"I think the strongest assets I cultivated as an English major were communication, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence."
When did you graduate from BYU?
BA English 2014
What is your job/position? And how would you describe what you do in that job/position?
I'm a general manager at Clever Real Estate. I manage the editorial production processes and general marketing needs for a website owned by Clever. Our goal is to generate leads through organic traffic. I manage a team of writers, editors, team leads, and freelancers. I oversee everything pertaining to the site, from editorial to technical SEO initiatives.
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.
I majored in English because I wanted to be a published author, and I minored in editing because I wanted to hold a steady job. I've been working on writing a book for about five years now, but in the meantime, I've also progressed in my career from a copywriter to a general manager. In the almost eight years since I've graduated, I've nearly quadrupled my starting salary. I'm still not a published author, but I've gotten my manuscript to the point that I'm preparing to query agents. I've also gotten married, put my husband through school, and had a son—and my son is far and away my best work. :) Through it all, my English major has been a tremendous support for my life. It took me a while to lean into my career. For the first while, I saw it as a temporary thing that was slowly destroying my soul. I would spend my evenings reading blogs about people who saved up lots of money and then quit their job to travel. I took on a freelance job with Cotopaxi back when it was just starting out in addition to my full-time job as a copywriter at a scrapbooking company. Once I saved enough money, I quit to go to Ecuador and work in orphanages through OSSO. It was a wonderful experience. While I was there, I met several people who were living a life of travel without a steady job. I had idealized this lifestyle throughout my entire college career, but seeing it in action took some of the shine off. Many of the people I met seemed like they were running away from something. It was exhilarating for them to have no roots, but it also came at a heavy cost financially and emotionally. I realized I was running away from something too. Additionally, seeing the impoverished circumstances, weak infrastructure, and limited opportunities in Ecuador helped me gain some perspective of just how much I had been given. I realized that if these people could drive rickety buses up and down the mountains all day to make their lives work, I could surely sit at a desk and type. When I got back to the US, I decided I was going to make the most of my opportunities rather than thinking the corporate world was bent on keeping me away from living my true artistic life. Overall, it was a bit of a reality check for me after coming out of an idealized college environment. It was the impetus I needed to lean into my career rather than just waiting to become an author someday. Interestingly enough, leaning into my career has helped me learn skills that have transferred to how I'm approaching working on my book. I've also realized that even published authors don't operate in a constant state of artistic bliss. Sticking with something and finding creative solutions are universal needs. Everything I'm learning from my career will only help me succeed when I do become a published author. I love how my English degree is helping me accomplish both.
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?
People often underestimate English majors and assume that you must not be very smart, at least when it comes to math or financially savvy. It's been very satisfying for me to make a good career out of a major that I loved, despite claims that all English majors work at McDonald's (although people do still make bothersome assumptions). I think the strongest assets I cultivated as an English major were communication, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence. Switching from a mindset where you're identifying larger structures and themes to a mindset where you're examining details and their impact overall is a unique way of strategic thinking that isn't super common but is highly valuable.
What are some of the surprising ways in which your English degree helped you in your life?
My English degree has allowed me tremendous flexibility with my work, which has been huge. It's also enhanced my appreciation for life and the diversity of lived experience.
What do you wish you had known as an English major? Is there any advice you’d like to share with current students?
I wish I'd known more about business and how the corporate world operates. I also wish I'd been more proactive about which options I wanted to pursue. I didn't start thinking seriously about what I was going to do after graduation until my senior year, and I ended up taking the first job I was offered because I was so afraid of not having one. It all worked out, but I do think I could've unlocked more opportunities if I'd taken a more active role in my post-graduation plans. Advice for current students: Learn everything you can about SEO (search-engine optimization)! Soak up everything about your classes and the college environment. Everyone says this, but it really is such a special time that is very difficult to replicate once you graduate. It's easy to focus on the papers, the boring lectures, and all the reading, but try to let yourself love the learning. Make friends with the people in your classes and talk to your professors outside of class. The connections you make in college are a lot more valuable than your grades. There is so much you can learn from everyone around you in college, and it's such a unique opportunity to really dial in to what you want. On my study abroad, our professors kept telling us what we were doing was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and that we'd be looking back on it for our entire lives. I brushed those sentiments off because when you're in college, it feels like those structured experiences and opportunities will always be there. Well, my professors were right. Don't wish your college days away. Yes, it's awesome to not have homework. But it's also awesome to be in college.
Contact
cgillespie92@gmail.com