Graduate Student Career Action Plan

Career Action Plan for Doctoral Students

1. Self-Exploration

MEET WITH A CAREER COUNSELOR: Career counselors can be a key resource to help you develop your strategy and plan for your career transition. You can also discuss your interests and assessment options with your career counselor if you are if you are struggling to decide on what field you want to enter into or if you are unsure about leaving academia.

KNOW YOURSELF AND WHAT YOU ARE SEEKING: Career values will help you determine what is most important to you in a position and/or organization.

ANALYZE THE REASONS WHY YOU ARE LOOKING OUTSIDE OF ACADEMIA: List parts of your graduate experience that you did and did not enjoy. List parts of your other life experiences (part-time jobs, internships, volunteering) that you did and did not enjoy. Analyze your results. Did any trends emerge that may have influence on your career options?

IDENTIFY THE TOP FIVE COMPONENTS MOST IMPORTANT IN YOUR CAREER: Work life balance, industry focus, flexibility, location, values alignment, etc.

2. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!

KNOW INDUSTRY OPTIONS: Many graduate students have had limited exposure to careers and opportunities outside of the academy. Use your wonderful research skills to expand your horizons.

ATTEND CCPS EVENTS: The Center for Career and Professional Success hosts events, such as Mock Interviews, Professional Communication workshops, LinkedIn sessions, and Employer Information sessions allowing you to learn more about career development and network with like-minded peers and professionals.

3. Grow Your Network

JOIN STUDENTS ORGANIZATIONS: Howard has a very active Graduate Student Association that provides tremendous opportunities to engage with the university community and industry professionals. There are also many department level graduate student associations.

JOIN PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS: Many professional associations have job boards for both academic and non-academic careers. This is also a great way to learn about industry trends and professional conferences.

CONNECT WITH HOWARD ALUMNI: Join LinkedIn and make connections with previous graduate alumni who have left academia. Alumni can be wonderful resources and provide you with their own insights into the transition.

SET UP AN INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW: Setting up a meeting with a graduate alumni or another industry professional with a PhD is an important step to both explore options and make lasting professional connections.

CONNECT WITH FACULTY (NOT YOUR ADVISOR): Make time to meet with faculty and discover information that can help you connect with the industry or a company in your area of interest. Most faculty members have connections to specialized fields and can be a valuable resource for information and opportunities.

ESTALISH YOUR PROFESSIONAL BRAND: Creating a profession online brand is vitally important. If you were to Google yourself, would you be happy with the results you found? Creating a LinkedIn profile, contributing to online discussions in your field, posting articles or information that would be helpful to colleagues are all great ways to create your brand.

4. Search and Apply for Positions

CREATE A RESUME AND COVER LETTER: Visit a CCPS counselor for assistance for in creating a resume and cover letter for your applications.

UTILIZE ONLINE JOB BOARDS/RESOURCES: Handshake, LinkedIn, professional associations, and other online job boards/resources are useful tools to begin to search for positions.

FOUND SOMETHING? CHECK YOUR NETWORK: Once you have identified a position of interest, check your network to see if you have a connection in that company. If so, open communications with them. If not, see if a Howard Alumni works there and possibly conduct an informational interview.

5. Prepare for the Interview

MOCK INTERVIEW: Schedule a Mock interview sessions to polish your interviewing skills.

PREPARE FOR SPECIALIZED INTERVIEWS: Utilize the interviewing and industry guides to familiarize yourself with industry/company interviewing practices

6. Evaluate the Job Offer

SALARY COMPARISON: Conduct research on typical salaries using online resources, such as NACE Salary Calculator and Glassdoor.

NEGOTIATION STRATEGIES: Learn how to evaluate and negotiate offers by meeting with a career advisor.

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“Excellence in Truth and Service”

We want to hear from you! Tell us how we are doing here.

careerservices@howard.edu | howard.joinhandshake.com | careerservices.howard.edu

Message from the Director

The Center for Career and Professional Success promotes the integration of career services within the institution’s overall student success strategy. We consist of three components:

• The Howard Career Community powered by Handshake
• Employer Engagement & Recruitment
• Experiential Learning, Federal Work Study, and Campus Employment

We strive to embody the core principles of "Excellence in Truth and Service" through our service delivery, knowledge, and efficiency. We are committed to being at the forefront of developing a sustainable service model for the virtual delivery of career services.

We look forward to serving the Howard University community!

Covid-19 Impact on Recruitment

Recruiting is continuing through special events, such as Howard University's Spring 2021 Virtual Career Fair with over 200 registered employers on February 25th, from 1-5 pm. For more information about virtual opportunities, visit howard.joinhandshake.com.

Bison SAFE: The University's Pandemic Response

Howard University’s pandemic response is built with the goals of Bison SAFE at heart: Supporting our community; Advocating for high-risk populations; Facilitating ethical, culturally sensitive, and inclusive research; and Educating the public on best practices for safety.