivot are also welcome!  Tues. Sept. 20, […]

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  • Step 6: The Informational Interview
    April 21, 2022 by

    Watch the Presentation (Ball State Access Only) A great way to learn whether a particular career might be a good fit for you is to talk to someone in that field via an informational interview or a job shadow. But it can be intimidating to approach people and ask them for this kind of help. […]

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  • Step 4: New (and Old) Rules for Resumés
    April 6, 2022 by

    Watch the Presentation (Ball State Access Only) As technology changes, so do the rules for what makes a good resume. Many employers today use software programs called ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) to review submitted resumes—and studies show that up to 75% of resumes are unreadable to the ATS programs and simply rejected. We’ll talk about […]

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  • people talking

    Step 3: Networking for Introverts
    March 23, 2022 by

    Watch the presentation Ball State Access Only Takeaway Resources Do you get anxious about advertising yourself to potential employers? Do you worry about how you can get a job when you don’t really know how to network? This session will teach you how to network and widen your professional circles, both in real life and […]

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  • man in blue suit with magnifying glass

    Step 2: Self-Assessment and Step 3: Strategic Research
    March 15, 2022 by

    Watch the presentation (Ball State access only) Question: How do you search for a job if you don’t know it exists? Answer: Do some self-assessment, and then some strategic research. Takeaway Resources March 16, 2022  Cathy Day, Director of the Humanities Compass Advantage, cday@bsu.edu  Emily Karas, Career Coach for Humanities and Social Sciences majors, ekaras@bsu.edu   […]

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  • a cow branding iron

    Step 1: Personal Branding
    March 3, 2022 by

    Watch the presentation (Ball State access only) As a job candidate, it’s important to know how to differentiate yourself from the crowd. What makes you distinctive, and how do you convey that distinctiveness online, on paper, and in person? In this session, you’ll complete a few different writing activities aimed at helping you to find […]

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  • The Artist’s Statement
    February 24, 2022 by

    This event took place on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 Many writers regularly apply for fellowships, grants, and residencies in order to buy time to work on their projects. An essential element to these applications is the “artist’s statement” that describes what you write and why.  What strategies should you use to frame your creative work […]

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  • Self-Publishing
    February 9, 2022 by

    This event took place on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022 After earning her MFA, Rank Lev embarked on an independent publishing career. Her biggest hurdle, she says, was the stigma, giving up the “validity” of traditional publishing. But in exchange, she understands readers and retailers and how they work together. During her talk, she’ll explode some […]

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