Getting Prepared

It is never too early to begin preparing for the job market. Regardless of what kind of job you will seek, employers will be looking for you to differentiate yourself from other candidates. To do so, you’ll want to keep track of the range of experiences you have throughout graduate school. Update your CV and resume each year; if you let too much time go by, you may forget them or not be able to talk about them as cogently with prospective employers.

A range of experiences will demonstrate your abilities to prospective employers. Have you held any leadership positions? Worked successfully on a team? Organized events?

Tip: Often your professional range emerges from keeping in mind what may seem like “minor” positions or accomplishments. These are the things you do in your “spare” time, on a volunteer basis, or just because you enjoy it, rather than for your research or teaching.

Exploring job postings before you are actually looking for jobs gives you a sense of what employers are looking for in candidates.

• Browse relevant job lists from sites such as the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, HERC, and H-Net for jobs within higher education.
• USA Jobs, Opportunity Knocks, and Idealist are useful resources for government and non-profit positions.
• Access to other online career resources can be gained through the Emory Career Center’s links to glassdoor, vault, and others.

Pay particular attention to minimum qualifications and preferred skills listed in these postings. Think creatively about how your experiences are developing these skills or if you need to seek out additional opportunities to fill any gaps to make yourself more competitive.

Tip: If you are struggling to identify your skills, consider attending a PDCP workshop on professional storytelling, the language of transferable skills, the elevator pitch or others that could help you get ready to talk about your experienced with prospective employers.

The specific documents required in an application differ by industry, field, and employer but will likely include some or all of the following:

• a curriculum vitae (abbreviated vita or CV) or resume
• cover letter
• description of research
• teaching philosophy or teaching portfolio
• list of references or letters of recommendation.