Preparing to use your Bachelor’s degree in psychology

Understand how your skills, degree, experiences, and brand prepare you to land a job that’s the right fit for you.

Milestone One: Know What Skills in Your Coursework Are Sought by Employers

Employers are looking for motivated, committed, goal-oriented employees who will come to work on time, are prepared to use strong interpersonal and critical-thinking skills, and who will perform their job in a competent, productive, and positive manner. You should also be able to identify and describe how you used your undergraduate education to acquire and strengthen these skills during your interviews. One way to do this is to ask your professional references to provide examples of how you have demonstrated these skills in class, on an internship, or in other experiences.

Using the skills you’ve learned in your psychology curriculum is also crucial to your success. When you begin to understand these assets, you should be able to describe the knowledge and skills gained through the major, understand the value employers place on your knowledge and skills, and be able to explain the connection between the major and the job.

Psychology majors develop the skills needed to:

  • Apply knowledge in psychology
  • Use scientific reasoning and think critically
  • Demonstrate ethical and social responsibility in a diverse world
  • Communicate (both oral and written communication)
  • Show professional development

List developed through APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major (PDF, 447KB)opens in new window

Employers seek applicants who can:

  • Analyze and solve complex problems
  • Effectively communicate (both oral and written communication)
  • Display teamwork skills
  • Think critically and display analytical reasoning skills
  • Show ethical judgment and strong decision-making skills
  • Demonstrate technology skills

List developed through Hart Research’s Falling Short? College Learning and Career Success (PDF, 317KB)opens in new window

Learn more about the skills developed through your psychology degree:

Learn more about the skills employers seek:

Milestone Two: Know What You Can Do With Your Degree in Psychology

Psychology is one of the most popular undergraduate majors in the U.S., yet only 14 percent of psychology bachelor’s degree holders earned graduate degrees in psychology. So, what do the rest of graduates go on to do? Careers with an undergraduate degree in psychology genuinely vary. When considering careers, it’s essential to know your skill sets and what work best fits your personality and interests. Knowing that employers value many of the skills that psychology teaches, it’s up to you to start planning early and honing your skills ahead of graduation.

Popular career options for psychology majors:

  • Sales (20%)
  • Professional services (17%)
  • Management / supervision (16%)
  • Teaching (11%)
  • Accounting / finance / contracts (9%)
  • Employee relations (5%)
  • Research (3%)

List developed through Datapoint: What do people do with their psychology degrees?

Other career possibilities:

  • Health and medical services
  • Technology
  • Law and law enforcement
  • Social and human services
  • Children and families
  • Sport, fitness, and recreation
  • Military
  • Counseling and therapy
  • Other emerging careers

List developed through Online career-exploration resource for psychology majors

Milestone Three: Gain Diverse Applied Learning Experiences

In addition to recognizing the skills embedded in your psychology coursework and the skills employers seek, it’s also crucial to take advantage of different professional and educational experiences throughout your time as a student. Among the most important experiences employers look for are internships within the industry, leadership experiences, and general work experiences. But, there are additional ways to stand out to an employer. These experiences will help get you hired.

You can gain valuable experiences through:

  • Internships
  • A senior thesis project
  • Courses involving significant writing
  • Collaborative research projects
  • Community service-learning projects
  • Field projects in diverse communities
  • Study abroad programs
  • Nonpsychology minors in career-specific fields
  • Work experience
  • Leadership positions
  • Extracurricular activities
  • Informational Interviewing
  • Civic engagement and service learning
    Community service and volunteer work can be integrated with undergraduate psychology coursework to serve the community and to deepen students’ learning.
  • Service learning in psychology
    Service learning in psychology combines students’ career development with volunteer activities that foster civic responsibility. It helps students understand principles of good practice in community service.
  • Civic engagement
    Civic engagement is individual or collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern, including individual voluntarism, organizational involvement and advocacy.
  • Talking through your career options
    Informational interviews could be the most important career tool you aren't using. On the surface, they appear as a simple way of learning more about a career, but in reality they provide students and seasoned professionals alike with new contacts in a world where networking reigns supreme.
  • Informational interviewingopens in new window
    Learn the benefits of and the six steps for informational interviewing.

Milestone Four: Market Yourself

You have a solid understanding of your skills, the skills employers seek, your career possibilities, and have participated in a variety of professional and educational experiences throughout your time in school. However, this doesn’t automatically guarantee you’ll get the job. Selling yourself is essential to success. Although it can feel uncomfortable, remember: if you’re not selling yourself, no one will.

You will sell yourself with:
  • Participation in groups related to your areas of interest such as clubs, community groups, and professional organizations
  • Strong writing samples that you’ve developed during your time in school or at your internships
  • A clean social media presence including a strong LinkedIn profile to help you network and identify job opportunities
  • An "elevator pitch" that will help you communicate what you’re looking for and prepare you for effective networking at colleges, universities, and community job fairs
  • Convincing answers to challenging interview questions such as "How did you use your college education to develop the skills you will need to succeed in the job for which you are applying?"
  • Professional and academic references that provide evidence and validation of your skills
  • The job titles you are pursuing or will pursue and knowledge of the skills needed for the types of jobs
  • Job search opportunities offered through your career services office, such as mock interviews, creating an e-portfolio, contacting psychology alumni, resume assistance, and similar opportunities
  • A professionally formatted resume and tailored cover letters that connect your skills and experiences to job requirements

Professional organizations you can join:

  • APA Divisions
    APA’s 54 divisions are interest groups organized by members. APA members, and even nonmembers, can apply to join one or more divisions which have separate eligibility criteria and dues. Certain divisions are accepting student affiliate members.
  • Psi Chi: International Honor Society in Psychologyopens in new window
    Psi Chi is an international honor society whose purpose is to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship of the individual members in all fields, particularly in psychology, and to advance the science of psychology.
  • Psi Beta: Community College National Honor Society in Psychologyopens in new window
    Psi Beta’s mission is to encourage professional development and psychological literacy of all students at two-year colleges through promotion and recognition of excellence in scholarship, leadership, research, and community service.
  • Become an APA Student Affiliateopens in new window
    Becoming a student affiliate gives you resources on careers, exclusive access to the latest psychology research, and invitations to unique networking opportunities.

Tips for cleaning up your social media profiles:

Resources to help you with networking:

Who will help you prepare

Utilize people and resources available to you throughout your career search.

  • Career advisors
  • Mentors
  • Academic advisors
  • Family and friends
  • Your network

Helpful books

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Content for this page developed by Drew C. Appleby, PhD, Paul Hettich, PhD, Stacie Spencer, PhD.

Last updated: February 2022Date created: 2018