Ready to Launch, but Where To and How To? (Full deck)

Ready to Launch, but Where To and How To? Tips and Tools to get that Great Gig or Grad School

Dr. Chris Stout Class of 1981

Founding Director Center for Global Initiatives

I feel like my experiences at IUPUI have prepared me to have a “Portfolio Career”

I’d like to begin with my journey.

Books, Books, Books….

Volunteering

Halong Bay, Vietnam

We developed a podcast to highlight interesting people that all have a humanitarian aspect to their lives or work.

So there is a LOT that can be done with a psychology degree.

Richards and Gottfredson

But, enough about me, let’s talk about you.

What do you want to do with a psychology degree?

Where do you start?

Ways to make a difference

They can be general.

Or they can be very specific, like obstetric fistula repair surgery in postpartum African women.

They can be academic.

They can be in the field.

They can be in advocacy.

And they can be a combination.

Jobs

The Kroc Institute has developed a wonderful visual representation of possible careers in the field. http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/forum/topic/show?id=780588:Topic:272542#.Vo7fL_krLIU

Idealist >133,000 organizations with… >6000 jobs, 400+ internships, and now graduate programs.

Idealist has also developed an excellent guide to Nonprofit Careers and a separate Careers Resources Section http://idealistcareers.org/redirected/?orig=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.idealist.org%2Fen%2Fcareer%2Fguide %2Findex.html

The Alliance for Conflict Transformation has a career guide based on interviews with more than 60 organizations and practitioners.

http://api.ning.com/files/7rClTXGMSQlig--3xYllp*9GajBM7iqtHRWdZ*kYcnI_/Webreport.pdf

Career Guide from Sustainability on Corporate Social Responsibility http://www.sustainability.com/

http://ghcorps.org

APA and State Psych Associations

APA’s OIA http://www.apa.org/international/

http://div52.org/announcements/job-postings/

Ways maximize your potential.

There is a lot of competition, be it for grad school or good positions. Seems everyone has: • • • • • • • • • •

Impressive letters of recommendation Come from respected programs(!)

Great grades Amazing extracurriculars Coveted internships Already published Won awards Volunteered TA’d Cured cancer…

How do you set yourself apart?

Scott Adams - If you want to be something extraordinary, you have two paths: 1. Become the best at one specific thing, or 2. Become very good (top 25%) at two or more things.

Being reasonably good at drawing, business and humor allowed him to create Dilbert.

But here’s the key: no two people are alike.

By combining your unique set of skills you create a rare value proposition.

Think

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 Consider how to incorporate skillsets from different fields or past jobs that you may already have  Hold an openness to being flexible and experimenting with new challenges and consider them as learning opportunities and additive to your skills and knowledgebase  Keep in mind what is being done or learned now may be of greater value later on  If a project turns out to be an uncomfortable situation, that is very helpful knowledge that can inform what work to avoid in the future

 Diversify your skillset and be sure to consider technical, academic abilities with the “soft skills” of teamwork and navigating workplace cultures—which likely is second nature for a psychologist.  Taking online courses in areas you have a curiosity about that can be additive or distinguish you (e.g., coding, accounting, design, fundraising, etcetera) is a good idea, and may be an enjoyable challenge.  Be comfortable with experimentation and trying out projects “for size.”  Seek out more of what you enjoy and makes sense economically, and prune back those that do not.

Before you apply to grad school or a job

Do your homework

Your actual first job is to research the…

• • • • • • •

Company or University Position or Department Leadership Leadership staff or faculty Coworkers or students Application form Application process

Think about why you want to apply there Envision what you think your life would be like if working there Those answers will inform what comes next…

The three critical must-do aspects 1. Cover letter • •

Passively demonstrate you did your homework, NO cut-and-paste letters, ever Demonstrate you are an expert on them – reputation of the site and the leadership, recent and past history, wins and struggles, if academic be sure you have read their work, know of their research and grant record, then comfortably and engagingly discuss your enthusiasm as to what great a fit you would be – what you would gain and what you could give. Balance this with humility.

2. Interview • • •

• •

Be prepared to be the interviewee and be prepared to be the interviewer Bring notes and take notes It’s OK to ask about the mechanics of the position, but also think about your goals and their goals, what you want to accomplish and what they want to accomplish Eye contact, comfortable, professional, darned-glad to be there Be sincere and authentic, fine to flatter and be impressed but don’t go overboard

3. Follow-up Letter •

•

Pretend you are a consultant, develop ideas and hypotheses and theories as to the company, department, program and what you could be doing that would augment what’s expected, how it’s an amazing mutual fit Make a written highlight-reel of how well you thought the interview went, and your humble appreciation of being considered

Personal Branding “Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.”

Bezos Reputation for performing well in the areas that matter to you and to those that would need your help.

A strong CV is part of this but does little to increase awareness to others or future employers of who you are.

Who is your target audience?

Boss and their organization? "My target audience is impressing the people I work with because I'd like to stay here and get more opportunities."

For others it might be "Hey, I'm just out of school, and I need to find work, so my target audience for my professional brand is going to be recruiters."

You already have an online brand.

Be cautious with any remnants of activities (or undergraduate hijinks) that could be harmful.

So lean-in to more appropriate and highly visible online presence via platforms like LinkedIn.

What’s your online brand?

• LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook…

• Google yourself • With my podcast, I very often get asked by someone I do not know to be on the show. And it’s pretty amazing how much you can find out about someone.

What’s your in-person brand?

• • • •

Our physical presentation The way we articulate ourselves Ability to make eye contact with people How others feel around us

Think about How am I seen by other people?

How do I think I'm seen by other people?

How do I want to be seen by other people professionally?

What am I doing to project how I want to be seen?

How am I supporting that vision?

How might I not be supporting that vision?

Ask the people who you're close to: "I'm really putting some thought into this: What are a couple words you might use to describe me as a professional, and how am I supporting that description?"

NOMO LinkedIn FOMO

New hires made through LinkedIn more than doubled in the last quarter of 2021.

People who include a summary receive up to 3.9 times as many profile views.

Some Tips Employers don’t expect you to have much experience or connections at this point but there are other ways to stand out: Include both a profile photo and background photo.

This is one of the most important things anyone can do.

Having a photo makes your profile 21 times more likely to be viewed.

Use keywords Below your name and elsewhere in your profile are indexed in LinkedIn’s search as well as Google.

Read job descriptions and mention sought-after skills they see listed—provided you actually have them.

Write an elevator pitch for “About” Write five to seven sentences that tell a potential employer whom you have never met what to know about you.

Rather than using résumé talk, write about what you’ve learned about yourself - volunteering, sports family care…

or

Turn on Open to Work People who use it are 40% more likely to receive messages from recruiters.

Make meaningful connections There are numerous groups on LinkedIn organized around interest areas such as psychology, economics, marketing.... You can join to network with people who share similar interests.

Pro tip You can also make use of LinkedIn’s university alumni network to find potentially helpful professionals. Go to the university’s LinkedIn page—such as IUPUI—then search for alumni by title, keyword or company.

Be personal When sending messages to alumni or to people who work at companies you’re interested in, take the time to write a personal note—and be specific about your reason for writing. The same goes for commenting on a post. If you don’t know what to say, ask a question.

Include your contact information You may be more used to communicating via direct message, but not all employers are. Rather than relying solely on LinkedIn’s internal messaging system, add alternate ways to contact you, such as your personal email address.

Don’t try to be funny (Leave that to us professionals.)

Humor online is very difficult, especially in the written word.

Get a second opinion Before your LinkedIn profile goes live, ask a parent or other trusted adult or professor to take a look and provide feedback. The same goes for comments on posts as you get started.

1. Develop a Strong Resume/CV Make sure you have a strong resume/CV paired with a specific and compelling cover letter.

2. Follow Twitter’s List of Key Careers Resources.

This is an excellent way to follow key job openings and news regarding careers in social change real-time. https://mobile.twitter.com/CraigZelizer/lists/amazing-career-resources

3. Subscribe to Key Web and Job Lists There are countless websites that provide resources on jobs and internships in psychology and in related fields.

4. Use your contacts/networks Professors Colleagues Alumni Social Networks (LinkedIn)

5. Join New Networks The Association for Conflict Resolution http://www.acrnet.org/

Women In International Security http://wiisnetwork.org/

Peace and Justice Studies Association https://www.peacejusticestudies.org/

Society for International Development http://www.sidw.org/

6. Explore Fellowship Opportunities Fellowships can be an excellent way to get experience. (e.g., Fulbright, Ashoka, etc.…)

7. Explore Organizations that Have Developed Mentoring Programs for New Employees Look for organizations that have Junior Program Officer Positions (e.g., the UN), Entry Level Fellowships (Catholic Relief Services in the US), etc...

Ashoka Social entrepreneurship 3,000 Ashoka Fellows 70 countries Changemakers program:

80+ competitions 21,000 innovations, and $600 million in direct investment to innovators.

LinkedIn has a specific tool for looking to work in the nonprofit arena.

If I could wormhole myself back few decades, via my School of Science Time Machine, here’s what I’d say to my undergrad self…

• Be disciplined (but not too much) • If you are shy, too bad, get out there anyway • You will have some shi**y times, but you will make it through them • Get a mentor • Keep friends close, too • Have a direction, but it doesn't have to be the right one (or the only one) • Do some things for free • Don't put things off • Claim ownership rights • Every so often, just lose yourself • Now is the time to mess up • One last test. If you doubt your work…

Caveats and Reminders

There is no fixed set of rules, no set path, that you have to follow.

It’s about tools…

https://issuu.com/dr.chrisstout/stacks https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG9kpcGSmUvUPr2ICsgaRn4sesYYwFQwX

?s

THANKS

For Having Me

KEEP IN TOUCH

DrChrisStout@gmail .co m

GO DO

Great Things…!