Graduate Career Services

Career Counseling and Planning

• Individual appointments and quick question/drop-in availability

• Career exploration and coaching

• Career assessments and counseling

• Career information and resources

• Resume/CV/cover letter assistance and review

Programming and Information

• Workshops, events, and presentations (in-person and virtual)

• Internship, job, and postdoc search strategies

• Interviewing skills and mock (practice) interviews

• Networking skills, LinkedIn, and LionLink (Penn State networking system)

• Job offer and salary negotiation strategies

• Professionalism and soft skills development

Recruiting and Employer Engagement

• Alumni and professional career panels

• Employer information sessions and visits

• Nittany Lion Careers: Penn State's primary online resource for connecting students, postdocs, and alumni with employers

• Career fairs:

  • Fall Career Days; Spring Career Days (Penn State University Park)

  • GCC PhD & Master's Virtual Career Expo (Graduate Career Consortium)

  • Big10 Hiring & Recruitment Fairs: Academia Postdoc; Academia Faculty; and Graduate Student & Postdoc Industry Recruitment Event (GSPIRE)

Career Consultations

Graduate students and postdocs may schedule individual appointments (in-person or virtual) to discuss a variety of topics including career exploration and planning, career assessments, internship, job, and postdoc search strategies, interviewing skills, networking, job offer and salary negotiation, professionalism, and soft skill development. Email Jessica at jlk296@psu.edu to schedule (based on availability).

Resume, CV, and Cover Letter Review

Graduate Career Services will review and provide feedback on resume, CV, and cover letter documents for graduate students and postdocs. Each document may be reviewed up to two times per year.

Review Appointment: Email Jessica at jlk296@psu.edu to schedule an in-person or virtual appointment (based on availability). Attach your updated document(s) in Word format.

Review Service: Email document to Jessica at jlk296@psu.edu in Word format and request an email review. Feedback will be sent via email within 3-5 business days.

Career Development Collection

A collection of print and electronic titles offered through Harrell Health Sciences Library to assist graduate students and postdocs with career exploration and development. Access the Career Development Collection here.

Career Readiness Resources

The Penn State Career Services (University Park) website provides comprehensive information on career-related topics such as major and career planning, resumes, CVs and cover Letters, interviewing, internship and job search, job offers and negotiation, and graduate and professional school.

Interview Prep (Interviewing.com)

Online mock interview system that allows users to practice and improve skills for an internship or job interview with the use of a webcam. There are nine pre-made interviews to choose from or the user may create a custom interview by choosing questions.

LionLink

Offers access to alumni, a chance to mentor or seek mentorship, as well as career resources—all in one convenient place. Connect with Penn State alumni who can answer career questions, provide valuable insights, offer resume and networking advice, and share up-to-date information on industries.

Nittany Lion Careers (NLC)

Penn State’s single-system recruiting platform for all students, postdocs, alumni, and employers. Provides access to job and internship postings, employer profiles and contacts, and career fairs.

Postdoctoral Scholars and Fellows:

To gain access to Nittany Lion Careers, postdocs must submit the Nittany Lion Careers Postdoctoral Access Request Form. Once submitted, the NLC project team will process the request and manually add users to Nittany Lion Careers. The postdoc will receive a confirmation email confirmation with access link. Postdocs must submit the request form for each semester in which they want access.

Avoiding Job Scams

Financial and phishing scams are happening more frequently on job posting sites or via email. These scams impact Penn State students daily and it's your responsibility to research and work with trusted offices to avoid falling prey to sophisticated scams. If it seems too good to be true — it probably is.

Job Posting and Company Verification Disclaimer

Read the full disclaimer, which describes the shared responsibility among Penn State Career Services (including University Park and university-wide career offices) and internship/job seekers in researching and identifying potential concerns about the legitimacy of employers and their respective postings.

Career Fairs and Events

Fall Career Days; Spring Career Days (Penn State University Park)

GCC PhD and Master’s Virtual Career Expo (Graduate Career Consortium)

Big10 Hiring & Recruitment Fairs: Academia Postdoc; Academia Faculty; Graduate Student & Postdoc Industry Recruitment Event (GSPIRE)

GoinGlobal

Resource for those considering traveling or working internationally, or within specific cities in the US. The resource provides more than 16 million job and internship postings. Additionally, GoinGlobal offers international job and internship search information, career guides by U.S. city, international city, or country, a H1B plus visa database, employer information for more than 190 countries, and a comprehensive database of worldwide employers.

Initial access to GoinGlobal is provided through the Nittany Lion Careers (NLC) authenticated site.
Graduate Students: Nittany Lion Careers website
Postdocs: Nittany Lion Careers Postdoctoral Access Request Form

Once logged in to Nittany Lion Careers, click Resources > GoinGlobal to create an account. Once an account is created, log-in directly through the GoinGlobal website.

Penn State Global

For those wishing to work in the U.S., it is important to understand the processes involved in applying for work authorization on a student/scholar visa. If unclear about the options, contact Global Programs.

Current International Students

Contact International Student and Scholar Advising (ISSA), understand your legal requirements, get information on employment and taxes, navigate living in the U.S. and more.

Penn State CIRTL Teaching Certificate

Penn State graduate students and postdoctoral scholars can hone their teaching skills by completing the Penn State CIRTL Teaching Certificate program. CIRTL — the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning — is a 45-university consortium that helps graduate students and postdocs learn how to teach college courses more effectively. Penn State is a CIRTL member, which means all graduate students, postdocs, and faculty members can access CIRTL programming for free.

The goals of the GSaE program are two-fold:

• to provide basic evidence-based teaching skills to all Penn State College of Medicine graduate students and postdoctoral scholars and fellows to prepare them for working with learners

• to provide instruction for any graduate students and postdocs who are interested in teaching as a career goal

The program will consist of two mandatory sessions (three for PBL facilitators) as well as one of two additional workshops. All sessions are offered in the evenings and the same mandatory sessions are offered on multiple days to facilitate scheduling. Visit the website and scroll to 'Programs for Students and Residents-Fellows' to learn more.

Contact: Lisa Shantz, PhD, lshantz@pennstatehealth.psu.edu

Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence

The mission of the Schreyer Institute is to advance and inspire teaching excellence in the Penn State instructional community. Schreyer Institute works with any person (faculty, instructors, graduate students, undergraduate students, advisors, administrators, and staff) who teaches Penn State students in any instructional mode or context. Events, short courses, custom workshops, and consulting services are offered throughout the year. Additionally, Schreyer Institute will review teaching statements and philosophies for graduate students and postdocs applying to faculty or teaching-intensive positions.

List of regional colleges and universities

Graduate Career Services maintains a list of regional colleges and universities as well as current and past adjunct opportunities. Graduate students and postdocs may contact Jessica Kirkwood, MS at jlk296@psu.edu to obtain the list and discuss strategies to identify and secure adjunct instructor positions.

Internship-Teaching Participation Process: All doctoral (PhD, DrPH) and MS students enrolled in the academic programs below who accept an adjunct instructor position are required to follow the Internship-Teaching Participation Process and submit the required form and attachments to The Office of Graduate Education and Graduate Career Services.

Applicable programs: Anatomy, Bioinformatics and Genomics, Biomedical Sciences, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Public Health (DrPH), MD/PhD (during graduate years), and Neuroscience.

Internship-Teaching Participation Process

All doctoral (PhD, DrPH) and MS students enrolled in the programs listed below are required to follow the Internship-Teaching Participation Process established by The Office of Graduate Education and Graduate Career Services at Penn State College of Medicine.

Applicable programs: Anatomy, Bioinformatics and Genomics, Biomedical Sciences, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Public Health (DrPH), MD/PhD (during graduate years), and Neuroscience.

Doctoral students: In order to participate in an internship or teaching experience, doctoral students must be post-comprehensive or complete the experience during the summer. Any exceptions to this must be approved by the student’s program director and PI.

Graduate Assistantships: If you are on a graduate assistantship and accept a paid internship, your graduate assistantship stipend may be adjusted or waived for the semester in which you are completing the internship.

Graduate Fellowships: If you are on a graduate fellowship (T32, F31, etc.), please contact Graduate Education BEFORE accepting an internship offer. Many fellowships may limit the time permitted to complete an internship. Doctoral students should be aware of the guidelines and percentage of effort permitted by the terms of the fellowship.

Graduate students who have already secured and accepted an internship or teaching experience must submit the required Internship-Teaching Consent Form and attachments by the deadlines specified below.

Summer Experience: April 30 deadline

Fall Experience: June 30 deadline

Spring Experience: October 31 deadline

Internship/teaching experiences encompass all supplemental, learning opportunities including, but not limited to, internal and external internship, off-campus teaching, off-campus research, special project, and job shadowing/externship experiences.

Course Credit During the Summer:

If you are planning to complete an internship/teaching experience for course credit during the summer AND you are on a graduate assistantship, you will need to apply for STAP funding to cover the tuition. All STAP funding requests must be submitted by the established deadline.

International Students:

International students are required to work with ISSA (International Student & Scholar Advising) to obtain the appropriate authorization prior to starting all internship or teaching experiences.

Please read the information regarding F-1 Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Pre-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT). In general, CPT can be done before completion of coursework as long as full-time enrollment is maintained during fall or spring semesters (unless you do not require a full course load based on F-1 enrollment requirements) and as long as you receive credit for the internship. If you are beyond coursework and post-comprehensive exam, CPT is generally only available if the internship provides data for the thesis. If you are not eligible for CPT, you may have to use pre-completion OPT.

Start this process via iStart: https://iStart.gp.psu.edu.

Contacts:

Internship Process and Form: Jessica Kirkwood, M.S., jlk296@psu.edu

Graduate Assistantship, Fellowship, & STAP funding: Rachel Reager, rmr16@psu.edu

Course Information (number, credits): Contact the academic program coordinator and/or program director

An Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a free online career exploration and planning tool for graduate students and postdocs. IDPs typically include assessments that will connect you with potential career options, strategies and resources for career exploration, a goal setting resource, and the ability to track your progress and accomplishments. Visit any of the IDP resources below and create a free account to begin.

myIDP (Sciences)

myIDP is a web-based career-planning tool tailored to meet the needs of PhD students and postdocs in the sciences. myIDP enables users to:

• Examine skills, interests, and values through assessments

• Explore 20 scientific career paths with a prediction of which ones may best fit your skills and interests

• Set strategic goals for the coming year, with optional reminders to keep you on track

• Review articles and resources to learn more

ChemIDP (Chemical Sciences)

ChemIDP is an individual development planning tool designed to help graduate students and postdocs in the chemical sciences plan and prepare for rewarding careers. ChemIDP enables users to:

• Assess and strengthen professional and technical skills

• Explore career options

• Develop and prioritize goals

• Track accomplishments

PHaSS-IDP (Public Health and Social Sciences)

PHaSS-IDP offers graduate students, postdocs, and early career professionals an online career exploration and planning tool that is designed to help you reflect and plan your academic and career paths in a systematic and organized way. PHaSS-IDP enables users to:

• Assess skills, career tasks, values, and mission areas

• Explore 20 different career clusters in public health and social sciences

• Access comprehensive resources (including sample job titles, occupational data, articles, videos, professional associations, and job boards)

• Create a mission statement, career statement, and SMARTIE goals

ImaginePhD (Humanities and Social Sciences)

ImaginePhD is an online career exploration and planning tool for PhD students and postdocs in the humanities and social sciences. ImaginePhD allows users to:

• Assess career-related skills, interests, and values

• Explore careers paths appropriate to disciplines

• Create self-defined goals

• Map out next steps for career and professional development success

Career assessments can be helpful in identifying your interests, skills and values as well as exploring a range of career options. Graduate students and postdocs may schedule an individual appointment with Graduate Career Services to review and discuss career assessments.

General Career Assessments

O*Net OnLine

O*NET OnLine is a tool for career exploration and job analysis. Find, search, or browse across 900+ occupations based on your goals and needs. Then use comprehensive reports to learn about requirements, characteristics, and available opportunities for your selected occupation. Get started by using the My Next Move feature.

Career Exploration Roadmap

MIND's Career Exploration Road Map (copyright Dorman, 2018, and updated as an interactive pdf in 2021) was designed to alleviate the stress and overwhelming experience of career exploration by breaking down the process into manageable and actionable steps shown in a gameboard-style schematic.

Science Career Assessments

PhD Career Choice Indicator (Biosciences)

The PhD Career Choice Indicator (copyright Sarah Blackford, 2014) aims to help PhD students and early career researchers start to formulate some preliminary career decisions.