Some of the characteristics of a successful job or internship search are very similar to launching a successful new business or venture. Both require taking initiative and being proactive, finding ways to stand out and differentiate yourself, and being resilient and adaptable if your first plan doesn’t come together. Your job or internship search is a "contact sport" where making professional connections will help you through every step of the process.
Job & Internship Search
- Starting a job or internship remotely? See the OCS guides to Making the Most of a Virtual Internship and Making the Most of your Virtual Full-Time Role.
- Read the OCS Networked Job Search publication (pdf).
- Explore a field through a January Experience or a site visit/trek to an organization during winter break.
- Read The Harvard Guide to Your Job Search publication.
- Read the OCS Navigating Your Summer publication.
- Attend Career Fairs.
- Search online databases for job or internship listings:
- Consider Harvard's Recruiting Program.
- Visit Harvard's Student Employment Office for term-time and summer employment opportunities
- Consider participating in MIT’s OCI Program if you are an engineering concentrator (available through a reciprocal arrangement between our two institutions).
- Take stock of the skills you have and those you wish to develop using the OCS Skills Tracker.
- Learn about requests for internship course credit.
- Read the HES Build Your Network publication (pdf).
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Search online databases:
- Crimson Careers, UCAN.
- Vault (career guides and more).
- Consider Harvard's On-Campus Interview Program.
- Attend networking webinars.
- Attend Positioning Your Extension School Degree to Employers webinar.
- Attend Career Fairs.
- Explore ProFellow - a database with 1000+ fellowship programs
- Meet with an adviser
Ready to begin applying for jobs? OCS advisers provide support and resources to help you prepare for and engage in a proactive job search, whether within or beyond academia.
Nonacademic
- What You Can be with a PhD – Discover many career options you might consider, and see a sampling of post-PhD jobs Harvard alumni have landed. Work with OCS to imagine your own possibilities!
- Read the OCS Building Professional Connections publication (pdf)
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Attend nonacademic job search workshops and webinars on topics such as:
- Resumes and Cover Letters
- Networking
- Career Fairs
- Behavioral Interviews
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Explore options:
- Versatile Ph.D. (successful job search documents, career transition narratives, career panel discussions)
- Career Pathways (tailored resource for diverse industry clusters, targeted towards undergraduates, but relevant to grad students)
- Vault (career guides and more)
- Imagine Ph.D. (career self-assessment and exploration for humanities and social sciences)
- myIDP (career self-assessment and exploration for those in the sciences)
- Interstride helps international students overcome job search challenges in the US job market and provides guidance for those seeking jobs outside the US
- Attend Career Fairs, relevant to your interests.
- Search Crimson Careers (OCS online jobs & internships database).
- Consider the OCS Recruiting Program.
- Explore these useful external links, a compilation of career exploration and job search links for careers in academia and beyond.
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For help with your job/internship strategy: GSAS Express Appointments, Wednesday, 9-11am and Thursdays, 1-3pm (ET). 15-minute sessions for quick career questions or review of one document (resume/CV/cover letter). These appointments will become available for scheduling in Crimson Careers each Friday for the following week to accommodate more urgent questions.
Academic
- Going on the Academic Market OCS Tutorial
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Attend the following webinars, including:
- Craft and Tailor Your CV and Cover Letter
- Going on the Academic Market
- Preparing for First Round Academic Interviews
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Preparing for (Virtual) Campus Interviews
- Check the OCS Events Calendar for details – Tune in to the live webinars for the latest information and to ask your questions, or view archived recordings
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Attend these academic career panels:
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- The View from the Search Committee – Offered in the fall, a panel of Harvard Faculty discussing their experience on faculty hiring committees and sharing advice with candidates for academic positions
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Real-Life Stories from the Academic Job Search – Offered in the Spring, a panel of soon-to-be PhDs and GSAS alumni who have successfully navigated the academic job search
- Check the OCS Events Calendar for details (panels are not recorded, so tune in to the live events!)
- Learn about Interfolio to manage your academic job search materials, especially letters of reference.
- Explore these useful external links, a compilation of career exploration and job search links for careers in academia and beyond.
- For help with your academic job-search strategy and materials, attend a 15-minute express appointment (for quick questions) or schedule a30-minute appointment through Crimson Careers
