Read on Twitter
Following @AnnaMeierPS, I attended "From CV to Resume: Translating Your Skills for an Applied Career in Political Science" from Tanya Schwarz. Presentation here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rCNFymfGytiDdISEe8YPqNzim-5hP-gd and some key takeaways 1/x
The good news: there are growing opportunities in “applied careers” outside of academia and within higher ed. The bad news: the academic job market is REALLY bad and likely to continue with the trend of fewer TT positions overall. 2/x
But we are good at many things! Research, writing, critical thinking, public speaking / engagement, languages, methods, grant writing, working knowledge of politics / higher ed, subject matter expertise… it's just a matter of pitching these skills to employers.
Identifying both which things you are GOOD at and that you ENJOY will help align your job search with other life priorities. This will also help you figure out which skills you should focus on developing for a more public/professional setting. 4/x
For people with less experience outside of the academy, thinking about cultural differences like collaborative work spaces, strict deadlines / shorter timeframes, clients and customers, and profits also fits into what your life priorities are. 5/x
Recently @APSAtweets has been building out its applied career resources to better support PhDs in the transition to applied careers, including two mentorship programs. Don't forget about career services at your own institution! 6/x
Spread the word about your search with caution if you know your advisors and mentors are less supportive of this path. Find other sources of support, like cohort mates or other people who’ve pursued applied careers, to be your sounding board. 7/x
Resume and Cover Letter 101 are in the presentation - having a master document and tailoring it comes in handy here as well so you can draw from a list of specific skills, accolades, and projects quickly. 8/x
Ask for an offer letter rather than accepting over phone / email right away so the company has to think through their offer and opens space for you to negotiate. Avoid asking about salary / benefits in interviews; direct those questions to your contact in HR. 9/x
Have a compelling story about why you are excited to be in this applied career if you are leaving academia. Whether that's in your cover letter or in the interview, you can face skepticism of PhDs outside the academy head on 10/x
If you have a PhD and you are going into a field where you have little to no experience in that type of position, you tend to start lower in the organization but move up faster. This can be hard when you've spent so much time building skills and expertise 11/x
Lastly, Jan Box-Steffensmeier emphasized being on LinkedIn to connect w/ people in fields you are interested in, and she’ll introduce you to folks in her network there. Talking to people away from your comfort zone may open up more possibilities than you initially thought 12/end
