GPP Podcast: Career Coaching for Budding Advocates, Politicos, Policy Wonks & Social Entrepreneurs

Career consultant Andy Harber joins fellow coach Susan Craig to discuss how to negotiate a starting salary in the mission-driven world.  Some of the resources they discuss include: Glassdoor Salary.com Bureau of Labor Statistics Also, acronym alert! The CCE stands for the Center for Career Engagement. 

MAY 2026 UPDATE : This process is changing, and fast! Click here to learn more - and we'll update this episode as soon as we get our head around it.  Career coach Amber Brown joins Susan to discuss the ins and outs of obtaining a Social Work license. Check out the resources mentioned in the episode: Association of Social Work Boards - click "getting ready for the exam" for process,...

Dean Megan Peabody joins Susan to share her thoughts on fellowships. She has great advice on when and how to think about fellowships, where to find them and a few you may never have heard of! Learn more about WashU's application process and many (but not all!) fellowships available here: https://fellowshipsoffice.wustl.edu/

Are you law school curious? Join Susan and special guest Ahmar Ursani to learn about how to think about and prepare for the possibility. Here are some of the resources referenced: WashU Pre-Law Advising  - sign up for the emails! Law School Admission Council Email Susan if you'd like her letter of recommendation handout or access it on the Canvas GPSi page here .

In this short episode, Amy and Susan offer a few tips for how to learn about yourself, your interests, and what environment you work best in while you're doing whatever it is you're doing this summer.   Here's the Career Center's resource on how to succeed in your summer experience: https://students.wustl.edu/succeed-summer-experience-post-graduation-job/

In this episode, Amy and Susan share tips on handling offers for internships and jobs in government, policy, advocacy, nonprofits, and international affairs. Some resources you might consider using: Office of Personnel Management (OPM) General Schedule  (GS 7 is the rate most undergraduates will enter at while graduate students will enter at GS 9 for MA/MS/Law and GS 11 for PhD). WashU Career Cent...

Do you have a LinkedIn profile? Wondering how to get more out of the platform? You can mine it for much more than internship listings, but first you should be your profile in order. Amy and Susan provide tips and tricks to getting the most out of LinkedIn. The Career Center has several resources on LinkedIn. Check out: Connecting with Alumni , Job Searching Using Social Media , Networking series o...

How do you figure out your path when careers in government, policy, advocacy, and international affairs are remote and opaque, sometimes intentionally so? Season 2 of the GPP Podcast launches with this episode recorded at a workshop Amy gave on how to explore these career paths. While perhaps not as slick as our other podcasts, it's jam-packed with insights and is a great first step for anyon...

Amy and Susan provide insight and skills to help you prepare for your interview and land that internship or job. Whether it's your first interview or your tenth, there is something here for you.  Some great resources from the Washington University in St. Louis Career Center: Tips for Online Interviews Interviewing Skills Big Interview Feedback? Ideas for episodes? Email us! We are podcasting...

Our 2021 grads asked us to produce an episode just for the parents, family, and friends of students interested in government, policy, advocacy, nonprofit, or international affairs. Amy and Susan explain what you need to know to best support your student! 

Many applications ask you to submit a writing sample with your resume and cover letter. What should you send? Amy and Susan discuss your options, how to interpret what the hiring manager is looking for, and how to prepare in advance so that you're ready.  Resources Memo on Memos

In this episode we talk about how to make your cover letter stand out from the stack. We'll offer some tips so that your cover letter is as much about the organization you're applying to as it is about you, demonstrates your commitment to the organization's mission, and reflects holistically on how your experiences relate to the job to which you're applying. Writing cover lette...

When you imagine yourself searching for an internship, you likely see yourself scrolling through internship listings on a job board, but surprise! This isn't the most effective use of your limited time. You should be selective about the job boards and limit the amount of time you spend on them. We'll tell you more in the final episode of our series on internship search strategies.  Some...

Networking! Just the idea provokes dread in the most steadfast of hearts, but networking isn't mingling. The core tool in networking is informational interviewing, which is almost like a qualitative research tool you deploy to figure out what you want to do and how to get there. It pays big dividends on the search--taking you from being reactive (looking at listings) to being proactive (heari...

Internship Search Strategies for Government, Policy, & Advocacy Part 2: Targeting! In the last episode, Amy and Susan discussed internship search strategies for government,  policy, advocacy, international affairs, and nonprofits. They detail the three elements of a solid search strategy:  Targeting Networking Listings In this episode, they detail how to create, track, and share your target li...

Internship Search Strategies for Government, Policy, & Advocacy Amy and Susan discuss internship search strategies for government, policy, advocacy, and international affairs. They detail the three elements of a good search strategy and how to spend your time for maximum results. Some of the resources they mention in this podcast: Success Stories - an interactive database where you can search...

In this episode, Susan and Amy describe the four phases of the career development process (Assess, Explore, Search, and Launch). They provide insider tips for how these phases unfold in government, policy, advocacy, and international affair searches. Washington University in St. Louis student can join the Government and Public Policy Work Group to gain inside tips and connect with alumni through o...

Susan and Amy discuss the document that's central to internship and job applications: the resume. They cover why the resume is central to government, policy, and advocacy applications, how to format it, and the difference between a resume and CV. Applying for federal positions through USAJobs? You’ll get the scoop on how a federal resume differs and a few tips on beating the algorithm. Best o...