Tag: networking

  • What PhDs do for work (I asked, hundreds answered)

    What PhDs do for work (I asked, hundreds answered)

    Have you ever wondered what PhDs do if they don’t work as professors? Back in December I asked my PhD Twitter followers about their job titles. Here’s the tweet: I got hundreds of responses, from PhDs (and ABDs) across all fields, in many different countries. And yeah, a few folks work as adjuncts, postdocs, lecturers,…

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  • How to know what jobs are really like

    How to know what jobs are really like

    Here’s some common advice for folks considering going to graduate school, especially PhD programs: “Talk to the professor’s current and former students.” I suspect you know the rationale behind this advice. It’s so you know what it’s really like to work with an advisor before you enroll. After all, there’s only so much you can…

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  • Don’t shy away from informational interviews

    Many academics, broadly defined, claim to dislike networking, think it is insincere, that it’s not something they’re good at anyway. Now, I have many thoughts about all this, but let me offer just one in this post. I make a distinction between networking proper and informational interviews. The latter involves making contact with a person…

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  • Staying in touch

    One of the topics that came up on today’s #femlead Twitter chat was what to do after an informational interview. Amanda Page wondered what comes next. Well, after a thank you email, there isn’t necessarily a next, at least not in my experience. Sometimes, an informational interview serves its purpose and both parties know nothing…

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