At this stage, in parallel with your advanced scientific training, develop essential skills that translate to an array of career paths and build professional networks. Learning can occur in structured formats such as courses, seminars, workshops, or affinity groups or clubs, or can be more informal. Cast a wide net!
Thoughtfully research and map out your career development plan in parallel with your other activities right now to optimally prepare you for the next stage of your training.
Career Development Planning Tools
- Career Development Plan
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- A Career Development Plan (CDP), also known as an Individual Development Plan (IDP), is a useful tool to help you map and track your career development strategies. The University has developed templates to help you conceptualize your career development planning.
- Hard Skills vs Soft Skills: As you develop your plan, understand the different types of skills and identify what skills you want to learn to get you where you want to go.
- Career Exploration
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- VersatilePhD: Their mission is to help trainees identify, prepare for, and excel in professional careers with a career planner, career finder, career discovery and readiness modules and more.
- Aurora by Beyond the Professoriate: The University of Pittsburgh is an institutional member of Aurora, which has a 4-stage program to help you explore meaningful careers in academia and beyond.
- ImaginePhD: A career exploration and planning tool that you have access to through the University’s membership.
- InterSECT Job Simulation: An online platform for exploring future career options using true-to-life job simulations
- What can you be with a PhD: Key take-home messages from a PhD career symposium
- 10 Simple Rules: A collection of "10 Simple Rules" guides to help you make a variety of career choices
- FlamingoTM: This platform can help you explore different kinds of career options available to you, and then help you identify the skills required to help you obtain your ideal job. Follow the instructions to register and then use the link under "I Need Help Selecting a Career".
- Design Your Career: An interactive tool and exploration process from Yale University to help you identify your future career.
Develop your essential skills and build strong networks using a variety of resources.
Professional Development
- Professional Skills
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- iBiology Course Catalog: Online, self-paced courses that cover a range of topics to enhance your professional development as a trainee.
- Pitt's Open Scholarship and Research Impact Challenge: Asynchronous online course that will give you practical tools to make your research more accessible and impactful, more reproducible, more connected to the public welfare, and more in line with your personal values!
- LinkedIn: Harness the power of LinkedIn to enhance your professional presence and position you for pursuing a variety of careers.
- Communication Skills
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- Katz BOAH 2528 Strategic Communication Course for Postdocs: Learn how to communicate persuasively to influence key strategic stakeholders within and external to the organization.
- HSLS "How-To" Talks by Postdocs: Gain experience presenting by giving a talk on a topic that is entirely up to you!
- Poster Presentations: Tips for communicating effectively with your audience.
- NYU’s tips on how to create a research poster
- How to prepare a scientific poster
- Dissertation Writing
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- Pitt’s Writing Center: Pitt’s Writing Center provides one-on-one support and workshops for graduate students. The website also includes links to resources that are available to all trainees.
- Management and Leadership
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- Katz BOAH 2517 Interpersonal Skills for Managers I Course for Postdocs: Explicit training in interpersonal skills: presenting oneself to others, effective verbal and nonverbal communication, persuasion, and the use of interpersonal resources to become an effective manager and leader.
- Katz BOAH 2409 Organizational Behavior Course for Postdocs: Learn about leadership, interpersonal effectiveness, and challenges for managers in the 21st century.
- Responsible Conduct of Research & Ethics
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- CTSI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Center: The RCR Center serves as a resource for researchers at Pitt, providing education so that you can learn to effectively recognize and avoid research misconduct and understand the resources that are available to support your research.
Network Development
- Mentoring
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- Hillman Academy Mentoring Opportunities: Gain mentoring experience by volunteering with the Hillman Academy in a number of impactful ways.
- AAMC Mentoring Compacts for Graduate Students and Postdocs.
- Peer Mentoring Group: tips for developing and maintaining an effective peer mentoring group.
- National Research Mentoring Network-My Mentor: Connect with other trainees and researchers for anything from general questions about research to advice on professional development for scientists.
- Pitt Commons: Build your Pitt family through purposeful connections.
- Networking Events
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- Guide to Greater Pittsburgh Networking Organizations: A list of networking opportunities in the Greater Pittsburgh area.
- Pittsburgh Business Times Calendar: View upcoming events in the Pittsburgh business community.
- Pittsburgh Network After Work: Built on the idea that professionals in every industry all share a common goal-to develop strong relationships.
- Pittsburgh Young Professionals: Get connected with career-minded individuals to develop socially, professionally, and civically.
- Networking Information
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- 7 Networking Tips for Introverts, Extroverts, and the Socially Awkward: Whether you hate networking or love it, a few key tactics can help you make important connections.
- 9 Networking Tips for Introverts: Successful networking can be difficult for anyone, but it’s especially challenging if you’re introverted and shy by nature. Here are some networking tips to make it easier.
- The Four I’s of Networking: Building Strong Connections: Stanford’s “Tomorrow’s Professor” blog outlines four steps for meeting people and creating lasting connections.
- Networking: The Path to Opportunity: Webinar from the OACD overviews networking by personality types.
- The Four I’s of Networking: Building Strong Connections: Stanford’s "Tomorrow’s Professor" blog outlines four steps for meeting people and creating lasting connections.
- Networking: A Collection: Learn how to ask a stranger for help getting a job, talk to someone who doesn’t make eye contact, and more from this collection of articles related to networking.
- Professional Organizations
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- Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC): The PTC helps you build an external network of colleagues who can support your career development.
- National Postdoctoral Association (NPA): The University of Pittsburgh is an institutional member of the NPA, which has numerous opportunities for networking for its members.
Personal Development
- Finances
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- Post-PhD Financial Success: A webinar from VersatilePhD on how to prepare for and navigate your transition.
- Post-PhD Financial Success: Financial checklist from VersatilePhD on how to prepare for and navigate your transition.
- Wellness
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- Wellness for Life at Pitt: Pitt provides resources for you that covers 8 dimensions of wellness-physical, emotional, financial, environmental, intellectual, occupational, social, and mindful.
- Thrive at Pitt: resources at Pitt to help you not just survive but thrive.
- Pitt athletic and recreational facilities: Being active reduces stress and helps you better manage your workload. Find what fits your exercise needs here.
Tools
- Communication Templates
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- Research Poster Templates: Poster templates with Pitt's brand
- Report Templates: Use Pitt's templates to enhance your documents
- PowerPoint templates: Variations of Pitt branding for your PowerPoint presentations
View archived webinars in our video library and use our searchable resource directory to find more essential skills resources, which will position you for the next stage of your training experience on the way to your ideal career.
How You Will Benefit
Expand your range of professionals skills
Seeking out experiences or learning opportunities to develop professional skills that are recognized as valuable across employment sectors, such as leadership, personnel management, public speaking, and written and interpersonal communications, will differentiate you from your peers.
Develop a network of professional relationships
Participating in learning communities is a highly productive means to expanding your network of professional relationships. Since networking is the single most effective strategy for identifying mentors and discovering hidden opportunities, learning communities are vital career resources.
Gain new perspectives on a variety of career options
Networking with individuals from a variety of employment sectors will expose you to the responsibilities and expectations of those fields. Schedule “informational interviews” with individuals in positions that interest you to learn how to prepare for a similar career – most professionals will graciously share their career experiences.
Start to conceptualize your career path as a lifelong journey
Your transition from training to the workforce will most likely be the first of many employment transitions. Employment patterns suggest that your success throughout your career will depend upon the recognition of your translatable skills and your adaptability to new employment opportunities. A structured career development course will provide in-depth guidance on career exploration, goal setting, and accountability strategies contributing to career success.
What's Next
Next ADAPT TM Stage - Career-Specific Skills Development >