Category: new job sim

Job Sims Help Advocate for Work From Home (WFH) Policies

~ thiwin

Did you know we have a job sim to help you assess your org and team to help you advocate for Work From Home (WFH) Policies? Yes! What timing. As many workplaces are figuring out hybrid or not, and how to do it – check out this job sim for tips to advocate for your team.

Check out the “Mediation” job sim / Human Services job family / Humanities Job Sim Library.

You’ll go through tasks to conduct a reflection on your organization. Here’s an excerpt from the job sim:

“For this job sim, you are a business partner for an organization discussing post-pandemic work-from-home (WFH) policies. Due to the unusual circumstances of 2020 and positive news of available vaccines, your organization is revisiting pre-pandemic policies as well as considering allowing employees to continue working from home in some capacity. Mediation will be required to bring your stakeholders (employees, managers, and leadership) and their interests in this process together to build a new, well-structured plan.”

Some folks have tried it and started conversations with their managers. If you give this one a go – Good luck!

New Policy and Advocacy Job Sims!

Featured ~ thiwin

Exciting news! We’ve been working with science policy and advocacy professionals on a few new job sims. Check these out!

Science Policy: Develop a Course – this is based off a course for graduate students and postdocs at UCSD. It’s dynamic and helps develop a lot of skills and language in policy. If you’re interested in building a similar course at your university – definitely check this one out.

Advocacy: Power Mapping – rooted in the civil rights movement, this job sim helps you to map the players. Knowing who holds influence and in what way helps you to ask better questions, talk to a broader network and anticipate challenges. Use this one for graduate student and postdoctoral advocacy on campus, too.

Policy: Writing Legislative Science Notes – Missouri Science and Technology fellows write legislative science notes to inform congressional members. Community members write science notes to shed light and inform different types of organizations about what’s important to them. High schoolers are writing science notes to learn about science policy and how engaged citizens of all ages have the power to engage with their lawmakers.

More Humanities Job Sims!

Featured ~ thiwin

We’ve created more job sims for ya! These sims were possible because of a collaboration with ImaginePhD and the Graduate Career Consortium. When you’re done trying these job sims, check out sample resumes and cover letters in these job families on ImaginePhD. All the resources are free and help you figure out next steps to pursue your career.

Thanks for continuing to check out our resources. Hope you enjoy testing out the new job sims.

What’s new?

~ thiwin

It’s been a while! Hope you’ve all been doing well. Thanks for checking back in and using InterSECT job sims to explore jobs for PhDs. I thought I’d try out a video blog this time.

So, what’s new with InterSECT job sims? I share details on the new job sims that have been added. These sims were possible, because of a collaboration with ImaginePhD. When you’re done trying out these job sims, and want to sample resumes and cover letters in these job families or want to figure out next steps to pursue this career, check out the resources on ImaginePhD!

Creating a Job Sim

~ ssolin1

Creating a job sim can feel like a difficult task if you don’t have much experience in the field. However, by using the template and interviewing a professional, writing a sim can be engaging and informational.

The job sim template lists many questions for the professional, so it’s important before doing the interview to review the template and familiarize yourself with the structure of the sim. Use any background knowledge you have about the field to shape the questions to the career field in question. For example, if you know the sim requires scientific information, be prepared to ask the professional for external resources. Ask yourself what you would want to know as an entry-level worker in that field.

During the interview, take notes! If it’s okay with the interviewee, record your conversation so you can reference it later. Ask for clarification on any topics you don’t understand. Remind them that the task is intended to take only a few hours – this can help focus the activity the interviewee selects. Don’t worry too much about formatting the sim at this point. Just keep your eyes and ears open to collect as much information as possible.

At the end of the interview, make sure to ask the professional for their contact information, and let them know that you may be in touch with any additional questions. Start working on the sim as soon as possible after completing the interview so that it’s still fresh in your mind.

While writing the sim, focus on being as clear and legible as possible. Use action verbs, and don’t get bogged down in explanations that are specific to the task in question. Keep in mind that the sim should be comprehensible to a beginner.

When you’ve completed the sim, step away for a day or two, so you can return with fresh eyes. While revising your draft, you may want to compare your sim with a sim in a similar career field. Reference the job sim library for examples. When you have completed a draft, send it off to the professional with a list of specific questions. Keep in mind that your interviewee is a busy person, and probably doesn’t have the time to check all your work.

Creating a job sim can help you understand the many career paths that are open to you. Have fun with it! Remember when you were a kid and you would play firefighter or veterinarian? Try to approach creating a job sim with the same energy, enthusiasm, and spirit.

-Serena, copyeditor, job sim developer, and website specialist for InterSECT