If a job search scares you more than ghosts and goblins this Halloween, we invite you to visit our graveyard. Tombstones in this cemetery are full of antiquated career practices, myths, and other negative emotions one might have around a job search. Past trainees have successfully buried these demons and threats and we hope you will too!

In a Harvard Business Review article, Claudio Fernández-Aráoz contends that research by an American sociologist and professor at Stanford University, Mark Granovetter, in the 1970s still has relevance in today’s job market.  Granovetter’s research focused on how professional, technical, and managerial job-seekers found most jobs, especially good ones. As is often the case, most applicants had the best luck by applying through personal contacts instead of other more formal means like direct applications.

Tell me about yourself.

Adam Grant, an Organizational Psychologist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, wrote an article for The Economist entitled “The World After Covid-19; Adam Grant on How Jobs, Bosses, and Firms May Improve After the Crisis”.  Grant argues that covid-19 is likely to transform three features of our work lives: job satisfaction, ethical leadership, and trust.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) has long been a key standardized test used for admissions to graduate programs in the United States. The test usually consists of about four hours of multiple choice and written questions that assess a candidate’s quantitative, verbal, and writing skills.  However, even before the pandemic, many graduate programs were dropping the GRE as an admission requirement; a move that has been dubbed “GRExit”. These programs noted that the GRE is not a great predictor of a student’s success in school and that using this metric for admissions requirements often disadvantages applicants from underrepresented groups.

Post written by guest blogger Charlesice Hawkins, Detailee within OITE. 

Post written by guest blogger Charlesice Hawkins, Detailee within OITE. 

The Presidential Management Fellows Program is a two-year training and leadership development program at a United States agency and is administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. This program is only open to U.S. citizens and those with a recent graduate degree. The program focuses on developing new government leaders in a variety of disciplines and can be a great entry point for a career with the federal government.

Guest Blog Post Written By: Grace Betts, B.S., NICHD Postbaccalaureate IRTA Fellow, 2020-2021 Fulbright Study Award Recipient

Considering applying to Fulbright, but not sure where to begin? Here are a few tips and recommendations that will hopefully help you successfully navigate the process.

Dr. Brene Brown is a New York Times best-selling author. In her book Dare to Lead, she notes that many people, leaders included, are missing a foundational skill of assuming the best in people. She encourages all of us to extend “the most generous interpretation possible to the intentions, words, and actions of others.” This sounds great in theory, but it is often hard to put into practice.

Many of her examples are situations that could be applied here at the NIH and might resonate with trainees, including: