Almost in the Real World

[kmb8813]

Hey everyone,

 

I'm going to be graduating in May from a masters program in forensic psychology.  I've been checking out some websites to help with the job search for after graduation, but I'm wondering, how early is too early to start applying for jobs?  Thanks!

[VBD]

I'm not sure if the job hiring cycle differs for different disciplines, but the general rule my advisors gave me when I was finishing my masters: hiring can take 3-4 months at the fastest rate. Going by that, if you are planning to graduate in May, I'd say you should start looking within the next few weeks. Of course some specific sectors/places are different, ie. in my field many non-profit organizations have the end of the fiscal year as June, so tons of job listings come up in July. You may want to ask some advisors in your program, or career counselors that your university provides. Good luck!

[The Datamatrician]

I would say it's never too early to start applying for jobs. To be brutally honest, no matter how well-qualified you are, you're going to be extremely lucky to be offered the first position you apply for; and anyway, even if you are, a potential employer is going prefer that you finish your masters if they don't absolutely require it. 

 

Besides, it's good practise to go through the whole process a few times. Online forms, competency tests, telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews and assessment centres are all common features of a job application and all can be challenging. Getting through the first few stages can boost your confidence and there's absolutely no harm in gaining some experience of interaction with recruiters/employers. This is even worth doing if you're not particularly interested in a position or company, so that when that perfect role does come along you know generally what is expected of you. Especially if you've never worked a graduate role before, you'll likely make mistakes in your applications - learn from them.

 

Like VBD has said, hiring is a slow process, and applying now serves the double purpose of saving you a long wait with nothing to do post-masters and demonstrating to employers you're enthusiastic, forward-thinking, ambitious and that you can manage time efficiently (make sure you do this: don't compromise on your masters to prepare for an interview!).

 

Good luck!

Edited January 16, 2013 by The Datamatrician

[BytheHammerofThor]

Start looking as soon as possible.  I'm in a PhD program now, but I took a break after my master's and worked for a bit.  I graduated from my master's program in early May, and I had been applying for jobs since roughly March of that year.  I didn't get hired on somewhere until the end of July, and that was applying for positions with some regularity.  It can be difficult to land your first professional gig post-master's, so plan to give it some time.  Something that I think really helped me, too, was reworking my CV and resume' (I bought a few books and endlessly scoured the interwebs for good examples), so I would try to do some prep work on that end, too.  Good luck!