Rackham Graduate School

Tips, Information, and Concepts to Digest as You Prepare for Your Professional Future

As grad students you have the ripe, albeit sometimes confusing, opportunity for ample feedback on how to present your professional self to employers (be they academic or non). Below we have included some easy tips and big picture concepts to help guide your thinking on presenting a professional self to employers.

1. Develop a Core Message - Sometimes it is overwhelming deciding what components of your story to share. Ultimately we recommend uncovering themes or patterns about your professional self. These themes drive the core message. If you only had a sentence or two to share with employers what do you really want them to know? Strong presentation derives from knowing your core message and building out presentation from there.
   
2. You Don’t Have to Be an Extravert to Build Community - We often obtain feedback from self-identified introverts that they can’t network. This premise ignores the strength introverts bring in developing deep relationships. Everyone networks in different ways and what works for one person may not work for another. What’s most important is you recognize the power of building a community and you take intentional steps to develop one.
   
3. Play to What You’re Good at - Often grad students come to us seeking advice on how to execute a job search based on what others have done or solely on our expertise. Although there is great value in gathering information on what’s worked in the past, what’s in the literature, and what career staff knows at the end of the day you are still executing your search. Really who knows you better than yourself? A strong job search relies on using your strengths.
   
4. Know Your Audience - Academic and non-academic employers share some characteristics but differ in substantive ways. Community colleges are not the same as large research institutions. Knowing where you are directing your approach to matters! In an academic search, institutions want you to demonstrate knowing who they are, what they are committed to, and why you fit. Similarly companies and organizations are vested in your understanding of their work and what you bring.
   
5. Stay Abreast of Presentation Trends - Do you know including “References available upon Request” in a resume is passé yet references can be listed in a CV? Do resumes really need to be one page? What are some of the differences between a research and a teaching CV? These are common questions we want you to have answers to. Stay current on what’s happening in the world of presentation so employers know your appearance is relevant and timely!
   
6. CVs are NOT Historical Documents, They’re Marketing Tools - A CV is a great way to showcase the depth of your academic experience; however if the emphasize centers on providing a historical record you are losing a ripe opportunity to craft a CV that speaks to your target audience. Just like in resume writing a powerful CV is a well-organized, content rich, focused document marketing your core message and responding to employers. 
   
7. 7. Get Feedback From Your Advisor and… - Many grad students rely heavily on advisor or committee feedback in their job search. We recommend reaching out to your advisor for feedback but we don’t endorse stopping there. Feedback from postdocs, program alums, and junior faculty is equally useful as these community members more recently engaged in a job search. 
   
8. Intentional Redundancy is OK - We sometimes get asked if you should discuss the same things in your resume/CV as your cover letter or in interviews. It is, in fact, a positive thing to repeat your presentation of key experiences. Yes, you may highlight or add nuance to the richness of your story components but ultimately you can and should practice intentional repetitiveness.
   
9. Become Friends with Social Media - The use of social media is increasingly common for job seekers and employers. Entities like LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs, etc., are great ways to present a professional online self, uncover opportunities, and build community. Academic networking sites like academia.edu are also becoming more popular. Be a savvy user of social media. Know that even if you are not using it chances are the employers hiring you are.

Amy Homkes-Hayes is a Coordinator in The Career Center. In her role she regularly works with Master’s and Ph.D. students on academic and non-academic job searches. She can be reached at ahomkes@umich.edu.

Published in: PLAN Articles Resources

Keywords: profession plan networks career planning career center