I'm a Visiting Scholar at Berkeley and many of you may know me from the workshops on finding non-academic jobs and handling lab conflicts that I presented at Berkeley this past year. You may also be aware of my website, www.dougsguides.com, of free resources to help students at all levels find and thrive in their first jobs. I've been working with Sam Castaneda, Director of the Visiting Scholars and Postdocs Assn, and with people in the BPEP and PIEP programs to develop tools to help students at all levels find their first jobs. Here are some of the results:
Self-Assessments
People look for different things in a job: one person might want to change the world, while another just wants a paycheck. What type are you? I've put together a simple questionnaire to help you figure out your work personality and match it to different kinds of work environments. Check out Who Should I Work For? It will help you to determine whether you'll be more comfortable in an academic, entrepreneurial, consulting, or other type of work culture.
Studies have shown that the workplace culture and type of people you work with is a bigger contribution to your workplace happiness than salary. Take a few minutes to get your own assessment of the kind of place that appeals to you.
Are You Ready to Look for a Job?
This is quick self-assessment for college students from undergraduates to post-docs and beyond to determine whether you are prepared to start your job search - with suggestions for how to fill in any gaps if you aren't. The plain truth is that these days there is more to your job search than getting the skills you need - you need a well-crafted resume, a network of contacts, an online presence, and more. My quiz enables you to quickly identify areas you may need to work on and recommends specific actions you can take today.
Whether you are in the lab or the workplace, you need to know how to deal with angry, demanding, or confrontational people. How well do you handle difficult people and situations? Are you familiar with the basic technique of Agree-Empathize-Inquire? Take this quick quiz to see how well you score. Each question poses a scenario and asks for your response. At the end you'll be given feedback on your answers.
