Fletcher launches remarkable careers in an amazing array of different directions – private, public, non-profit, and international organizations. Sifting through the array of opportunities can be exciting and overwhelming at the same time. Not all students arrive at Fletcher with a well-defined plan for the next step of their career. Some do. No matter where you are in this spectrum, the Office of Career Services (OCS) is here to partner with you to find success.
Fletcher takes your career success as seriously as you do. Please find below a list of resources available to Fletcher students.
Professional Development Program (PDP) classes meet every Friday morning during the first semester. We have built time into the academic calendar with no other course conflicts so that every student is able to dedicate time each week to creating and executing a personalized career search program while here at Fletcher. The Professional Development Program takes a holistic approach to career management and introduces students to a portfolio of essential professional skills. The interactive course is taught by a combination of Office of Career Services staff and outside speakers. We provide detailed instruction on specific aspects of job searching, including resume and cover letter writing, networking, and professional communication, while staying focused on the bigger picture of the fluid and ongoing process that is career management. The goal is to supply you with the insights, recommendations, and best practices that you can use to ensure you are on the right track with the various steps in your job searching, the job application process, and your continuing career path.
Professional Development Program:
PDP 1 First Impressions: Your Resume, Your Brand
PDP 2 The Art of Professional Communication
PDP 3 OCS Resources 101 & Your Professional Identity
The Office of Career Services has developed guides to help students with many of the complicated steps in the career search process. These guides offer additional background as well as useful tips and suggestions on various career related topics to give students critical reference materials beyond PDP to which they can refer when the time comes to “exercise” that skill. For example, the cover letter guide includes several (successful) examples of Fletcher students which include the actual job description, resume and cover letter used to apply for the position so that students can see how the resume and cover letter work together to best highlight the student’s experience and skills for a specific position.
The OCS staff is available for all aspects of career coaching from self-assessment to salary negotiation. Career Coaches stay abreast of trends in the sectors they support through research and frequent employer outreach. Fletcher Career Coaches support students targeting careers in over 30 specific sectors and fields (e.g. business, energy, human rights, international development, public international law, security, US government). One-on-one coaching appointments might focus on:
Self-Assessment
Career brainstorming and strategy development
Information on specific fields
Resume and cover letter feedback
Application review
Job offer and salary negotiation
Networking and Informational Interviewing
International Student Liaison
Mid-Career Liaison
Employers around the world value Fletcher’s unique interdisciplinary program, which produces graduates who know how to navigate the increasingly complex and globally integrated landscape. In partnership with the faculty and staff at Fletcher, the Employer Relations Team explores, builds, and maintains relationships with employers around the world. Notable employers include: the United Nations, the World Bank, Deloitte, Guidehouse, the US Department of State, and many more across sectors and across the globe. Fletcher students benefit from curated engagements, including:
Exclusive Information Sessions
Resume Books
On-Campus Recruiting
Interviews
Internship and Job Postings
Career Trips
In addition to the Professional Development Program, the Office of Career Services offers workshop topics such as:
Networking & Informational Interviewing
Job Search Strategies: How to target the right resources and organizations
Demystifying the Job Search, The Recruiters Perspective
Making your Interviews Count
Unlocking Your Worth: Tips for Negotiating your Salary
Honing your Interviewing Skills (Interactive Small Group Workshop)
Using and AI-Powered Strategy: Leverage GenAI to optimize your job search
Bringing your Authentic Self to Work
Making a Career Pivot
International Student Programming
How to be an Outstanding Job Candidate with Research
Throughout the course of the year, OCS offers various workshops targeted towards students interested in particular sectors. The sectors are divided in the following way:
- Private Sector - for-profit industries, such as financial services, consulting, energy, telecommunications, airlines, and health services.
- Public Sector - government agencies and organizations (US or international) in fields such as immigration, justice, policy, security, Foreign Service, and transportation.
- Non-Profit Sector - organizations (US or international) with the tax status of not-for-profit, in such fields as humanitarian aid, refugee assistance, education, and human rights.
- International Organizations (IOs) - intergovernmental organizations are made up of, and financed by, member countries and include the United Nations, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, etc.
Sector Specific Programming includes sessions on:
Recruitment Timelines
Hiring Practices
Industry Specific Panels
Organization Specific Sessions
Summer Internship Panels
Alumni Information Sessions
The Washington, DC Career Trip is an opportunity for career exploration, and information-gathering about specific organizations, and networking with alumni and practitioners in various career fields. For first-year students exploring their career paths, the DC Career Trip introduces students to DC-based careers related to their Fletcher degree and provides them the opportunity to get their questions answered.
Networking is one of the most important things you will do at Fletcher and for a lifetime. You will have numerous opportunities throughout your time at Fletcher to network with peers, faculty, staff, alumni, employers, speakers, etc.
On-campus
New York, NY
Washington, DC
Boston
Global Virtual Networking Event Series
Through the generosity of alumni and friends of Fletcher, OCS has some funding available to assist students with unpaid summer internships. Typically, over 100 students receive summer internship funding which enables internships in dozens of different countries spread across Africa, Asia, Middle East, North and South America, and Eastern and Western Europe.
Below is a sample list of recent summer internships supported through this program.
United Nations (including UNICEF, UNEP, UNSG, UNDESA, and UNDSS)
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
World Bank
US Army War College
US Indo-Pacific Command (US INDOPACOM)
Atrocities Watch
Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
The Asia Foundation
Women's World Banking
Intralink
Fletcher maintains an Intranet site exclusively for current students. MyFletcher and Fletcher CORE are on-demand online tools designed to help you manage your career search process from application to hire. Both sites are exclusive to Fletcher students and provide such unique offerings and Fletcher-friendly opportunities as:
Internship Database
Jobs Database
Employer Contacts
Resume Books
Professional Networking Tool
Calendar of OCS events and workshops
Links to job listservs
Workshop, event and coaching registration
Weekly Newsletter from OCS
Feedback Surveys
Fellowship Opportunities
Employment Website links
Alumni Database Requests
A library with both hard copy and web subscription services to help students learn about careers, industries and employers. Some sample resources include:
Careernomics/MBA exchange (Integrated careers platform focused on helping Masters students explore and identify the right career opportunities)
Interstride (Job search strategy resources for international students)
Devex (premier website for international development jobs)
Industry specific guides (e.g. Federal Resumes, Life Inside an Embassy, EU Information Guide)
Fletcher’s 8,000 plus living alumni are active players on the global stage who are ready and willing to share their experiences and contacts in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors with current students. Fletcher graduates are innovative problem solvers in business, government, and non-governmental organizations worldwide. Connections made at Fletcher impact your professional life for a lifetime.
Examples of how alumni are involved with OCS:
Panel Speakers
Networking Events
Information Sessions
Career Guidance for OCS and Students
Offering Internships and Jobs
Hosting Site Visits
You will continue to develop your career after you graduate from Fletcher. Many of the career resources available to current students are available to alumni for life, including one-on-one coaching and access to electronic resources.