So you're graduating in May, and the world's looking bright. Everyone you meet exclaims either how smart you must be to have studied Physics or how science is such a valuable degree. You've decided not to go on in academia, so you look at industry job descriptions. The qualification lists are vague, possibly utilizing foreign enterprise terminology like 'excels at e-business functionalities', and all of them say they require X years of experience in a specific industry.

You think to yourself, “I know how to solve Schrodinger's equation with appropriate boundary conditions; that's got to count for something!” Well, it does, and this is a good-news-bad-news situation because (bad news) most interviewers don't know what this counts for, or even means, but (good news) there are plenty of ways to articulate exactly how this benefits any organization!

Applications 101 - Job Search and Resume Building

1 - Consider your interests and how you can apply this to your career search.

• You don't have to have your life mapped out, but knowing what types of tasks you find generally interesting versus ones you abhor with a deep passion can help narrow down fields of interest. Does the idea of talking to people terrify you? You will definitely want to avoid listings that suggest the position is 'client-centric' or requires presentation skills. If you relish challenges and work excellently under pressure (read: you did all your studying within three days of your electromagnetism final and still managed top 70th percentile), look for 'works well under pressure', 'high-energy environment', etc.
• Think of a couple key words to hone down listings.
  • If your favorite part in lab was collecting and analyzing the data, search for jobs with key words 'analyst' and 'data'. If you preferred putting all of this together in a report and preparing it for presentation, use words like 'technical writing', 'data visualization', and 'presentation'.
  • Remember that key words and job titles are different. While Data Analyst will have both data and analyst as key words, you may also find that job title is incredibly vague. Focus on the tools and skills required for the job; do these sound like things you already know? Are they things you would like to know better, or become an expert at? If not, keep moving. You don’t want to end up bogged down working with Excel and VBA if what you are really interested in is learning R and SQL.

2 - Tailor your resume.

• Start with a general resume template. This should reflect your career-related interests (as described above) and the experience and school work that support those interests. If you did any undergraduate research, be sure to incorporate specific details from this that support the key words you've established for your search.
• Keep it relevant. Even if you've done something impressive to your parents and friends, if it doesn't apply to the position or company, I assure you the hiring manager will not care. Your semester learning how to perfect a soufflé at Le Cordon Bleu will not help you snag that engineering position at Boeing.
• Tweak and tailor your general resume to different job descriptions before sending it along. Don't be afraid to use the job description as direct inspiration for items to add to your resume.
• One-page resumes are ideal! There are CEOs with decades of experience and schooling that manage to keep it to one page, so keep in mind as a new-to-the-professional-world college grad, you probably don't need more than one page either. It takes time to read a resume and managing directors/HR reps can get hundreds of them for just a single job posting. The cleaner and simpler it is, the more likely they will read through the entire thing.
• Pro Tip: Check out Overleaf (https://www.overleaf.com/gallery/tagged/cv#.WlpbEainGUk) for free access to LaTeX based resume templates. Great and easy to manipulate designs available that can easily be converted to PDF format.

Applications 102 - Cover Letter and Interview

1 - Getting personal.

• The cover letter is your opportunity to express why they should pick you. This is where you expand on your resume and apply the points you've incorporated directly to the role. It is also where a little bit of 'you' comes out, so don't be afraid to write a little from the heart. The last thing I wanted to read when hiring candidates was the same ripped-off online cover letter template.
• Keep it brief. The best feedback I have seen comes from cover letters that were half a page. This may seem unreasonably short, but being able to communicate how awesome you are and excited you are for an opportunity in just half a page shows you’re an efficient communicator. That right there is a chance to show a skill instead of just telling someone you have it.
• Some structure is nice, but if you are sending carbon copies of a letter out en masse, you probably aren’t utilizing this aspect of applications to its full advantage. Create a skeleton that works for you (intro paragraph, body, closing), and then cater it to the role. For example, if you choose your intro to be why the company/role appeals to you, and you apply to similar roles, you can keep some of the details the same, but make sure you include something specific about the company and what prompted you to apply in the first place. Flattery gets one (almost) anywhere.

2 - Confidence is key.

• Remember, you are convincing them that you are the best they can find for this job. While being excited and eager for the position isn't a bad thing, you also want to ensure your confidence comes through in spades. Here is where you can touch on either a specific experience from your education or outside endeavors and how they relate to the job. See some basic job description key words below, along with how to spin your Physics degree to fit the qualification -
  • Collaboration: Think about your work with a lab partner or group. How was the work split up? Your role in this group is the most important aspect they want to hear about. Did you encounter any challenges, and if so, how were they overcome? Be sure to mention you enjoyed collaborating with your classmates! Bonus points if you worked with others in a research position.
  • Communication: Incorporate this into above story.
  • Problem Solving Skills: This one should be easy, but since everyone thinks they are a problem solver and a very large portion of the world is not, remember this - you got your degree in problem solving. Outright tell the people you are applying with. They might not know anything about Physics, or what the degree entails. But this is 100% it. Briefly (one to two sentences max) explain how your degree centered around being able to solve complex problems with a limited tool kit. Remember that time you were given an example of how to solve for the magnetic field of a perfect sphere, then on the test you had to solve for the magnetic field of an oblate spheroid with a spinning disc inside of it? Most people don't have that skill set. You do. Don't forget that the ability to learn a simple solution and apply it to a complex problem is absolutely invaluable in every industry, and every role. This should come up in the interview too.
  • Quick Learner: Throughout your degree, learning how to use various tools from MatLab to an amplifier from the 1980s with only a printed technical manual was part of what you had to do to get the job done (and fast!). Attach the fact that picking up these skills along the way to arrive at an unrelated end goal was part of the expectation. Also, that you enjoy discovering and learning new tools to find solutions.
• Pro Tip: Having a Physics degree is like being part of an in-group. If you see someone where you are applying has a Physics degree as well, try and direct your application her/his way if possible. I have seen this work many times for many people, myself included.

This guide can be used to start the often overwhelming process of jumping into the career world right out of academia, but don't forget you have other resources available to you. One of the most valuable resources is your network, and since you were smart enough to join with FECs, be smart enough to reach out for more advice! Utilize our Facebook page and ask questions. Want some extra eyes to review a cover letter or resume? Put it out there and see if someone has some time to spare. Most importantly, you are not alone in this process. Now best of luck getting out there and getting employed, graduates!