Employers indicate that they are increasingly focused on the types of competencies that prospective applicants can demonstrate. Did you know that Hub areas of learning directly align with 5 of these 8 competencies? That means—regardless of your major or career interests—you have skills and experience that employers are seeking.

Additionally, the Hub indirectly aligns with the remaining 3 competencies of Professionalism, Career & Self-Development, and Leadership, as they are woven throughout your Hub experience. For example, several Hub areas—such as Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, and Critical Thinking—contribute to developing competency in Leadership.

In applications, interviews, and networking opportunities, you can emphasize how specific areas of your general education have developed your skills in the competencies listed above. For support with cover letters and resumes, networking and interviews, and more, connect with the Center for Career Development.

Apply This // Action Steps

• Review the competencies listed above and reflect on your experience with the associated Hub areas.
• For each competency area, make a list of the relevant items that come to mind.  For example:
  • Are you confident in your communication skills? Can you see a difference in your writing now versus when you started at BU? Is there an example of your student work that best represents your communication abilities?
  • Have you played different roles in a team-based project or assignment?

Through the BU Hub, you may also have developed particular thematic/content areas of expertise that may or may not be related to your major:

• Do you have any clusters of Hub courses focused on a particular theme that give you more expertise in a specialized topic or discipline?
• Do you have a cluster of courses that can be found on the BU Hub Pathways for Social & Racial Justice or Environment & Society? If so, you should feel free to add this to a job application letter, or as a line on your resume following your BU year of graduation, major, or honors.
• Did you complete more than the minimum requirements in a particular Hub area that might give you more experience in that area, for example, Critical Thinking, or The Individual in Community?  If this is the case, you could draw upon or reference the Hub learning outcomes for these areas when describing to prospective employers what you have learned.

If the answer is yes to any of the above, you may be able to highlight these special areas of expertise in applications, interviews, and networking opportunities. For support with cover letters and resumes, networking and interviews, and more, connect with the Center for Career Development.

Apply This // Action Steps

• Review your transcript. How do the areas of your academic expertise connect to your career interests?
  • If you haven’t yet identified career interests or goals, select a few job postings (such as in Handshake) that interest you for this step.
• Make notes for yourself to explain the connections. This can be the start of what you might highlight in a cover letter or how you might respond in an interview. For example:
  • Coursework on environmental and health impacts of industrial growth led to adding more courses from the Hub Pathway for Environment & Society, which prompted a new interest in working in public policy.
  • Became interested in working with data, and additional Critical Thinking Hub courses expanded awareness of bias in data analysis.

One innovative aspect of the BU Hub is its emphasis on developing particular skills found in the Intellectual Toolkit capacity such as Teamwork/Collaboration and Creativity/Innovation.  With this in mind, consider the following:

• Have you developed any special skills or strengths as part of your Hub experience? Do you feel a particular sense of accomplishment with any of these skills?
• What kinds of teamwork experiences have you had as part of the Hub?  Do you have a better sense of the kinds of roles you prefer to take on as part of a team, or have you experienced particular successes or challenges with teamwork that give you greater insight into how teams function best?
• Do you have experience with a particular kind of creative process that you could highlight?

In addition, the Hub emphasizes skills related to communication and to diversity, civic engagement, and global citizenship.

• Have you developed any particular strengths in communication related to your work in the Hub?
• How has your thinking about diversity or your cultural understanding evolved through your work in the Hub?  Are there any classes or experiences in particular that have influenced your perspective?
• Have any of your classes or experiences in the Hub influenced your understanding of what it means to be a socially engaged citizen?

If the answer is yes to any of the above questions, consider how you may be able to integrate or discuss these special skills, strengths, and perspectives in your applications, interviews, and networking opportunities. For support with cover letters and resumes, networking and interviews, and more, connect with the Center for Career Development.

Apply This // Action Steps

• Reflect on these special skills and how they might connect to your career interests or goals. This can be the start of what you might highlight in a cover letter or how you might respond in an interview.
  • If you haven’t yet identified career interests or goals, select a few job postings (such as in Handshake) that interest you for this step.   
• Make notes for yourself on how you might translate and apply these skills, either generally or for a specific context. For example:
  • Had to work on a project with someone who thought about the assignment very differently than me, and figured out ways to work together that complemented each other’s strengths.
  • Deepened understanding of issues around equity and inclusion, combined with interest in working in a museum, could be translated into creating inclusive reading lists and activities for museum visitors.

Employers prize hands-on experience, and the Hub offers many opportunities for this, both through coursework and through distinctive Hub learning experiences.

• Did you participate in the Cross-Challenge Challenge (XCC)?
• Did you participate in a Hub cocurricular experience?
• Did you participate in any distinctive outside-of-the-classroom experiences  in your Hub coursework?

If the answer is yes to any of the above, you could highlight these distinctive hands-on experiences, and any related skills that you gained, in applications, interviews, and networking opportunities. For support with cover letters and resumes, networking and interviews, and more, connect with the Center for Career Development.

Apply This // Action Steps

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across disciplines by participating in a Cross-College Challenge (XCC)
• Reflect on any of your hands-on experiences in the Hub and how they relate to your career interests and goals. This can be the start of what you might highlight in a cover letter or how you might respond in an interview.
• For each experience, make a list of what you learned as well as if and how you want to pursue more experiences like it. For example:
  • Worked on a food insecurity project and developed a new interest in working in this area for a career
  • Participated in a community health project at BU, and realized that I prefer working in a research lab.