Prepared by Theresa Busch, Julie Meo, Joanna Turner, and Elizabeth Galliard
Getting started
When initiating your job search, take a look at your institution’s career services’ website or make a visit to their office. Much general advice on the job search, resume preparation, or interviewing may be available through this office. You can often schedule an appointment to review and receive feedback on your resume. Also, this office may offer workshops specifically geared towards PhD students.
Your network of colleagues is an important resource during a job search. Building such a network is also something that you can start early in your career as a graduate student or postdoc. Take advantage of conferences and retreats to talk to post-docs and professors both in your field and in complimentary areas. When the time comes for your job search, turn to these colleagues for information on potential job opportunities, as well as for advice. You can also enlist the help of your advisor or other faculty at your home institution in identifying opportunities that they may be aware of through their own network of colleagues.
Online resources for the job search
Many resources and search tools that exist online can be useful in your job search. To best utilize these resources be sure to consider alternative terms to search the scientific field(s) that you are interested in. For example, do you want to limit your search to just stem sell biology, or also consider the broader area of biomedical sciences? In addition to more general search tools, such as those available thorough Science Careers or Nature Jobs (see below), be sure to also look at field-based websites for jobs available in a specific discipline. Links to several general and field-specific websites are provided below. Scientific organizations of which you are a member may also post opportunities, so don’t forget to check their websites too.
Websites- General
- Science Careers: http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/
- Nature Jobs: http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/welcome
- PhDs.org: http://www.phds.org/jobs/
- The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/section/Advice/66/
- Tomorrow’s Professor: http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/tomprof/postings.php
- PhD Career Clinic: http://phdcareerclinic.com/
Websites- Field Specific
- Biology Jobs: http://www.biologyjobs.com/
- Physics: http://www.physics.org/careers.asp?contentid=381
- Chemistry: http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content (Careers tab at top)
- Women in Biology: http://www.womenbio.net
- Association for Women in Science: http://www.awis.affiniscape.com/
Online resources for resume posting
Depending on the type of position that you are interested in, you may also utilize an online professional network, such as LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo) to develop a professional profile and post your resume. Such resources provide an online approach to build a network of colleagues, i.e. contacts, and provide opportunity for both you to search for prospective positions and hiring mangers to search for you. However, be sure to maintain this account. Missing or out-of-date information could lead prospective employers to question if you are serious in your job search or even cast doubt on your skills as an employee (for example, your attention to detail).