Looking for a Job After Your Master’s or Ph.D.? The Graduate Career Center is Here to Help

Few questions can strike fear into the hearts of graduate students like “How are you going to use that degree?” and “What’s next for you?”

At Georgetown, Annie Rao leads a team of career coaches trained to help students have ready answers. The director of the Graduate Career Center, Rao has over a decade of experience equipping graduate students with the tools they need to navigate the job market and land a fulfilling role.

Rao believes that “learning how to identify and achieve career goals is a life skill.” Her team hopes that students carry what they learn in the center’s office on the Car Barn’s second floor into job interviews for years to come.

No matter where you are in your graduate program, it’s never too early to start thinking about your next steps, Rao said. Read on to learn what the Career Center has to offer, in Rao’s words, and consider booking an appointment for personalized guidance.

Q&A: The Graduate Career Center, with Annie Rao

Q: Who can access the Graduate Career Center?

Rao: We serve all master’s and doctoral students in programs that do not have their own dedicated career center. We advise students in programs in the arts, humanities, social sciences and interdisciplinary programs and students in the School of Continuing Studies.

If you’re a Biomedical graduate student in the School of Medicine or in the McCourt School of Public Policy, the McDonough School of Business, the Walsh School of Foreign Service or Georgetown Law, your school has its own career center to serve you.

Q: What services does the Georgetown Graduate Career Center provide?

Rao: We offer career coaching, compile digital career resources and host events and workshops throughout the year. We’re not a placement agency that connects students to employers, but we do send a newsletter with job openings and career events happening on campus.

The primary service we offer is individual coaching, where students make an appointment to meet with a coach in person or virtually for 30 minutes. You’re not limited in how many times you can meet, and we ask students to prepare for each coaching session with general questions or goals to be able to get the most out of it.

We’re trying to educate students on how to think about their career in a process, taking the time to explore, reflect, do the research and network. We give students the tools and teach them how to use them in order to help them learn how to manage their career over a lifetime.

Q: How soon into starting at Georgetown can students reach out to your team?

Rao: I typically say come early and often — don’t wait until you’re about to graduate! September is usually when most of the career activity is happening on campus, before academics starts to really ramp up. There are career fairs happening on campus in September, there are virtual workshops, in-person events and recruiter and alumni panels. Even if a student isn’t necessarily ready to start thinking about a career or applying for internships and jobs, they should still take advantage of September.

For new students, fall coaching begins Monday, Sept. 8. Returning students can make an appointment whenever they see an opening on our calendar, including over the summer.

Q: What’s something you wish more students knew about the Career Center?

Rao: I wish students didn’t feel like they had to be fully put-together with a really great resume and an idea of exactly what they want before meeting with us. I wish they knew that they could come in a little bit green, but willing to put in the time and effort to get to where they want to be.

As a grad student, there is an expectation that you come somewhat prepared, but we don’t want there to feel like there’s a barrier to meeting with us because you feel like you don’t know enough. Come and show up, even if you just read our website and know some of the things that we have to offer. We can meet you where you are and help you get where you want to be.

Q: What’s your favorite part of leading the Career Center?

Rao: With each new group and generation of students, we have the opportunity to try a new way of teaching something that, frankly, hasn’t changed all that much over the last 10 to 15 years. The tools have changed and the tech has changed, but the core guidelines of career building remain the same.

But there’s always a fresh group of students who have probably never had anyone actually educate them on career management, and so we get to be creative every summer to reinvent things that we’ve done in the past.

Connect with the Georgetown Graduate Career Center on LinkedIn to find job opportunities, learn career tips and more.