Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/December 2015 - (Page 24)

THE BENEFITS OF WHAT CAREERS DO YOU ASSOCIATE WITH A HISTORY DEGREE? IF YOUR FIRST THOUGHT IS "PROFESSOR," "LAWYER," OR "HISTORIAN," YOU'RE RIGHT: MANY HISTORY MAJORS DO GO ON TO THOSE CAREERS. BUT AS YOU'LL SEE HERE, STUDYING HISTORY ALSO INSTILLS RESEARCH, WRITING, AND REASONING SKILLS THAT WILL BE AN ASSET IN ALMOST ANY CAREER. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT by Julia F. Bernstein I majored in history at Dartmouth because I loved to read. I spent many Sunday afternoons tucked away under the eaves of Baker Library, surrounded by books about British history. I thrived on the challenge of crafting a thesis, building the supporting evidence base, and writing a compelling paper that brought it all together. After Dartmouth, I took a position at McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm that helps big companies solve strategic problems. While the assignments were now "What market should we go into" instead of "Why did country X lose war Y," I was using many of the same skills I developed in college. The difference was that I was writing PowerPoint presentations, not term papers. After a few years at McKinsey, I went back to school to get my MBA at Stanford, where my favorite classes were those where I could do data- and research-driven storytelling. Four years of writing term papers in college turned out to be great preparation for transforming the output of financial models and analysis into something that made a compelling case for an argument or idea. Now I work at the intersection of health and technology. My job focuses on business development, which is a combination of strategy, research, relationship-building, and sales. My years studying history gave me three key skills that have been most important for me in this role: l Asking the right questions. When you're breaking down a prompt in a history class, you have to be able to figure out what you need to know and where to find it. It's a similar process when I'm talking to a potential partner or client. I have to be able to listen, reflect, and ask the right questions to get the information I need. I may be talking to my clients, their customers, and industry experts, and each source requires a different approach. l Connecting the dots between sources. Combining secondary and primary research is important when you're writing a paper. Similarly, when I'm learning more about a market or working to understand a client's needs, I might need to integrate Internet research, financial statements, expert interviews, news stories, and one-on-one conversations. Being able to see connections-especially if they're not obvious-is a valuable skill. l Selling through storytelling. The best historians are effective storytellers who know how to engage and persuade. The same is true of those who write business proposals. The ability to craft the story around what a client needs is key. Rudyard Kipling once wrote that "if history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten." For me, studying history provided skills to think critically and tell stories-skills which can be a foundation for a variety of careers. Julia F. Bernstein received her AB from Dartmouth College and her MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. A healthcare executive with a passion for digital health, she is currently the Vice President for Business Development at San Francisco's Institute on Aging. 24 imagine Nov/Dec 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/December 2015

Big Picture
In My Own Words Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns
National Treasure Volunteering at the National Archives
Driving My Future, Exploring the Past The many rewards of genealogy
Past in Focus National History Day
People-Powered Movements Studying revolutions at Phillips Academy Andover
Hooked on History From paleontology to conservation science, four graduate students share their research
This is History My summer at Crow Canyon
The Benefits of Majoring in History
Making History My journey to the inaugural International History Olympiad
Historians in Training The Concord Review Summer Program
The Ultimate Game
In My Own Footsteps Putting my choreography in the spotlight
Selected Opportunities and Resources
Off the Shelf Review of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options Interview with archaeologist Inna Moore
One Step Ahead Be your own priority
Planning Ahead for College Choosing the best college for your major
Students Review: University of Washington
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/December 2015