Dear ,

Imagine this: Your academic department hosts weekly or biweekly Zoom meetings. Each time, one former student is celebrated, their career highlighted. A current student or faculty member asks interview questions such as

• “What’s the most fun part of your work?”
• “What’s most meaningful about it?”
• “What would surprise grad student you?”

Everyone in the department, past and present, is invited. (And others too, as space permits.) If the department is small, they can join forces with colleagues in similar fields, or even with a department in the same field but at a different institution.

All former students are celebrated; there’s no “well, she doesn’t do history anymore” or “he’s no longer working in science.” Everyone’s invited, including adjuncts, postdocs, professors, and all the rest, no matter how far removed from academia or the discipline their careers now seem.

And when I say “former students,” I mean that — it doesn’t matter if someone graduated with a PhD or left after one semester.

Read the full post on my blog! I share a few simple "rules," why this works, and the impact this programming can have on all involved.

***

Heads up: I'm planning on launching my PhD Career Clarity Program in the next month or two (#FingersCrossed). Right now I've got a group of 30 PhDs and graduate students who are going through the content and helping me improve it.

The program will be a great option for folks who don't have access to career services from their (current or former) institutions, or want a more focused self-paced course they can do online. I'll definitely let you know once it's available :).

Cheers,

Jen