Postbacs/Summer Students
Making a decision: grad school, med school, or a job?
Exploring graduate and Professional school
Exploring job options
Finding a job
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES
Making a decision: grad school, med school, or a job?
Sign up for an appointment with a career counselor
Take a closer look at yourself!
- Strong Interest Inventory
The Strong Interest Inventory® provides research-validated insights to help you in your search for a rich, fulfilling career. The Strong empowers users to discover their true interests so they can better identify, understand, and often expand their career options.
If you are interested in taking this assessment, please contact the Career Counseling Center to set up an individual appointment with a career counselor.
- Exercises to help you explore your values, skills, and interests
Exploring graduate and Professional school
Graduate/professional school advising appointments
If you schedule an appointment with Dr. Higgins (or an OITE Career Counselor or Dr. Sokolove or Dr. Milgram), be certain to prepare in advance. This is true whether you would like to discuss a personal statement or experience a mock interview. If you cannot attend a workshop on the topic in person, then watch the videocast of an earlier workshop on the topic. If you wish to discuss a personal statement, write and edit it carefully prior to the appointment. If you have scheduled a mock interview, practice examples of possible responses in advance.
- Sign up for an individual appointment with Dr. William Higgins
Limitations on Pre-professional Advising for Applicants to Graduate and Professional School
The OITE is committed to assisting postbacs and summer interns with the application process for graduate and professional (medical, dental, pharmacy, etc.) school. However, given the large number of trainees interested in this service and the need for application materials to reflect the applicant's interests and skills, we want to clarify the extent and nature of the services we can provide.
- The Office of Career Services will review one final draft of a personal statement for graduate or professional school. The Staff will not review secondary application essays or review a statement more than once. An applicant may request a review from only one staff member.
- Counselors will review the content of personal statements, including the structure and organization of the essay and whether the message intended by the applicant is being effectively communicated. The service does not include correction of grammar, misspelling, and punctuation errors. We will refer trainees to grammar and punctuation resources, many of which are now available on the OITE Web site at https://www.training.nih.gov/writing_courses.
- Staff members in the Office of Career Services will assist applicants with preparation for interviews. Unless there are extenuating circumstances such as extreme anxiety, applicants will be eligible for only one mock interview or discussion of the interview process.
- Overall, the staff of the Career Services Center will meet with applicants a maximum of twice during the pre-application season. The two-appointment limit will apply to application review, interview preparation, and pre-med advising . Trainees may schedule additional visits should they need assistance with other career planning issues.
NOTE: prior to keeping appointments, trainees are expected to have attended the relevant pre-med or graduate school workshops or viewed them on the OITE Web site.)
Understanding standardized tests
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) – usually required for international students
- Dental Admissions Test (DAT)
- Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
- Optometry Admissions Test (OAT)
- Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT)
- VMCAS Applicant Requirements
- Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
- Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
Preparing your statement of purpose
Interviewing for professional school: Slides from OITE presentation; View videocast
Financial aid opportunities
Exploring JOB OPTIONS
- Sign up for an appointment with a career counselor
- What can I do with a degree in...
- Conduct informational interviews
- Visit Career Center library (2nd floor, Building 2, NIH Bethesda campus)
FINDING A JOB
Getting materials ready
- How to write a resume
- Sample resumes: Resume1 Resume2
- How to write a cover letter
Job search strategies
- Generate a list of networking contacts
- Networking! Networking! Networking! View videocast from OITE presentation
- Sign up for LinkedIn ; How to Use LinkedIn Effectively
- Join the NIH LinkedIn Group
- Find contacts locally
- Join professional associations in your current field (if known) or field of interest (using the Encyclopedia of Associations, available at your local library, or conducting an online search using area of interest and keyword "association" or "society")
- Attend career fairs
- Apply to jobs directly through websites of specific organizations
- Use job listing websites specific to your fields of interest (see Additional online resources, below)
Interviewing skills
- Preparing for an interview, sample interview questions
- Preparing for Your Professional School Interview (handout)
- Interviewing Blitz slides from the 2011 Career Symposium
- Schedule a mock interview with Career Services
Additional online resources
professional development resources
Writing professional e-mail
Keeping a lab notebook: Download OITE Webinar, download written transcript