Methods for Navigating the U.S. Health and Social Sciences Job Market

About

Knowing how to competitively differentiate oneself to obtain a new job in the U.S. health and social sciences field is important, but not always easy to figure out. This short course provides students with practical tips and insights on how to competitively apply for public health professional jobs in the U.S. relating to research, practice, or policy. The course also focuses on U.S. jobs in the social sciences. There will be four modules. In the 1st module, students will learn about best practices for writing cover letters and curriculum vitae (CVs), preparing for interviews, following up on interviews, integrating non-traditional work and volunteer experiences on one’s CV, integrating coursework skills, and negotiating salaries within a human resource lens. As part of this module, students will also learn about how some health and social sciences positions are funded in order to understand how best to respond to active job postings or how best to pursue job opportunities within professional networks. In the 2nd module, students will review strengths and recommendations for improving a selected set of anonymous CVs. As part of this exercise, students will have the option of submitting their CV one week prior to the short course for the instructor to anonymize, including removing identifying information such as name and contact information. With each student’s prior permission, the instructor and class will share during the short course what they understood and did not understand about the anonymized CV, including suggestions for how to enhance the CV. This is a rare opportunity to hear firsthand how other professionals consume your CV and find out what they deemed to be the most and least valuable components. After the discussion, the CV holder will have the option of revealing themself (or not) to query the instructor and course peers regarding any additional insights. In the 3rd module, students will learn about contemporary approaches to marketing oneself when applying for jobs, including the potential advantages of leveraging personal webpages, professional network sites, conference meetings, business cards, referrals, informational interviews, or social media. We will also discuss several do’s and don’ts. In the final module, students will learn about ways to stay organized and motivated during a job search, including developing a plan relating to the number and type of job positions to apply to and how to fill in possible gaps in one’s CV. This course is designed to provide new knowledge for both students and professionals who are recent graduates of Master’s or doctoral degree programs in health and social sciences.

Registration and fee are required for Zoom link access.