Programs

Throughout the academic year, GSAS Career Services hosts a variety of workshops, panels, and speaker events on career and professional development topics related to academic careers and professional pursuits beyond academe.  Below is a list of programs and their frequency.  Please contact GSAS Career Services at if you would like to request a special program or share comments/ideas.

GSAS Career Services programs are open to all graduate students and postdocs at U.Va., including its professional schools, unless otherwise noted.

Succeeding in Graduate School

Fall Semester
Designed especially for new graduate students but open to all, this workshop offers concrete advice on how to manage your graduate experience well.  A model of graduate student development (entry, engagement, exit) will be introduced that covers the common challenges graduate students face. Discipline and time management, self-assessment and flexibility, motivation and persistence, work/life balance, and interpersonal adroitness are skills that successful students develop in graduate school and carry with them into the professional world.   Topics include strategies for the timely degree completion and the importance of proactive career decision-making and planning.  Early attention to career planning and professional development is increasingly necessary in today's competitive job markets.  Demystifying the process and identifying what lies ahead will help you better rise to the challenges.

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CV and Cover Letter Writing for Academic Audiences

Every Semester
Learn about the elements of effective CVs and cover letters for academic and research job markets.  This workshop draws on the latest literature regarding format, categories of information, changing styles and variations across the disciplinary spectrum.  Participants collectively critique sample CVs and cover letters from a variety of fields and discuss them as marketing tools. 

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Academic Interviewing

Every Semester
Interviewing is a skill.   Learn how to minimize the stress of interviewing and enhance your performance at campus interviews.  Topics include the basics of what to expect at interviews as well as standard questions candidates may receive and questions they may wish to ask.  Don’t let other candidates out-do you on preparation.  It makes a big difference. 

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Converting a CV to a Resume

Every Semester
Resumes differ drastically from CVs.  This workshop introduces graduate students to strategies for converting their CVs to resumes for job opportunities beyond academic and research positions.  It acquaints students with the concept of "transferable skills" and draws on the latest literature regarding format, categories of information, and changing resume styles.  Participants collectively critique sample resumes from a variety of fields and discuss them as marketing tools. 

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Job Searching Beyond Academe

Every Semester
Interested in exploring careers beyond academe but don't know how or where to begin?  This workshop exposes graduate students to the most effective job search methods and resources.  Topics include resume and cover letter writing (brief overview), marketing your "transferable skills," making professional connections and informational interviewing, and how to find job postings and explore the "hidden market." 

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Interviewing Beyond Academe

Every Semester
Interviewing is a skill.  This workshop teaches graduate students how to minimize the stress of interviewing and enhance their interviewing performance for professional opportunities beyond academe.  What special challenges do graduate students often face?  What are the basic interviewing styles?  How does one prepare for standard interview questions?  What questions should job candidates ask employers?  Preparation goes a long way toward giving you an edge! 

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How to Give a Talk: Presenting Your Work Effectively

Every Year
Don’t “give a paper” when you should be giving a “talk.”  This workshop explains why that euphemism exists in academia and distinguishes between the rhetorical goals of conference presentations, job talks or seminars, and sample classes or “mini-teaches.”  Students are given tips and strategies on how to adapt to these varied formats and leave a great lasting impression. 

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Mock Academic Interviews

Every Year
Panels of U.Va. faculty simulate the academic interview with students wishing to practice their interviewing skills or volunteer to help others learn the ropes.  All graduate students and postdocs are welcome to attend.  Feedback and discussion follow each interview. 

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Mock Interviews Beyond Academe

Every Year
Employers outside of academia simulate the job interview with students wishing to practice their interviewing skills or volunteer to help others learn the ropes.  All graduate students and postdocs are welcome to attend.  Feedback and discussion follow each interview. 

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Evaluating and Negotiating Academic Offers

Every Year
The academic market is competitive.  Yes.  But that doesn’t mean that you’re powerless in the all important process of contract negotiation.  No one should blindly accept a job offer without first evaluating its terms.  How do you know if the salary is appropriate?  What other elements of the “package” should you consider?  How do you negotiate without coming across as pushy?  What is the customary timeframe for accepting an offer?  This workshop introduces students to the language and protocol of evaluating and negotiating academic job offers to best suit their interests.

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Evaluating and Negotiating Job Offers Beyond Academe

Every Year
Everyone should consider a job offer carefully before accepting it.  How do you know if the salary is appropriate?  What other elements of the “package” should you consider?  How do you negotiate without coming across as pushy?  What is the customary timeframe for accepting an offer?  This workshop introduces students to the language and protocol of evaluating and negotiating job offers outside of academe.

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The Expanded Job Market for Graduate Students: Panels for Humanities, Social Sciences, and Life, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences

Every Year
Graduate School master’s and Ph.D. alumni successfully engaged in careers beyond academe discuss how they got where they are today and offer job-hunting tips and advice to current graduate students.  Question & Answer session and social reception follow presentation.  A great informational and networking event.

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How to Get a Postdoc

Every Year
A panel of current postdocs at U.Va. offers advice and tips to graduate students on securing postdoctoral fellowships.  What strategies worked for them? What would they do differently knowing what they know now?  Hear what current postdocs wish they had known in graduate school.  Question & Answer session follows presentation.  Resource handouts are also distributed. 

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U.S. Work Visas and Green Cards for Internationals with Advanced Degrees

Early Spring
Immigration attorneys and a U.Va. international student and scholar adviser share information on U.S. work visas and green card options for internationals with advanced degrees, as well as recent policy changes affecting U.S. immigration issues for graduate students, faculty, and researchers.  Question & Answer session follows presentation. 

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Talking About Teaching at an Academic Interview

Periodic
This interactive workshop exposes participants to techniques for discussing teaching in formal and informal academic interview settings.  Talking about your teaching in a scholarly way demonstrates your professionalism and dedication to the craft.  Often graduate students get more practice discussing their research than their teaching. This session will help prepare you for questions you may encounter and suggest ways to respond to them effectively.

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Teaching in Different Environments

Periodic
How do teaching environments affect teaching styles, professional goals, and personal lives?  A roundtable of U.Va. Arts & Sciences PhD alumni currently working as professors at small liberal arts colleges, denominational schools, community colleges, historically black and single sex colleges and universities, research universities, and elite private secondary schools share their insights and experiences about preparing for the job market, interviewing, and successfully transitioning to their professional roles. Question & Answer session follows presentation.

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Entrepreneurship

Periodic
What does it take to turn a research idea into a business?  How do you effectively introduce your research into the marketplace?  A panel of entrepreneurs offers tips and advice to current graduate students about the basics of entrepreneurship, from the importance of networking to developing a vision and business plan, funding projects, etc.  Question & Answer session follows presentation.  Don't miss this great networking and informational opportunity.

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Making Professional Connections: Networking for Graduate Students

Periodic
Whether you are preparing for the academic market or other professional pursuits, making professional connections is a key part of any successful career.  Beginning the process before you enter the job market will serve you well when you do.  Learn the nuts and bolts of impromptu networking, making “cold contacts,” and informational interviewing to build long-lasting and beneficial relationships with professionals in your field.

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Dissertation Writing Workshop

Periodic
This practical session on managing the challenge of writing a thesis or dissertation teaches students how to create structure, set limits, and recognize obstacles to writing so they can overcome them.   It provides information, resources, and exercises to help students create a writing plan that works for them.

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