Career Readiness for Physics Students (and Faculty): A Présumé Program

We present the results of a campaign to improve physics undergraduate and graduate career awareness and development. Students are unaware of possible nonacademic career paths—specifically in industry—and have limited knowledge of populating a strong, job-focused resume. To tackle this issue, we created a seminar course where a series of industrial physics talked about their career path. It is important to emphasize that the class did not dissuade students from academia but created opportunities to prepare for all career paths. The proposal is made based on the results of the course. We suggest that student advisors take a more vital role in preparing physics students for various careers: being aware of the career probabilities for a physics bachelor, encouraging electives and internships outside of physics to build a diverse background, and continuously building the students’ resume and cover letters. The focus is on the latter. We suggest that all physics students, as they progress academically, should create practice resumes: a pre-résumé or a présumé for short (with accent marks for pronunciation). We propose a program presuming early students should have a présumé: The physics présumé program.