"What I got out of this class was more than just a grade. I got comfort and peace."

"I discovered that I did not actually find these assignments to be 'work'--the assignments I was doing were actually things I would use in real life"

Welcome to the Careers in Psychology Course!

Overview:

This course is NOT a review course on various career options (which I have found is most people's expectation). This course helps you DECIDE what it is you want to do with your life and you will prepare the materials you need for the many career possibilities after graduation. This course is focused on DOING more than on receiving information (though don't worry, you will receive a ton of information!). This course provides you the tools and opportunity for self-reflection to make important life decisions, helps you get work done that you need to get done anyway, provides you access to the information necessary to do that work, and you will receive individualized feedback from me on the documents you'll need to use for job placement or graduate school application. 

This course is intense. There is a lot of work to be done, in a short amount of time. Further, there is a lot of self-reflection that can be anxiety producing and uncomfortable for some. 

Types of Assignments:

During this course, you will have completed for yourself 18 assignments from 4 basic categories: General Information (3 assignments), Self-Exploration (5 assignments), Graduate Programs (5 assignments), and Jobs w/ a BA (6 assignments).

General Information: 3 assignments--Getting Started (this blog post you are reading now, and the activities outlined at the end of this post); Psychology Info (where you will learn about the major, department, and discipline as a whole); and the Reflection (summary of your experience and course evaluation).

Self-Exploration: 5 assignments--Who are you? (two questionnaires to evaluate goals and personality traits); Digital Identities (a guided exploration of your digital footprint); What Kind of Life? (a guided exploration of your life and goals); Timeline (an outline of all tasks you need to complete before graduation); and Professional Interview (you will interview a professional who has the job you want to ultimately have as a career).

Graduate Programs: 5 assignments-Vita (the academic resume); GRE/or other graduate exam (taking a practice graduate placement exam); 10 programs (you will research and decide on 10 graduate programs you could apply to); 3 references (you will reflect and decide on 3 faculty references you could use as your references for entrance into graduate school); Personal Statement (you will write the entrance essay required for graduate applications).

Jobs w/ a BA: 6 assignments--Career Services (exploring the information and resources available at career services); Resume (employment resume); 10 jobs (you will research and decide on 10 jobs you could apply for with your BA in Psychology); Cover Letter (you will write a cover letter for one of those jobs); Real Jobs (you will evaluate actual jobs that our own Psych Dept alumni have); 3 references (you will reflect and decide on 3 references to use for employment purposes). 

Even if you are pretty certain about which track you are going to take, you still need to do ALL the assignments. I regularly have students ask to opt out of a particular assignment because they "know" they don't need it. Sorry :) not going to happen. I have seen students stumble on a job that changed what they thought they were going to do, and I have had many students take a practice GRE or other graduate entrance exam and get a great score which encouraged them to think about graduate school when they hadn't before. 

That said, you can and should tailor assignments to your interests (so if you want to go to a physical therapy grad program, your grad school assignments should be geared toward that).

Required Materials:

There are three required books for this course. Some assignments will direct you to read a particular chapter, but mostly, these are reference books that you will refer to as you need them throughout the course. Some people feel irritated that we don't 'use' the books very much in this course. Most students feel like they get a great deal of information from the books even when they aren't directly used in an assignment.

Kuther & Morgan's Careers In Psychology: Opportunities in a Changing World (referred to as K&M)

APA's Getting In: A Step by Step Plan for Gaining Admission to Graduate School in Psychology (referred to as APA)

Landrum's Finding Jobs with a Psychology Bachelor's Degree (referred to as L)

All of the course material is here on this site (NOT eLearning). You DO NOT need to register for this blog site or login to do ANY assignment. Each blog post provides you with the information, instructions and links necessary to do the assignment. You may still need to review information on the "Resources" tab for additional information, and occasionally might find it helpful to google for additional information.

Some assignments have some additional information under the heading Explore! these are optional (though helpful) resources for you to consider.  

Most of the blog posts have an FAQ at the bottom to help clarify points that seem to always crop up. Another reason to make sure you are reading each blog post carefully PRIOR to starting that work.

In order to alleviate the natural anxiety that this course often elicits, the grade you earn will be based on the number of assignments you complete. Complete them all, and you'll get an A. This is designed so that you can focus on the process and content of the assignments without worrying about the grade. You will get individualized feedback on your vita, resume, GRE assignment, personal statement, and cover letter. If your assignment is poor or incomplete you will not get credit for it and I will ask you to redo it. I will respond to you via email letting you know that your assignment has been graded. 

You should expect that those assignments that require reflection or explanation of an activity should be around 400 words. 

Other assignments that are of a specific document (like a resume) don't have a word requirement, but should be complete. 

Most assignments can be written directly in the body of the email--only caution, make sure you are meeting length requirements. 

There are 4 assignments that need to be done in a Word document and attached (that means no google drive documents or pdfs--they must be in word so that I can use editing tools to provide my feedback). They are: resume, vita, cover letter, and personal statement.  

Please email all of your work to me at kimmaclin@gmail.com I have you send assignments to a gmail address so that I can keep my uni email clear for questions and correspondence. So if you do have a question, please email me at the uni address as I only check the gmail one when I'm ready to sit down and grade assignments. Please put in the subject heading the assignment you are turning in. 

Time Management:

Many of the assignments are time consuming, requiring planning time, writing time, and thinking time. I recommend that you read through ALL of the assignments NOW so you know what is required.

Due dates are always Fridays at midnight. You have MULTIPLE blog posts, activities, and assignments due each week. However, do not be surprised by this --check these assignment dates NOW. You can always turn stuff in early! And you can work out of order if you wish. Your assignments are listed here on this blog page, one after the other, scrolling down. 

Due Friday Midnight March 9

Activities and assignments discussed in the following posts:

• Getting Started (this post)
• Who Are You

Due Friday Midnight March 23

activities and assignments discussed in the following posts:

• Psych Major, Department, Discipline
• Digital Identities

Due Friday Midnight March 30

Activities and assignments discussed in the following posts:

• What Kind of Life
• Advisor Meeting

Due Friday Midnight April 6

activities and assignments discussed in the following posts:

• Vita
• GRE

Due Friday Midnight April 13

Activities and assignments discussed in the following posts:

• Grad Programs
• References
• Personal Statement

Due Friday Midnight April 20

Activities and assignments discussed in the following posts:

• Faculty Meeting
• Career Services
• Resume/References/Info Sheet

Due Friday Midnight April 27

Activities and assignments discussed in the following posts:

• 10 Jobs & Cover Letter
• Real Jobs & Professional Interview

Due Friday Midnight May 4

Activities and assignments discussed in the following posts:

• Timeline
• Reflection

Q&A/Discussion Group

Asking questions is a CRITICAL part of this course; it is literally an ESSENTIAL way that I dispense information to you.  There is really no such thing as not having a question. If you are being serious about this course you should have many questions as you work through each assignment. 

Questions are asked via a closed, private, Facebook discussion group. If you have a Facebook account, please join "Careers in Psychology Q&A." If you don't have a facebook account and do not want to get one, email me and we will find another way for you to participate. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1419147115022729/.  

Unless you are a FB hound, you may want to turn off notifications (in the banner picture of the page, deselect 'notifications'). With 25+ people posting questions every eek and me responding, your phone will be bing-ing a lot and could get irritating. 

You are required to ask at least ONE question per week that is due. You are free to ask more of course too. They shouldn't be polling questions (asking what others think). They should be questions you have of a factual nature that you are asking, for the most part, to me. Students and TAs who have valuable information are welcome to answer questions, too. Your question should NOT be obviously answered by blog post instructions...it is okay if you want clarification on an assignment, but that will not count as your question for that assignment. Some students at first worry that their question are too specific to them. They are NOT! This is your dime, your time, ask the questions you want to know the answers to! 

You MUST MUST MUST also follow along week by week reading your  fellow students' questions and the answers to them, one--so you don't duplicate questions, and two--so that you can learn from what others ask. Questions from previous classes are still there (but don't worry about duplicating those--just don't duplicate questions from current students). You can scroll or search through those old questions as well. Many of those students chose to stay a part of this group so they could continue to read the questions and answers. PLEASE ask the relevant questions during the week of that blog assignment...This will make it easier for you to keep up in reading the other students' questions (because then you only need to scroll down to the last question you read the last time you came to the page), and will also make sure you are getting the answers you need when you are working on those particular assignments.

First...

Familiarize yourself with the blog, and the resources tab (nearly all of the links on the course resources tab are dispersed into the various blog posts..however, I also have them listed there in case there is a topic you are looking for and you're not sure what post it might be in).  Review all assignments and due dates.

Join the FB group, or contact me if you cannot participate that way. Post to the FB page your year in school, if you think you want an advanced degree (and let us know what degree), what profession or career you want to pursue (if you know), and if you are unsure, at least whether you are leaning towards a clinical (dispensing mental health services-therapist, counselor, social worker, occupational therapist, etc, etc--any career where you have patients or clients) OR non-clinical (pretty much anything else) career.

FAQs:

Do I really need all of these books? Yes. You will refer to them specifically for a few assignments, but will refer to them generally for many more. Most students report that these books are ones they do not sell back. They are good resources for you even if we don't cover everything in them.

I'm unsure of this whole FB thing. Is it worth it? Most students report really liking the FB component. It is a completely safe space to ask ANY question you have about your major, the department, your studies, college in general, jobs, advisors, grad school, life, etc. Complaints usually arise out of receiving too many notifications, which is why I now provide specific information on how to turn them off. The group is closed. No one but us (and former students) are in the group. Any notifications you receive in your newsfeed are visible only to you, not any of your fb friends.

Will all of these posts be so damn long? Yes :)  I have to give you the information you need somehow. These are definitely not some simple instructions that you can skip. You MUST read these posts.

Why on God's green earth is this course only worth 1 credit? The workload for this course is heavy and intense. Every course I teach many people wish it was worth 3 credits and was a full semester long. I don't disagree. However, this type of course is considered "non-content" (which is ridiculous, but there ya go), and non-content courses are only allowed to be 1 credit long, and 8 weeks long. Maybe some day in the future I will be able to convince the powers that be that this course is integral to a student's understanding and participation in the discipline, but for now, there ya go. You will work hard and you will get A LOT out of this class. 

"This class helped alleviate a lot of stress that I had about my future."

A very important part of our lives these days is our presence and how we interact in the digital world. As you approach entering the 'real world' it is time to evaluate how you appear to others who may not know you. This is especially true for people your age who have been surrounded by digital media since birth.

There are many sources of information about you 'out there,' some that might be under your control (like your own twitter or facebook account), or others that may not be under your control (like all those awful baby pictures your mom posted on her fb account or your friend's pics of you), as well as publicly available information about you that is out there that you might not be aware of.

So let's search.

First, google yourself. Yep, type your name into google and see what comes up. Use your regular day to day name, your full given name, and whatever variations. Browse through the first three pages and see if there is anything surprising or concerning to you. Next, and importantly, do those searches again, but select 'images' instead of the default 'web'. Scroll down awhile and see if there is anything surprising or concerning.

Next, run a criminal background check on yourself. 

https://www.iowacourts.state.ia.us/ESAWebApp/DefaultFrame

click on 'start a case search here'

then under 'trial court' click on 'case search'

Put your last name and your first name into the appropriate fields. click on search.

If there are any matches for your name or a similar name, a list will come up. You can click on the blue links to see more information about that particular case. 

Click on 'criminal charges/disposition' to see information about the case (if it is a criminal case). Feel free to click on any of the other headings that are in brackets, those are free to look at. Notice also if someone has your same name, and see what they have done. It can be very important to let prospective employers know that someone else with your name is a creep (and request that people who run background checks on you to make sure to use your middle name and verify birthdate).

Next, check the sex offender registry for your name: http://www.iowasexoffender.com/ (click on search and follow directions).

If you are not on the registry (which of course most of you are not), this again is to be aware if someone with your name has a charge. If you are on the registry, it is important to monitor your record for accuracy.

Next, check the white pages (www.whitepages.com). Are you surprised by the information available about you there?

Next, review your facebook account (if you have one). Evaluate your privacy settings. Really, unless you are a public figure, or an aspiring blogger or entertainer, there is really no reason that your facebook account be publicly accessible. View your account, and your newsfeed with the eye of an employer. What is the first impression?

What about your other social media presence? Twitter? Instagram? Pinterest? etc, etc?

Here are some articles with relevant information:

Google Yourself -

Ungoogle Yourself

Background Checks 

Managing Your Digital Identity - http://www.reppler.com/

After doing all of this, modify your facebook account as necessary; or create a new one (or delete your old one! or don't create one at all!). Verify that your voicemail greeting, texting signature and email signature are all appropriate. You SHOULD have a voicemail greeting set up (there is nothing more unprofessional and frustrating than to return someone's call, and it says, the subscriber you have reached does not have a mailbox set up). Also consider that not everyone in the world has the same musical taste as you. I find it very disconcerting to sit there and listen for sometimes as long as 30 seconds to a music ringtone or voicemail greeting from some genre of music that i hate. What a bad first impression that you can control! Consider changing your actual email address to something professional and appropriate (no-brainer, your name!)...some email addresses can be hard to remember (smithak5420), or inappropriate (sexkitten). 

Next, create a professional social networking account on Linkedin  www.linkedin.com (if you don't already have one)...feel free to search me and add me as a professional contact. This is essentially a professional social networking site where you display your professional qualifications. It's sort of an online, interactive resume. It can be very helpful when job seeking.

8 Mistakes on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is Boring--In a Good Way

Next, email me a summary of your experience doing this assignment with 'digital identities' as the subject heading, and post a question on the facebook page.

Explore!

http://www.policeone.com/advice/articles/7282842-5-great-ways-to-destroy-your-police-career-on-social-media/

Dos and Don'ts on Social Media 

"At the beginning of the course I did not have a clear understanding of what all I had to do before I graduated. It definitely opened my eyes to all the possibilities for a career in psychology."

First, watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dcNtNDg2p4

then read this and this: Follow Your Passion?

Read L's Chapter 1 & 2

Next, I want you to reflect on what kind of life you want to have. Below are some questions to get you started in thinking about this. 

What kind of life do you want to have? How do you see the balance between employment and personal time? How important is money to you? What pace of work do you like (fast, slow, etc)? Do you want a regular work day (8-5)? How much supervision do you need/like? How much autonomy? How much flexibility with work schedule? What kind of interactions do you like (people-if so, what kind, adults, children, older adults, etc, computers, paperwork, colleagues, etc)? What kind of work environment (office, out and about, etc)? What about the rest of your non-work life? How much time do you want to have for family? Travel? Hobbies? Friends? Do you want to start your own family? If you have some specific ideas of the type of job you want, go ahead and write about that too, but this really is about thinking about the pace of your life.

Please email me this reflection, and your thoughts about this assignment with the heading 'what kind of life'...and ask your question on the fb page.

Meet with Your Advisor

(Note: for summer students; you should attempt to meet with your advisor, but please be advised, that most, if not all of your professors are not paid during the summer, and therefore, do not work in the summer. An email interaction WILL count for this assignment if you cannot meet with them. If you are unsuccessful in securing a meeting or having an email conversation, please note those efforts in your assignment, and you will still get credit).

Most students seriously underuse their advisor. They only go to them when they 'have' to. You are really missing out. Your advisor can be very helpful to you in planning and making decisions about your major, getting advice about graduate school and jobs, helping ease stress through providing you information and other resources, and gasp! sometimes become a great professional contact, or even, friend.

I would like you to find out who your advisor is (if you don't know) and meet with him or her. You can talk about course scheduling, scheduling to make a particular graduation date, research or teaching assistant opportunities (which are an important and FUN way to get experience in psychology), or whatever you feel comfortable with. The point is to make this contact for a reason *other than* just getting a signature for something. Your advisor can be an important source of information for you, and ultimately, can be a possibility for a letter of reference. But not if they don't know who you are :) If you don't like your advisor or connect better with someone else, you can ask Jan in the department office to switch you to someone else. 

Please write up a reflection of your meeting with your advisor and email it to me with the subject heading "advisor meeting"...and ask a question on the fb page.

Explore!

http://www.wikihow.com/Email-a-Professor

Fan the Fire

Why Women Still Can't Have it All

Staying is Settling

40 hour Work Week

How Young People Can Get Rich Slowly

Paying off your student loans

The Buy Nothing Year

Spend Money on Experiences not Things

7 Ways to Save $4000 per Year

Lacking Ambition 

Work-Life Balance 

Live the Life You Want 

Save Money

"I went in as a poor lost soul with absolutely no idea what I was trying to do. Not only did I not know what exactly it was I was trying to do, but also I had no idea how to figure it out. Now, at the end of the semester, I can happily say I have things figured out, well, for the most part."

Read APA Ch 4

The GRE is an exam that is required by many (though not all) psychology graduate programs (MA and PhD). This test does not test your knowledge of psychology. It tests your basic knowledge and skills in verbal, quantitative (math), and writing. It is similar to the ACT or SAT. It covers math (geometry, algebra), language arts (vocabulary, reading comprehension), and a writing sample. This test is used by psychology departments to determine in part admission to their programs. However, the GRE is also used for graduate programs in many, many other disciplines besides psychology. 

Some graduate programs require specialized exams (medical school: MCAT; business school: GMAT; law school: LSAT) instead of the GRE. Some programs require the GRE, and a GRE subject test (psychology, history, etc). This is a separate test from the regular GRE and in psychology at least, not very many programs require it. 

Why don't psychology graduate programs care so much about your base knowledge in psychology? Because graduate school is about  intense critical thinking. The subject matter, honestly, is secondary. The graduate program you attend will teach you all they want you to know in terms of content. What they can't do is teach you how to think. Get a good thinker, and you can teach them anything. 

If you know you want to go to business school, law school, medical school, whatever, do this assignment for THAT test, not the GRE.

Obviously, given the cost and stress of the GRE, you shouldn't take it if you don't need to! And like I mentioned above, many programs don't require it (MSW-masters of social work; many PsyD, many MA in psychology programs, and some PhD).

However, taking a practice GRE test can do a lot to help you determine which types and which specific programs you should apply to because a major consideration for acceptance is your score on the GRE, so knowing your score (or  having a baseline prior to studying for the real one) is very helpful for planning purposes.

So, take a practice GRE (or appropriate entrance exam for the area you are going into). 

Here is some information about the test.
http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare

here is a link to a study prep guide, and one practice test (paper form), including how to score it when you are done: 
http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/practice_book_GRE_pb_revised_general_test.pdf

here is a link to study prep and a practice test, computer form 
http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/powerprep2

If you want a score, make sure to take the computer, TIMED version of the test. Make sure to simulate real test taking circumstances (the instructions give you info on how long to give yourself, etc). 

ALL of your professors took the GRE. All of them took the old GRE (it changed about three years ago). This changed the scoring system too. So most of us are best at advising based on the old scoring system. You may want to know what your score is in the old system in case someone asks (like an advisor, and some grad programs still list their cutoffs in the old scoring system). So when you get your score, go here to convert it to the old version: GRE score conversion (new to old) -

Write up a reflection of your experience, include your score, and email it to me with "GRE" as the subject heading.  Don't forget to ask a question.

Explore!

Ways to study vocabulary: 

www.freerice.com

http://www.fastcompany.com/3027797/vocabularycom-launches-positively-addictive-app-for-aspiring-wordsmiths 

Graduate Exam Prep Sites

ETS (the publisher of most graduate entrance exams)

Magoosh 

Princeton Review

Benchprep

MCAT (for medical school)

LSAT (for law school)

"If there was any one thing that I liked the most about this course, it was that no matter what degree or career you were pursuing, this course was designed to accommodate all of them, not just psychology."

Read K&M Ch 13 & 14; APA Ch 5

For this assignment you will start searching for graduate programs. This is a fairly time consuming task. I know that not all of you are planning on graduate school, but this is an important activity for all so that you fully understand all of your career options. Searching for graduate programs can be intimidating...google is probably not your friend for this one, because it is very difficult to evaluate quality of the program when something just pops up on google. First, review these links to get you started.

APA Guide on Graduate Education

APA Database

    login kimmaclin@gmail.com

    password: zild7noyzy

Why Get a PhD? -

Applying to Graduate School -

What are some other ways to find schools? You can review the facebook alumni group. A previous class asked the alums there opinions about how to find programs, and you'll see some of their responses there. Another way, is to ask your advisor or research professor what programs they recommend. You can also find out what school a favorite professor (or any author of any journal article you like) went to; the school that they graduated from is usually listed in the faculty profiles on department webpages. Their university affiliation will be listed underneath their name on the title page of a journal article. You can go to that university's webpage and navigate to the psych dept. You can then start to browse what graduate programs they have. As you do this, you will start to get a sense of the different types of grad programs (and skimming through your textbook for this class is going to be helpful too) and what is interesting to you, and importantly, what is NOT interesting to you. 

You may also want to browse and consider non-psych grad programs like Masters in Social Work and Masters in Mental Health Counseling. 

This assignment is to benefit you. If you are interested in law enforcement, medical school, law school, or whatever, choose 10 programs that fit that interest.

Here are some links to get you started:

Psychology and Related Grad Programs (information and advice)

APA Accredited Programs in Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychology -

Universities by State -

Graduate Progams in Psychology and Law  -

 Best Psychology Graduate Programs-US News and World Report  -

Best Graduate Programs (all categories) - US News and World Report -

Graduate Programs in Social Work

Graduate Programs in Mental Health Counseling -

College Scorecard

Marriage and Family Therapy Programs 

Email me 10 programs you have chosen. Provide the name of the school, the name of the program, and the degree that the program is for. subject heading '10 graduate programs'....ask a question!

Explore!

"We learned about many things that I did not expect to learn about, and these learning experiences made me feel more confident and prepared as I move forward with graduation and searching for internships and jobs."

For this assignment you will provide the names, titles/positions of 3 people you think will be your references for graduate school (which will go on your vita). References can be advisors, professors who know you well, professors you have TAd or RAd for, supervisors in academically oriented work settings. They are not bosses or supervisors from non-academic or non-professional employment. Normally, you do not put references on a vita without express permission from the person. However, given that this is an assignment, you made do so. Keep in mind, that a goal for you (though not required) is that by the end of this course that you have confirmed one reference for your vita (you have for real asked them and they have for real said yes).

How do you confirm references? In other words, how do you ask people to be a reference? For an academic reference (for your vita, and for applying to graduate school), the requesting process is a little more involved. To ask a professor to be a reference, you can imagine that they should have an idea of who you are :) So the first step really is to start to cultivate relationships with professors (which is precisely why I have you meet with professors and professionals as requirements for this course; to start to establish those relationships). Your 'weakest' of your 3 references for graduate school might be a professor who likes you, and you received an A in their course. Your other two references though should be more indepth relationships, like someone you did research with, was a teaching assistant for, etc. 

Once you know who you are going to ask, you should request an in-person meeting with them. In that meeting you can discuss your interest in graduate school, the  types of programs you are going to apply for, and your ultimate goals. Then you can ask them. If they say yes, you can follow up that meeting with the materials they will need to write your letters which might be specialized forms from each school, and at the least, addresses, and deadlines. 

I also recommend that you provide them with an "information sheet" that summarizes you. Some faculty have their own questionnaires or other specific information that they want you to provide. But this will be a good start. Provide: 1) your name 2) year in school 3) the types of programs that you are applying for 4) your psych gpa 5) your cumulative gpa 6) your SAT or ACT core 7) your gre score if you know it 8) the courses you have taken with that reference and the grades you got in those courses 9) information on any special projects or papers that you did in any of their classes that could job their memory or otherwise help them provide detail in their letter 10) how long you have known that reference and in what capacity (student, TA, RA, advisor, etc) 11) any specific information you want the reference to highlight or address.  This is important, because no matter how well a professor knows you, they may not have all this information at the ready, and may not readily remember all of this important stuff...so help a sista/brutha out and refresh their memory :)

Keep in mind also, that letter writers are often asked specifically about the following traits:

Persistence: individuals are good at overcoming challenges, finishing what they start, turning plans into actions.

Achievement Orientation: individuals who are low on achievement orientation are not highly motivated to succeed and do just enough to get by. Conversely, individuals who are achievement oriented, work hard, do more than what is expected of them, set high standards for themselves and others, set hard but achievable goals.

Time Management: good time managers are good at meeting deadlines, accomplish their work on time, get tasks done right away, do things according to plan, like to plan ahead, follow a schedule. Individuals who are poor at time management do not plan ahead, find it difficult to get down to work, need a push to get started, waste time, postpone decisions, have difficulty starting tasks, are often late to work, put off unpleasant tasks.

Resilience: resilient individuals are good at overcoming challenges, can stand criticism, welcome feedback, handle stress well, readily overcome setbacks. Conversely, stress-prone individuals are easily discouraged, get stressed out easily.

Honesty/Integrity: Individuals who are low on integrity misrepresent the facts, break promises. Honest individuals try to follow the rules, adhere to high ethical standards, are trustworthy. 

Diligence: diligent individuals are always prepared, pay attention to details, demand quality, are careful to avoid making mistakes, are exacting in their work. Individuals who are not diligent neglect their duties, do things in a half-way manner, frequently forget to do things, do the opposite of what is asked.

Knowledge of Intended Specialty of Study: There are always differences between applicants regarding their current knowledge of what the specific graduate program to which they are applying to actually entails. 

Degree of Interest in Specialty of Study: Applicants also vary on the degree to which they currently have well defined interests in the specific graduate program to which they are applying. 

All of the above factors will be rated by the recommender on the following scale, choosing one category for you:

top 1-2% of all students I have known

top 5% of all students I have known

top 10% of all students I have known

top 25% of all students I have known

top 50% of all students I have known

bottom 50% of all students I have known

no opportunity to observe and/or no basis for evaluation

The last question is often the following:

What is your overall evaluation of the candidate's probability of success in graduate school?

Will definitely complete the PhD and is likely to be a star in his or her field

Will definitely complete the PhD

Masters easily, at least 50-50 chance of completing the PhD

Good probability of Masters, may end there

Not graduate school material

As you can see, this is why it is so important for you to really get to know faculty members. These evaluations are specific and require extensive knowledge of you as a student. The factors being evaluated should also give you an idea of what programs are looking for. Note that it is more about your ability to learn, than your specific knowledge in the field (which only had 1 question). 

For this assignment, provide me with your 3 references and an information sheet for ONE of those references. IF you have one confirmed (someone you have asked and they have said yes, indicate that in the assignment). The assignment is NOT to run around asking people to be your references. It is to think about who COULD be your references, and why, and to start the process of securing those references.

Email this to me with the subject heading 'references/info sheet' and ask your question on the fb page

Explore!

Recommendation Letters for Grad School 

Sources of Letters of Rec 

"Something else that meant a lot to me with this class was the fact that it demonstrated that going to grad school isn't the only option."

"There is a stereotype around that people who decide on a psychology major are doomed to either graduate school or Burger King."

Read L's Chapter 8

Browse and find 10 job prospects that you could reasonably apply for (ASSUME you have your BA; or that you are applying the semester that you graduate). DO NOT list jobs that you do not have the qualifications for (beyond the assumption that you have your BA). Check the course resources tab for locations to start hunting for jobs.

APS Employment Network -

PsycCareers (APA) -

Jobs with the State of Iowa -

Jobs with the Federal Government -

Indeed

Employment at Lutheran Services in Iowa (click on employment opportunities on right) -

Four Oaks- employment and volunteer opportunities -

Jobs at UNI -

www.monster.com -

National Criminal Justice Association - 

Department of Corrections 1 2  4 5 6

You should include the job title, job location, and a brief description of why you believe you qualify. Email those 10 job prospects to me with the subject heading of "job prospects."

Next, choose ONE of these jobs you selected and write a professional cover letter as if you were applying for that job. Email that to me as well with the subject heading "cover letter".

Explore!

What You Need to Ask at Every Interview

Jobs That Pay You to Travel

What the Fuck Am I Going to Do After College? 14 Ways to Avoid Dying in a Cubicle

UNI Career Services -

Linda Walsh's resource pages -

"I Won't Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here's Why" -

"Grammatically Challenged"

UNI Career Fair 

Cover Letters

Applications 

"This course has done so much more for me than I ever thought was possible."

Create and email a timeline for the tasks you want to complete from now until graduation. If you are graduating this year, your timeline may be weekly or monthly. If you are 'younger' your timeline might be monthly or semester-ly. You should include deadline driven tasks (scheduling the gre, gre test date, job fair, application for graduation), and other more general activities (decide on graduate programs, register for summer classes, etc). 

Subject heading "timeline" and ask a question...

Explore!

Avoid Procrastination

"This course has challenged me to learn more about myself, the options I have when I graduate, and how to get there."

You are almost there...

Please submit your reflection paper to me via email, as your last assignment for the course.

This reflection paper should probably be about 2-4 pages long and reflect your experience in the course. It's not really a course evaluation (though I suspect that by virtue of reflecting on your experience, you may also be evaluating the course)..but I really want you to focus on what you came in knowing (or not knowing), what you expected, what you got out of it, what you understand about what you need to do between now and graduation, some sort of expression of what you understand your career goals to be now that you've gone through this experience. In the event that you are still not sure, or, that now that you know of so many possibilities, it seems even harder to make a decision, feel free to review the Explore! links below for some other options that aren't strictly job related, and are not going to graduate school...You never know if one of these will set you on your road!

....sort of separate from that formal reflection, I would appreciate a brief blurb (separate or at the bottom of your reflection) where you give me any ideas for improvement of the course. Please do tell me what content needs more or less attention, any content that was completely missed that you think should be included, or any other ideas you have...

And congratulations, you did it!!

Explore!

The Best Commencement Speeches Ever

Peace Corps 

Cr0ss Cultural Solutions 

Four Hour Work Week

Projects Abroad 

Americorps

Military Careers

Religious Service 

Life After College