We are excited to announce a roundtable about early career professionalization with an emphasis on diverse careers, including non-academic career options, on Friday, March 17th, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. 

When: Friday, March 17th, from 2:00-3:30p.m.

Where: Join Zoom Meeting

https://pitt.zoom.us/j/3126006944

Meeting ID: 312 600 6944

It’s often difficult to balance different career options, or potential career paths, with the structural demands of a PhD program. How do you, for instance, develop a resume that might be attractive to industry professionals when you’re also busy working on a dissertation and capstone project? 

Our main event of this semester will feature a roundtable of academic and industry professionals who have either supported others in preparing for diverse careers or have themselves transitioned from the academy to industry. Our goal with this workshop is not to add to your work burden as a PhD student, but to just give you some resources, professional and social, for thinking about how you can develop a professional profile in small, incremental ways during your PhD trajectory, and set yourself up for success in later stages of the program.

This workshop will feature a conversation with Rachel Burress (a former professional recruiter specializing in Linkedin recruiting), Alyssa Coltrain (an English PhD and professional writing coach with Ivy Experience), and our own Treviene Harris, an English PhD and now a Graduate Career and Professional Manager here at Pitt. 

The panelists will address such questions as: What obstacles do you run into when describing academic work experience for non-academic audiences? What do you wish you knew earlier that you know now? How can you prepare for diverse career opportunities when you’re dealing with potential financial and work stress during your PhD program? How can you begin to set up a professional profile so that you’re searchable to future recruiters? What preparation can you do to pitch your experience in your PhD as relevant work experience?

There will also be time for attendees to ask questions, share with the panelists and each other, and discuss.

Remember that you can always schedule a one-on-one advising session with us anytime during the semester, by appointment. Feel free to email us at your convenience to set something up. We’re also happy to take any recommendations or requests for events. We’re here for you!

We’ll be hosting another writing group closer to the end of the semester for some community and support during end-of-semester writing periods - so keep an eye out for that!