The Brooks School Office of Career Management is committed to giving you the tools you need to put your MPA degree to work in the competitive job market, whether you’re a current student or an alum.
We will help you assemble an individualized career plan and then provide you with everything you require to succeed, from how to write your resume and cover letter to how to network and conduct yourself during a job interview.
How are recent graduates faring in the job market? Take a look at our statistics
Our services
The Office of Career Management is ready to provide you with a comprehensive suite of services to get you up and running for your internship and job prospects. Our services include confidential career advising, interview preparation and career development workshops.
Confidential Advising
We lead you through an exploration of your career goals, strengths, interests and job or internship search strategy.
Practice Interviews
You should be prepared in every way for the all-important interview. We do the role playing and provide feedback that ensures you walk through the door with the confidence and skills you need to nail the interview.
You provide us with the information necessary to develop your career plan. We use a variety of instruments to accomplish this. They include a self-assessment and career exploration guide; a career interests survey, which you will fill out in your first year; a second-year individual development plan, which will inventory your interests, strengths and weaknesses and the organizations you are targeting; and a top five strengths exercise, which will help you identify suitable positions and give you a career direction. Cornell Career Services may also be a resource you want to explore. The office can provide additional self-assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
We help take your resume from good to great and assist you in tailoring different versions of it to the specific jobs you are seeking.
Building a wide network is the best way to land your dream job. The MPA Program hosts career networking events in Washington, D.C., and New York City for positions in the private, public, nonprofit NGO and international development sectors. We also maintain an official MPA Program LinkedIn site for current students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the MPA Program. In addition, we encourage you to attend the Cornell Careers Services Fair, the All Ivy Environmental Sustainable Development Career Fair and the Cornell Nonprofit and Government Career Fair. Check the events calendar for further details.
Sometimes you do everything you’re supposed to do and still hit a brick wall. It’s time to do some relationship building with an informational interview. We can explain how to get started, identify what you want to learn, whom you should target, and other skills that will get you back on track.
Additional resources
