I recently “attended” a virtual training course on Transitioning into a Non-Academic Career sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Science. The talk was given by Dr. Josh Henkin and he outlined the kinds of preparation and professional development is useful for non-academic careers. Here’s a recap for you:
Category Archives: The Grad Student
Summer work habits
If you’re a graduate student like us, summer isn’t just an opportunity to unwind after a long academic year – it’s a time to make progress on your “grad school” to-do list. With unfinished research papers in the cue, new data to analyze, and a part- or full-time internship, it can be tough to get your priorities straight. Here are some tips to help you make the most of your summer break.
Phone/Skype Interviews – Jobs Edition
One of the most common questions I get is how to prepare for virtual interviews (i.e. Skype or phone interviews). It can be really nerve-wracking to interview with someone you’ve never met before as is, but add ever-failing technology and you’ve got a recipe for potential awkward moments. To give some background, usually video-chat or phone interviews are conducted as a first-round interview to see if the candidate is a good fit for the company. Some job interviews will then use this first-round of interviews as a weeding out process to choose who they want to bring in for an in-person interview. Needless to say, it’s really important to make a good impression during your first set of interviews, and here are my tips for tackling these pesky phone and Skype interviews:
Making the most of your summer break
As some of you know, my graduate school friends and I started a blog just a few years ago called Grad Girl. It was intended as a space where professional women working in the social sciences, social services, research or clinical positions, or anything else related to these fields could be showcased for their accomplishments and achievements. Our intent was to show the world what kinds of jobs there are out there and give a little advice along the way. Well, it turns out, blogging and website maintenance is a lot more work than we anticipated, so we had to shut down the website. But, since we had already put in so much time and effort into it, I didn’t want that precious content to go to waste. So, with the rest of the team’s permission, I will be posting all the content from that website here, for you guys. Here, we begin, with summer break tips for graduate students.Continue reading “Making the most of your summer break”
How to…conquer comprehensive exams!
Most doctoral programs have comprehensive exams (or some programs call them qualifying exams). Usually, these exams happen after coursework is completed and passing comprehensive exams (or, “comps” as they are affectionately called) means that you are officially a “doctoral candidate.” There is a lot of variability in what these exams look like. Some schools’ exams are really more of a portfolio where students have to complete certain milestones, like apply for grants, write and submit a specific number of papers, etc. Other schools have a sit-down exam that happens over the course of 1-5 days where they can be asked any kind of question from the entire field, and they have to answer them in an allotted time.
How to…make friends in grad school
Cultivating deep, meaningful relationships with friends after college can be really difficult. What’s your advice for how to make lasting friendships during graduate school?
How to…manage your time in grad school
Ok, so this is one of those posts specifically tailored to students who are already in graduate school, but perhaps if you’re a college student, you might glean something from this as well.
How to…Stay Organized
We’ve all been there…you finally mustered up the motivation to get your desktop organized and suddenly you realize your inbox is COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL.
I know this feeling well, so I’ve compiled a list of quick tips for staying organized.
How to…manage your network
Today’s topic – managing your network. I just came back from the SRCD conference in Austin, TX. And it.was.AWESOME. Not only was the weather in Austin absolutely incredible, the people who attended and content covered at the conference was just fantastic. I didn’t have anything to present this time around, so I just focused my efforts on networking, taking with people, and just taking it all in. I’m about a year out from graduating, so there’s a lot that I need to accomplish, and networking is what I focused on last weekend!
How to use Social Media
Social media has been given a pretty bad rap since its conception not too long ago. Between teenagers posting ridiculous images of themselves and others, to body shaming of celebrities, to cyber bullying, the list of reasons to avoid social media is often longer than the number of reasons to continue using it.
Tanya Tavassolie 