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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Manage Your Career

It is important to manage your career in order to build a fulfilling career pathway. As a doctoral student or postdoctoral scholar, managing your career entails reflecting on your values and interests, establishing connections with academic and professional mentors, and identifying meaningful career pathways. Career management also involves taking inventory of your current skills and experiences that pave the way for a focused and fruitful job search.

  • Our office offers programming, such as workshops and courses, that support doctoral students' and postdoctoral scholars’ ability to manage their careers and prepare for a job search. Check out our calendar to see upcoming events. Our signature programming include Doctoral Career Design Course (every semester), Doctoral Career Pathways Conference (annual event), Accelerate to Industry (A2i), and International PhD Career Readiness Series. 
  • Beyond the Professoriate: a virtual learning platform that provides 24/7 access to your career and professional development needs. You can leverage recorded videos to learn more about application materials needed for faculty and professional careers, as well as live webinars to help you navigate your career decision making. Additionally, Beyond the Prof provides interview recordings with PhDs from diverse disciplines working in meaningful fields. 
  • We also offer 1:1 career advising with Dr. Yi Hao, Program Director of Career and Professional Development. Check out our advising page for more information. 
  • In addition to our office, the University Career Center utilizes Handshake to post events and connect students with potential internships, jobs, and career services. The University Career Center has a variety of events and resources for ALL graduate students. PhD students in Engineering, Public Policy, and Smith can also schedule appointments with your respective career offices (similar to master’s students).
  • If your questions and needs are related to general communication style or want to improve your communication skills, you should also reach out to the Center for Writing and Oral Communication.

Timing & Planning

Check out the section of our main page entitled “Where do I start?” (at the bottom of the page) for more information on where and how to begin managing your career. 

We recommend participation as early as possible. Signature programs often denote target audience in the programming description. If there is a conflict in your schedule, we welcome you to sign up at a later semester and use the recurring schedule to plan ahead.

You can find more information about upcoming workshops and events from the calendar on our website. You can sign up for our office newsletter which goes out bi-weekly.

Check out the asynchronous videos on Beyond the Professoriate. They cover a variety of topics on career and professional development. 

Resources on Resume, CV, and General Application Materials

Career Exploration

  • For faculty careers, please check out our “Exploring Career Paths” webpage. 
  • University of Maryland Faculty Affairs also has additional resources specifically for faculty careers, such as institutional membership of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (all UMD users can use institutional emails to gain access to the platform). NCFDD provides professional development, training, and mentoring resources for faculty, postdocs, & graduate students from over 450 colleges and universities. Register to attend NCFDD programs, including writing challenges, webinars and core curriculum workshops.
  • Our “Exploring Career Paths” web page also has information about non-faculty careers, such as government, industry, non-profit, and consulting. 
  • Beyond the Professoriate has a step-by-step curriculum to guide you through this process. Starting with Step 1 - Discover, you will gain more clarity on what you can do with your PhD. Step 2 - Research helps you make an informed career decision. And Step 3 - Implement will help you launch your job search more confidently. 

There are several resources for improving skills, such as LinkedIn Learning. Check out the University-Wide Career Resources for more information on how you can access these resources. 

Job Search

  • It can take about 5-6 months to find a job, but each job search is unique and moves at its own pace. Don’t get discouraged if your timeline does not match the timelines of others. 
  • For doctoral students and Postdocs who may be new to job search, we strongly suggest you start 6 months in advance before your defense or end of contract. 

Under our “Manage Your Job Search” webpage, check out the “Websites & Platforms by Career Interests” to look for jobs and internship opportunities. 

Make an 1:1 advising appointment with Dr. Yi Hao to review your resume and job application materials. Check out our advising page for more information. 

Networking

Check out “Creating a LinkedIn profile” from Beyond the Professoriate, for more information on how to create a LinkedIn profile. 

Check out “Maintain and grow your network” from Beyond the Professoriate, about how to start networking with others. 

Check out “Informational interviews” from Beyond the Professoriate, about how to connect with alumni in your field of interest. 

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