Internships & Entry-Level Jobs in Industrial/Organizational Psychology - Tips & Resources

Are you wondering about what applied/non-academic job opportunities are there for those with graduate degrees in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology?

As a recent PhD graduate in I/O Psychology, and through my personal experiences over the past 5 years following and applying for non-academic internships and jobs in I/O, I have compiled some useful resources to help you out as you search for your next opportunity in I/O!

There are generally two main types of applied work in I/O psychology:

Internal People Analytics/Research - Acting as an internal consultant within a company's HR department. This usually entails pulling, cleaning and analyzing data, designing and/or conducting research studies, and presenting findings and providing recommendations to leadership to inform people-related decisions and improve people-related practices.

External HR Consulting - Acting as an external consultant to help client organizations solve their people-related problems and inform people-related practices. This includes, but is not limited to conducting job analyses, competency modelling, developing assessments used in personnel selection, development and promotions.

To find out more about careers in I/O Psychology, see:

I have compiled a list of companies and positions where I have at least gotten contacted by the recruiter, or I know someone with an I/O graduate degree who works there.

Be sure to look out for the latest job postings on their career websites!

Table 1. Internships/Contract Positions in Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Table 2. Full-Time Positions in Industrial/Organizational Psychology

💡 Tips #1: Set up daily job alerts on LinkedIn for jobs containing keywords, such as: Industrial/Organizational Psychology, People Analyst, People Researcher, People Scientist, Research Scientist, Workforce Analyst, Human Resource Analyst, etc. (also see Common Job Titles across Sectors)

💡 Tip #2: Regularly go on the career website of companies (see links to the career pages of companies in the Tables above) to view and apply for the latest jobs.

💡 Tip #3: Regularly go on the SIOP Careers site to find more I/O job openings.

💡 Tip #4: Schedule informational interviews with people (e.g. on LinkedIn) whose job you are interested in. Get to know what they do and let them know you are interested in working for them in the future, so that they keep in mind when there is a job opening.

💡 Tip #5: Contact alumni from your graduate program to let them know you are looking for a job.

💡 Tip #6: Apply, apply and apply - Apply to as many positions as you can! To some extent, job search is a numbers game. The more jobs you apply to, the more likely you will find one that matches your skills.

I hope this article can help you in your job-search journey!

Finally, feel free to contact me (email: jytian188@gmail.com or schedule a time to chat with me) if you want to get to know more details about my personal I/O job search journey!

Also, check out my article on How to Thrive During Job Search on how to keep your sanity and perhaps even enjoy the job-search process!

I wish you all the best in your job search!

Sarah

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