Author: Jennifer Polk
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Transition Q & A: Kelly J. Baker
Meet Kelly, a religion PhD and scholar who’s been an adjunct and now is building up a career as a freelance writer. Here’s a bit of her story: Now, I’m building my career as a freelance writer while also wrangling a wise beyond her years five-year old and a laid back one-year old. I’m trying…
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Learning is my priority
It’s difficult to divide one’s attentions, especially among several significant projects. In my latest post for University Affairs I relate how my focus must be on my coach training, and update you on my progress. Here’s how the post begins: Earlier this month I completed the coaching supervision course. It started in the spring, and…
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Making a big change? Start small, be kind to yourself
Today’s post on University Affairs is a reflection on the nature of change and how we can best set ourselves up for success. When it comes to making changes in your life, start small. It’s all well and good to decide to exercise regularly, take up a vegan diet, or write for two hours every…
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Dealing with inner critics
One of the most important jobs I have as a coach is to recognize, point out, and help my clients deal with their inner critics. Noticing and coming up with a strategy to deal with inner critics is an important part of coaching. We all have these “gremlins” messing with our lives. They are there…
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Don’t shy away from informational interviews
I’ve just come from a virtual event hosted by Versatile PhD Boston all about informational interviews and networking. Fun! Anyways, earlier today I wrote this piece about informational interviews, and it’s now posted on my University Affairs blog. You’ll see that I make a distinction between informational interviews and networking proper. Here’s a chunk from…
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Transition Q & A: Andrew Miller
This summer I met Andrew Miller and talked to him about his transition from history PhD and sessional instructor (read: adjunct) to public servant and soon-to-be Strategic Leader for the City of Mississauga, Canada’s sixth most populous municipality (thank you, Wikipedia). He’s thrilled about his move and proud of the work he’s done over the…
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Transition Q & A: Bruce Harpham
I’m pleased to show you my latest Q & A, this one with a fellow U of T alum who’s now a banking industry professional. Bruce earned his BA from the University of Toronto then went on to do an MA at Western University and an information studies degree back at U of T. He…
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Coaching graduate students
Today’s blog post over at my University Affairs blog includes my thoughts on key themes when working with graduate students. Here’s the first (of six) points I make: 1. Taking control. Graduate students often don’t feel in control of their lives. Part of my work as a coach is to help clients take and feel…
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Transition Q & A: Christine Slocum
Christine Slocum, a sociology MA who left a PhD program after two years, is the latest Q & A participant. She writes about how she transitioned into her current job. Here’s how her post begins: You left your PhD program before finishing. Why? I left because, in retrospect, I was burned out. It was beginning…
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Feeling rooted in the midst of uncertainty
My latest for University Affairs is a personal reflection on where I am now and where I’m headed, finding certainty in the midst of much uncertainty. Here’s how it begins: I’m in the midst of packing up my apartment in anticipation of a move on Monday. “In the midst” is how I often feel these…