Author: Jennifer Polk
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How to take a professional headshot on your phone for $0 at home
Guest post by a PhD candidate Jens’ note: This blog post by a PhD candidate who wishes to remain anonymous. When I read it, it struck me as incredibly useful advice for PhDs and other academics looking to improve their online presence. I last had professional headshots done in 2017 and since then I’ve grown…
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Co-working sessions this spring/summer (May-Aug dates)
I host free co-working sessions on Zoom each Wednesday morning. If you’ve joined us in the past, you know how awesome it is to write (or grade, or answer emails, or design slides) in community! Sign up to join us by filling out this form: Sign Up for Free Co-Working Sign up once to attend any co-working…
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How to use PhD career assessments during your job search
Imagine this scenario: You go online, answer a handful of questions, and then *poof* a website tells you your perfect job. These websites and career assessments do exist. There are even specific PhD career assessments! Assessments geared toward PhDs include Imagine PhD (designed for humanities and social science PhDs), myIDP (especially for lab-based scientists), and…
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Guest on the Ed.D. Pathway Podcast
One of my favourite things to do is join other people’s podcasts as a guest! I love nerding out about my work. I recently joined Matthew Downing on his show, the Ed.D. Pathway Podcast (I’m episode 9). In our conversation I shared a bit about my journey, my decision to hire a career coach, and start my…
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Leaving academia? You don’t have to give up what you love
Here’s a common thought PhDs have when thinking about leaving academia: “I love A, B, C, and worry I will have to give them all up.” And I completely get it. But actually, you don’t. Let me explain using myself as an example here. As much as my PhD was a challenging time in many…
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What are your summer plans, PhD?
Spring looms in my part of the world and that means summer will be upon us before you know it. And then fall, and winter, and hopefully the pandemic will actually be over by then. But I digress. The reason I’m writing this post is to check in with you about your summer plans. If…
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You’re invited! Personal Branding & Networking on LinkedIn for Industry Professionals
I’m participating in this free online event this Saturday morning (19 March), starting at 11am EDT. This is for all PhDs who want to better leverage LinkedIn their job search and just generally have a better grasp of what their brand is and how to use it to make the world a better place. And…
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How PhDs can pick references for jobs outside academia
This is a question a lot of PhDs have when contemplating a job search outside academia. Who do you ask to be a reference for you? In an academic context, you need letters of recommendation for almost everything. From applying to graduate programs and jobs, submitting grant proposals, even going up for tenure and promotion.…
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You’re invited to a book launch party!
My friend Anna Marie Trester, PhD, has a new book out and I’m hosting a virtual book launch party! Woot! Here are the quick details: Putting More You Into Your Career A virtual book launch party for Employing Linguistics: Thinking and Talking about Careers for Linguists.Thursday, 10 March, starting at 2pm EST (11am PST).Register for…
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What stories are you telling about yourself?
During Tuesday’s community Zoom call with my PhD Career Clarity Program folks we discussed the power narratives (stories) and expectations, and how those interact with the PhD job search. It was a great conversation. Stories and expectations can weigh very heavily on you, whether they come from family and friends, academic culture in general or…