Fellowships/future employment

[Imaginary]

Let's talk about what fellowships mean for future employment, if anything. My perception is that having a fellowship (even if it's internal and these tend to be given to accepted students a matter of course) is going to look way better on a resume someday than an unfunded offer or just teaching assistantships. I'm not even thinking about why it isn't smart to take an unfunded offer or the opportunity to do more research, though those factors ARE important to me. 

[Roquentin]

Universities want faculty who can operate at national and international levels. Being competitive for externally awarded graduate fellowships/scholarships etc. is a good step in that direction. I was recently awarded a research fellowship, and the head of the fellowship committee told me that they had received applications from four continents from people working in a dozen disciplines. The other recipients are all intermediate/senior professors. The benefit to me thus goes beyond the value of an ego boost and an enhanced opportunity to pursue my research; I will be able to show, once I hit the job market, that I can effectively promote my research and successfully compete for external funding. So yeah, it's all good. Internally awarded graduate fellowships? Meh, they show strength within a cohort or a university, but I doubt they'd do much to distinguish top candidates for a faculty position. In general (and with exceptions, of course), internal fellowships are more about paying the bills and being compensated for your work.