Top Skills Communication Majors Have
Communication majors learn how to assess the needs and preferences of readers, viewers, and listeners. They have the creativity to devise innovative strategies for conveying their messages. Students who major in communication learn to plan, organize, and execute projects, programs, and events. They must be attentive to detail but at the same time understand the big picture. Since communications projects are often subject to criticism and failure, communication majors learn to tolerate critical appraisals of their work and to cope with less-than-successful ventures. Your final decision about a career with a degree as diverse as communication will be influenced by your interests, skills, and values, but here are some promising options for your consideration.
Top 10 Jobs for Communication Majors
Review some of the best job opportunities for communication majors, along with the skills you will need to get hired.
1. Public Relations Specialist
Organizations of all types are concerned about how they are perceived by the public. Communication majors are well positioned to think strategically about how to influence public perceptions through the media. PR professionals write press releases, organize press conferences and other events, and convince the media that stories about the organization have journalistic merit. Some public relations representatives work for public relations, marketing, and advertising agencies, which serve a roster of different clients. Others work directly for corporations, government agencies, and non-profit organizations in communication departments to get the right messages out about their employer.
2. Meeting/Event Planner
Successful events require a compelling theme and effective promotion to attract a viable group of attendees. Communication majors are favorably positioned to assess the interests of consumer groups and members of professional organizations and to package events in an appealing way. They have the detail orientation and organizational skills to think through the process and to consider all the needs of presenters and attendees. Their writing skills help them to compose press releases, write descriptions and biographies for event literature, and create online content about meetings.
3. College Alumni and Development Officer
Alumni officers evaluate the needs of various alumni groups and plan events such as reunions, networking receptions, and social events to maintain alumni connections to their alma mater. Development officers study prospective donors and present the aspects of the college that correspond to the interests of particular individuals. The ability of communication majors to create carefully worded and concise written communications helps the development officer to make their pitches effectively. Development and alumni officers both need to exercise a great deal of social finesse in their interactions with alumni, parents, and other potential donors.
4. Media Planner
Media planners need to understand the clicking, viewing, reading, and listening inclinations of consumers to select the best mix of media outlets for an advertising campaign. Communication majors are uniquely qualified to examine the way demographic groups consume media so they can anticipate the optimal placement of advertisements within television/radio programs, websites, and magazine and newspaper articles. Media planners also tap the presentation and writing skills developed through communication studies as they pitch their plans to advertising colleagues and executives.
5. Social Media Manager
Social media jobs are all about communicating with people. It is no surprise that communication majors, who are trained to analyze patterns of communication, are well qualified to help organizations leverage their brands within social media. Important: Social media managers must be good writers in order to compose messages about their organization that will appeal to users of social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. They must also have the persuasive abilities and presentation skills to pitch their plans to staff and convince colleagues and customers to contribute testimonials and other content online.
6. Human Resources Specialist
Human resources professionals are responsible for communication-intensive functions within organizations, including recruiting staff, orienting new employees, developing training programs, conveying policies to staff, educating employees about benefits, and creating employee newsletters. HR staff use public speaking skills to deliver presentations to current/prospective staff, and writing skills to create employee manuals, compose web content, and produce recruitment literature. They use verbal communication skills cultivated by the communication major to counsel/advise employees and interview candidates for jobs.
7. Business Reporter
The proliferation of financial and business media has opened up opportunities for communication majors with an interest in business and finance. Business reporters tap journalistic writing skills to cover developments within businesses, industry, and the economy in general for websites, television stations, newspapers, and magazines. They must be able to convey business information in language understandable by the general public. In order to cover stories, business reporters use the interpersonal skills developed by the communication major to cultivate relationships with business insiders. They must have the persuasive ability to convince editors about the viability of their ideas for articles.
8. Health Educator
Health educators assess the health-related problems and needs of a target population and formulate programs to address those issues. A key component of their work is understanding the attitudes and perceptions of their constituents regarding health concerns. They must develop and present workshops and seminars geared toward their audience. Health educators produce web content and literature that will appeal to their constituents. Organizational and event planning skills are essential when orchestrating and promoting health fairs and other programs.
9. Brand Manager
Brand managers oversee the positioning of products and services within the public’s consciousness. They analyze consumer reactions to their products based on factors such as price, consumer experience, packaging, and accessibility. Brand managers supervise the development of communication-intensive campaigns, including advertising, promotion, and public relations to enhance sales. Brand managers must have the interpersonal and communication skills to engender the cooperation of other sales, marketing, and advertising partners. The critical eye of the communication major is needed to evaluate ads, commercials, and other marketing copy.
10. Sales Representative
Most communication majors won’t be thinking of sales as an eventual career when they enter college. However, they will learn many skills while studying communications that can lead to a successful and lucrative career in sales. Communication majors learn to assess the preferences of an audience just as a salesperson must be able to anticipate the needs of her customers. The verbal, written, and wider communication skills mastered through the major will equip the salesperson to devise and deliver the right pitch to various types of consumers or businesses.
