Careers

Political Science majors can take POSC 392, Careers in Political Science, where they get the opportunity to build their skills, enhance their resumes, and prepare to enter the working world.

Political Science Makes You Ready for Anything

Political science doesn't prepare students for A career. Political Science prepares you for DOZENS of careers. How can we say that? Because Political Science immerses you in the skills that employers want:

Critical thinking,
Information literacy,
Oral and written communication,
Ethical citizenship,
Problem solving,
Understanding of diversity/global issues,
Collaboration

Political Science majors get jobs. In fact, Many employers hire Political Science majors over others because our unique set of skills makes our majors ready to engage in high-level strategic work from Day One on the job. Political Science majors are leaders, whose knowledge of history and culture assist them in dealing with clients and dealing with new market trends. A found that critical thinking, clear communication, and problem solving were more important than any particular undergraduate major in hiring decisions. These are exactly the skills developed and reinforced in Radford鈥檚 general education and Political Science curricula.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that .
Political science majors may be found working for state and local government, the federal government, think tanks, political parties, nonprofit organizations, and businesses. They are analysts, lawyers, lobbyists, aid workers, researchers, FBI agents, campaign workers, Peace Corps volunteers, non-profit executive directors, budget analysts, teachers, civil servants, Foreign Service officers, public relations officers, journalists, fund raisers, pollsters, judges, activists, editors, professors, and sales representatives.

How to find jobs

RESUME: Develop your resume (Career Services has ) and tailor it for each specific job you are applying for. Make sure that many people look over your resume to help you make it perfect.

COVER LETTER: Learn how to write a strong cover letter to accompany your resume in your job applications (Find tips at ). Slate magazine too. Identify three to four main qualifications for the job from the advertisement. Spend the letter telling the employer how you have demonstrated those qualifications in past school, work, and volunteer assignments.

JOB SEARCH: Look at internships to open the door to a career.

Search the websites of the organizations you want to work for. What jobs are available? What knowledge, skills, and abilities are required to get those jobs?

is another job search site, particularly useful if you are interested in finding a position in a particular town/region.

has links to currently open government positions around the US and the world.

Campus resources

To make the most AFTER Radford, here are some things Political Science students should be doing AT Radford:

Take our new Political Science careers class. It will expose students to professionals in a variety of Political Science-related careers. It will also help them to prepare professional job application documents like resumes and cover letters. Further, students will be able to improve their skills in job search. Contact Paige Tan, Ph.D. for more information.
Get help from Career Services to prepare professional job application documents: resumes, cover letters, and personal statements.
Go meet with professors in Political Science and other departments to learn how to interact in an adult professional context. Take advantage of the possibility of a close mentoring relationship with your faculty members. Get involved in your professors鈥� research projects to upgrade your skills and develop lines for your resume.
Attend talks on campus to broaden your knowledge of local, national, and world affairs. Think critically. Ask questions. Stay after the talk and introduce yourself to the speaker/s. Try to learn from these wonderful resources brought to our campus. You can keep up with happenings at the .
Join a campus club and be an active member/leader. Political Science sponsors both the Political Science Society and the Model United Nations Club. There is also a regular Club Fair where you can learn about other opportunities on campus. Show that you can create something, be passionate, and see something through to success. This will mean a lot to employers. Check out Student Involvement.
Study abroad to show you are international, adaptable, and self-reliant. These are important skills employers look for. You can study abroad for the price of being in Radford. Talk to Dr. Tan, the Department鈥檚 study abroad advisor, to find out how. Go to the McGlothin Center for Global Education and Engagement.
Complete an internship or multiple internships during your College years. You can do them during the academic semester or during summers. Internships help to augment skills, build a track record, and develop a network. They can also help undecided students discover desirable career fields. Good internships need to be sought months in advance (October for the following Summer), so start looking early. Internships during the academic year can be easier to get than summer internships since the pool of students searching is smaller. Consider the academic year to get an internship in Washington, DC or another big city.
If you can鈥檛 do an internship, what about volunteering for a local organization? There is an annual volunteer and service fair on campus. What about shadowing a Radford alum in his/her job for a short period? Talk to Career Services about both of those opportunities.
Read a quality news publication regularly. This will enable you to discuss national and world affairs at a professional level with future colleagues.
Work with Career Services to conduct informational interviews of alumni in fields you are interested in. They can serve as important sources of information (do you really want to do what they do all day??) and they can serve as vital first building blocks of students鈥� professional networks. Most jobs today are obtained through networks, not open application processes.
Get an account on and start building your online network. Give to the network to get from the network.
Pick a major/concentration and minor that you can do well in and that helps to get you to the next stage in your life, whether that鈥檚 a job or graduate school. Are you interested in working for the FBI? Study Political Science and pair that with study of a strategic language (Arabic, Chinese, and Russian are offered at Radford). Do you want to work for an aid agency? Study Political Science with a concentration in Public Administration. Mix that with a minor in International Studies and a senior project on the aid industry.
Do well in your classes. Don鈥檛 just phone it in or settle for the minimum effort. The world belongs to those who seize the day.
Be sure to develop a 30 second to 2 minute 鈥渆levator speech鈥� where you sell your candidacy for a job or school to a person who can make a difference (imagine you've only got the short time you鈥檙e both in the elevator. What do you say?).

Understand the value of your general education and Political Science education and be able to sell that to potential employers. You are developing your skills in oral and written communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, ethical analysis, research, and information literacy in addition to your substantive knowledge in the field of politics.

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