Career Services Office
GCCSO Update - Week of October 22, 2007
Topics in this issue:
- Upcoming Graduate College Workshops
- Overcoming the Impostor Syndrome
- Dissertation Writing Workshop
- New Thesis Deposit Guidelines
- Research-Oriented Science Job and Information Fair
- Job Fair Strategies: Making Connections
- Recent Articles About Career and Job Search Strategies
- The Graduate College Career Services Office
1. Upcoming Graduate College Workshops
SCOLARLY WRITING AS CREATIVE WRITING FOR HUMANISTS AND SOCIAL SCIENTISTS
Monday, October 22
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
314A Illini Union
Facilitated by Prof. Cara Finnegan, Dept. of Speech Communication, this workshop begins from the assumption that scholarship is first and foremost a creative act, the seminar will help students develop work habits that enable them not only to write efficiently and productively, but more importantly to do so with joy, confidence, and self-care. This workshop will not be a "how-to-write-a-dissertation" workshop. It will instead focus on the process of writing itself, recognizing that scholarship only happens as a result of our daily struggle to string words together to create knowledge. The workshop will be interactive and will include a number of small group and individual exercises.
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS FOR THE FUTURE: NETWORKING SKILLS
Monday, October 29
3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
210 Illini Union
Led by Amber Marks, Assistant Director of Course Sharing and Professional Development for the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), this workshop will demonstrate effective techniques as well as highlight the distinctive opportunities and constraints facing graduate students as they build relationships within their career area.
INTERVIEWING SKILLS FOR NON-ACADEMIC JOBS
Monday, November 5
3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
407 Illini Union
This workshop is designed to help graduate students optimize their interview performance for jobs in industry and government. It will cover interview formats, types of questions (including behavior-based questions), how to prepare, strategies for responding to tough questions, and topics to avoid.
For a complete calendar of GCCSO workshops for graduate students, visit the Graduate College Calendar of Events for Graduate Student Professional Development at www.grad.uiuc.edu/careerservices/workshops/
2. OVERCOMING THE IMPOSTOR SYNDROME
Thursday, October 25
5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Room 1404 Siebel Center (201 North Goodwin)
Dr. Valerie Young is a nationally renowned speaker and the author of How to Feel as Bright and Capable As Everyone Seems to Think You Are. She earned her doctoral degree from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst where her research focused on understanding and eliminating the psychological barriers preventing women and men from achieving their full potential. Her presentation draws on over thirty years of research and of helping people to find happier, healthier, more satisfying personal and professional lives. More information about Dr. Young and her research is available online at www.ImpostorSyndrome.com
3. DISSERTATION WRITING WORKSHOP
Friday, October 26
1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Illini Union Room A
This workshop is free, but registration is required. Register at: www.grad.uiuc.edu/Careerservices/workshops/dissertation_reg.asp
Led by Greg Lambeth, this workshop focuses on some of the difficulties typically encountered by doctoral students writing the dissertation and proposes time management and organizational strategies to solve these problems. Participants will evaluate how a variety of issues, including procrastination, perfectionism, adviser conflicts and balancing personal life with academic responsibilities, affect the dissertation and propose specific solutions. The primary goal is to help participants identify the obstacles to progress on their dissertation projects and develop realistic, pragmatic solutions.
4. **NEW** THESIS DEPOSIT GUIDELINES
The Graduate College Thesis Office has recently updated its Thesis Handbook and is currently implementing a few format changes for December 2007 deposits. A new version of the thesis handbook is available at http://www.grad.uiuc.edu/thesis/. Students planning to deposit for December graduation are encouraged to attend the upcoming Thesis Deposit Workshop on November 6 in 407 Illini Union at 5:00 pm. Details at www.webtools.uiuc.edu/calendar/Calendar?ACTION=VIEW_EVENT&calId=116&skinId=66&DATE=10/19/2007&eventId=61726 .
5. RESEARCH-ORIENTED SCIENCE JOB AND INFORMATION FAIR
Thursday, October 30
9:00 - 3:30 p.m. (closed noon to 1 p.m.)
Illini Union rooms A, B, C
If you are a scientist, this is a great opportunity to meet with companies, look for positions, start your network, and find out about company research. Company reps from all aspects of Biotechnology will attend. Open to students pursuing a B.S., M.S., or Ph.D., and postdocs. Business attire required. Sponsored by the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Career Services Office, www.biotech.uiuc.edu/career. For more information, contact Kathe Brinkmann at brinkman@uiuc.edu.
6. JOB FAIR STATEGIES: MAKING CONNECTIONS
Wednesday, October 24
5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
124 Burrill Hall
Learn how to work a job fair. This workshop will cover how to prepare for a job fair, how to present yourself, and give insights on interviewing at job fairs. Co-sponsored by the School of Molecular and Celluar Biology and the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Career Services Office. For more information, call 333-1378.
7. RECENT ARTICLES ABOUT CAREER AND JOB SEARCH STRATEGIES
THE GRADUATE EDUCATION MISMATCH
Political science study points out that some of what's missing in graduate education would make the new Ph.D.'s more desirable as job candidates - especially outside research institutions.
www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/10/11/grad
INAPPROPRIATE QUESTIONS
A Ph.D. in religious studies begins her second year of a job search knowing that she and her partner will face stresses that other couples don't.
http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2007/10/2007101101c/careers.html
8. THE GRADUATE COLLEGE CAREER SERVICES OFFICE
The Graduate College Career Services Office (GCCSO) assists University of Illinois graduate students with decision making and planning for career paths both within and beyond the academy. It is a centralized resource for graduate students from all disciplines, with services focused especially on the needs of graduate students in the humanities, the social sciences, the fine arts, and other areas in which students are not presently served by dedicated, discipline-based career services offices. GCCSO staff provides advising, special programs, resources, and referrals to help students with career choices and with the job search. For more information, see www.grad.uiuc.edu/careerservices/
Career Services Office
The Graduate College
801 South Wright Street
204 Coble Hall, MC-322
Champaign, IL 61820-6210
Phone: (217) 333-4610
Fax: (217) 333-8019
GradCareerServices@uiuc.edu
