nonacademic job search Archives - Beyond The Tenure Track

Pushing Through the Fear

FatimahPhD2018-10-02T02:29:26+00:00June 14th, 2016|

Part 3 of a 3-part series, Pushing Through the Fear Get information and take advantage of resources in support of your goal. Information and experimentation can take the fear out of the unknown. Regardless of what specific career path you’ve chosen, the more prepared and knowledgeable you are about your prospective career choice, the easier the transition and job acquisition will be. Take time to nurture your goal. There are no shortcuts in getting what you want, but at least you are working toward a goal and vision that you can own rather than one that was handed to you as default because supposedly “people with a degree in __________ do this ___________ (fill in the career)” or “people your age do that__________” (fill in the career)—or any other standard line you’ll hear. To be prepared for your goal, do your research into [...]

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Motivations and Misfits

FatimahPhD2018-10-02T02:29:26+00:00May 10th, 2016|

I know what it’s like to be in the academy and look outside of it with curiosity. During the last two years of my PhD program, I began feeling frustrated with my choices and deep down wanted to try something new. I’m not sure I belong here, but where is the right fit for me? I enjoy the life of the mind. I enjoy my friends and colleagues. I understand how academia works. I don’t know how the rest of the working world works, or where I fit in it. But who can I talk to about this? Who can help me think through the implications and provide feedback on my thought about what to do next in my career? I tried my university’s career services. I slogged through sessions of piecemeal information. I made every attempt to keep an open mind [...]

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Are you ready to be part of the 75%?

FatimahPhD2018-10-02T02:29:26+00:00April 19th, 2016|

A recent study revealed that about 75% of PhDs will work in environments where other competencies are more important than research (Stoddard & Campa 2014). Now, more than ever it’s important to build the competencies and skills you are gaining on a daily basis in your graduate programs and to identify where you need to grow your skills to be competitive in the postacademic workplace. You may be asking, When should I start building skills for postacademic careers? I get this question a lot from graduate students who wonder when is the right time to begin devoting energy to building skills and exploring careers that will serve them beyond the academy. I totally understand the concern: you have a lot of work to do just to successfully get through your program, so you don’t want to get distracted too early. When it [...]

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The Most Important 15 Minutes of Your Job Search

FatimahPhD2018-10-02T02:29:26+00:00March 1st, 2016|

It goes without saying that the job interview is super important. (Did you see how I underlined, italicized, and bolded “super”?) The invitation to interview is the company’s way of saying: “We think you have potential here. We’ll invest the 15-30 minutes in our busy day to talk to you and see if there’s a fit between what we need and what you do. And, oh yeah, we also want to make sure that we’ll like you and that you’ll fit into our organizational culture and team.” That’s a ton of information to determine in a single interview. Some companies will invite job candidates to a brief 15-minute interview by phone or Skype, otherwise known as the Screening Interview. Then if they want to continue to explore your candidacy, they’ll offer a second and possibly even a third interview that are more substantial [...]

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