Once you’ve made a decision about the kinds of jobs you’d like to apply to, and you've worked on professional development, it’s time to focus on writing application materials. These materials can seem daunting. They summarize you and your qualifications in a few short pages. But they are a great opportunity for you to stand out from the crowd of other applications and show what makes YOU a great candidate. There are a few big things to keep in mind as you work on these materials.

1. Different job fields will ask for and expect different kinds of application materials. It’s good to spend some time looking through job ads and talking to people in the field before you apply so that you have a sense of what is expected of you. For many faculty positions you will need a cover letter, CV, teaching statement, and possibly a research statement. For most scientific industry positions you will need a cover letter and a resume. Knowing what is expected of you can help you prepare and place your energy into crafting documents that are relevant.
2. Think of your application as a complete packet of information. Make sure there is a core through-line about who you are, why you are well suited for the position, and what you can bring to the role. This means being cognizant of where in the packet it is appropriate to highlight your varied skills and accomplishments.
3. Have a few people read through your materials to check for clarity and grammatical errors. For the hiring committee, your application is their first impression of your professionalism and ability to be a member of their team
4. You will likely be asked for professional references (or for people to write you letters of recommendation). It is a good idea to have conversations with those who you plan to ask for recommendations early in your job search process. Consider people who are able to speak to your skills and abilities that are relevant to this position.

This website offers resources for the most common application materials. If you would like to get more information, or have someone provide personalized feedback on your materials, please contact us.

One of the best ways to learn more about a career area of interest is to talk to people who are currently in that field about their experiences and career satisfaction. These conversations are often called ‘informational interviews’ and are a standard practice in networking and career exploration. With the advent of Zoom, your ability to connect with a variety of professionals has only expanded.

When considering an informational interview there are a few best practices to keep in mind:

• Provide information about yourself and your reasons for being interested in the field when you reach out. You want to make sure that the person you’re talking to knows you are serious about learning from them.
• Offer multiple avenues for conversation—Zoom, phone, in-person, email. This will increase the likelihood of finding a time and way of connecting that is convenient for both you and the professional.
• Be respectful of their time. A 15-30 minute conversation is often enough to get a sense of experiences and start building a relationship.
• Come prepared with questions and be prepared to listen. Example questions are:
  • How did you get interested in this career?
  • How did you obtain your current position?
  • What do you like most about your job?
  • What do you like the least?
  • What skills or certifications are needed?
  • What do you look for in a candidate when you’re hiring?
  • What level of positions do my qualifications make me best suited for?

We offer an array of professional development opportunities to postdocs and graduate students at UAB. These opportunities are designed to provide you with both individualized attention and feedback, as well as a chance to learn from your colleagues and professionals through workshops and experiences.

Career Consulting

Confidential, one-on-one career counseling is available to all UAB postdocs and Graduate Biomedical Science students. With individualized career counseling, we can help you:

• clarify and define your career goals
• research and explore career options
• identify your strengths and weakness
• develop a plan for skills development and strategize for ways to implement
• develop an effective self-marketing campaign, including job search materials (i.e., CV, resume, cover letter)
• prepare for upcoming interviews

Experiential Education

Gaining experience increases your value to employers. It demonstrates your interest and commitment to the career field and gets your foot in the door with increased abilities, contacts, and/or understanding of the career’s relevance in the organization. The UAB EXPERIENCES Program opens a new website is designed to provide attendees with information about specific career fields as well as opportunities to engage in job simulations, internships, and other experiential learning.

Career Workshops/Presentations

From “Resume Writing” to “How To Dress For An Interview,” there are a variety of workshop/ presentation topics offered to help you with your career goals. See the OPE events calendar for upcoming workshops/presentations.

Student groups and faculty may request workshops or presentations — please contact us for more information.

Job simulations are an emerging tool for PhD-trained researchers. They give you the opportunity to explore various careers in a low- commitment, time-efficient manner. Simulations offer trainees a task that would be common in a career or profession of interest; they help you determine if the career would be a good fit for skills and interest.

Developed by the UCSF and Washington University St. Louis, InterSECT opens a new website provides a job simulation framework to:

• explore careers,
• develop SMART goals,
• reflect on the simulation, and
• conduct informational interviews with professionals in the field of interest to ask questions that arose from the experience.

After completing the simulation, you may choose to complete more formal training, such as course work, or pursue further experiential learning through participation in shadowing or an internship.

InterSECT has a robust simulation library to allow for exploration into a broad range careers.

Science Simulations

Humanities Simulations

A crucial part of your career development is taking time to reflect on your desires for your career and professional life. But it can feel daunting to identify aspects of a career you would like.

Self-assessments are a great tool to aid you in examining your unique interests, skills, and values. The myIDP and ImaginePhD tools walk you through self-assessments and then show you career paths that align with your responses. Explore both tools to identify career areas that could be of interest to you in the future.

As a scientist with a wide array of skills, experiences, and interests there are many career directions for you to choose. You may focus on a career in academia, industry, education, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, government agencies, or a multitude of other areas. While much of your focus has been on training related to scientific research, you also have gained skills in many other other areas that make you a compelling candidate. The question is—what do YOU want to do?

It is important that you thoroughly investigate your career options. Gather as much information about career fields, the market, and individual employers as possible. You can learn a lot from reading blogs and articles online, conducting informational interviews, participating in internships and job simulations, and engaging in self-assessments to identify your personal career goals. The more information you gather, the easier it will be to target your job search and end up in a position where you feel successful and fulfilled.

We encourage you to explore the tools and resources presented here to help you gain the knowledge, training, and skills to find your ideal job.

Career and professional development are important parts of your postdoctoral and graduate student training. At UAB’s Office of Postdoctoral Education (OPE), we aim to offer a variety of programs and services to help you make the most of your tenure here. The resources on this page are relevant at all stages of your professional development and time at UAB.

The OPE and the Graduate School opens a new website are here to provide resources for you as you plan, develop, and implement a strategy for your career. Career planning is not something that you can do overnight, and this is not something that anyone expects you to have figured out. But that is ok! So, take the time you need. Explore yourself, explore your options, and explore what we have to offer.

You have spent a significant amount of time pursuing education, so preparation is no stranger to you. Career development also requires planning and preparation. We have a variety of options and resources to help you get prepared for taking that next step, and achieving your goals.

We look forward to helping you, partnering with you, and seeing you succeed.