Author: Jennifer Polk
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What jobs my clients get
Dear Reader, Last week, four different people asked me about what kinds of jobs my clients get. And, while I shouldn’t admit this, the first thing that popped into my head each time was, “I don’t know and I don’t care!” I know. Great thing for a career coach to think. I’m being sincere. But…
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Employers don’t care about your PhD
Dear Reader, Employers don’t care about your PhD. Let’s talk about that. Consider these two different (simplified) perspectives on hiring: Your perspective: “I spent years earning this degree. It represents expertise, effort, accomplishment, and a huge chunk of my professional life. I want that to matter.” The employer’s perspective: “I have a thing that needs…
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You might be asking the wrong job search questions
Dear Reader, Last week I was on a panel about careers beyond academia, and we got questions like these: “When is the right time to leave academia? Am I too old to pivot to industry?” “I’ve done three postdocs and now I’m not getting interviews. What’s happening?” “My CV is too long. What do I…
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What kind of job search help do you actually need?
Dear Reader, “I have a PhD and I need job search help” can mean at least six completely different things. Let’s get into it! I know this because I hear from professors, postdocs, and other PhDs looking for help with their careers all the time. 1. You don’t know what you want You know something…
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Two free career panels next week
Dear Reader, I’ve got a couple invites to free online things to share with you, and a discount code. I’m participating in two free online career panels next week. First up, on Thursday, 17 Sep, join me for “Transitioning from Academia to Industry,” a panel hosted by ScientifyResearch. We’ll be talking about communicating your academic…
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Free Wednesday co-working starts again tomorrow
Dear Reader, A new round of my free Wednesday co-working sessions is underway, starting tomorrow. Join me and other PhDs online to get some work done. We meet Wednesdays from 10–11:30am ET, and you’re welcome to come once, occasionally, or every week. Grading, analyzing data, planning research trips, dealing with emails, drafting resumes… we do…
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What would it take to make this your last academic year? (New video)
Dear Reader, It’s mid-August, which means a new academic year is either here or nearly here. Maybe you’re excited about it. Maybe you’re already tired just thinking about it. 😬 Or maybe you’re thinking, “Ugh, I really don’t want to be doing this a year from now.” That was the subject of a conversation I…
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Is your job search as effective as it could be?
Dear Reader, People sometimes assume they need to figure a few things out before working with me. For example, that you need to know what direction you want to go in—what specific kind of job you want—before getting my help. That makes sense for some kinds of job search support (LinkedIn profile updates, resume writing,…
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The problem may not be your resume
Dear Reader, I read a post recently arguing that the hardest part of leaving academia is learning to translate your experience into language employers understand. And, like, no. I disagree. Translating your experience can absolutely be difficult. If you’ve spent years describing your work in the language of academia, it takes practice to talk about…
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When “stay or leave” is the wrong question
Dear Reader, Last week, I contributed a talk to an online summit about rethinking success, security, and meaningful work in and beyond academia. One of the underlying messages is that “Should I stay in academia or leave?” is often the wrong question to ask yourself. That’s because this question bundles together a bunch of different…