In 2012, the number of adults who had earned a college degree reached an all time high with almost 34 percent of Americans age 25 and older holding at least a bachelors degree. Although this is great news for education proponents, the rise in educated adults comes at a price—job competition.

For many graduates, that philosophy degree sounded like a good idea at the time, but there wasn’t a course on how to land a job in philosophy. Finding a gig can be tough in this economy, and sometimes the best option is to explore a different branch or a completely unfamiliar industry. With more qualified people applying for limited positions, job seekers need every advantage they can muster to gain an edge when vying for a position. To boost your chances of landing that job, here are several tips for standing out from the crowd.

Obtain Certification

Most likely, you put a lot of time and effort into your four-year degree, and therefore, do not have the time or finances available to pursue an additional bachelors or a more expensive masters degree. However, obtaining a specialized certification can be an optimal choice in pursuing a new career.

Many certifications can be earned online, making them more affordable and convenient for those in transition. Organizations like College Online provide information about available programs and can help you decide what certification best suits your goals. A versatile certification in business or marketing, for example, can open a lot of doors.

Research the Company

If you’re fortunate enough to get an interview, there are a few interview hacks that can help you out. For instance, be sure to research the company offering the job so that you can tailor your interview responses to coincide with the company’s values. Familiarize yourself with the company’s mission statement, and find similarities between your strengths and experience and their common goals.

Discuss the company’s recent successes and describe why you admire them. Do not, however, bring up the company’s failures with the hopes of showing off your savvy by explaining how you could have done better. Many administrators will be insulted, rather than impressed, states CareerCast.

Reinvent Your Skills

Careers are built largely on mainstream skills, and employers create open position descriptions based on attracting a candidate with the right core skills. So even if you studied film production in school, you can highlight the soft skills you acquired such as leadership, communication and teamwork. Reinventing your mainstream skills to demonstrate your proficiency in a work environment will prove more impressive than your knowledge of film production. Use these re-imagined assets to create a skills focused resume instead of an education based resume to highlight your strengths.

Your old degree isn’t necessarily useless, you just have to look at it from a new perspective. If you widen your job search, you can break free from the confines of your limited major and branch out into something new and exciting.