Linguistics Career Talk

“What are you going to do with that?” Leveraging linguistics in business, government, nonprofit and tech organizations

You’ve probably wondered–and been asked–what you can do with a degree in linguistics more times than you can count. The good news is that linguistics degree-holders have more options than ever to use their linguistics skill-set in more career paths than ever. So the question is: How to discover and land those jobs?

This talk will cover aspects of career discernment for linguists: 1) How to research potential jobs and career paths, 2) how to optimize your resume and digital presence, and 3) how to develop narratives for networking, cover letters and job interviews. We can also talk transparently about issues of identity shift, salary, and negotiation. I’ll leave you with a toolkit of resources that you can draw from during your career journey as a linguist.
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Alex Johnston is an Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Georgetown University Department of Linguistics where she serves as Director of Master’s Programs and Career Management. She has spent most of her career as a linguist working in the corporate and non-profit sectors as well as an entrepreneur with her own communications consulting business.
Prior to joining the Georgetown Linguistics Department in 2018, Dr. Johnston worked in the international educational exchange space as a director of alumni relations and communication at a national nonprofit organization; served as president of a statewide nonprofit; and was an international education program manager at two public universities. She has been a corporate consultant and executive coach for over 10 years, delivering professional professional development workshops in intercultural communication, leadership development, and presentation skills. She has been an invited keynote speaker on global talent development at DuPont, Corteva, Goldman Sachs and the Meredith Corporation. She is founder and principal of Strategic Language Solutions, a consulting firm that delivers training in intercultural communication, executive leadership, and relationship management to Fortune 100 organizational leaders in the agricultural and biotechnology space.
Dr. Johnston earned her PhD in Linguistics from Georgetown University, an MATESOL from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an MA in East Asian Studies from Stanford University and a BA in East Asian Studies from Washington University in St. Louis. She thinks every organization needs a linguist and wants every linguist to find a career path that fits.