If you have a career related question, please refer to the list below to start.
Internships
Employment
On-campus Employment
Alumni Resources
1. What percentage of GSIPS students are employed at graduation?
This is an important question, and depends entirely on when a student begins the employment search, how much time and energy they devote to pursuing career opportunities, and how realistic they are in what they choose to do, and the types of organizations!
The earlier you begin your job search, the greater the chances you have of being employed at graduation. We urge our students to being this process in their first semester.
2. How long does it take to be employed?
There is no definite answer to this question. Each student brings a different set of experiences into the equation. Numerous factors come into play, such as the length of time it takes to secure employment, prior and relevant experience, specific job skills, your specialization, language ability, flexibility, salary needs, visa needs, relocation considerations, job-search effort, and citizenship. All of these points affect the time it takes to become employed.
For some organizations, there are professional examinations that take place months and even years before you are offered a position. There may be language requirements, specific periods of time spent in certain locations in the world, security clearances, etc. All of these points will factor into the "career calendar" that each student develops as part of their CMAP.
For example, if you want to work for a Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the US Department of State, it takes several years to complete and pass the necessary examinations. Learning what your professional community requires of you in the way of an application process is just one more service our Career Services office offers.
Other factors that will determine the length of an employment search:
· Each sector has a different timeline for hiring. Assuming you are searching in only one country you can expect, on average, that a search will take 2-3 months in the private sector, 1-4 months in the nonprofit sector, 4-12 months (especially for positions that require a security clearance) for governmental agencies, and 6-18 months for international organizations. Should you hope to work for a UN organization, you have to start applying much earlier than if you want to work in a domestically focused, community-based, nonprofit organization.
· What is the current state of the labor market in your field of interest? While hiring has slowed somewhat in the private sectors in Asia and the US, there have been significant increases in hiring in the U.S. public sector (for U.S. citizens) and in international organizations.
· Are you an international student wanting to work in the U.S.? Or, are you a US student interested in working in a country where you do not hold work status? If so, there may be far fewer opportunities for you, or you may have to work for specific organizations that will relocate you as part of the position.
· Are you devoting sufficient time for a thorough employment search? Are you doing all the necessary follow-up? Are you applying for positions that do not "formally" exist? i.e. positions that are not formally advertised, but are available through your professional network, or even through informal contacts.
Depending upon how you answer each of the above questions, the average graduate student could spend up to 2-4 hours a day on the employment search process, and the results could be months away! Remember, it takes time, effort and planning for a successful job search. The earlier you begin, the earlier you can reap the rewards!
3. I do not have a lot of work experience, or the experience I have is in a very different field than the one I will enter after I graduate. How should I approach looking for an internship and a job?
Start NOW! This cannot be over-emphasized. The earlier you begin your career development, using the CMAP, and conducting the necessary research, the sooner you will see results!
Familiarize yourself with the GSIPS career resources, understand and appreciate the value of a professional portfolio, and of course, use the time with your faculty advisors wisely. Also, make regular appointment with the career staff. The better they know you, the more then can offer.
· First Class Email Announcements: We post internships, jobs, fellowships, scholarships and conference announcements every week! Get into the habit of checking the relevant email folders every 1-2 days, and follow the GSIPS Career Calendar for important deadlines and on-campus recruiting events.
· Electronic Resources: The GSIPS Career Office subscribes to numerous weekly and monthly employment listservs offering opportunities, both internationally or in the United States. The GSIPS website contains links to job listservs for different career areas.
· On-campus Recruiting: While on-campus recruiting is not as common in the international community, simply because of the cost of international travel, there are a number of recruiters regularly visiting the Monterey Institute campus to interview our students. Among others, they include: USAID, Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, and Catholic Relief Services.
· Career Workshops: GSIPS hosts a number of beneficial workshops throughout the semesters, including a series on Internship Development. Students are encouraged to attend as many as possible, as they introduce and support the CMAP topics. The only way to benefit from these workshops is TO ATTEND!
· Faculty Advisors: Our faculty are working practitioners in their respective fields, and can serve as valuable resources for students. Take advantage of their office hours for student advising, but bear in mind that it is up to students to properly prepare and plan for these meetings to get the most benefit.
· Networking: According to the Wall Street Journal, networking is the #1 way that most people find professional opportunities. Up to 80% of all positions are filled without ever being advertised!
For many students, due either to cultural or language differences, learning to network successfully could be the most difficult part of their entire career search. We offer workshops on how to network, and how to use alumni as potential mentors. Additionally, we strongly recommend that students join professional associations to benefit from the automatic network affiliation. Networking is often the step that will make or break your career.
· Fletcher Jones Career Collection: Located in the Coleman Library, the Career Collection houses a vast array of hard-copy materials designed to assist students in a global career search.
4. Do students have to know exactly what they want to do professionally , and where they want to work, even before they arrive on campus? I have not yet decided what I want to do when I graduate. How can the career staff assist?
Some new students have an understanding of what they want to do ( "I want to work for the foreign ministry in a diplomatic setting", or " I am really committed to addressing environmental concerns in West Africa"). If you are undecided about a specific career, do not worry, you are in the same position as a majority of new students. You are going to be exposed to many new ideas, topics, and professional fields in your first semester, and gradually your career interests will become more focused. Working through the CMAP is part of the career learning process.
The GSIPS career staff can help you both with self-assessment (exploring "you") and occupational research (exploring "them"), so that you can develop a sense of your skills, values and interests, and how these relate to specific professional opportunities.
Students start the learning process early by:
*Completing self-assessments: Many people on the campus may say that it is important to "follow your passion", but we also recognize that students have multiple interests. Self assessment tools assist you in evaluating and clarifying exactly what it is you hope to do.
*Submit the Career Expectations Survey and a resume/CV before arriving on campus. These documents allow the career staff to become familiar with your skills and interests.
*Submit the Self-assessment Forms that are distributed during Orientation week. This will help you understand your values, interests, traits and skills.
*Make Appointments with the GSIPS career staff. They will begin working with you on the CMAP, can respond to questions, and will serve as one of your key resources in support of the CMAP.
*Update your resume/CV. By reviewing and editing your resume continually, you will always be prepared to respond as internship and employment opportunities arise.
*Attend the career workshops.
*Attend the on-campus recruiting sessions. This is a great way to learn about new fields, and to acquire a better understanding of the professional needs of different organizations.
*Join at least one professional association relevant to your career interests. These associations could be regionally focused, issue focused, or both.
*Interview people working in the fields that interest you. These are informational interviews and should not be viewed as employment opportunities, although on rare occasion, an informational interview may lead to this result. You can learn a great deal from those working in your field of interest.
*Be a proactive listener! This may sound obvious, but a classmate may mention that their brother works for your "dream" organization, or that your roommate did an internship at that organization, or you read about a new organization in one of your classes. These are the "soft" methods of developing new resources and may continue serving as important resources in your career search.
5. What salary level could I expect as a GSIPS graduate?
Salary levels of GSIPS graduates vary, depending not only on the employment sector and field, but also on geographic location, and the relevant experience a graduate brings to the position.
Many graduates are working in countries with very different cost of living indexes. While their income may be modest by US/home country standards, it may be generous in that particular location.
In addition, graduates must consider the overall benefits. For example, depending upon location and position, you may have relocation costs, housing supplements, yearly trips to another location for vacation, loan repayments, signing and language-level bonuses, spousal employment support, supplemental educational opportunities, and other generous COLA (Cost of Living Adjustments). We encourage our graduates to look at the whole picture of what they "earn", versus merely the dollar value of their salary. Salary isn’t everything...but it IS important!
Given these factors, salary levels are an important component when making the decision to go to graduate school. Average salaries in US currency, for positions in the US, can range from as low as $30,000 for a non-profit position in a rural area, to as high as $120,000 for a private sector position in a major city, for a graduate with considerable work experience. There are internet resources where you can locate expected salary levels by sector, position, field and country.
6. Are there employment opportunities in the United States for international students?
We encourage international students to have a "multi-track" approach in their career search: one "path" in the US, one in their country of residence/citizenship, and perhaps a third path in another region of the world. Employment in the US is a possibility, but by no means a guarantee. American citizens should likewise recognize that employment in another country faces the same challenges.
There has been a significant decrease in U.S. organizations' ability to employ international applicants, due in part to a recession in the U.S. labor market, especially in "white-collar" or professional fields. Most international students come to the U.S. with an F-1 visa that allows them up to one year of practical training in an internship or job (Optional Practical Training-OPT). Many organizations are unable to spend the time and expense to train someone only to have them leave after one year, and fewer still are able to support foreign nationals for work visas.
Citizenship and visa status is a key factor in determining how quickly after graduation a student is employed. Employment visas can take months to obtain. It can take time to enter certain organizations, due to background and security checks, lengthy application cycles and professional examinations. The United Nations is a good example, as the National Competitive Recruitment Examination determines the hiring of P-2 level young professionals, dependent upon citizenship eligibility each year, may take up to two years to complete.
We recognize that this is often a challenging and frustrating experience for our international students. We continue to develop and coordinate new resources and new opportunities relevant to their professional interests. We also maintain many international resources addressing multi-national companies, international organizations and national government programs to assist all of our students in their global employment search.
7. Does a certain type of degree and/or a degree from a specific school guarantee employment?
There are no guarantees when it comes to employment. However, those who plan properly and take a proactive, and long-term approach, to their career advancement are more than likely to find success.
It is not only the degree you receive or the school you attend that gets you hired. It is about supplementing your degree with other elements in order to succeed...experience, knowledge of key issues, a thorough understanding of how organizations are structured, language and technical skills, and finally, an ability to develop critical professional networks.
In addition, you need to impress an employer with your presentation style, how you "market" yourself. This includes your resume/C.V, a cover letter, your research and knowledge of the organization and the role you will play, your interviewing style, follow-up (writing a thank you letter), and if selected, how you negotiate both salary and benefits. GSIPS encourages each student to develop a career portfolio - a collection of their research, publications, abstracts, samples of different technical skills, letters of recommendation, etc. Your career portfolio is the "proof" to the employer that you have what it takes to get the job done!
8. I have many interests. Do I risk appearing unfocused to a potential employer?
Many new students are not yet certain of the final career path. Students are assigned a Faculty Advisor to work with during the course of their degree. This ensures that they become "focused" and are taking the courses necessary to be professionally prepared. In addition, students are encouraged to make immediate use of the career resources, attend the vast array of career workshops, and even work with a second year student as an informal mentor.
In three of the GSIPS degree programs (MAITP, MAIEP and MPA), you immediately begin taking classes of direct relevance to your field of interest. If you are enrolled in the MAIPS degree, you begin working with your faculty advisor in your first semester to develop a focus - what we refer to as a policy specialization. The flexibility in the GSIPS curriculum is a great advantage, but it also requires some strategic thinking and planning to ensure that you can explore your interests, and yet remain focused.
The important thing to remember is that by the time you complete your degree, your coursework should represent a coherent "story" to a potential employer. The portfolio is designed to ensure you have developed the essential knowledge, skills and abilities in demand in today’s workplace.
9. Can I contact Monterey Institute alumni to obtain advice about internships and my career?
The Monterey Institute has thousands of alumni in more than 100 countries, working in a wide range of professions. Students can consult with the career staff to determine if alumni contacts are available. Many alumni are in fields where they cannot communicate with students, such as the intelligence community. Others may be very busy or in locations that make it challenging to connect with students. We value our alumni as a resource, but also respect and protect their time and right to privacy. It is for this reason that we speak with students and alumni prior to arranging connections.
10. A career search sounds like a great deal of work, and will take a lot of time. Isn't it the responsibility of the GSIPS Career Office to find jobs for their graduates?
No one can represent you better than you! It is for this reason that the time and effort for finding a job is the ultimate responsibility of the student. While the career staff are here to help guide you in this search, and develop the tools necessary for a lifetime of career management, only you can manage your career path.
It takes time and effort to find internships and post-graduation employment opportunities. The sooner you begin, and the more committed you are to the process, the greater your chances of finding the position you deserve. Students not employed by graduation tend to:
*Have limited experience in their targeted field;
*Lack consistency or focus in their coursework;
*Limit their search geographically;
*Have unrealistic expectations of salary ranges, or level of responsibility in a first position;
*Are addressing issues of visa and work permits;
*Have failed to take advantage of the career and faculty resources;
OR
*Have simply waited too long to begin their search.
11. How many recruiters visit the Monterey Institute and when?
The concept of on-campus recruiting has changed over the years. This is especially true at graduate schools where the degree programs are very focused on training professionals for certain communities, versus large, general undergraduate programs.
GSIPS hosts an average of 25 recruiters a year. Rather than holding a career fair, as our student interests are so varied, and so global in focus, we prefer to promote specialized recruitment information sessions. At these events, recruiters get a chance to introduce their organization to students, and then often hold on-campus interviews the next day. Students are strongly encouraged to attend these information sessions as early as possible, to ensure that they get answers to questions, consider different courses based on recommendations from the recruiters, etc.
US intelligence agencies often visit in September to interview students for summer internships one year in advance. They must conduct security clearances, which can take up to 8 months to complete.
Other organizations will visit the campus throughout the academic year. It is important that students check the First Class email system every 1-2 days, as new deadlines for resume submissions, and new events are advertised.
In addition to GSIPS-specific recruiting activities, the other graduate schools also host recruiters. The annual Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation Career Fair, held in February, hosts a number of national and international private companies and government organizations.
Finally, countless organizations contact the Career Service Office for "virtual recruiting" opportunities, with announcements for positions of direct relevance to the GSIPS student population. These positions are posted daily on the First Class email system.
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1. What career services and assistance is available to alumni?
All services that are available to students are also available to alumni!
Alumni can take advantage of resume and related professional materials development, use the First Class email posting system to check out career announcements, use the alumni network for connecting and contacting fellow alumni, and continue to request the assistance of the trained career staff at the Monterey Institute for information on new fields, fellowships, PhD applications, etc.
Given that GSIPS alumni are located around the world, the assistance they receive is primarily electronic. Career staff often travel to international conferences and events, and make arrangements to meet with local alumni at that time.
By joining the Monterey Institute’s on-line alumni community, alumni have access to a wide range of resources and services, including lifelong free email access.
2. As an alumna/alumnus, I would like to advertise for interns or employment positions in my organization. Who do I contact on campus?
Our alumni are some of our best resources when it comes to providing GSIPS student with information on new positions, and in developing internship opportunities at their organizations.
We welcome postings and announcements from our alumni, and work to build stronger employer-Monterey Institute relationships through our alumni network.
Please contact the Career Services Office as listed below to post an internship or employment announcement.
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1. Are there employment opportunities on campus?
There are two types of on-campus employment: Federal Work Study and Institute Work Study.
Research are often available at our internationally recognized research centers, including the Center for Nonproliferation Studies and the Center for East Asian Studies. Students are hired based on their relevant language skills and expertise in these fields.
A small number of teaching assistantships are available, primarily for second year students with additional knowledge in select areas: data analysis, international economics, and organizational budgeting for example.
For US students with Federal Work Study status, there are off-campus opportunities with local community nonprofit organizations. Information is available on the First Class email system, and at the Financial Aid Office.
2. Are there opportunities to work as a TA (Teaching Assistant) or RA (Research Assistant) with a GSIPS Professor?
Because our courses are taught by the faculty, and not by teaching assistants, there are few positions available. A few of the large, introductory classes, such as data analysis, international economics, and policy research methods do have additional tutoring hours, and those hours are managed by a teaching assistant. TAs are selected by the professor teaching the class.
If your question is not answered, please contact the GSIPS Career Office for additional information:
Jennifer Hambleton, Career Development Officer, GSIPS Career Services
jennifer.hambleton@miis.edu
831-647-6676
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