Doctoral Students 

Start by getting clear on what motivates you beyond your research topic. What kind of environment do you thrive in? Do you want autonomy or structure? Are you drawn to teaching, building systems, advising, leading teams, or something else? 

• Build an Individualized Development Plan (IDP). IDPs help you identify your skills, interests, and values, then connect them to career paths. Two free tools designed for PhDs: 

– myIDP (sciences) 

– ImaginePhD (social sciences and humanities) 

• Take a self-assessment through Career Design. Different assessments  –  like mCode for motivations and Skillscan for understanding the skills that energize you vs burn you out can – can help you understand what you need from a workplace beyond a good salary and benefits.  

• Explore career paths by field. Our Career Guides break down different fields of study and the career paths they connect to. The Occupational Outlook Handbook shows what professionals in a field actually do day-to-day 

You can’t just think your way into a career—you need to test things out. Experiential opportunities help you figure out whether a path is actually a good fit before you commit to it. 

• The LEADERs Program integrates leadership and professional-skills education with embedded research at an organization in industry or the public sector 

• Browse experiential opportunities—internships, co-ops, and full-time roles—on NUworks and the PhD Network’s Opportunities page 

• Connect with Northeastern alumni through NUSource or LinkedIn to learn what it’s actually like to work in a field you’re considering 

• Use Inspire a Husky to schedule informational interviews with professionals who want to help 

• Check our events calendar for employer-led events and networking opportunities, including NU Talent Connect (held each Spring and Fall) 

Doctoral students often underestimate how much translating their experience requires—especially for roles outside academia. The skills you’ve built (designing research, managing projects, synthesizing complex information, teaching) are valuable in many settings, but you need to learn how to talk about them in language that resonates with different audiences. 

Job materials: 

• Academic positions require a CV, a research statement, and often a teaching philosophy. Industry roles require a resume and usually a cover letter. These are fundamentally different documents—see our CV and Resume guides for how to build each one 

• Use Big Interview for resume templates (including PhD-specific templates), practice interviews, and AI-generated feedback 

Professional identity: 

• Build a LinkedIn presence that communicates your expertise to people outside your dissertation committee 

• Develop a professional introduction (sometimes called an “elevator pitch”) that explains your work and what you’re looking for in clear, concrete terms 

• Practice interviewing—the format is different for academic job talks, industry behavioral interviews, and panel interviews, and each requires preparation 

Career Design offers self-paced Canvas modules designed specifically for doctoral students. These cover self-assessment, experiential opportunities, building your professional story for both academic and industry paths, and networking. Work through them at your own pace and bring what you learn to a conversation with a Career Counselor. 

• Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning Through Research (CATLR) – Supports graduate students in developing their teaching through resources, events, and one-on-one consultations 

• Graduate Student Government (GSG) – A student-run organization working to improve graduate student life, with a directory of graduate student organizations 

• Graduate Ombuds – Confidential, impartial, and informal assistance for graduate students with concerns related to their university experience 

• NU PLACE – Programs and tools supporting career and professional development for historically marginalized learners 

• Enroll in the self-paced Canvas modules and work through the self-assessment section 

• Build an IDP using myIDP or ImaginePhD to clarify your skills, interests, and goals 

• Set up a time with a Career Counselor to debrief what you learned and plan next steps 

• Identify one experiential opportunity or informational interview to test a direction 

• Draft or update your CV (for academic paths) or resume (for industry paths) and get feedback