Important question about grad applications

[Terpenequeen]

Hi

I am completing my last batch of graduate applications and one of the schools has an employment history section.

"Please list your record of employment, beginning with your present or last position held and upload your current CV under the Additional Information section."

Do I only list relevant chemistry positions like internships, teaching etc.. or do I also list my customer service jobs?

Thank you!

[boulderboi]

I just listed relevant positions

[TakeruK]

What is the purpose of this section? It sounds like a generic request that appears on all applications, but I think how you respond would depend on what else they are asking and what kind of school you are applying to.

If this is a US school and you are applying to PhD programs, and they didn't already ask for research experience elsewhere, I think it is safe to go ahead and only list relevant experience (so maybe not just Chemistry but everything academic related) if that's what you want to list. However, you might choose to include your customer service or other jobs if you would like. If you write in your application that you were working while studying etc. then you might want to ensure you include that.

But if this is a school that treats its students more like any other job (especially if it's not a US school), then they might actually want a full employment record. Or, if you are applying to a program where you will need to have a background check (maybe it is a grad program joint with a national lab or something?) then that's another case where you might need a full employment background.

If you are not sure and you don't want to list your non-academic work, then you should ask the school. If you don't care about listing your non-academic work, then it's not going to be a big deal if you include them and they just ignore it.