Category: Uncategorized
-
Astronaut advice for career exploration
Dear Reader, Did you watch any of the NASA livestream on Monday, when the Artemis II astronauts were on their lunar flyby? I had it on for a lot of the day. So exciting. (And, yes, I’ll be checking on things as they splashdown today at 8:07pm EDT!) There were a bunch of great moments,…
-
Read this before you rewrite your resume again
Dear Reader, I spoke with a PhD researcher this week who’s applying for roles in and out of academia. You might think I’m going to say that’s too scattered, but I didn’t get that impression about her job search. She seemed quite focused on her area of expertise, and has been finding open roles and…
-
You’re job searching. But it’s not working.
Dear Reader, You’re doing things. Reading job ads. Tweaking your materials. Applying. But it’s not really working. What would it be like if you were applying and interviewing for roles you were excited about, in places you wanted to live, with employers you felt shared your values (for the most part, anyway)? What if you…
-
Why what you’re putting out there isn’t landing
Dear Reader, Can writing on LinkedIn actually help your job search? It’s a question that’s on the minds of many of the PhDs I work with. Recently, I attended a workshop led by Julia Gray, PhD, who teaches academics how to write like humans. And I was struck by her approach. Not because I don’t…
-
What PhDs get wrong about career coaches
Dear Reader, Here’s a misconception PhDs often have about career coaches: That you’re paying for advice. I get why people think this. And I also get why you wouldn’t want to do that, especially if money is tight. I mean, advice is everywhere, and it’s not hard to find it. ChatGPT will give you all…
-
Leaving academia? Last chance to register for IMPACT 2026
Dear [FIRST NAME GOES HERE], Quick reminder that IMPACT 2026 is tomorrow, and I’ll be leading a short session called Leave Toward Something. In that session, we’ll begin creating what I call a “leaving inventory.” When people leave academia, the focus is usually on what isn’t working anymore. Burnout. Mismanagement. Toxic departments. Totally valid. And…
-
It’s not your resume (and reminder about IMPACT 2026 – this Thursday)
Dear [FIRST NAME GOES HERE], I was recently a guest on Paulina’s Cossette’s YouTube channel/podcast. (She teaches academics how to turn themselves into editors and she’s awesome.) We talked about how lot of job searching PhDs assume their problem is their resume. Hot take: Your resume might need work, but working on it might be…
-
“What did you actually do as a professor?”
Dear Reader, In a small-group coaching session, we talked about something that makes a lot of academics uncomfortable, namely, selling ourselves. Someone joked that maybe we need to borrow a bit of “gym-bro energy” from corporate spaces. We laughed. But the discomfort underneath it was real. Academia does teach you to advocate for your work,…
-
Leaving well (yes, that’s a thing)
Dear Reader, tl;dr: Check out IMPACT 2026 (5 Mar, $49). More below. One of my clients is a long-time tenured professor sorting out her next steps. Recently, she’s been documenting her experiences. She’s reflecting on what she’s done, and in particular on what it’s all meant for the people, processes, and products—to put it in…
-
The real work of leaving academia
Dear Reader, If you’re questioning your professional future, you might be spending a lot of time on LinkedIn and job boards. You click the Jobs tab and start scrolling. You search for relevant roles using keywords. In between, you tweak your resume for the nth time. In a low moment, you check out a graduate…