Developing the WHOLE You:
Professional Development
Opportunities for Graduate
Students at UC
Student Orientation 2014
Margaret Hanson, PhD
Professor of Physics
Associate University Dean
The Graduate School
August, 2014
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Resources for your success
 Be aware of opportunities both inside AND
outside your unit or department.
 Develop professional skills that increase
your success in graduate school.
 Learn what employers are looking for and
develop those skills.
 Prepare yourself for a variety of job
opportunities.
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What is professional development?
Definition: The continuous process of
acquiring new knowledge and skills
that relate to one's profession, job
responsibilities, or work environment.
Won’t I get this in my department?
Yes, some. But not all the important skills to make you
successful and competitive will come from your department
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What do Employers think of you?
The U.S. Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) studied what
employers value in graduate students (defined as: students
with Master’s or Doctoral degrees).
They are:
 Advanced content knowledge
 Ability to analyze and synthesize data or information
 High-level skills to examine & solve complex problems
 Creative intellect to inspire innovation and drive discovery
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What do Employers find lacking?
CGS also uncovered that many employers found many
graduate students ill-prepared for real world experiences.
Problems identified included:
 Collaborating with individuals outside one’s expertise
 Creating and delivering presentations
 Delivering outcomes on schedule and within budget
 Working in a team environment
 Project Management
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How will this effect my career?
Employers often use: “Behavioral Interviewing”. How you
behaved in the past will predict how you will behave in the
future, i.e., past performance predicts future performance.
 Every day, you have an opportunity to work on these
skills in your day-to-day professional and personal life.
 However, you will more quickly learn them if you get
some instruction and guidance first.
 The University and the Graduate School offer MANY
opportunities to do that. Take advantage of them.
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Useful skills: NOW and LATER
Increasing your skills in these areas will help you be more
successful in graduate school:
 Developing your educational and career path
 Working with your advisors and fellow students
 Communicating your research/scholarship (orally & written)
 Managing: time, stress, and conflicts that arise
 Staying motivated, healthy and productive.
These skills will also benefit you after graduation when you
enter your career field.
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The Graduate School’s
Professional Development Institute
Location on the web: grad.uc.edu/student-life/grow
Organized by the Graduate School, but supported through
many partnerships across campus.
Provides the overlying structure for a number of initiatives
for new, current, graduating and graduated master’s and
doctoral students.
It includes: classes, workshops, career resources, and
leadership opportunities
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PD 7023: Career Professionalism
This is a 2-credit course that covers a variety of topics
critical for student success in school, and in later careers.
Web information: grad.uc.edu/student-life/grow/institute
Topics covered in the class include:
Networking, Managing Time, Projects, Stress and
Conflict, Leadership and Management skills,
Communicating, Negotiating, Innovation and Creativity,
Working in Teams.
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Preparing Future Faculty (PFF)
For students considering an academic position, but it also
provides valuable training for many other career paths.
Web address: grad.uc.edu/student-life/grow/pff
 Classes in: 1. Effective Teaching 2. Academic Jobs
 Variety of Teaching Workshops through out the year
 Reading Groups discussing current literature in the field.
 Opportunity to be mentored by a current teaching faculty.
If you complete all portions, you earn a Graduate Certificate.
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Graduate Association of Teaching
Enhancement (GATE)
A student-run, campus-wide network of graduate students with
the aim to provide information, training and instruction on
innovative teaching methods and academic career guidance.
Web location: uc.edu/cetl/gta/gate
This is mostly through popular Workshops:
Get Up and Go!, Teach me to Teach, Developing your teaching
philosophy, Creating Portfolios, Cheating in the Classroom, etc.
Beyond teaching skills, members develop leadership, team and
project management skills important to employers.
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Graduate Student Governance
Association (GSGA)
University-wide organization of graduate students serving
as executive board for the Graduate Student Assembly.
Each degree program has a local GSA (Grad Student
Association) president that attends monthly meetings.
Web location: uc.edu/gsga
Skill Opportunities if you serve: Leadership, governance,
problem solving, committees and team working, working
across disciplines for the benefit of fellow graduate
students.
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Career Development Center
Location: 140 University Pavilion (West Campus)
Web address: uc.edu/career
Important resources:
 Career Fairs, HireUC.
 Resume, C.V. and cover letter preparation, self-assessment
 Mock Interviews, “Elevator Pitch”, Career Planning
 Implementing a job search, building a career identity, etc.
 Available to you now and AFTER you graduate!
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Begin preparing for your
career path now!
Do not wait until you are about to graduate to begin developing
the broader skills necessary to successfully find a good job!
Behavioral Interviewing: Be ready to speak to skills you have
applied when asked. You do so by mindfully engaging NOW.
Take time to invest in yourself and your broader skills and
abilities to allow you to be more successful.
If you have any questions, please contact me:
Associate Dean, Margaret Hanson
Margaret.Hanson@uc.edu
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