Connect with Opportunity
Find opportunities through job boards and fairs.
Job boards
Many job seekers begin the job search process by going to online job boards and career websites. These tend to fall into the following broad categories:
- Individual company/institution websites
- Professional society job boards (e.g. APS Job Board, Physics Today, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Institute of Electronics and Electronics Engineers)
- Large-scale, commercial job boards geared towards a broad audience (e.g. Monster, Indeed)
- Niche sites geared toward smaller audiences with more specialized backgrounds (e.g. USAJobs, Academic Jobs Online),
- And of course, LinkedIn
APS hosts a Job Board specifically for physicists. We partner with the Institute of Physics and the Physics World Jobs network. The APS Job Board is completely free for job seekers and does not require an APS membership.
When searching for jobs, it is important to search for keywords that align with your skills, e.g. data science, engineering, analysis, research and development, etc, rather than searching for your specific field of research or subdiscipline. This way, you will more easily find postings for which you are qualified. You can also search for roles of the Physicist Profiles or Common Career Paths of interest you identified earlier in the Career Navigator.
Advantages and disadvantages of job boards
As mentioned before, about 80% of job seekers find employment through networking; however, for that remaining 20%, applying through an online site with a compelling resume and cover letter will be their ticket to success.
The best way to use online searches is to discover opportunities where, which you can then connect to using many of the strategies described in the networking section. Success relies on doing the following:
- Understanding what skills are required for a particular job
- Actually having most of those skills or experience in your background
- Drawing a very clear, straight line between the skills you have and the skills they seek
We will cover techniques for step three in the article on effective resumes.
Job fairs
When it comes to making connections, nothing beats face-to-face interaction, even if it’s through a Zoom meeting/computer screen. Job fairs give attendees an opportunity to meet employers or hiring managers, and in many cases, interview for positions on the spot.
APS hosts an annual virtual career fair in September, as well as a job fair at the annual March Meeting and also at the Division of Plasma Physics (DPP) Annual Meeting. Job fair registration is always free for job seekers.
Webinar: Career exploration strategies & tools
In this webinar, Meghan Anzelc describes all of her strategies for connecting with opportunity: through job boards, career fairs, networking, and recruiters in her webinar.
Download your personalized workbook
As you explore the Career Navigator, use this workbook to keep track of your goals, ideas, and any other thoughts you have.
Workbook prompt
Use these as a starting point for job searching.
Match your skills
Browse through the job boards and read the job descriptions. Did you find any that match your expertise? Conduct a LinkedIn search to determine if you have any connections at the company/organization. If you are interested, follow the company.
Present your skills
If you’re planning to attend a career fair, look up companies that will be present. Note the types of job postings and the skills required. Use the next section to create tailored resumes to bring with you to share with the employers.