"Strong writing is in serious demand in most companies. It goes far beyond writing-specific roles like those of copywriters or PR specialists."
When did you graduate from BYU?
BA English 2015
What is your job/position? And how would you describe what you do in that job/position?
I’m a BizOps manager at Apple. I manage business operations, negotiations, and analytics for Apple’s repair supply chain.
Describe the path that you took from your BYU English degree to your current career, highlighting the important realizations and turning points that paved the path for you.
It’s been a long journey! For most of my undergraduate years, I positioned myself to go into law. After a few internships in various law firms and functions, I realized the education path for law was more appealing to me than the actual practice of law. I had an internship in tech during my final year at BYU that made me realize how much I loved the industry. I realized that business is basically just problem-solving and creating new things from the ground up, all within a highly collaborative environment. I loved it then, and I still love it today. From there, I worked at Amazon as a vendor manager for Amazon Video and then at Lucid Software as the director of customer success before going to business school at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. I just graduated from that program and now work as a BizOps manager at Apple.
What are the specific skills that you cultivated as an English major that you now use in your professional life? And how do you use those skills in ways that set you apart from your colleagues?
I was so worried about having hard skills coming out of BYU. I frantically tried to learn SQL and Excel skills as quickly as I could in my free time, thinking I would be unemployable with my lack of tangible analytical skills. My biggest career learning has been how unimportant any one analytical skill set is. Problem-solving comes in all shapes and sizes within a company, and the most important attributes to cultivate to be helpful are creativity and communication. When people told me this while I was in undergrad, I didn’t believe them. Life really has come full circle…
What are some of the surprising ways in which your English degree helped you in your life?
Strong writing is in serious demand in most companies. It goes far beyond writing-specific roles like those of copywriters or PR specialists. I’ve watched individuals set themselves apart time and time again through the clarity and thoughtfulness of their communication. It takes a great deal of time and effort to cultivate that skill, and I’ve felt fortunate to have spent so much time during my English major developing myself in ways I didn’t fully grasp at the time.
What do you wish you had known as an English major? Is there any advice you’d like to share with current students?
Intern!!! Intern as much as you possibly can! During semesters and summers. Do all you can to expose yourself to anything and everything you think might be interesting. And don’t get too caught up in what you think will look good on your resume. I have zero bullets on my resume from the eight or so jobs and internships I held during undergrad, so use the time to truly explore.
Contact
nickhardy7@gmail.com