Learn how to keep yourself ahead of the curve.
Online Resources

The Chronicle of Higher Education’s online platform for academic job resources.

Build real world skills direct from leading organizations through virtual experience programs.

UCLA's platform that connects Bruins with internships, jobs and career opportunities.

A career exploration tool for PhDs and postdocs in the humanities and social sciences.

An online platform for PhD level scientists and humanists to explore career options.

An assessment tool developed to help you clarify your values and guide decision making.

A career development and planning tool for PhD students and postdocs in the sciences.

A resource for career and industry trends, salaries, and job outlook.

Paid micro-internship opportunities for UCLA students of all majors, years, and degree levels.

A career preparation toolkit for UCLA graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.

A smart resume platform that allows you to build your resume and get detailed feedback anytime, anywhere, 24/7.
Resources on Handshake
Career Exploration Tools
UCLA PhD Melanie Ho offers insights into how to conduct a successful informational interview.
Creating My Development Plan for Graduate Students and PostdocsUse this resource to identify your professional development needs and create a development plan to guide your future.
Crowdsourcing Platforms for SkillbuildingCrowdsourcing platforms provide opportunities to gain experience working on real projects across industries. Explore this list of crowdsourcing platforms that can be useful to help build your portfolio and develop new skills.
Job Offer Evaluation/Negotiation WorksheetThis worksheet is intended to help you organize your values/needs in a position compared to the job offer. It is not intended to suggest that you negotiate on all points, just to merely consider what is most important to you.
Job Search Action PlanThe average time to secure a job is typically 6-12 months. The closer you are to completing your degree/training, the more time you should dedicate to the job search. Use this worksheet to develop a plan of action and guide your job search time.
SWOT AnalysisUse this worksheet to help you identify your strengths as a candidate for a particular job, areas of improvement, and networking/training opportunities.
Transferable Skills AnalysisUse this list of transferable skills to start identifying and prioritizing your skills gained as a graduate student, postdoc, and through other experiences.
Values WorksheetUse this worksheet to reflect on the values that are most important in your current and future work.
Internship Search GuideA quick overview of the filters and sorting tools on Handshake to help optimize your job/internship search experience.
Navigating Handshake for StudentsLearn about the variety of resources and benefits available to students on Handshake.
Industry Infographics 2022-2023Want to stay up to date on current industry trends? Learn about the top employers and industries currently hiring on Handshake in addition to the primary job roles and number of opportunities for each industry group. Updated quarterly.
Resume Tools
The academic cover letter communicates your scholarly fit with a position, organization and department. Use this template to help build a cover letter than expands on your accomplishments and outlines your future trajectory.
Active Verb ListEnhance your resume or CV with this list of active verbs.
Cover Letter TemplateA Cover Letter is a tailored one -page document that provides context and in depth examples of your skills, knowledge, experience and ft for the position. Use this template as a guide when preparing a cover letter for your application materials.
CV vs ResumeWhat's the difference between a CV and resume? See this guide for the answer.
Humanities and Social Sciences PhD Resume ExampleView an example of a well-written resume for Humanities and Social Science PhD students.
Job Description and Tailored Resume ExampleEach resume should be specific to the job position for which you are applying. See an example of how this PhD-level resume is tailored to the position.
North Campus Master's Resume ExampleView an example of a well-written resume for North Campus Master's students.
PhD-level Curriculum Vitae TemplateLearn the components of a CV with this non-discipline specific template.
South Campus Master's Resume ExampleView an example of a well-written resume for South Campus Master's students.
STEM PhD Resume ExampleView an example of a well-written resume for STEM PhD students.