Finding Jobs with a Psychology Bachelor's Degree: Expert Advice for Launching Your Career

by R. Eric Landrum

Overview

Psychology is one of the most popular college majors and can lead to a satisfying career in many different fields. If graduate school is not in your immediate plans, this book is for you. It will show you how to leverage your bachelor's degree to find a career with intellectual, emotional, and financial rewards. You will also get a snapshot of the salary, benefits, and day-to-day pleasures and challenges in a variety of jobs as well as advice and questions to help you reflect on the classes, internships, experiences, and attitudes that will make you a success in your career of choice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433804373
Publisher:	American Psychological Association
Publication date:	03/15/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

Preface: From Bachelor's Degree to Career Success xi

I Making Yourself Workforce Ready 1

1 What is Career Success to You? An Inventory of Expectations 3

What You Want in a Job or Career 4

What Employers Want From Psychology Baccalaureates 7

What APA Wants From Psychology Baccalaureates 8

The Advantage of a Liberal Arts Education 9

After Graduation: Transitioning From College to Career 11

Stages of Career Development 12

Predictors of Career Satisfaction 15

2 Finding the Career That Is Right for You 17

Tools to Classify Job Titles and Personal Preferences 17

Holland's Self-Directed Search Codes: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional 18

Customizing Your Own Career Information 26

Mismatches Between Job Preferences and Holland Codes 28

How Useful Are the Holland SDS Codes and O*NET Classifications? 29

II In Their Own Words: Profiles of Psychology Baccalaureates and Their Career Choices 31

3 Early-Career Professionals in Social Fields 33

Description and Sample Occupations 33

Interviews 34

4 Middle- and Later-Career Professionals in the Social Fields 49

Interviews 50

5 Enterprising Careers 69

Descriptions and Sample Occupations 69

Interviews 70

6 Conventional, Realistic, Artistic, and Investigative Careers 81

Descriptions and Sample Occupations 81

Interviews 82

Themes and Advice From the Profiles 93

Making Yourself Workforce Ready 93

General Themes From the Online Interviews 94

Expanding on the Themes 96

More Advice From Successfully Employed Psychology Majors 99

III Putting Your Own Career Search Into Orbit 101

8 Searching for Job Opportunities 103

General Job-HuntingAdvice 104

Best Use of the Internet 107

Making Contact: Crafting the Cover Letter 108

9 Selling Yourself: Preparing the Resume That Is Right for You 111

Different Types of Resumes 112

What to Include, What to Exclude 113

Customizing Your Resume for the Job You Want 114

Making Sure Your Resume Is Technology Friendly 114

10 Nibbles Are Good: Preparing for a Job Interview 117

Doing Your Homework 118

Types of Questions You May Be Asked 119

Examples of Questions You May Want to Ask 120

IV Backstage Pass: The Study That Led to This Book 123

11 Research Methodology Tipsheet 125

Development of the Structured Interview 125

Gathering a Sample of Respondents 135

Actual Data Collection 140

A Sample Report (Mine) 140

References 147

Index 153

About the Author 157