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| Tips for Grads: Career Development You’ve likely seen colleagues who are closer to finishing their degree present practice job talks for academic interviews, or maybe you’ve given a couple yourself. While many graduate students are familiar with the process of interviewing for academic jobs, the process of interviewing for non-academic jobs may be less transparent. This can be due both to lack of personal experience and to the varied nature of non-academic careers. Recently, the Graduate School invited Kristina Vack, Career Advisor for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, to present a workshop on this topic for graduate students. Below we share some of her advice. If you’d like more information, you can see her slideshow here. Do your homework. Know what you’re getting into by investigating the organization that’s hiring. Understanding the organization’s values and structure can help you decide if it’s the right fit for you. Find out who will interview you and check out their LinkedIn profile. If you have a connection on Badger Bridge who works there, they can give you more information.
Get a handle on interview questions. Interviewers care less about what happened to you in your previous work than in how you dealt with challenges. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to formulate answers, and practice your answers ahead of time.
Ask them questions. This has two purposes. For one, it helps you to get a better idea of how you will fit into the organization and if you really want to work there. For another, it makes you seem prepared and eager to get to work. DO NOT ask about salary, benefits, or vacation time. Save that for your HR rep once you have the job.
Deal with your interviewers’ biases. People outside of academia often don’t understand, or may misunderstand, what it is that graduate students do. Be prepared to respond to questions about your academic preparation, including why you’re not becoming a professor, your ability to communicate with non-specialists, and why an advanced degree would help you in your prospective role.
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DiscoverPD is an innovative tool for UW-Madison graduate students to advance their academic and professional goals. Reviewing the nine facets of professional development, complete a self-assessment, and get a customized report and recommendations.
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Upcoming Professional Development Events
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In this session, Dr. Anne Krook will review some of the most useful skills humanities graduate students and postdocs bring to workplaces, discuss academic experiences that are comparable to those in non-academic workplaces, and how graduate students can best highlight those skills and experiences to employers. There will be a few slides (available as PDF afterwards) with plenty of time for Q&A. Coffee and dessert will be served.
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Join guest speaker Dr. Anne Krook for this two-hour session where you will learn how non-academic employers think about graduate students as potential employees, how to get ready for the non-academic job market while you are still in graduate school, and how to conduct a job search. We will also review a tool (provided after the session) that assesses all your skills – not just academic ones – and review a resume and discuss how to write yours. All graduate students are welcome to attend.
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| Find more Graduate School Professional Development events here.
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| Student Wayfinding in Canvas
Thursday, January 18 | 9:00 - 10:00 am
Room 2425, Sterling Hall | Interpersonal Effectiveness | Managing Projects and People Canvas Tips and Tricks
Friday, January 19 | 1:00 - 2:00 pm
Room 2425, Sterling Hall | Managing Projects and People
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| Stata for Researchers
Wednesday, January 17 | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Room 3218, Sewell Social Sciences | Disciplinary Expertise and Interdisciplinary Connections | Inquiry, Discovery, and Creation Stata for Researchers
Thursday, January 18 | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Room 3218, Sewell Social Sciences | Disciplinary Expertise and Interdisciplinary Connections | Inquiry, Discovery, and Creation Introduction to SPSS
Thursday, January 18 | 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Room 3218, Sewell Social Sciences | Career Development | Disciplinary Expertise and Interdisciplinary Connections
Stata for Researchers
Friday, January 19 | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Room 3218, Sewell Social Sciences | Disciplinary Expertise and Interdisciplinary Connections | Inquiry, Discovery, and Creation Introduction to SAS
Friday, January 19 | 12:00 - 3:00 pm
Room 3218, Sewell Social Sciences | Career Development | Disciplinary Expertise and Interdisciplinary Connections Introduction to R
Monday, January 22 | 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Room 3218, Sewell Social Sciences | Career Development | Disciplinary Expertise and Interdisciplinary Connections Introduction to Stata
Monday, January 22 | 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Room 3218, Sewell Social Sciences | Career Development | Disciplinary Expertise and Interdisciplinary Connections
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| For more technology courses from Software Training for Students (STS) click here.
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Special Events & Conferences
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Expedited Review Round for SRGC Research Travel Award Funds Added for January In order to ensure that dissertators and final year MFA students have timely access to research travel funds, the Graduate School is introducing an “expedited review-round” for early Spring/Summer Research award travel (travel needs to be initiated by June 30th). To ensure an expedited review, please submit your completed research award application by January 31st. You will receive notification of your award status by February 28th at the latest. If you do not apply during this expedited review period, the final SRGC Research review-round deadline is March 31st, 2018, with the award notification going out at the end of April. Please note that applicants are able to receive either conference or research travel support only one time per academic year. More information about award amounts, timelines, and eligibility can be found at: https://grad.wisc.edu/studentfunding/grantscomp/ Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society The Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society seeks to develop a network of scholars who exemplify academic and personal excellence, foster environments of support, and serve as examples of scholarship, leadership, character, service, and advocacy for students who have been typically underrepresented in the academy. Applications for the Bouchet Society are due Friday, January 26, 2018. More information about the Bouchet Society and the application process can be found here. CASE Advocacy in Science and Engineering: 2018 WorkshopThe Graduate School is hosting a competitive process to fund two UW-Madison graduate students to learn about science policy and advocacy at the Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) workshop in Washington, D.C. This year's workshop will be March 18-21, 2018. The workshop, sponsored by a coalition of scientific groups including the AAAS and AAU, teaches STEM graduate and upper-class undergraduates about the structure and organization of Congress, the federal budget and appropriations process, and tools for effective science communication. Applications are due Wednesday, February 7, 2018. Click here to learn more about this opportunity and for the steps to apply. 2018 Martin Luther King Day Celebration
The University of Wisconsin-Madison will honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, as well as celebrate the many ways UW students, faculty, and staff embody Dr. King's spirit of service, on Monday, January 22, 2018. The celebration will feature direct volunteer service opportunities, concurrent justice dialogue sessions, a MLK art project by Wheelhouse Studios, and a free dinner accompanied by a student keynote panel. Registration is required, and more information about the event can be found here. Spring 2018 Public Service FairOn Wednesday, January 24, from 3:00 - 6:00 pm, the Morgridge Center for Public Service and SuccessWorks at the College of Letters and Science will host a public service fair at Union South. The event will provide students the opportunity to connect with local, state, and national nonprofit/government agencies. Students can chat with people from these organizations to find volunteer opportunities, as well as jobs and internships that match their interests and career goals. More information can be found here. Preparing a Strong NIH Fellowship ApplicationOn Tuesday, February 27, from 1:30 - 3:00 pm, Graduate School Dean, William Karpus, and Grants Administrator, Jenny Dahlberg, will host a 90-minute session on preparing a strong National Institutes of Health (NIH) fellowship (F award, NRSA) application. The first portion will focus on the mechanics of the applications (sections, submission logistics, budget, etc). During the second half, Dean Karpus will share his valuable experience as a member of study sections for these awards. See here for registration and more information about the session. Spring 2018 Career and Internship FairOn Tuesday, February 6, from 4:00 - 8:00 pm, all UW-Madison students and recent alumni are invited to attend the Career and Internship Fair at the Kohl Center. This is an ideal setting for students seeking internships and full-time employment to talk with employers about job opportunities. See here for a listing of employers attending the event. UHS Spring Semester Counseling GroupsOver 30 different group and workshop opportunities are available to graduate students this semester through UHS! Some of the most popular groups include the Dissertators' Groups, Graduate Students' Group, Graduate Womans' Group, YOGA, Mindful Living, and Mindful Living Sampler (with rotating topics). More information about group sessions and registration can be found here or by contacting Jo Hoese at UHS.
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Please note: Some graduate students may be ineligible to hold graduate assistantship appointments. Be sure to check with your graduate program coordinator about your eligibility before applying.
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| The Graduate Public Humanities Exchange (HEX) program funds innovative public humanities projects that forge partnerships between community organizations and graduate students. With funding as well as mentorship from the Center for the Humanities, each HEX scholar builds a partnership with a community group that reflects both the partner's existing needs and the graduate student's research, interests, and expertise. HEX goes beyond volunteerism and the pure research model to offer graduate students and partners the chance to form mutually rewarding relationships with surprising outcomes. Dannon, as part of DanoneWave Public Benefits Corporation, is awarding two graduate students a grant of $25,000 each. The successful candidates should excel in science and have an interest in studying yogurt, probiotics, and the gut microbiome's role in promoting human health. The award will be for tuition or research-related projects or as otherwise allocated at Dannon's discretion. The University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute (WRI), in partnership with the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), seek candidates interested in tackling science and policy challenges related to groundwater management in Wisconsin. This Fellow position will provide a unique educational and career opportunity for a recent graduate who is interested both in aquatic resources and in the policy decisions affecting those resources in Wisconsin. This program places a recent master’s or doctoral graduate within a state program full-time for one year, with the Fellow bringing technical skills to benefit water issues and challenges and receiving valuable real-world science-policy experience from the resource professionals who will serve as mentors. This mutually beneficial partnership will result in advancing science to support policy decisions as well as valuable training opportunities for new professionals entering the work force. The Wisconsin Sea Grant College Program and the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program seek candidates interested in tackling science and policy challenges related to increasing coastal community resilience across the Great Lakes region. The Fellow will work closely with Wisconsin Coastal Management Program’s Natural Hazards Work Group, Sea Grant’s coastal engineers, local government representatives, and researchers from a variety of fields to tackle the important challenge of connecting science related to coastal processes with communities that could benefit from the information. Applicants from a variety of backgrounds (including engineering, geology, meteorology, social sciences, ecological modeling, and limnology) are welcome to apply.
The Great Lakes Commission - Sea Grant Fellowship Program allows the opportunity to work with members of the Great Lakes' science, policy, and information/education communities to advance the environmental quality and sustainable development goals of the Great Lakes states. Eligible applicants include students who are enrolled in graduate or professional degree programs in public policy, public health, natural resources, aquatic sciences, or other related fields at a U.S. accredited institution, or who have completed their degree within six months immediately prior to the time of application. Applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm on the due date, and should be sent to Terri Liebmann at the Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. The Mellon Public Humanities fellowship provides graduate students in the humanities with professional experience outside of academia. By placing fellows in partner organizations around Madison, the program facilitates the reciprocal sharing of resources and expertise, and highlights the significance of the humanities both on and off campus. The competition is open to students in the humanities and related fields who are curently writing dissertations.
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