1. K NOW Y OUR S KILLS P RODUCE A C AREER (HSSER) Ruth Schemmer, PhD Assistant Dean for Career Development Graduate School 411 Kirkland

2. O VERVIEW Know Your Skills Produce a Career (how to get from Point A to Point B) Final Thoughts

3. Know Your S KILLS What do you think of when I say competency? o Required skills? Possible skills? What are some skills you have developed as a graduate student?

4. Know Your S KILLS Skill Areas (some from Michigan State’s work: http://grad.msu.edu/prep/docs/planyourwork.pdf ) http://grad.msu.edu/prep/docs/planyourwork.pdf Research, Scholarship, Creative Activities Leadership/Management Collaboration Communication Balance & Resilience

5. Know Your S KILLS Research, Scholarship, Creative Activities Defined a problem and designed approach; came up with solutions Courses, independent research Ability to manage data/large amounts of information (both qualitative and quantitative) Additional training (e.g., digital humanities, statistical training) Improvements made in processes, outcomes, new knowledge

6. Know Your S KILLS Leadership/Management Not necessarily elected or designated position Not everyone has same degree of leadership Campus/community activities; departmental responsibilities Teaching/Managing a classroom; Organizing entire semester Evaluating student performance Training newer TA’s Project management: taking multi-year project from initial question to be asked through to completion

7. Know Your S KILLS Collaboration More difficult for isolated, individual researchers Must seek outside opportunities: organizational involvement CFT, Writing Studio, CASPAR TA collaborations; co-teaching

8. Know Your S KILLS Communication Conference presentations/Journal articles Thesis/Dissertation Newsletter articles/website presence Successful proposals for funding—convincing someone to give you money! Ability to convey and explain complex concepts to undergraduates 3MT participation

9. Know Your S KILLS Balance & Resilience Ability to learn something new; self-taught is fine Spend time outside study carrel; interact with others

10. Know Your S KILLS Others??

12. P RODUCE A C AREER Consider Optional Paths: Alternate Academic (non-tenure track, higher education) Typical Positions: Academic Advisor; Program Coordinator; Development Assistant; Research Assistant/Associate; Content Specialist Potential settings: Writing Centers; Academic Departments; Teaching Centers; Development Offices, Research Institutes; Career Services; Libraries

13. P RODUCE A C AREER Non-academic: (business, government, non-profits) Typical Positions: Curator; Educational Liaison; Policy Analyst; Development Assistant; Analyst; Consultant; Educational Consultant Potential settings: Government Agencies; Museums; Health Care Organizations; Consulting Firms; Non-profits (e.g., arts, research, health, education); Think Tanks; K-12 Teaching

14. P RODUCE A C AREER Gain Experience Internships Volunteering at non-profits; Science outreach Grant-writing Interacting with undergraduates Campus/Community leadership Fellowships: pre- and post-doctoral

15. P RODUCE A C AREER Explore Options Network! ask for advice/suggestions/tips, not preferential treatment – Lit review for your career: gather stories, informational interviews – VUConnect.com: set up a profile, locate PhDs in interesting jobs – Alumni from your undergraduate institution – Alumni from your Department (ask professors for names) – Campus Staff (alternate academic careers) – LinkedIn (join groups for discussion; VU Alumni)

16. P RODUCE A C AREER Explore Options Chronicle of Higher Education: www.chronicle.comwww.chronicle.com Chronicle of Philanthropy: www.philanthropy.comwww.philanthropy.com Versatile PhD: www.Versatilephd.comwww.Versatilephd.com – Career Panels, HSS forum, PhD Career Finder – First access through Graduate School Career Development https://my.vanderbilt.edu/gradcareer/  Non-academic Careers  Exploring Options https://my.vanderbilt.edu/gradcareer/ Indeed.com – Web aggregator; read for skills in job descriptions

17. P RODUCE A C AREER Explore Options Career/Professional Development events & resources – Graduate School Career Development: https://my.vanderbilt.edu/gradcareer/ https://my.vanderbilt.edu/gradcareer/ – GradLEAF: https://my.vanderbilt.edu/gradleaf/https://my.vanderbilt.edu/gradleaf/

18. F INAL T HOUGHTS A degree of serendipity/chaos in any career journey. You may start below your skill level, with commensurate pay. Volunteering time and services may be necessary to demonstrate evidence of skills. Knowing your skills and creating a resume containing them is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for job searching: networking is a must!

19. C AREER D EVELOPMENT S ERVICES G RADUATE S CHOOL Ruth Schemmer; 411 Kirkland ruth.schemmer@vanderbilt.edu Twitter: @VUGradCareer Appts: Wednesdays, all day; Friday mornings Call 615-343-2727 for appt Walk-ins: Thursdays, 2:00 – 4:00 pm 15-minute short consultation (e.g., resume review)

20. T HANK Y OU & Q UESTIONS