Individual Development Plan (GSIDP) - PFP

• Your first priority is to transition to being a graduate student in your new program. For master’s students it often means adjusting from having been an undergraduate student to being expected to function more independently as a graduate student. For doctoral students, it might mean figuring out how to also serve as a GRA or GTA and learning how to balance academic requirements with other responsibilities, such as research, service responsibilities, etc., with campus activities and a social life.
• Graduate students who also are in a committed relationship and/or a parent or caregiver to someone else in their family will need some time to find that balance as well, as does your family. It will be important to give everyone in that system some time to adjust to new routines and the ways things are done. Recruit your family/committed partner to be part of this journey, as they need to be accepting when you have early or late classes, are expected to work remotely or in person with classmates on a team project, study instead of spending time together, or doing clinical rotations with a new schedule that might change your couple or family routine. 
• Keep your GPA up. Meet with your faculty advisor/mentor if you have difficulties. Do not wait until the end of the semester. Reach out early so that you can explore the next steps.
• Meet with your faculty advisor in your first semester. It is important to talk about your curriculum and what classes to take when. You should concurrently develop a plan on how to cultivate your transferable skills. Use the graduate student individual development plan (IDP) on this website as a planning guide. You can complete it by yourself and then get feedback from your graduate faculty advisor or mentor, or develop the plan together (it should be reviewed at least annually but can be reviewed more frequently). 
• Be willing to stretch yourself and volunteer to serve in leadership roles, and assist in departmental activities when invited. Be proactive (e.g., join a graduate student organization and serve on its board, help coordinate events, etc.). Graduate school is an opportunity to experience new things in and outside the classroom that will help prepare you for your future profession/career.
• Make a list of previous jobs, volunteer experiences and courses you have taken and see if you have already developed some soft/transferrable skills. You should list these soft skills on your vita (used for applying for non-tenure and tenured faculty positions) and/or resume (used for applying for non-faculty higher education jobs, as well as jobs in industry, government, nonprofit organizations, technology/social media and government). If you are unsure where and how to list these soft skills, talk with your graduate faculty advisor or mentor, or you can also reach out to the Buckeye Career Center or career services offered by your college.
• Create a tracking system in which you can list all the things you participate in, so that you do not forget. A folder can be helpful, where you drop a copy of an of announcement of a workshop you attended, invitation to help, a presentation you did, etc. It is easy to forget some of the things you do, but if you have a system, you will have these things available to update your vita (for faculty positions) or resume (for all other positions) including all you have done and training you attended.
• Join a student organization related to your graduate education. It is helpful to talk with students already in your major, and these groups often invite alumni or employers to speak. This is a great opportunity to gain more experience about how to maximize your graduate education, but also through alumni you can learn about future job prospects and advancement opportunities, and you can network Buckeye to Buckeye.
• Seek out mentorship. Faculty and peer mentoring can be helpful as you are starting your graduate education. Check with your program about how you might be paired up with a peer mentor. Peer mentors can be very helpful in navigating the university and helping you adjust to being a new graduate student.
• Become acquainted with Career Counseling and Support Services offices at https://younkinsuccess.osu.edu/departments. There are many great resources available on campus to help graduate students be successful and develop skills. Some programs will provide more information on these great resources, others do not, so take initiative. Check out the different offices and learn more about how they can complement your graduate education at Ohio State and make you an even more competitive job candidate.
• Look for ways to gain exposure to organizations (higher education, industry, hospitals, nonprofit, etc.) you are interested in, through internships, volunteering, co-ops, part-time and summer jobs to be potential places of future employment. You might also, through these experiences, learn what places are not a good fit for you. Remember that all these experiences not only help you learn more about potential career opportunities, but also ways to network and potentially find professional mentorship, engage in research, etc. 
• Attend job fairs (remote, in-person, or a reverse career fair) to learn more about your career field and employment opportunities. Also attend workshops offered on campus to learn more about various job opportunities. 
• Continuing to develop your soft skills while being in a graduate program helps you understand how  to work collaboratively and inclusively with others, and can provide opportunities to hold positions over which you might one day be in leadership roles. 
• Talk to alumni and others who either majored in your graduate program or are working in your field of study. They can give you more insight about career and advancement opportunities your graduate education provides.
• REMEMBER: When you are starting your graduate education (master’s, doctoral or professional) it is not unusual to feel like you are an “imposter” as you are gradually growing and embracing the identity of being a graduate student. Perhaps you are the first person in your family to go to college, or the first person in your family to pursue a graduate degree. The imposter syndrome is well recognized in higher education and something that will dissipate over time. Just know that your peers might feel just like you do, but choose not to talk about their feelings.

• Keep working hard to develop your academic skill set and advance in your degree. You need to maintain the GPA set forth by the Graduate School. Remember that these skills lay the foundation to be a competitive applicant.
• This is a good time to review the graduate student individual development plan (IDP), see what you have accomplished and what skills you might want to add. It is time to assess and revise your IDP. This process should include your graduate faculty advisor or mentor.
• Begin to define what soft skills you should focus on. Make a list of which soft skills workshops are offered by which office on campus (when and where) or in your college or department.
• Remember that skills centered on inclusion are important to work on, as well as global skills. You can check to see what workshop offerings the Office of Diversity and Inclusion offers. Also, the Office of International Affairs is a good resource to gain some global engagement. Another opportunity might be a Fulbright Scholarship.
• Check out the other offices listed in this document and the workshops or training they are offering so that you can be planful and decide, with the help of your graduate faculty advisor or mentor, what skills are important to pursue.
• Join a professional organization. Based on the cost (student fee/membership), you might start at the local or state level and, over time, also join at the national level. Professional organizations are great resources for networking and attending workshops, and they sometimes present and engage in collaborative research. Also, you might find additional mentorship by seasoned professionals outside Ohio State who can also help in your job search.
• Attend workshops that help you explore whether you want to be in higher education, industry, nonprofit, entrepreneurialism, government, etc. For master’s students, also explore whether your degree should be your terminal degree, or if you want to pursue a doctoral program. For more information visit www.careers.osu.edu.
• Update your resume and have it critiqued by a career professional.
• Learn how to interview successfully and how to write a good cover letter. See OnPACE modules on the Buckeye Careers website [http://onpace.osu.edu] and follow up with a Career Services Professional.
• Strengthen soft skills by attending workshops on and off campus, obtaining a part-time job, internship or volunteer experience. You should explore these options with your faculty advisor or mentor and discuss timelines and preparation.
• Talk to your professor and workshop presenters to see if there are professional organizations you can join, and then attend events they host. Ask if the organizations have student memberships. If they offer workshops or conferences, see if they have volunteer opportunities that will create a free or reduced workshop or conference fee. Volunteering to assist in workshops is a great way to connect with other professionals.
• If you are a master’s-level graduate student, you should attend employer information sessions in your field of interest. Begin to do in-depth research into companies you will target for full-time employment next year.

If you are a master’s-level graduate student, you should update your resume and brush up on your interviewing skills.

• Keep working hard to develop your academic skill set and advance in your degree. You need to maintain the GPA set by the Graduate School. Remember that these skills lay the foundation for being a competitive applicant.
• This is a good time to review the graduate student individual development plan (IDP) and see what you have accomplished and what skills you might want to add. It is time to assess and revise your IDP. This process should include your graduate faculty advisor or mentor.
• Seek out career opportunity information. Some graduate programs invite alumni to present. There are workshops offered on campus through Student Life, the Graduate School and other offices. Attending these workshops and other events will help you learn more about those career options and might help you narrow down your interest. 
• Continue to seek out opportunities (such as the teaching certificate offered by the Drake Institute) to develop soft skills, as these will be something that employers are looking for and will set you apart from other applicants. Remember to track what you are learning (both volunteer and other activities as well as training), so that you can put it in your vita or resume. 
• Working on things such as teaching or leadership also creates an opportunity to be eligible for the Graduate Associate Teaching Award (GATA) and the Graduate Associate Leadership Award (GALA), which are great to have on your vita or resume.
• Participate in events such as the Hayes Research Forum and similar events hosted on campus.
• Participate in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. It is an opportunity to gain experience in how to communicate, in three minutes or less, your research interest to people who are not in your field of study. When you are interviewing at companies, as well as in higher education, it is not unusual, as part of the interview, to be asked to describe your research in just a few minutes. The 3MT is a wonderful way to develop these skills. Learn more at Three Minute Thesis (3MT) | The Ohio State University Graduate School (osu.edu)
• Remember to update your resume and list the soft and hard skills.

• You might have an opportunity to get experience in your field of study through an internship, perhaps as part of your degree program. If your program does not provide that option, search for internships or part-time jobs through the career offices/services available to you. Internships in industry often require to apply for an industry internship a year in advance. You should plan accordingly to search for and apply to internships at least 12 months prior to when you want to start in a position.
• Regardless of your graduation date, begin to actively conduct your full-time job search. Faculty position searches should start the year prior to graduation; other positions (industry, nonprofit, government, etc.) searches should start six to nine months prior to graduation. For tenure-track faculty positions, it is encouraged to start that search in the fall term (that is when many faculty positions are advertised), prior to graduation. Participate in on-campus recruiting if it is offered for your major.
• Meet with a career services professional to determine which job-search strategies would be optimal for you and learn more about career resources you can use during your search. 
• Network with potential employers as much as possible in your final year at Ohio State and attend employer information sessions and workshops. Today, many of these opportunities are remote, making them very accessible.
• Polish your resume.
• Make your cover letter job-specific: Do not recycle the same letter for multiple jobs. If the prospective employer asked for specific soft skills, make sure you address them in your letter. Go through the position announcement and list all the requirements they are looking for and identify how you have the skills, or commitment to gain the skills, to make you a good fit for the position. 
• Start researching companies and organizations you wish to pursue for employment and go to career fairs held throughout the year. Remember to dress professionally (this is the first impression to make on that company or organization) and have copies of your updated resume, which include your contact information at the top, that you can leave with recruiters. Ask recruiters for business cards and send a thank-you note. Research the company or organization in case they want to do a phone or Zoom interview.
• Participate in a mock interview. Your college or program might create that opportunity or set up a meeting with a career services professional. They can also review your resume or vita as well as cover letter if that is required. 
• Access AlumniFire to connect with an Ohio State alum who already works at that organization or in the industry. This can be a valuable resource to learn more and be better prepared for an upcoming interview. Check out AlumniFire for Ohio State.
• Be well prepared for a remote or in-person interview. Review the company, organization or institution you are going to interview with. It is important to practice interview questions.
• Be prepared to ask at least two to three questions when you are interviewing (you generally have an opportunity to ask questions after you have answered their questions). Your questions will let the interviewer or team know that you are prepared and demonstrate your interest.
• If you are pursuing a career in higher education or a tenure-track position, the Drake Institute can also help you with writing your teaching statement, which you can work on just before you start your faculty job search. 
• You will need references based on your career choice. If they are in higher education, you might want faculty members who can provide information about your research, teaching and your soft skills (as a collaborator, relationships with others, analytical abilities, etc.). If you are looking at another career, such as industry, you might look for faculty members who are familiar with your research and your work in the research lab. It is helpful to talk with your graduate faculty advisor or mentor about this. (Be sure that you have collected letters of recommendation from your faculty, advisors and supervisors.) REMEMBER, good references are important. If you are unsure whether a person will give you a strong reference, reevaluate if this is a good person to serve as a refence.