PSYCH 2999 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Pink Paper, Graduate School, Voicemail
29 Apr 2018
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Department
Course
Professor
Fundamentals Test 3:
• It is entirely possible to get a good job with a Bachelor’s degree in
Psychology. You, as a PSYCH major, will have to work much harder to find a
good job than the Engineering, Accounting, Finance, etc.
Career paths in psych
Good news and bad news:
• Good: it is entirely possible to get a good job with a bachelor’s degree in
psychology
• Bad: you as a psych major will have to work MUCH harder to find a good job
than other majors like engineering, accounting, finance, etc.
• This is why you start your job search NOT
• Jobs, jobs, jobs…
Using the internet (or not)
• Internet is good for: helping you determine your preferences, researching
fields/industries you might be interested in, finding organization in those
fields, making contact with those people in those organizations
• Internet is NOT good for: posting your own resume, finding job postings or
vacancies from employers (you should still do these things but they aren’t as
helpful as you think)
The internet is good for
• Helping you determine your preferences
• Researching fields/industries you might be interested in working in
• Finding organizations in those fields
• Making contact with people in those organizations
The internet is not good for
• Posting your own resume’
• Finding job postings or vacancies from employers
Tips when using the internet or not
• Start with a specific job target
• Identify parts of the country in which you’d like to live and work
• Generate a list of all your potential employers in that location
• Research potential employers
• Make personal contacts before sending your resume’
Cover Letter: in person > phone > email > cover letter
• 1 page
• Get the reader’s attention with quality
• Address it to a person
o Show you’ve done your homework
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
o Cut to the chase
o Don’t be too formal or too informal
o Include relevant job information
o Ask for the next step in the process
Resume
• Tons of resume formats
• Don’t do chronological, you are not old enough
• We suggest functional (highlights your skills) resumes or targeted (aimed at
specific job in specific company) resumes
• Don’t pad your resume. If it is not relevant to the job, leave it off.
Dumb Mistakes to Avoid
• No cutesy tricks like pink paper. You want them to look at your resume
because they’re already heard from you.
• Your contact information:
• Working phone number with voicemail capability
• Working email
• Don’t use resources of your current employer
• Don’t worry about chronological gaps in your resume. You can explain those in
person.
Best Resume Advice of All
• Have someone else to proofread it
There’s no such thing as “graduate school in Psychology”
• PICK a sub discipline
• TALK to a professor
• DO your homework
• PICK a sub discipline
• THEN (and only then) look for schools
What you’ll need to apply
Transcripts (and grades)
• What is the minimum GPA needed to get into graduate school-NO ANSWER
The GRE
• Graduate Record Examination
• Verbal Reasoning
• Quantitative reasoning
• Analytical writing
• And some schools require the Subject test (ours would be Psychology)
Letters of recommendation
• Most schools require at least 2
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Not that important but you have to do it
Personal Statement, Statement of interest, etc…
• I know the sub discipline (I know what I’m getting into).
• I can write.
Applying to grad school
• Timeline:
o ONE year before grad school starts (Summer):
▪ Find your target schools and study for the GRE
o Late summer or early Fall:
▪ Take the GRE
o Fall:
▪ Gather your letters of recommendation.
▪ Write your statement. Have somebody proof it. Rewrite
your statement.
▪ Order your transcripts (actually, you have them send to
your target schools)
o November-January:
▪ Send in your application packets (depending on the school’s
deadline)
o January-April:
▪ Put your life on hold…
o April-August
▪ Scramble like crazy to find a place to live, graduate from
Clemson, pack all your stuff, say goodbye to your friends,
move across the country…
The MOST important piece of advice:
o Apply to as many schools as you can afford.
o And note the corollary: don’t limit yourself geographically
And don’t swear it. Getting in wasn’t easy but…
o Graduate school was a hoot. I loved it…
Grad School- This too shall pass.
So, what do you actually DO in grad school?
• The timeline
• DISCLAIMER: this is a typical, average timeline. They aren’t all the same.
• First: the difference between a Master’s and a Ph.D.
• Master’s= usually 2 years; don’t make quite as much money
• Ph.D.= 4-5 years; usually a bit more research oriented
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
It is entirely possible to get a good job with a bachelor"s degree in. You, as a psych major, will have to work much harder to find a good job than the engineering, accounting, finance, etc. The internet is good for: helping you determine your preferences, researching fields/industries you might be interested in working in, finding organizations in those fields, making contact with people in those organizations. The internet is not good for: posting your own resume", finding job postings or vacancies from employers. Resume: tons of resume formats, don"t do chronological, you are not old enough, we suggest functional (highlights your skills) resumes or targeted (aimed at specific job in specific company) resumes, don"t pad your resume. If it is not relevant to the job, leave it off. Dumb mistakes to avoid: no cutesy tricks like pink paper. Best resume advice of all: have someone else to proofread it.
