Job Applications After SIPA

So far, we’ve given you lots of tips and insights into applying for a program at SIPA. In this blog, I’m going to answer, in detail, one major question from students considering grad school: 

What jobs can a SIPA degree get you?

I’m going to answer this question by guiding you through the tools and resources SIPA offers, sharing some trajectories from our alumni, and finally, by taking you through part of my own application journey. 

First, I want to say that a general five-year plan is great, but this is also a lot of time to plan for right after graduation. So many of you reading this now have just finished a 4-year undergraduate program, or are coming from the workforce, or you might even be part-way through your undergrad. In any case, if you are applying to SIPA, you’re working on a 2-year plan right now…and I think the fact that the Admissions Blog exists is enough evidence of how many options and challenges 2 years can have. This is why I’ve found planning in 2-year intervals to be much more tangible. 

The SIPA goods:

SIPA’s Career Advancement Center (CAC) shares online resources through SIPA Connect. This is your one-stop shop for all things necessary to advance your career. Their mission is to “connect students with world-renowned employers” and act as a channel for current students, alumni, and employers to connect. 

The CAC provides an overview of various professional fields, along with career opportunities, salaries, and sample employers. Ranging from think tanks and research, to foundations, banking and finance, international security and defense, and multilateral organizations, the CAC provides information to prompt your own research into specific companies and organizations. Crucially, these information sheets also provide information about the demand for new hires, along with the degree of competition to be expected. Most positions distinguish between international and domestic students, with experience levels varying from entry-level to experienced.

The CAC also hosts events to prepare students for salary negotiations, working in specific countries and departments, optimizing LinkedIn, and building interview skills. Each event includes the work authorization requirements for students to apply a targeted approach to their career advancement. Students are also required to attend two one-time professional development courses upon enrolment at SIPA.

SIPA Jobs sends a weekly email blast with two excel sheets: one with upcoming deadlines for job postings, and the other with new job and internship opportunities. This is useful to stay updated on the current opportunities and to track various locations for potential jobs.

The SIPA Career Coaching (SIPACC) program is also an opportunity for students to benefit from sector-specific guidance in a 30-minute personal coaching session with alumni. This can also be accessed through the comprehensive resource library on SIPA Connect. This is a great way to gain further understanding of different sectors and connect with alumni.

Alumni stats:

Based on employment information reported from 2023 graduates 6 months after their graduation from SIPA, 91.2% of graduates were either employed or pursuing further education, with only 7.9% seeking employment. 

At a median salary of $73K, 24.8% of SIPA graduates entered the public sector. 

27% worked in the nonprofit sector, earning a median salary of $75K. 

46.9% of SIPA graduates entered the private sector and earned a median salary of $103K. 

Every application process is different, and that’s based on your personal priorities for a job. SIPA students also have access to a vast Alumni network through LinkedIn via SIPA Alumni Relations. This online community connects over 20K SIPA graduates worldwide. Talking to alumni can be a great way to assess what you should prioritize in the job hunt.

My experience:

At first, I only chose to focus on one priority: location. I applied for all the entry-level positions I found in my top three cities. The number of positions I felt I had to apply for became overwhelming very quickly, especially on top of other priorities, like school, my internship, and work.

I opted for a more targeted approach instead. I made a table that looked a lot like this: 

This helped me understand and prioritize what I am looking for in a job outside of SIPA. There is often a tradeoff with your ideal position and salary, for example. So, breaking it down like this helped me choose where to apply. If a job opening does not have the position title I’m looking for, but it meets my minimum salary requirements and is in my top cities, I might still apply. If the position title is not ideal, but the key duties I’m interested in developing are met, it might also be a good opportunity to apply. 

This kind of bare-bones structure can be useful in the initial stages of the job hunt, but after a few months you shouldn’t need to rely heavily on this. 

SIPA provides resume and cover letter templates, along with adjectives that you can use to improve your application. I used this format for my resume and wrote cover letter templates for different sectors of interest to highlight my areas of interest, for example: climate change, inclusive development, financial inclusion and tax policy, and gender perspectives. 

Then, I found a job posting that met my priorities, edited my cover letter and resume, and made an appointment with an advisor at CAC to ask them for feedback. I decided to wait until I was interested in a position before consulting with CAC so that I could give them context for the kinds of positions I’m interested in. It also helped me to better understand the process advisors use when giving feedback, so that I could do that for myself going forward.

Instead of casting my net way too wide and spending all my free time on applications, using this personal and targeted approach to the job search has helped me make better use of the tools SIPA offers! 

Hopefully I’ll get a job offer soon!