During your time at Yale, seek out experiences that will help you test careers and workplaces, or build marketable skills that will enhance your professional success. Be sure to consider your goals carefully; doing a self-assessment can help frame your thinking.
Explore: Top OCS Resources
Learn as much as you can about your field of interest, which will help you to develop a target list of employers and prepare you for networking conversations. Get started with the resources below:
- Resource Database: Searchable database with online resources about industries and job functions.
- OCS career programs and employer events: Opportunities to connect with alums and employers across industries and functions.
- Common Good & Creative Careers: OCS initiative to highlight opportunities in Nonprofit, Government, Education, Arts (Architecture/Design, Entertainment, Fine and Visual, Literary, Theater and Performing) and Communications.
- STEMConnect: Supporting Yale students and postdocs interested in careers related to science research, technology, engineering, and data science/statistics in order to innovate and impact the world. This mission within OCS is to connect students to advising resources, networking opportunities, employer events, educational workshops, and so much more.
- Visit your Degree Community under ‘Who Are You?’ for more specific resources.
Career Options & Build Professional Skills
- Research jobs and workplaces: Informational Interviewing is a great way to learn.
- Try out different work environments: Consider the range of experiential learning opportunities, including job treks, job shadowing, part-time work, project-based assignments and internships.
- Gain experience on-campus: Working with a student organization can support your professional development, provide insight into career functions, help develop project management and communication skills, and engage in productive teamwork.
Online Skill Development Resources
- LinkedIn Learning: An online library that teaches the latest skills through videos taught by recognized industry experts. This resource is free for current Yale students and postdocs
- Coursera: Over 2,000 online courses taught by professors around the world. Join for free and check out offerings by Yale professors:
- Introduction to Negotiation: A Strategic Playbook for Becoming a Principled and Persuasive Negotiator, by Barry Nalebuff, Milton Steinbach Professor at SOM
- Financial Markets, by Robert Shiller, Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale
- A Law Student’s Toolkit, Ian Ayres, William K. Townsend Professor, Yale Law School