First Year

• Register with LionSHARE to gain access to Columbia's on-line job postings, general positions, and on-campus recruiting positions.
• Explore career fields and companies that might be of interest to you.
• Begin thinking about summer internships or research opportunities. Some organizations have mid-fall application deadlines for summer positions so it is important to start this process early.
• Attend career fairs, career panels, and company presentations to gain more information about different fields.
• Create or update your resume and have it checked by a counselor during walk-in hours (weekdays from 1-4pm).
• Begin networking within your field and more generally with family, friends, and colleagues.
• Join professional associations associated with your field.
• Meet with a counselor to begin a conversation about your career plans and preparatory steps.

Spring Semester

• Begin researching companies and organizations - especially their hiring processes and expectations of applicants.
• Apply for summer internships and/or research opportunities.
• Attend a practice interview workshop and set up an individual practice interview with a counselor.
• If you are having trouble identifying internships or summer research positions that interest you, set up a meeting with a career counselor.

Final Year

Fall Semester

• Check the CCE Calendar for employer presentations, workshops, career panels, and career fairs.
• Make sure your resume is up-to-date. Have it checked by a counselor.
• Review Columbia's on-campus recruiting procedures and policies. Remember - the on-campus recruiting program is self-managed. You will not be sent reminders of resume submission deadlines or interview dates, so it is important to check LionSHARE on a regular basis. Some industries (including the financial, consulting and IT industries), start their recruiting processes in the early fall.
• Meet with a career counselor to review and plan your career search in greater detail.
• Continue networking.
• Set up a practice interview with a career counselor.
• Begin applying for jobs (depending on industry recruiting cycle).c

Spring Semester

• Continue researching opportunities, organizations, and applying for jobs. For some fields you may only be starting the job hunt process in the spring. Don't forget to have your resume and job search materials checked by a counselor.
• If you are having trouble identifying positions that interest you, set up a meeting with a career counselor to strategize.
• Schedule additional practice interviews with a counselor as necessary.
• Continue to attend company presentations, career panels, career fairs, and workshops.
• Continue networking (remember that this is typically the most productive and successful way of identifying and obtaining positions).

 Years 1-4

• Use faculty members from your department together with GSAS Deans/Administrators to help you to identify relevant University resources, such as: The Teaching Center, The Writing Center, the Center for Career Education, University Library subscriptions and offerings, and memberships available to Columbia graduate students (i.e., the New York Academy of Science/Science Alliance, free admission to area museums, etc.).
• Attend department orientations, training sessions offered by libraries, and the Center for New Media, Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL), etc.
• Meet graduate students from other departments: attend Graduate Student Teas in 301 Philosophy and GSAS Happy Hours, Networking/Social events.
• Identify fellowship/grant/scholarship opportunities early in your tenure (many graduate student fellowships are for 1st or 2nd year graduate students - e.g., NSF fellowships; other fellowship application processes may take several months to one year to complete)
• Explore areas of research with different faculty members, complete your coursework expeditiously, and start your professional networking: attend departmental colloquia, University Seminars, professional conferences and lectures. Consider presenting at these events.
• Use summers to gain additional teaching experience: T.A. for or teach summer session offering(s), or teach at local area high schools, community colleges.
• Gain supervisory experience through mentoring an undergraduate research assistant; oversee a senior honors thesis project.
• Volunteer or take part in outside experiential opportunities.
• Audit or take classes at Columbia in areas outside or adjacent to your area of primary research to expand your breadth of knowledge.
• Attend workshops on grantsmanship, publishing, presenting/public speaking, and teaching offered through CCE and the Teaching Center. Try to attend and present a poster or slide presentation at one professional conference a year starting in your 2nd year. Discuss presentation opportunities with your advisor.
• Participate in the scholarly life of your department - arrange colloquia or symposia, attend presentations, help on committees where possible.
• Continue applying for grants.
• Submit articles for publication (ideally in refereed journals - discuss with your advisor), identify opportunities for collaboration on book chapters, edited volumes, and other publications and/or research with professors.
• Create a Curriculum Vitae (CV) as early as possible and keep it up-to-date by reviewing it every six months. It is easier to make new entries as they occur, than it is to retroactively create an entire CV.
• With your advisor, begin considering who will comprise your dissertation committee.
• Discuss with your advisor the application processes and search committee expectations of candidates in your field or area of specialization. Attend workshops or panel presentations on this topic.
• By Fall or Spring of Year 4, have your dissertation proposal approved by your (three) core committee members.
• Start outlining chapters and writing your dissertation in the Spring of Year 4, continuing over the summer prior to Year 5. Attend writing workshops, attend dissertation support groups, and write with a dissertation partner to keep each other on track.
• If you are planning to begin applying for positions in the fall of Year 5 (to start working the following fall), you will need to plan out your year carefully as the application process, dissertation completion, and other obligations (e.g., teaching) will be taxing.

Year 5 (or Final Year of PhD Program)

Preceding Summer

• Update your CV for your academic job search.
• Have your CV reviewed by others. Make an appointment for a review at the Center for Career Education; as well as getting opinions from your advisor(s) and colleagues/friends.
• Finalize set-up arrangements for delivery of letters of recommendation to your dossier (your electronic file of recommendation letters):
• Make a list of faculty members, advisors, and others from whom you are planning to request a letter of recommendation.
• Contact your recommendation writers AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (over the summer - or earlier - is best, when they have more time to prepare your recommendation letter) and set up a meeting with them to discuss your career plans. This will assist them greatly with writing specifically about your relevant strengths and skills in their letter.
• Open a dossier online through the Center for Career Education.
• Review job openings in the Chronicle of Higher Education, on professional association websites and journals, and on other relevant locations - discuss them with your advisor. 
• Start drafting cover letters for use with your applications. These letters - and all written materials in your applications - can be reviewed by counselors and your advisor/departmental faculty.
• Prepare your Statement of Teaching Philosophy, if requested by an application.
• Prepare a summary Statement of your Research or dissertation - again, if requested by an application.
• Gather application materials together: course syllabi you have designed, teaching evaluations, submitted/published articles, conference abstracts, transcripts, etc.
• If you haven't already done so, join professional associations within your field (if you are not already a student member).

Early Fall

• Attend "Inside the Academic Job Search" series of workshops presented by CCE, as well as the Preparing Future Faculty series sponsored by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. These will help you better understand the expectations of academic Search Committees.
• Check job postings in The Chronicle of Higher Education and in other professional association websites and journals.
• Ensure all your letters of recommendation are in your dossier, and send thank you notes to your recommenders. Keep them apprised of your application progress.
• Finalize your CV, cover letters, and other application materials.
• Work with graduate career counselors at CCE and advisors/faculty in your department to have your application materials reviewed.
• Set up video practice interviews at CCE.
• Prepare and rehearse your job talk presentation.
• Deliver your job talk or research at departmental colloquia, lab meetings, and regional conferences.
• Keep in close contact with your advisors regarding the positions to which you are applying; they may be able to network on your behalf.
• Send in applications.
• Prepare for first-round interviews.

Late Fall

• Present a poster or presentation about your research at professional conferences.
• Expect to network and undergo first-round interviews at (typically) professional conferences.
• Continue applying for positions.
• Send thank-you notes following any interviews.
• Set aside time for campus visit interviews ("fly outs"), which typically occur between January and March.

Spring

• Go on campus visits for interviews, job talks, and teaching demonstrations.
• Send thank-you notes.
• You will begin to hear back from tenure track and one-year positions.
• Work with a career counselor and/or your advisor on negotiating your job offer(s) - ALWAYS take the time needed to consider all of your options.
• If you have not yet found a position, don't worry! In many fields, the academic job market is very tight, and new PhDs (or post-docs) often do not get offers in their first year of applying. Because of this, it is important to pursue contingency plan(s) to sustain and help you develop professionally through the next year - or two: adjunct or visiting professorship teaching opportunities, post-doctoral research, etc. It often takes more than one year to find a position. Discuss your options with your advisor or with a counselor. Consider how you will remain engaged with your discipline.