The Interfolio Blog

We know the academic job market is not strong, and we know that careers in academia are changing, positions becoming more scarce and tenure far more competitive. But there are still thousands of graduate students completing degrees; how should these future job seekers prepare for their careers?

A recent piece in The Chronicle by Alexandra M. Lord tackles this question by challenging graduate students to think more broadly about career options. Yes, most Ph.D. students would like to land tenure track jobs and have successful careers as professors. But that dream is becoming less and less of a reality for many.  As the article notes, "in history, English, philosophy, and almost every humanities discipline, a significant majority of Ph.D.'s will never obtain tenure-track positions." 

What does this mean, practically speaking, for the graduate student? It means that as a Ph.D. candidate, you would be smart to prepare for both academic and nonacademic jobs.  It means you need a plan B, and should take steps to ensure that you can appeal to a broad range of potential employers, not just university departments. Here are five things we suggest doing while still in school to become a more appealing job applicant:

1) Do one or more internships to supplement your teaching assistantships. You can do internships for any amount of time, even one day a week, or a few hours a day, two or three days a week. As Lord points out, when you add up the time it would take to complete this kind of work over a 14-week semester... it's only 14 days: "an internship of the type I am proposing will consume less than 1 percent of [your] time in graduate school."  Internships can be done on campus, with local companies, non-profits or research groups. Internships are one of the most important steps you take to prepare for a post-academic career.

2) Volunteer to help out in an office on campus. Many departments on campus need help with a range of management, event-planning, fundraising, communications, marketing, research, community-building and other kinds of work. These experiences, like internships, can give you truly valuable experience to complement your teaching and research.

3) Take a few business-related electives. Most graduate programs build time for some elective coursework. Instead of taking another class in your field of study, consider taking one or more business-related classes, something in management, marketing, business studies, etc.  Should you ultimately pursue a career outside higher education, this coursework can really help diversify your candidacy in the eyes of employers.

4) Make use of your college's career center. Don't judge them by their corporate recruiting schedule- career centers really do want to work with you! They can help you turn your CV into a strong 1-2 page resume, and help you practice interviewing. They can advise you on what alums with your degree have done, offer assessments to identify what types of work environments you might best be suited for, and connect you with organizations, internships and alums in your field of interest.

5) Read web sites and blogs about post-academic careers.  You can find wonderful and valuable insights through the experiences of those who have been there. Some suggested sites: Beyond Academe, a web site by two Ph.D.s and former professors, Alexandra M. Lord (the author of the Chronicle piece) and Julie Anne Taddeo; and Leaving Academia, a blog by Ph.D. Sabine Hikel.

Do you have more suggestions for how graduate students can prepare for the job market? Please let us know.