Self-Assessment: Career Interests, Strengths, and Skills
Interactive Sites
- Imagine PhD. Free, confidential career planning site. Perhaps the best web-based resource for HSS PhDs wishing to explore careers available to them. Includes self-assessment tools, guides to job families, resources for creating an Individual Development Plan (IDP)
- Career Exploration in the Humanities with Imagine PhD Video (UC Davis Humanities Institute), esp. 9:40 - 21:00 minutes
- InterSECT Job Simulations. Humanities Job Simulations created in collaboration with ImaginePhD, and directly matching those job families
- National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity
Checklists
- Career Exploration and Development Tools (Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences). Resources include Values, Skills, and Career Preferences Assessments, Individual Development Plans (IDPs) (DOC), and much more.
- MLA Career Exploration Packet. Designed to walk graduate students through the process of learning what they have to offer, thinking about what types of work are out there, and creating a plan for next steps.
- Preparing for Life Outside the Academy: A Primer and Resources Guide (MLA)
- Identifying Your Skills, Interests, and Values (University of Chicago)
- Post Academic Skills Inventory (Open Post Academics)
Career Guides
- Beyond the Professoriate (Free institutional access also by searching in the my.pitt.edu search bar).
- Webinars to help you launch your job search
- On-demand videos and podcasts (80+ hours) with 170+ interviews with PhDs who have successful careers in industry, non-profits, government, and higher education
- Professional development for PhDs
- Job search support, including resume writing, interview techniques, and networking strategies
- Versatile PhD (free institutional access through my.pitt.edu). Instructive content, networks, job analytics and readiness tools, including Options 4 Success Career Exploration program, a six-module course developed specifically for PhDs, and PhD Career Finder, an interactive tool that lists and describes diverse careers for PhDs.
- Career Exploration in the Humanities with Imagine PhD Video (UC Davis Humanities Institute), esp. 33:10 - 35:00 minutes on Versatile PhD
- Career Guides (University of Chicago). Insights and resources for a variety of meaningful careers, including those in Academia, U.S. Government, Higher Education Administration, Instructional Design, Museums, Nonprofits, and more.
- What Can I Do With My Humanities PhD? (Beyond the Professoriate)
- PhD Futures Now! (Humanities Without Walls), a podcast on collaboration, career diversity, and graduate education in the Humanities
- Academic Careers You May Not Have Considered (David McDonald, Inside HigherEd, 2018)
- How to Keep Your Options Open (Derek Attig, Inside HigherEd, 2020)
- Using Job Ads for Career Exploration (Derek Attig, Inside HigherEd, 2017)
- Alt-Ac Careers (Inside HigherEd Series)
- Carpe Careers (Inside HigherEd Series)
How To Showcase Your Skills
Strategic Competencies and Transferable Skills
- PhD Transferable Skills (University of Michigan). Examples of PhD skill sets and ways to describe them.
- Transferable Skills for PhDs in the Humanities (MLA). Wording for academic and workplace skills.
- Skills Expected from Graduate Students in Search of Employment in Academic and Non-Academic Settings (University of Alberta)
- PhD Transferable Skills (Michigan State University)
- 10 Transferable Skills from Your PhD that Employers Want (Beyond the Professoriate)
Resumes, CVs, and Cover Letters
- Résumé Writing for Humanities PhDs: Tips and Tricks (MLA)
- Resume and Cover Letter Tips for PhD Students (University of Michigan)
- Converting a Curriculum Vitae to Resume and Video Workshop (UC Davis)
- Academic Job Application Resources (University of Chicago)
- Sample Application Materials, including cover letters, research statements, and more
- Cover Letters (Columbia University)
- Before You Write a Cover Letter, Try This Exercise (Erin Bartram, Chronicle of Higher Education, 2018)
- Translating Academic Experiences Into Business Langugage (Adam Fix, Inside Higher Ed, 2022)
- Crafting Your Graduate School Story for Employers video (UC Davis Humanities Institute)
Networking and Informational Interviews
- Networking and Informational Interviewing (Beyond the Professoriate)
- Strategies to Develop Professional Relationships that Every Humanities Ph.D. Student Should Know (Humanities Engage event)
- Networking Resources (University of Chicago)
- How To Get the Most Benefit From an Informational Interview (Indeed)
- Informational Interviews: The Key to Networking Success (PDF) (University of Chicago)
- Informational Interviewing. LinkedIn Learning Video Course (free institutional access through My.Pitt)
- Lost in Translation (Christopher L. Caterine, Inside HigherEd, 2022) on the importance of learning other professional languages
- Network Your Way (Rebekah Layton, Inside HigherEd, 2019)
- Pitt Humanists in the World on Pitt Commons, a community supporting the professional and career development of current students and alums associated with Pitt’s Humanities graduate programs.
- Ask Pitt Alumni. Connection to alumni for advice and introductions.
- Join the University of Pittsburgh Doctoral and Postdoctoral Network LinkedIn group
- Join the Pitt Career Network on LinkedIn
- Make the Most of LinkedIn and the Alumni Network to Grow your Career (University of Chicago)
- What Every PhD Should Know About Using LinkedIn Webinar (Beyond the Professoriate)
- LinkedIn Tips for Humanities PhDs (MLA)
Negotiation
- How to Negotiate for Your Next Opportunity video (Pitt Office of Academic Career Development)
- Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills (Coursera)
- Negotiating (Columbia)
Pitt Career Resources
- Advising, Coaching, and Mentoring from the Senior Director of Graduate Advising and Engagement for the Humanities
- Center for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Development. Professional development events and resources
- Office of Academic Career Development. Professionalism series
- University of Pittsburgh Doctoral Alumni-in-Residence (includes Arts & Humanities Ph.D. alums)
- Career Center. Resources include:
- Career Consultants and Student Resource Handouts
- Big Interview, a virtual mock interviewing site
- VMock, a resume feedback platform
- Pitt Commons, an online platform for customized networking opportunities
- Passport Career, an online destination for international job and internship search strategies
- Ask Pitt Alumni. Connection to alumni for advice and introductions.
Professional Association Career Resources
- American Historical Association (AHA) - Career Diversity for Historians and Where Historians Work
- American Philosophical Association (APA) - Beyond Academia: Professional Opportunities for Philosophers
- Phil Skills (Philosophy): an independent, online collection of stories and resources related to Philosophy PhDs and work beyond the academy
- ASEEES Career Resources
- Black Doctoral Network
- Linguistic Society of America (LSA) - Career & Professional Development Resources
- Modern Language Association (MLA) - Career Exploration Packet and Career Resources
- National Communication Association (NCA) - Career Center
- Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) - Graduate Student Resources, including SCAD Survey of Professional Career Opportunities in Architectural History