Prior Years: Career Club

2023 SESSIONS:

2023 Session 1 - Careers for PhDs (Jan. 18, 2023) in person (Alan Magee Scaife 1101)

Students began the career exploration process by reflecting on their skills, values, and interests, and exploring careers that match their profile. This session involves small group discussions to enable students to better clarify what they are looking for in a career.

2023 Session 2 - Conversations with Mentors (Feb. 15, 2023) online (Zoom)

This session provided space and structure for students and mentors to have conversations about student career goals. It featured case-based discussions between groups of students and mentors on topics around career planning that included alignment of mutual expectations, work-life balance, and finding time for career planning. It concluded with mentor-trainee(s) meetings to begin discussions about individualized career plans.

Mentoring-related Resources:

  • "Mentoring Up": Learning to Manage Your Mentoring Relationships - Lee, S.; McGee, R.; Pfund, C.; Branchaw, J. book chapter in The Mentoring Continuum: From Graduate School Through Tenure, Syracuse University Press, Glenn Wright, editor, 2015.

  • Questionnaire for Aligning Expectations in Research Mentoring Relationships - Revised by Steve Lee and Stephanie House, originated from Ingrid Moses, Adapted by Margaret Kiley and Kate Cadman

Thank you to Dr. Tracey Baas at UTSA for her input in the development of this session!

2023 Session 3 - Building Your Network: Part 1 (March 15, 2023)

Alumni whose careers align with interests of students in the club were invited to attend Sessions 3 and 4! Session 3 was  stimulating and insightful for this cohort. Thank you to alumni Dr. Aliyah M. Weinstein, PhD, Dr. Austin Nuschke, Dr. Courtney Andersen, Dr. Morgan Preziosi, PhD, Dr. Mondraya Howard, PhD, M(ASCP), and Dr. Siobhan Addie for joining the group, and meeting and providing advice to the club students.

2023 Session 4 - Building Your Network: Part 2 (April 19, 2023)

More Pitt alumni with careers aligned with students' interests joined this session to network with club students. Thank you to alumni Dr. Gregory Logan, PhD, JD, Dr. Jessica Toothaker, PhD, Dr. Kellsye Paula Fabian, Dr. Kylia Williams, PhD, Dr. Michael Ding, PhD!

2023 Session 5: Resume/CV & Cover Letter Review (May 17, 2023) online (Zoom)

This session provided club students with best practices, individual feedback, and insights on their CVs, Resumes, and cover letters from invited panelists - Dr. Tracy Costello, PhD, C. Holly Wilbanks, Dr. Danielle Minteer, PhD, PMP, and Dr. Ora Weisz! 

Students prepared CVs, resumes, or cover letters ahead of time, which was distributed among the consultants based on the students' career interests. The consultants provided feedback on these material, and shared best practices on improving these materials to help the students stand out when applying to future positions.

2023 Session 6 - Marketing Yourself (June 21, 2023) in person BST S120

Students will learn about best practices for elevator pitches, use of LinkedIn, and reaching out to professionals to make connections.

 2021 Sessions

Explore the Club's resources and details!

Session 1 - Careers for PhDs (Jan. 21, 2021)

Students begin the career exploration process by reflecting on their skills, values, and interests, and exploring careers that match their profile. This session involves small group discussions to enable students to better clarify what they are looking for in a career.

Resources:

Session 2 - Conversations with Mentors (Feb. 18, 2021)

This session provides space and structure for students and mentors to have conversations about student career goals. It will feature case-based discussions between groups of students and mentors on topics around career planning will include alignment of mutual expectations, work-life balance, and finding time for career planning. It concludes with mentor-trainee(s) meetings to begin discussions about individualized career plans.

Case-study and discussion guide

Mentoring-related Resources:

  • "Mentoring Up": Learning to Manage Your Mentoring Relationships - Lee, S.; McGee, R.; Pfund, C.; Branchaw, J. book chapter in The Mentoring Continuum: From Graduate School Through Tenure, Syracuse University Press, Glenn Wright, editor, 2015.

  • Questionnaire for Aligning Expectations in Research Mentoring Relationships - Revised by Steve Lee and Stephanie House, originated from Ingrid Moses, Adapted by Margaret Kiley and Kate Cadman

Thank you to Dr. Tracey Baas at UTSA for her input in the development of this session!

Session 3 - Building Your Network: Part 1 (March 18, 2021)

Networking with SOM Alumni

Dr. Gina Coudriet and Dr. Arturo Lopez Pineda 

Career club members learned about varied career paths and choices our alumni take, and networked with them in small-groups!

Session 4 - Building Your Network: Part 2 (April 22, 2021)

Networking (Part 2) with SOM Alumni

Career club members learned about varied career paths and choices our alumni take, and networked with them in small-groups!

 

Session 5: Resume/CV & Cover Letter Review (May 20, 2021)

Career club members participated Resume/CV preparation workshop with

Students learned about best practices for CVs, resumes, and cover letters for different types of jobs. They prepared resumes/CVs for individually identified job posting that appealed to each of them, and received feedback from a panelist whose experience matched each student's career interests. 

Dr. Costello's slides from her extremely informative talk are here!

Session 6 - Marketing Yourself (June 17, 2021)

Students learned about best practices for elevator pitches, use of LinkedIn, and composing invitations to guests for the Career Club Networking Event

Dr. Costello's slides with valuable opinions and advice and her worksheet with tips for writing to networking connections are available!

This program was supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

Burroughs Welcome Fund Logo