Overview
Philosophy graduates are in an unusual position. They have some of the strongest analytical and reasoning skills of any degree discipline, but many struggle to translate those skills into a resume that gets past a first screen. Graduate scheme recruiters at consulting firms, banks, and FMCG companies see "philosophy graduate" and immediately want to know: can this person work in a business context?
This resume belongs to Maisie, a Philosophy BA graduate from the University of St Andrews who interned at Deloitte's consulting practice and held a part time operations role at a tech startup. Her resume bridges the gap between academic rigour and commercial application by showing exactly how her philosophical training produced real business outcomes.
Consulting and business internships
If you studied philosophy and interned in consulting, finance, or management, your resume needs to make the connection explicit. Maisie's Deloitte internship involved analysing stakeholder interview data from 35 participants, producing a 20 page process mapping document, and presenting findings to a client steering group of 12.
The philosophy degree taught her to structure arguments and evaluate evidence. The internship shows she applied those skills in a commercial setting.
Transferable skills with evidence
Every graduate resume claims "critical thinking" and "problem solving." A philosophy graduate can back these claims up, but only if they give examples. Maisie does not just say she can think critically. She shows it: "Analysed 35 stakeholder interviews and identified 4 process bottlenecks that reduced onboarding time by 22%."
For each transferable skill you claim, attach it to an outcome. Critical thinking led to what finding? Communication skills produced what deliverable? Analytical ability solved what problem?
Part time work that demonstrates commercial awareness
Maisie's part time role at a tech startup shows she understands how businesses operate. She managed customer onboarding emails for 80+ accounts and created a FAQ document that reduced support ticket volume by 15%. These are not glamorous tasks, but they prove commercial awareness in a way that academic work cannot.
Your dissertation as a portfolio piece
A philosophy dissertation demonstrates sustained analytical work. Maisie's dissertation on the ethics of algorithmic decision making shows she can engage with contemporary issues that businesses actually care about. If your dissertation topic has commercial relevance (AI ethics, game theory, decision theory, philosophy of economics), highlight that connection.
