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Advice Category: Career Development

Thinking about your own path and preparation

In a typical year, our summer schedules often allow us some space to step back, reflect, and focus on our own professional development. We hope that as we continue to respond to and slowly recover from the current pandemic, you will find a little time to focus on yourself as you prepare for the future. While these are admittedly uncertain times, it’s clear that now more than ever, the world needs well-educated, reasoned and experienced thinkers and innovators to help guide us through the recovery and into the future – this sounds like a description of UW postdocs!

In the past, we’ve shared advice on pursuing your passion projects, identifying your unique skills, and crafting documents for a successful job application. Here, we’d like to share two exceptional resources which allow you to both explore and enhance your skills and professional development: LinkedIn Learning and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Intramural Training & Education (OITE).

LinkedIn Learning: The UW Career and Internship Center has purchased a license for full access to LinkedIn Learning. LinkedIn Learning is a collection of online videos to help you enhance and develop skills. Importantly, everyone with a UW NetID can access the resources. Spend some time exploring the site to get advice for your next career step, including:

NIH OITE: The NIH OITE has responded to COVID-19 by making much of their internal professional development activities open to the public. While some admittedly have a scientific focus, many workshops on wellness and career and professional development are broadly applicable to the academic community (and beyond). Feel free to register (for free) for one of their upcoming workshops. We were particularly impressed with the following seminars:

As a postdoc, it is imperative that you carve out some time to focus on YOU: assess what skills you have already developed and focus on how best to promote them. Equally as important, take the time to determine which skills and experiences you still need to develop as you prepare for your next career step. We encourage you to explore both LinkedIn Learning and the NIH OITE resources in your own time. And as always, we, the UW Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA), continue to be available for consultation and support as you navigate these difficult times.

Career Advice During COVID-19

As we continue to adjust to Stay Home, Stay Healthy orders for Washington state, the realities of a changed work environment and altered research expectations have clearly hit home. Unfortunately, the financial impact of Stay Home, Stay Healthy won’t be fully realized for a number of months, if not years. More importantly, it will be quite awhile before we return to an environment even remotely resembling our pre-COVID memories.

Also, the COVID-19-related impact on future job prospects is unclear. Recruitment for many positions, both inside and outside of academia, has been put on hold, at least temporarily. In fact, what constitutes a ‘workplace’ (offices, shared spaces, flexible work-from-home policies, etc.), will likely be different in the coming months and years. However, while it’s not comforting at the moment, please trust that not far into the future, the draw for highly trained professionals and researchers will return. Your experience as a UW graduate student will prepare you for these jobs, and you need to make sure that when the time comes, you are ready to be successful.

We encourage you to acknowledge the uncertainty and stress associated with the current situation. However, if you are able, temporarily put these uncomfortable feelings aside and consider the following steps to plan for your professional development this summer.

Reflect. Take a moment to assess where you are and where you want to go in your career trajectory. Review and update your Individualized Development Plan (IDP) — or create one if you don’t already have one (see Imagine PhD, myIDP, and Core Programs’ framing questions). Assess your current skill set and determine how you’re going to fill any gaps as your prepare for your next career stage. Once you’ve updated your IDP, be sure to have a discussion with your mentor team to get support, guidance, and advice.

Prepare. Whether you expect to pursue a non-academic or academic career, you’ll need to prepare a resume or CV (or to turn your CV into a resume). In addition, you may be asked for additional application materials (e.g. a cover letter, portfolio, teaching & research statements, etc. depending on your field). Take the time now to create or revise these materials so you’re ready to simply tailor them for specific job opportunities in the future.

Network. Reach out to your mentors (in and outside of the university), peers, and alumni from your grad department to learn about various career options. Allocate some time to update your LinkedIn profile and then connect with individuals at different companies and employment sectors. Remember, all it takes is one shared experience to be virtually connected (e.g. you both know the same individual in your networks, attended the same graduate institution, have a shared interest in a topic area, etc.). Once virtually connected, start a conversation (an informational interview) to learn more about their career path and their current job. This expanded network will be extremely helpful when you formally enter the job market.

Focus on your development. It’s important to be mindful that professional development is a lifelong practice that involves strategic, intentional planning on your part. Below are some additional resources to support you in your journey.

We understand that now is an unprecedented and difficult time. But if you do have the bandwidth (emotionally and mentally), we encourage you to make time in your weekly schedule to focus on your career development. Start out with dedicating 15 min. per day and add more time when it works for you. Invest in your future now, and your future self will thank you.

Best,

Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs
UW Graduate School
 

Career advice during COVID-19

As we anxiously await the termination of our current Stay Home, Stay Healthy order, the realities of a changed work environment and altered research expectations have clearly hit home. In recent weeks, we’ve heard of the dire predictions of budget shortfalls – within the School of Medicine, across the UW campus, and within our community. Unfortunately, the financial impact of our Stay Home, Stay Healthy won’t be fully realized for a number of months, if not years. More importantly, it will be quite a while before we return to an environment even remotely resembling our pre-COVID memories, especially as it relates to our research setting and UW in general.

Just as the full budget implications are currently unknown, the COVID-19-related impact upon future job prospects is also unclear. Recruitment for many positions, both inside and outside of academia, has been put on hold, at least temporarily. In fact, even what a ‘workplace’ constitutes (offices, shared spaces, flexible work-from-home policies, etc.), will likely be different in the coming months and years. However, while it’s not comforting at the moment, please trust that not far into the future, the draw for highly trained scientists and researchers will return. Your experience as a UW postdoctoral fellow will prepare you for these jobs. You need to make sure that when the time comes, you are ready to be successful.
We encourage you to acknowledge the uncertainty and stress associated with the current situation. However, if you’re able, temporarily place your negative feelings aside and consider the following steps in planning for your future.

  • Reflect: Take a moment to assess where you are and where you want to go. Review and update your Individualized Development Plan (IDP) – or create one if you don’t already have one (see myIDP, ImaginePhD, and OPA’s framing questions). Assess your current skill set and determine how you’re going to fill any gaps as you prepare for your next career stage. Once you’ve updated your IDP, be sure to have a discussion with your mentor team to get support, guidance, and advice.
  • Prepare: Whether you expect to pursue a non-academic or academic career, you’ll need to prepare a resume or curriculum vitae. In addition, you may be asked for additional application materials (e.g., a cover letter, writing samples, teaching & research statements, etc.). Take the time now to create or update these documents and ask your peers and mentors for constructive feedback. Also, consider polishing your supporting materials so you’re ready to simply tailor them for specific job opportunities in the future.
  • Network: Reach out to your mentors and peers to learn about different career options. Allocate some time to update your LinkedIn profile, and then connect with peers at different companies and employment sectors. Remember, all it takes is a shared experience to be virtually connected (e.g., connected to a common person, attended the same graduate institution, have a shared interest in a topic area, etc.) – then it’s up to you to make the first request to connect. Once virtually connected, start a conversation to learn more about their career path and their current job (e.g., an informational interview). This expanded network will be extremely helpful when you formally enter the job market.
  • Focus on your development: In addition to resources listed on the UW Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, many of our peers have made their career and professional development resources available to the broader postdoc community. We will be highlighting some of these in the coming months. In the meantime, feel free to explore:

We understand that now is an unprecedented and difficult time. But, if you do have the bandwidth (both emotionally and mentally), we encourage you to spend some time preparing for a prospective job opportunity. Invest in your future now, and your future self will thank you!

Is the job right for me?

Postdocs are often so busy trying to complete the next experiment or write the next draft of a manuscript (and hopefully get it published!), that we don’t have sufficient time to plan for the next stage of our careers. Usually, we start with reading job announcements, preparing our application materials, and then hoping to get invited for interviews. However, the preparation tends to stop there. What are the next steps after receiving an interview invitation or a job offer? How can you assess whether or not the job would be a good fit before making a final decision?

The easiest way to start learning about what a company or academic department really stands for is by performing an extensive on-line review of their website, specifically focusing on their mission and values statements. Do they match with your values? Importantly, you need to determine if these statements are simply the product of a leadership retreat or are engrained in the day-to-day operations of the company or department. To delve deeper, you can either reach out to people working at the company (e.g., connect via your LinkedIn network and ask for an informational interview) or ask specific questions during your interview to get an understanding of the real culture of the group you’ll be joining. As outlined by Robert Walters (How to tell if a company’s culture is right for you), consider asking the following questions during your interview:

  • How would you describe the company culture?
  • What would a typical day-to-day look like?
  • What’s your favorite part about your job? What is the least?
  • Do people engage in team activities together?
  • Who would I be working the closest with and would it be possible to meet them?
  • What key traits are essential for filling this role?

Finally, the average US worker changes jobs 12 times in their career (Doyle, 2019, How often do people change jobs). Therefore, when evaluating a particular job and setting up your pros vs. cons list, the expectation that this job will be “your forever” job is unrealistic. It is simply “your next” job – a place where you will continue to grow, learn, and prepare for future impact and opportunities. In fact, doctoral degree holders should think of their career as a book with multiple, yet to be determined chapters (Golde, 2019, Careers go in chapters). In the future, when we look back on the totality of our career, we will likely be able to tell a nice, linear story. However, as of now, the individual chapters of our career and life have not been predetermined … the best we can do at this point is to be prepared when the next new and exciting opportunity presents itself. Therefore, do your best to learn new skills, look for new directions, and be prepared for the future.

Elevator Speech: An Effective Way to Communicate Your Work

Have you heard about the concept of an “elevator speech”? It’s a brief summary of who you are, what you do, and your career or project goals—with an emphasis on brief. Imagine running into the CEO of the dream company you’d like to work for, while waiting in line for coffee or taking an elevator: you will need a well-planned “pitch” that you can deliver concisely, clearly, and with confidence. Your elevator speech is an abbreviated version of your response to the common job interview question, “Tell me about yourself.” Having a well-prepared pitch to share at a moment’s notice is essential to grabbing your audience’s attention—and to leave them wanting to learn more about you. An elevator speech is also easy to tailor to different audiences, once you have your first draft done.

Basic rules to follow:

  1. Keep it short (30 seconds to 2 minutes).
  2. Capture the person’s attention early and state your goals clearly.
  3. Focus on the WHY. It conveys the big picture and the importance of your work.
  4. Consider the audience: don’t use jargon or acronyms that your listener may not understand.
  5. Tell your story with enthusiasm.
  6. Make it personal: it is about you, your work or research, your strengths.
  7. Leave some room for the imagination. People will definitely ask follow up questions, if they are interested in learning more about you.

Invited by the Office of Postdoc Affairs, Dr. Mike Matrone, Associate Director for Office of Career & Professional Development at the University of California, San Francisco led a workshop on this topic in late August 2019. To help you get started on drafting your elevator speech, below are example prompts from the workshop.

An easy way to start drafting your elevator speech:
Example 1: You’re interviewing for your dream job, and are expected to answer, “Tell me about your research”.

Background

  • I am a ______/ I study_____

Supporting Details

  • My question is…
  • My approach is…

Findings & Conclusion

  • I discovered that ___
  • This is important because ___
  • In the future___

Example 2: You’re a speaker at TEDx Seattle.

Bottom line

  • My name is ___ and I am a ____.

So what?

  • Did you know___? / Every year___
  • I found that___
  • This is significant because ___

Supporting Details

  • I did this by___
  • Nuggets of what’s next.

Last but not least, the elevator speech is not something you can make up on the spot. It’s important to think ahead, prepare a draft, and practice your delivery. Practice is always the key to success. Practice with peers or mentors, or come to our office hours for feedback. In addition to the examples above, check out the following informational resources on crafting an elevator speech.

Use an Elevator Pitch to Effectively Communicate Your Work

Have you heard an “elevator speech”? It’s a brief summary of who you are, what you do, and your career or project goals—with an emphasis on brief. Imagine running into the CEO of the dream company you’d like to work for, while waiting in line for coffee or taking an elevator: you will need a well-planned pitch that you can deliver concisely, clearly, and with confidence. Your elevator speech is an abbreviated version of your response to the common job interview question, “Tell me about yourself.” Having a well-prepared pitch to share at a moment’s notice is essential to grabbing your audience’s attention—and to leave them wanting to learn more about you. An elevator speech is also easy to tailor for different audiences, once you have your first draft.

Basic guidelines

  1. Keep it short (30 seconds to 2 minutes).
  2. Capture the person’s attention early and state your goals clearly.
  3. Focus on the why. This will convey the big picture and the importance of your work.
  4. Consider the audience: don’t use jargon or acronyms that your listener may not understand.
  5. Tell your story with enthusiasm.
  6. Make it personal: it is about you, your work or research, your strengths.
  7. Leave some room for the imagination. People will definitely ask follow up questions, if they are interested in learning more about you.

Invited by the Office of Postdoc Affairs and Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs in The Graduate School, Dr. Mike Matrone, Associate Director for Office of Career & Professional Development at the University of California, San Francisco led a workshop on this topic in late August. To help you get started on drafting your elevator speech, below are example prompts from the workshop.

An easy way to start drafting your elevator speech

Example 1: You’re interviewing for your dream job, and are expected to answer, “Tell me about your research.”

Background
  • I am a ______/ I study_____
Supporting Details
  • My question is…
  • My approach is…
Findings & Conclusion
  • I discovered that _________________
  • This is important because _______________
  • In the future______________

Example 2: You’re a speaker at TEDx Seattle.

Bottom line
  • My name is _____________ and I am a ____________.
So what?
  • Did you know___? / Every year___
  • I found that___
  • This is significant because ___
Supporting details
  • I did this by___
  • Nuggets of what’s next

Last but not least, the elevator speech is not something you can make up on the spot. It’s important to think ahead, prepare a draft, and practice your delivery. Practice is always the key to success. Practice with peers or mentors. Check out the following resources below on crafting an elevator speech.

Best,

Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs

The Graduate School

Use an Elevator Speech to Communicate Your Work Effectively

Have you heard of an “elevator speech”? It’s a brief summary of who you are, what you do, and your career or project goals—with an emphasis on brief. Imagine running into the CEO of the dream company you’d like to work for, while waiting in line for coffee or taking an elevator: you will need a well-planned pitch that you can deliver concisely, clearly, and with confidence. Your elevator speech is an abbreviated version of your response to the common job interview question, “Tell me about yourself.” Having a well-prepared pitch to share at a moment’s notice is essential to grabbing your audience’s attention—and to leave them wanting to learn more about you. An elevator speech is also easy to tailor for different audiences, once you have your first draft.

Basic guidelines:

  1. Keep it short (30 seconds to 2 minutes).
  2. Capture the person’s attention early and state your goals clearly.
  3. Focus on the why. This will convey the big picture and the importance of your work.
  4. Consider the audience: don’t use jargon or acronyms that your listener may not understand.
  5. Tell your story with enthusiasm.
  6. Make it personal: it is about you, your work or research, your strengths.
  7. Leave some room for the imagination. People will definitely ask follow up questions, if they are interested in learning more about you.

An easy way to start drafting your elevator speech:

Example 1: You’re interviewing for your dream job and are expected to answer, “Tell me about research.”

Background

  • I am a ______ / I study ______

Supporting Details

  • My question is…
  • My approach is…

Findings & Conclusion

  • I discovered that ______
  • This is important because ______
  • In the future ______

Example 2: You’re a speaker at TEDx Seattle.

Bottom line

  • My name is ______ and I am a ______

So what?

  • Did you know ______? / Every year ______
  • I found that ______
  • This is significant because ______

Supporting details

  • I did this by ______
  • Nuggets of what’s next

Last but not least, the elevator speech is not something you can make up on the spot. It’s important to think ahead, prepare a draft, and practice your delivery. Practice is always the key to success. Practice with peers or mentors.

Best,

Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs
UW Graduate School

Naomi Campa, M.A., Ph.D.

Department of Classics, 2014

I received a GO-MAP* supplemental grant and later a dissertation fellowship during my time at UW. The fellowship was quite unexpected for me and came at a moment when I was debating whether I would be able to finish my dissertation at all. 

The award had the practical effect of making it financially possible for me to work on my dissertation, but it moreover felt like a real vote of confidence; I felt flattered that my department had nominated me for the award and incredibly honored to have received it. I was working on my dissertation off campus, and the Skype meetings with the rest of the fellows helped me focus on the task at hand and feel connected during the isolated process of dissertation writing. GO-MAP had a crucial role in seeing me to the finish, which I am proud to report I reached in June 2014.

I am now a Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics at Kenyon College. I have a few articles and book reviews published and am working on a monograph developed from my dissertation. 

*This story is part of a series celebrating the 50th anniversary of GO-MAP, now known as GSEE. Learn more.

Tamiko Nimura, Ph.D.

English, 2004

For Tamiko Nimura, Dr. Johnnella Butler’s classes felt like a sanctuary. 

Butler was director of the Minority Education Division (renamed GO-MAP* during her tenure) from 2000–2006. “Dr. Butler not only taught classes that provided community for students of color,” says Nimura, “she was a mainstay support for us.” 

During Nimura’s first year in graduate school, “I was terrified to speak up in classes,” she says. “But I never felt terrified around Dr. Butler. I always felt the comments I made in class were appreciated and welcomed. She was always very generous with her time and feedback, and her comments were always supportive.” 

Nimura turned to Butler to be the chair of her thesis committee, doctoral exam committee and her dissertation committee. She still remembers how tickled she felt when she ran into Butler’s husband and he told her, “Dr. Butler thinks you’re the cat’s pajamas.” 

“To hear that from her husband was really funny and lovely,” she says. 

As director, Butler established student and faculty advisory committees which provided support, ideas and feedback to help build the Minority Education Division’s programming for students of color. Nimura – eager to be involved in efforts to support other graduate students of color – became a member of the Student Advisory Committee. 

That same year, Nimura was passed over for a T.A.-ship by her department. She was one of two students in her cohort who didn’t receive funding that year. “It was very painful,” she says. “It felt like a sign of my worth.” 

Nimura received funding from GO-MAP in her third year, which helped her to continue in her program.

But the GO-MAP community helped her in another way – by providing an outlet. 

Taking classes with Dr. Butler and working on the GO-MAP advisory committee “made me feel I had something to contribute to the UW community, and whether or not I received a T.A.-ship didn’t have to be my only sign of validation of being in academia.” 

The Student Advisory Committee was responsible for getting to know students of color across campus and providing input on the kinds of support they needed. This process led them to develop opportunities for students of color to meet socially – thus, Getting and Staying Connected were born. The committee was also integral in developing in renaming the unit from Minority Education Division to GO-MAP.

On campus, students of color were discussing Initiative 200, which, in 1998, banned affirmative action in Washington state. In September three years later, came the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. 

“Being a graduate student of color teaching in the wake of September 11 was a painful and difficult thing,” Nimura says. It was especially difficult to discuss issues of race in the classroom.

The GO-MAP office was a haven, a refuge, and a place of nurturing for students during that time. “Going into classes where we may have felt alienated, or teaching undergrads where we might have been instructors of color facing a majority white class – it gave us strength knowing we had a community behind us.” 

GO-MAP also helped students feel empowered to work toward creating a better campus climate, she says. “That feeling that you have some agency and control over a situation goes a long way toward sustaining you,” she adds. 

Since leaving academia in 2011, Nimura has built a freelance writing career with a focus on American Ethnic Studies. She is a community-oriented journalist who writes mostly about and for Asian American artists. She works to serve communities that are often ignored by sharing their stories. 

“Dr. Butler actually taught me a lot about doing work that serves the community,” she says. “She taught me that you don’t forget where you came from.”

*This story is part of a series celebrating the 50th anniversary of GO-MAP, now known as GSEE. Learn more.

Summer Tips for Your Career Development

Summer is as good a time as any to invest in your professional development! Whether you already have your eyes set on the job of your dreams or are considering a range of career paths, there are several activities that can help you reach your professional goals. Below are a just a few to get your started.

Use a career assessment or career exploration tool. Career assessments can help you identify your strengths, skills, and values in relation to jobs that pique your interest. These assessments can also help you narrow down particular fields or industries that are a match with your career goals. If you’re in the humanities or social sciences, consider checking out the career exploration tool called ImaginePhD (master’s students can use this as well). If you’re in the STEM disciplines, try out myIDP Science Careers. Both tools are free!

Lead informational interviews. An informational interview is an informal conversation with a professional working in a field of interest to you. It is an opportunity for you to engage in a meaningful conversation to hear and learn about an individual’s career trajectory, knowledge of a particular industry, additional networking referrals, and more. These insights can help you make informed choices during your job search. The Career and Internship Center on the Seattle campus refers to an informational interview as a career conversation.

Be a volunteer or intern. If you’re exploring a range of career paths, consider being a volunteer or intern on a short-term basis. Explore paid and unpaid internship opportunities listed on Handshake (a free service for UW students). If being a volunteer or intern involves too much of a time commitment for you and your schedule, considering setting up a job shadow experience to get a feel for a particular profession. Keep in mind that being a volunteer or intern to gain professional experience is neither extra-curricular nor a distraction to writing a thesis or dissertation — these work experiences can help you gain skills and make you a stronger candidate for jobs outside of academia. Here’s another article about pursuing internships while being a graduate student. 

Read job postings. Reading job listings are important to career exploration. Derek Attig has come up with several self-reflective strategies that make perusing job ads less tedious and more useful. Ask yourself the following questions: (1) Can I imagine myself doing the tasks required for this job? (2) Do the values of the employer resonate with my own? (3) What might I dislike about the job I am reading about? (4) Am I on board with the mission of the employer?

We encourage you to take the time to invest in your professional development this summer and let us know what career tips work for you! Finally, you are receiving this newsletter based on your affiliation as a new or returning graduate student at the University of Washington. If you wish to unsubscribe from this newsletter, please click here and visit this blog post for directions on managing your subscription preferences.

Best,
Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs
UW Graduate School