Student Resources

Career Preparation

Job Market Workshop Series

The Graduate Director leads a Job Market Workshop Series each year. Below is an outline of the types of topics covered during both Fall and Spring terms. All graduate students are encouraged to attend, especially those in their final year.

Fall Term

  • Academic Career Development
    • Understanding the academic job market
    • Finding academic job opportunities
    • Requesting letters of recommendation and support
    • Navigating the academic hiring process
  • Application Materials
    • Cover letters and CVs
    • Writing samples
    • Teaching philosophy statements
    • Research statements
    • Dissertation abstracts
    • Interpreting job advertisements
    • Managing application timelines
  • Interview Preparation
    • Preparing for academic interviews
    • Presenting your research and teaching experience
    • Strategies for navigating the application process
    • Maintaining resilience throughout the job search
  • Grants and Fellowships
    • Identifying funding opportunities
    • Locating discipline-specific and national awards
    • Developing competitive applications
    • Budgeting and proposal-writing essentials

Spring Term

  • Alumni Q&A
    • Experiences interviewing, preparing documents, navigating job talks and campus visits.
  • Alternative Academic Career Workshop
    • Alternative careers for PhDs in academia and beyond 
    • Resources for job hunting
    • Non-profit fellowships
  • Career Development Workshop
    • Local opportunities with non-profits, museums, and other humanities-centered opportunities 
    • Networking tips via online databases that USF students have access to.

Career Resources

Below are resources both within USF and beyond for English graduate students looking for career support.