Here are some great tips about how to build a Federal Resume from The Partnership for Public Service. If you follow these directions, you will be sure to put your best foot forward when applying for jobs on USAjobs.gov!
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— By Matthew Medeiros
This summer, Reif Larsen ’18 (landscape architecture) interned in the Burlington, VT offices of SE Group, a landscape architecture and planning firm that works on a range of projects, specializing in recreation planning and design for …
“Whenever I get a stack of resumes, I throw half of them in the trash. I sure don’t want unlucky people on my team,” said no hiring manager ever…but sometimes it can feel that way when you’re hunting for jobs.
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Patricia McGirr 
The SBS Office of Career & Professional Development annually surveys graduating seniors in order to provide a snapshot of their post-graduation plans. The survey begins just prior to graduation, and continues until six months after graduation. Our data collection process is guided by the industry standard put forth by the National Association of Colleges & Employers, and includes information collected by the SBS Office of Career & Professional Development, the Office of Institutional Research at UMass Amherst, and by various academic departments, as well as from information that is made publicly available by students. The SBS undergraduate outcomes knowledge rate for 2025 was 71%, though knowledge rate varies among departments.
SBS graduates pursue a range of plans after graduation, including employment, continuing education, and volunteering/service, among others. This graph depicts what recent SBS graduates tell us they are doing within six months after graduation.
Students in the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences at UMass Amherst build the skills employers seek, such as critical and analytical thinking, creative problem solving, communication, cultural awareness, and more. This makes our students highly attractive candidates for a wide variety of roles with an even wider range of employers and industries. The list of employers featured here is based on information reported by students or employers to SBS, or employment data that is made publicly available by students. The list is formulated based on the most-commonly reported hiring employers. Generally, the first ten on the list have hired multiple students, and after that, employers who have hired at least one SBS grad are listed in alphabetical order. Survey data indicated that a minimum of 220+ distinct employers hired UMass students in 2025.
Starting salary data is self-reported by the new graduates and is not a required field on the survey, so this data is incomplete with regard to salary ranges. Keep in mind that salaries for volunteer/service roles are, by their nature, low, and skew the averages lower. There are also students making significantly more than the average. Both cost of living (based on geographic location), and chosen industry have a significant impact on starting salaries. These data do not include information on benefits such as health insurance, tuition reimbursement, bonuses, and other important factors in a student's employment decision making process.
These are the most common starting job titles our new graduates reported. This can be a very useful tool as current students are searching for jobs.
A majority of students in the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, as with the University as a whole, are residents of Massachusetts. While the majority of our graduates choose to stay in Massachusetts for their first post-graduate jobs, many others accept positions all across the country, and around the world. Common first destination locations outside of Massachusetts are Washington, D.C., New York City, California, and the other New England states.
The list below provides a look at the most-commonly reported graduate schools in which SBS graduates are enrolled. While many SBS graduates choose to stay at UMass Amherst for their graduate education, many others attend universities across the country and around the world.
Our graduates report seeking masters degrees, as well as Juris Doctors (JD) from law school, and occasionally someone will report being enrolled in a PhD degree program.
The variety of fields of study selected by SBS graduates is a good indication of their diverse interests, and their desire to both expand and deepen their understanding of their area of interest.
We don’t have enough student data to show you these results.
