Prepare & Pursue
A successful job search is the result of careful preparation. Prior to crafting your professional materials, we recommend engaging in self-assessment, career exploration, networking and skill-building outlined in the Explore and Develop stages. These steps should help you develop self-awareness, a robust network of professional contacts, and a deeper understanding your chosen career pathway, enabling you to enter your job search on a firm foundation.
- Prepare your materials
- Job search
- Negotiating and interviewing
Prepare Your Materials
Developing the skills to craft tailored and persuasive professional materials will serve you well for the entirety of your career.
- OUAB’s Technical Tuesdays series include career related workshops exclusively for graduate students.
- Buckeye Careers offers regular resume workshops. You also have the option to request a virtual workshop on Resumes and Cover Letters.
- The Ohio State Writing Center provides both individual and group writing consultation, including technical writing projects like cover letters and resumes.
- Employers offer resume reviews and mock interviews on Ohio State’s campus. Check Handshake regularly to learn about those employer visits. Groups of students might considering inviting employers of interest to participate in resume reviews.
Career coaches can provide valuable feedback as you finalize your materials.
- Buckeye Careers provides a range of services that support career exploration and preparation of graduate students, including, but not limited to, 1-1 career coaching and regular workshops.
- ASC Career Success offers coaching appointments to graduate students and postdocs. Log into Handshake and select “Career Center”.
You might consider sharing a solid draft of your resume (one that you have had reviewed and checked for typos, grammatical and formatting errors) with a professional mentor or contact who is in your field of interest. When sharing, consider providing a job description of interest along with specific questions to guide their review. Example: Am I showcasing the skills needed for my career of interest?
Job Search
Once you are actively looking for career opportunities, it is appropriate to let your contacts know. Be sure to let them know the types of roles you are interested in. In sharing this information with your network, the hope is that they keep their ears open for opportunities within their organization or broader network. Additionally, be sure to monitor LinkedIn for career opportunities your contacts are sharing.
ASC Career Success holds career fairs and expos that will allow you to connect with employers recruiting Ohio State talent. Check our events page to find out what Career Fairs/Expos are coming up.
- Featured annual career fairs/expos and when they are typically offered:
- Quantitative & Data Expo (early fall semester)
- Science Career Fair (early/mid-fall semester)
- Graduate Student & Postdoc Industry Recruitment Event (mid-/late fall semester)
- Spring Career Fair (early spring semester)
- PhD & Master’s Virtual Career Expo with Graduate Career Consortium (mid-spring semester)
- Advice from an employer on how to prepare for a career fair
Job boards and job search resources
- Handshake: Ohio State’s job and internship platform, with more than 2,000 experienced hire positions posted regularly
- Indeed: Worldwide employment-related search engine for job listings. Use keywords and transferable skills list to search for jobs
- ImaginePhD: Job boards are located in the “apply” section of each job family. Job families include: Consulting, Advocacy, Communication, Research, Writing and Editing and more
- Versatile PhD: Curated Job boards for humanities, social science, and STEM PhDs. Log in and visit the SmartJobs Board
- USA Jobs: U.S. government website for listing civil service job opportunities with federal agencies.
- The Ohio State University - Graduate Career Building Strategies
- Ohio Means Jobs: Find a job, learn career skills, meet the requirements of your government benefits, and more on OhioMeansJobs.com
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE): Job board for DOE, for positions that aim to advance national economic, energy, and security goals through scientific and technological innovation.
- U.S. Department of Defense (DOD): Civilian employment job board with opportunities spanning from ship building, to aircraft maintenance, to researching microorganisms and expanding missions in space.
- Idealist: Platform to assist people in finding jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities within nonprofit organizations.
- The Bridgespan Group: Job board focused on non-profit positions.
- Philanthropy News Digest: Daily news service of philanthropy-related articles featuring a job board with listings of current full-time job openings at tax-exempt organizations.
- Work for Good: Job board focused exclusively on mission-driven careers.
- Chronicle of Higher Education: Newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals.
- Higher Ed 360: Comprehensive collection of resources, including a job board, specifically for higher education professionals.
- HigherEdJobs: Job board for faculty and administrative positions at colleges and universities.
- Inside Higher Ed: Online source for higher education news, thought leadership, careers, and resources.
- University Jobs: University and college job board for faculty and staff positions in the United States and abroad.
- Higher Education Recruitment Consortium: Job board for positions within higher education and related fields.
- National Postdoc Association: Job board for postdoctoral positions.
- Postdoc Jobs: Job board for postdoctoral positions.
- Find a Postdoc: Directory of postdoctoral and PhD jobs.
- AAAS Science Careers: Job board specific for science and technology positions.
- BioSpace: Job board specific for life science careers.
- Nature Careers: Job board for science careers in the United States and abroad.
- NIH OITE Jobs database
- Dice: Database of insights and career opportunities for technology professionals.
- Tech Careers: Job board specific for computer science and engineering positions.
- iCrunchData: Job board for technology, analytics, and data-related jobs and professional advancement worldwide.
Negotiation and Interviewing
Interviewing for a job is a skill that is developed through practice. Successfully preparing relies on how much you know about the job, organization and people interviewing you - and your ability to tell your story effectively by relating your experiences to their needs. Use the following resources to learn build your story
Negotiating a job offer is something that many avoid, especially women. Before negotiating a job offer, it’s important to know what you need in a job and how well the employment offer meets those needs. Salary is only one aspect of employment, and knowing what is important to you in terms of benefits, flexibility, research funding and salary can help you think creatively about how to set yourself up for success. Use the following resources to evaluate your needs, and create strategy to effectively negotiate.
Crowdsourcing provides a way for organizations to work on an issue or project, utilizing a large group of people to contribute to a solution with limited overhead. This model supports a large array of skills and expertise from freelance workers in a quick, efficient, and typically virtual manner. Engage in this type of project-based work to gather industry experience, expand your network, and contribute to your professional development.
If you choose to participate in challenges, pay particular attention to intellectual property, compensation, privacy, and ethical guidelines for each site.
- InnoCentive: Complex science, technology, business and social impact challenges that have global impact
- MindSumo: The leading platform for millennial problem solvers to work on projects from top companies globally. Employers post challenges and hire solvers based on the creativity and innovation of their solutions.
- Parker Dewey: Micro-Internships with Parker Dewey are short-term, paid, professional projects open to all college students and recent graduates of U.S.-based institutions. From working directly with an entrepreneur to supporting a large enterprise, you’ll have the opportunity to explore different roles and company cultures as you gain valuable experience.
- Challenge.gov: Members of the public compete to solve challenges big and small, posed by the U.S. government.
- Why your resume isn’t getting you interviews from Job Search the Smart Way (Episode 33).
- Entry level isn’t an insult. It’s an opportunity. from Job Search the Smart Way (Episode 27).
- Can AI write your next resume and cover letter? from Carpe Careers in Inside Higher Ed.