How Professional Science Societies can Meet the Employment Needs of Graduate Students
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How Professional Science Societies can Meet the Employment Needs of Graduate Students SabrinaJ. Diol Through my interdisciplinary graduate work, I have attended conferences organized by various professional societies such as the Materials Research Society (MRS), American Physical Society1 (APS), Optical Society of America 2 (OSA), and American Chemical Society3 (ACS). I have also participated in some of their employment workshops and have searched their websites for employment resources. This article elaborates on information and services that professional societies and organizations can provide to ease employment search for their student membership. Career Workshops. These workshops provide excellent guidance, especially for students initiating their e m p l o y m e n t search. Obviously, the best ones are conducted by people who recruit PhD graduates. I attended an employment workshop organized by the American Institute of Physics* (AIP) during the 1995 MRS Fall Meeting. An extremely dynamic hightechnology industrial recruiter conducted the workshop. The mock interviews, mininetworking g r o u p s , and r e s u m e and cover letter critique involved audience participation and were highly effective. I strongly recommend such a workshop. 1. American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844; 301-2093200; fax 301-209-0865; http: / / www.aps.erg/. 2. Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 200361023; 202-223-8130; fax 202-223-1096; http:/ /w3. osa.org/. 3. American Chemical Society, 1155 16th Street, NW, Washington DC, 20036; 800-227-5558; fax 202-872-4615; http://www.acs.org/. 4. American Institute of Physics, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3843; 301-2093100; fax 301-209-0843; http:/ / www.aip.org/. MRS BULLETIN/JULY 1997
On the other hand, I have also been frustrated with workshops in which speakers did not have a technical PhD background since I often found their suggestions unsuitable.
Employment Database. A website with current job postings mainly for PhD graduates is extremely useful. The National Academy of Science (http:/ /www2.nas. edu) is among the few sources for this. The critical issue in this case is to have a well-maintained site with frequent updates and a search engine. Another alternative, which we have been using at the University of Rochester, is to circulate job postings via electronic mail. Again, timeliness is the key issue. Resume Referral. Most universities and several professional societies provide a •eferral service in which students can submit their resumes. The organization then mails the resumes to prospective employers. Sometimes the task is outsourced to another employment-specific organization. I have been contacted by two prospective employers through a referral service and hence feel it is worthwhile to take advantage of it. Employment Statistics and Information. These statistics help students foresee which sectors are employing. The last five-year statistics on how many fresh PhD graduates were employed and
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