The Changing Job Landscape for International Relations Grads
Career Planning Trends and Tips from IR Career Counselors
It’s no secret that early-career professionals are switching jobs more often than they used to, but it might surprise you to learn that individuals working in government, media, and professional services work more jobs after graduation than those in any other industry, averaging over three jobs within their first five years after graduation. Simply put, the typical career in international relations is hard to predict.
What does this mean for international relations graduates? How should you think about your job search and career strategy in light of a job market that expects — and rewards — movement between different industries and sectors?
Politik, a foreign policy discussion community launched by recent SAIS graduates, spoke with seven career counselors and advisers from leading APSIA graduate schools to get their recommendations on these and other questions. In particular, we wanted to know what skills are most in demand for current IR students and prospective employers, how graduate students in public policy can frame their skills for private sector jobs, and what types of early career decisions can set alumni up for success down the road.
What’s changed in the way that graduate students in public policy and international relations approach their job search?
Elizabeth Gill, Director of Career and Alumni Engagement at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs: With slower hiring and hiring freezes, there have been fewer opportunities for U.S. students to work in federal government. That’s been a big shift. At the same time, there’s been a lot more student interest in the private sector, particularly in consulting firms and organizations that work in a public sector-facing capacity. Companies like Booz Allen Hamilton and Deloitte offer students the chance to gain both government exposure and private sector experience.
Meg Heenehan, Executive Director of the Office of Career Services (OCS) at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA): For one thing, students’ interests have evolved over time. For another, you’re seeing new types of positions in financial technology, cybersecurity, and food security. These types of jobs are at the crossroads of development, public policy, and technology, and they didn’t exist in the past. A lot of students might come in thinking that they need to have programming or technical skills to be involved in those jobs, but that’s not necessarily the case.
These types of jobs are at the crossroads of development, public policy, and technology, and they didn’t exist in the past.
Alison Wattles, Director of Career Services & Alumni Relations at the University of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies: Students are often frustrated by the lack of entry level openings at organizations they’d like to work for, and have learned to take a long-term view of professional development that includes multiple job changes to achieve their career goals. For example, here in Seattle, one notable employer is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Because many of their positions require 5–10 years of (potentially overseas) experience in international development, students who hope to work there will first pursue external opportunities where they can develop into the type of candidate that the Gates Foundation looks for.
What skills development trends are you seeing on your campus?
Sharon McCoy, Career Coach at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, Office of Graduate Student Services: Students have shown more interest in quantitative skill development, whether that’s in data analysis and visualization or monitoring and evaluation. At the same time, one of the skillsets that is often overlooked is that of written and oral communication. Our students are excellent at conducting research and writing papers, but communicating a complex international issue succinctly and effectively is something we focus on at the Elliott School in things like our formal briefing and policy-writing classes. We really stress that communicating clearly is a skill that will never go out of style.
Matthew Nash, Senior Fellow at the Duke Center for International Development: I’ve seen an increase in demand among students for skill sets in entrepreneurial thinking and human-centered design. Students are recognizing that in today’s career environment, they’re going to need to find ways to support innovation in government or cultivate and manage a portfolio of innovations externally.
Grant B. Littke, Director of Career Services at Penn State’s School of International Affairs: One thing we’ve actually seen from employers is an emphasis on quantitative skills. That’s one of the reasons our program has a substantial quantitative methods requirement — we stress to students that these are the skills alumni are using to market themselves. It’s not that we expect all our students to become data analysts, but I tell students at orientation that they’re going to change their minds about what they want to do about three times over the course of their time in school. That’s why it’s important to focus on skills that are versatile.
The international relations degree is versatile, but it’s also much less common than, say, an MBA. How are students framing their degree during their job search?
Jean-Amiel Jourdan, Director of Global Careers at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies: Five years ago, although nearly half of our new graduates were already employed in the private sector, there was more of a challenge when it came to getting some private sector employers to recognize the value of an international relations degree. Today, we’re not seeing that problem. Private sector employers have realized that it’s easier to take a political risk or trade expert and teach them consulting skills than to do the opposite. One thing I’ve heard from a lot of employers is that our graduates tend to write better than anyone else on the market. That’s something we should be emphasizing. It’s no longer an uphill battle when it comes to explaining the IR degree — it’s more, now that the door is wide open, how do we make sure our graduates get to the top?
Now that the door is wide open, how do we make sure our graduates get to the top?
Elizabeth Gill, Director of Career and Alumni Engagement at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs: Business schools all grant MBAs, but there’s more variability in the types of graduate degrees that IR schools hand out. That means there can be a bit less brand recognition on the part of employers. It can also be harder for employers to understand that IR grad students come out of school expecting to have a few different jobs or to jump between different sectors. That said, the reason that our students choose our school is that they really want to dig into the kinds of geopolitical issues that aren’t covered with a management degree. If you want to conduct business or run an NGO in a developing country, you want someone with experience on the history of that country and its political context.
Grant B. Littke, Director of Career Services at Penn State’s School of International Affairs: When competing with MBAs, it’s a problem of marketing, not of qualifications. One thing I’ve noticed is that our students might not think of their experience — experience abroad and intercultural communication, for example— as skills. In reality, many employers are actively looking for job candidates who have substantive experience abroad and who can write well. It’s important for students to sit down and spend some time translating what they’ve done into more concrete skills.
Meg Heenehan, Executive Director of the Office of Career Services (OCS) at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA): It comes down to being able to pivot. Some years ago, when we were going through the recession, you could hear some of the business grads saying, “I’m not sure how to pivot to the public sector.” SIPA grads didn’t have that issue. They can pivot between sectors and come to any job with a variety of experiences and lenses.
Given that jobs switches are more frequent than they used to be, what are some things that IR students and alumni should keep in mind when searching for jobs?
Matthew Nash, Senior Fellow at the Duke Center for International Development: Today’s international relations graduates will be tomorrow’s trisector leaders (leaders with the ability to bring business, government, and nonprofit organizations together to create long-term solutions). I tell students, “Don’t think about your next job as what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life, but think about what skills you’ll learn and how you’ll build out your network.” When choosing a job, don’t just focus on the company or the job title — look at your supervisors and the people you’ll be working with. Are they thought leaders in their field? Are they driving change in their organization, or are they at least open to change? Those are the things that matter in the long-term.
I tell students, “Don’t think about your next job as what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life, but think about what skills you’ll learn and how you’ll build out your network.”
Jean-Amiel Jourdan, Director of Global Careers at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies: Students tend to think there’s a risk of being trapped in a particular job, but the new job market is such that it requires people to switch jobs. The job market is constantly evolving. That’s why I tell students to pursue their short-term goals and their preferred jobs at any given point in their career, and then come back to us in a few years and talk to us about the next step. The good thing is that we’re already seeing students adjust to the new job market. When they graduate, pragmatism is already in their DNA.
Final takeaways
In speaking with career counselors and advisers from APSIA schools, a few common themes emerged: the increasing pace of the job cycle, the importance of skill development, and the advantage that IR grads tend to have when it comes to pivoting between sectors. The most important thing, our interviewees agreed, was remaining open to change.
In future posts, we’ll interview IR grads in different industries and at different stages of their careers to give you a better sense of what different career paths you might pursue. In the meantime, you can check out our foreign policy discussions or job board, which are both updated daily. Stay tuned!
