Skip to main content

Postdoc Next Steps

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs has compiled information and resources to assist postdoctoral scholars looking for next steps in their career trajectory. Below you will find resources for job seeking and templates to aid with academic job searches.

Postdoc Resources for Job Seeking

Buckeye Careers

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs has partnered with Center for Career Excellence in order to offer career counseling and support services to postdoctoral scholars currently employed at Ohio State, who are looking for the next steps in their chosen career path (academia, industry, other).

Services include, but are not limited to:

  • Resume, CV, and cover letter review
  • Interview tips and assistance
  • Networking strategies
  • Career exploration (academia, industry, and other job-types)
  • Job search strategies

To book an appointment: please email careerquestions@osu.edu. In your communications, make sure you share that you are a postdoctoral scholar (even if your official title is visiting scholar, research associate, research scientist, visiting assistant professor, etc.) to ensure that you will see a career counselor familiar with the needs of postdoctoral scholars.

Handshake

Handshake is a platform used by over 800 colleges and universities, including Ohio State, that provides trainees with access to thousands of fellowships, full-time technical career opportunities in academia and industry, and postdoc opportunities at universities across the country. Postdocs are eligible for a free Handshake account. Colleges across Ohio State’s campus user Handshake to manage participation at discipline-specific career services and recruitment events. The OPA encourages you to register for a free Handshake account so that you are eligible to participate in these activities and interact with potential employers in your field of scholarship.

To activate your free Handshake account:

  • Submit your information into the survey found here: https://go.osu.edu/postdoc-handshake.
  • Please note: this process can take up to two months to finalize, so do this well in advance of any Ohio State career fairs you would like to attend.

Career Services Groups on Campus

Ohio State uses a comprehensive, de-centralized career services model for trainees on campus. Below is the information for the colleges that support their own career services office. Center for Career Excellence is also available to help all postdocs, regardless of their specific discipline or career interests. The specific support services each unit provides will vary, but in general, the following topics of support are covered: opportunities for 1:1 career coaching, jobs boards with discipline-specific internship, academic and industry opportunities, interview coaching, technical editing for resumes/CVs and cover letters, and career services workshops and events.

Career Services Events

Many units across the university provide discipline-specific recruitment events, during which time external employers are invited to the campus to interact with undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral trainees. If you are looking for a specific type of event and you do not see it in the list below, please reach out to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs so that we can assist you. A small selection of recurring opportunities is listed below:

Resources to Explore Career Paths

  • Imagine PhD is a career exploration and planning tool for those in the humanities and social sciences.
  • Beyond the Professoriate and Beyond Graduate School are discipline agnostic tools to help trainees explore career pathways. Access is free for postdoctoral scholars through Ohio State's Graduate School. Login using your name.#.
  • Zippia: a Career Exploration Tool. Zippia provides an overview of various career paths available to researchers – qualifications, typical salary, desired skill sets, and job openings.

Job Boards for Seeking Employment

Please use the following job aggregators to search for job opportunities:

Resources and Templates to Aid with Academic Job Searches

Templates and Guides for Common Academic Application Elements

Still Have Questions?

Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
214D University Hall 230 North Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210
osupostdocs@osu.edu