UCSD Psychology Job Search Club

This club was created by and for graduate students and post-docs in the UCSD Psychology Department. Any information or opinions provided are not necessarily endorsed by the University or the Department. Please read the blog for further, evolving information about the club. Participate in online polls to help shape its future. Scroll down the page to explore other resources that may assist in your own search for not just a job but also for much happiness in your future.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

13 Pearls of Wisdom for Job-Seeking Psych Grads!

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/12/wisdom.aspx

Worth a read! -Matt

Monday, October 3, 2011

The Compleat Academic

No, that's not a typo.

Compleat, adj: highly skilled and accomplished in all aspects; complete; total.

Highly recommended by one of our postdoc panelists, and also endorsed by esteemed psychologist Roddy Roediger (Wash. U., St. Louis), The Compleat Academic: A Career Guide (Amazon, Geisel Library) boasts the following sections and chapters:

I. STARTING A CAREER

-- Guide to PhD graduate school: how they keep score in the big leagues / Charles G. Lord

-- After graduate school: a faculty position or a postdoctoral fellowship / Kathleen B. McDermott, Todd S. Braver

-- Hiring process in academia / John M. Darley, Mark P. Zanna

-- Broadening the job search: jobs outside of academia / Patrick C. Kyllonen

II. TEACHING AND MENTORING

-- Tips for effective teaching / Douglas A. Bernstein, Sandra Goss Lucas

-- Mentoring: managing the faculty-graduate student relationship / Mark P. Zanna, John M. Darley

III. RESEARCH AND WRITING

-- Setting up your lab and beginning a program of research / Jeffrey M. Zacks, Henry L. Roediger III

-- Obtaining a research grant: the granting agency's view / Jane Steinberg

-- Obtaining a research grant: the applicant's view / Robert J. Sternberg

-- Writing the empirical journal article / Daryl J. Bem

-- Intellectual property / James L. Hilton, Jonathan R. Alger

IV. ORIENTATION TO THE ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT

-- Power, politics, and survival in academia / Elizabeth D. Capaldi

-- Managing the department chair and navigating the department power structure / Louis A. Penner, John F. Dovidio, David A. Schroeder

-- Wiring the ivory tower: the interface of technology and the academy / Kevin M. Carlsmith

V. DIVERSITY IN ACADEMIA

-- Dialectics of race: academic perils and promises / James M. Jones, Eun Rhee

-- Women in academia / Denise C. Park, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema

-- Clinical psychologists in academia / Richard R. Bootzin

-- Varieties of college and university experiences / Deborah L. Best

VI. KEEPING YOUR EDGE: MANAGING YOUR CAREER OVER TIME

-- Academic marathon: controlling one's career / Shelley E. Taylor, Joanne Martin

-- Managing your career: the long view / Henry L. Roediger III, David A. Balota

Have you read it? Let us know what you think!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Tools for Finding Jobs Online

General Tips:

Set up search alerts on the sites below, join societies, and get on their mailing list

Summer is the best time to do a lot of legwork for job searching.

Most faculty job applications are due in October.

Postdocs come through more informal networking.

Regional Searches: Higher Education Recruitment Consortium

SoCalHerc.org

NorCalHerc.org

For other regions, google “Higher Education Recruitment Consortium”

General Psychology

APS under job opportunities tab (more academic): http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/employment

APA Monitor (more clinical, some non-academic): http://www.apa.org/careers/index.aspx

Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/section/Jobs/61/

Subfields of Psychology

Social: http://www.spsp.org/student/career.htm

Cognitive: http://cognitivesciencesociety.org/employment_overview.html

Developmental: http://careers.srcd.org/

Neuro: http://www.sfn.org/neurojobs/default.aspx

Sensation & Perception: http://www.psychonomic.org/announcements.html

Behavior Analysis: http://www.abainternational.org/jobs/jobsIndex.asp

Conferences & their sponsoring organizations

Check the conferences you go to- most have job postings on their website

Resources at UCSD:

http://career.ucsd.edu/phd-and-masters-students/index.html

Port Triton: https://ucsd-csm.symplicity.com/students/(great stuff to explore in there, even if you can’t stand their workshops)

How to find interesting companies (which may or may not be hiring)

Vault.com: nonacademic, lots of details on job, interview process

Glassdoor.com: sortof like Facebook meets Yelp for companies

Indeed.com: meta site search, like Kayak

Monster.com: might as well… worked for a recent JDP student!

Networking: lots of internal hiring happens without public advertisement, and you want to get in on that pool, which also means being informed about upcoming opportunities. Real-life networking is critical, and can be supplemented with the resources below.

-linkedin

-academia.edu

-more…?

Thursday, September 1, 2011

What's on tap this year!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our survey about what you're hoping this job search club can provide! Based on your input, Alli and I have identified 10 key topics that will be the focus on meetings this year, as well as a number of topics that will be discussed over informal lunches. There were also a number of topics for which the staff at the Career Services Center are more well-equipped.

The plan below is subject to change, but here's some of what you can expect:

Fall Quarter Job Search Club Meetings: one Friday per month, 2-4pm, Crick Conference Room

Friday, 9/30: a panel of postdocs shares their job search experiences

Friday, 10/28: non-academic jobs and how to find them

Friday, 11/18: how to write a strong research statement (come with a draft prepared)

Friday, 12/9: making the most of your CV/resumé (come with your current CV/resumé)

Winter Quarter Topics (exact dates & times TBA)

A panel of junior faculty shares their job search experiences

Practice interviews: get a preview of what an on-site interview is like, and learn from watching others

What you've always wanted to know but were afraid to ask: a session where you can submit anonymous questions about anything job-search related

Spring Quarter Topics (exact dates & times TBA)

Teaching Jobs: how to write a teaching statement, design a course, & market yourself

Clinical & Government Jobs: where to find them and how to get them

Grantwriting: general guidelines and specific resources

Informal Lunches: year-round, when there aren't faculty meetings.

Topics to include: time management tips, how to get the most out of conferences, balancing family and professional lives, grants, and more! Feel free to suggest additional topics!

Career Services Center: those who are interested in non-academic tracks should make sure to check out the previous post about what the Career Services Center has to offer, including converting CVs to resumés, non-academic interviews, and networking tips!

Monday, August 29, 2011

UCSD Career Services Center Offerings

Whether you're looking for an academic or non-academic job, the Career Services Center at UCSD offers helpful seminars throughout the year. Here's a link to their list of grad-focused events.

We may also arrange a special on-camera interview practice session for interested grads. Details forthcoming!

Best places to search for jobs

American Psychological Association has their own job search engine that is specifically geared to those of us with a Psychology background. You can search by location or keyword and narrow results via a number of variables. This is probably a good starting place for many of us. They also have some nice articles on career development that may prove useful.

Science Magazine Careers is yet another resource that may be a good starting place for some of us, especially those in Cognitive and Behavioral Neurosciences. In addition to the many postings, they have additional tools and tips that may be helpful to anybody.

The Chronicle of Higher Education is a well-known place for learning about the academic market, and they also have their own search engine. Most of the Chronicle is accessible online to non-subscribers. They even have a job alert service that you can sign up for!

Academic 360 links you directly to job postings at ~3000 participating universities. Academic 360 can aid in finding both academic and nonacademic job postings.

Higher Ed Jobs is one of the largest databases of open positions in higher education. For those who would like to focus more on teaching, this is a good place to start looking.

(Southern California) Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) is great if you're looking to stay in Southern California. HERC has a search engine that includes faculty and staff job listings specifically for member institutions in the region. This site is also particularly geared toward helping dual career couples.

SignOn San Diego's Career Section This site provides a lot of more general (but region-specific) information, including columns by local journalists relating to current employment issues, a listing of upcoming job fairs in the area, and tools for helping to make you a more appealing job applicant.

Braintrack and Academic Keys for Education If, on the other hand, you really want to get out of this place...these are two good resources for finding positions abroad!