VCU news

By Jamal Davis

In a new initiative to propel graduate students beyond the classroom, the Virginia Commonwealth University Graduate School, in collaboration with VCU Career Services and Business Career Services, is hosting Career Exploration Week from Nov. 6-10 to support their professional development.

Workshops and networking opportunities are among highlights of a unified program that often is associated with the undergraduate experience. The Graduate School recently created an Office of Professional Development, and inaugural director Erin Brown, Ph.D., identified the need after reflecting on more than a decade working primarily with VCU undergraduates.

“Coming back and working with graduate students has been a wonderful learning experience. As I reintroduced myself to former and new colleagues, I realized that even though VCU has many resources for all students, graduate students often don’t utilize them,” Brown said. “This week is designed to highlight those resources and provide graduate students with space and time to learn more about them, network and reflect on next steps in their academic and professional journeys.”

Graduate students can register for any Career Exploration Week activities at graduate.vcu.edu/events. Among the highlights:

Monday, Nov. 6 – A virtual session (2-3 p.m.) hosted by Beyond the Professoriate targets Ph.D., Ed.D. and postdoctoral students, and a virtual demo (3-4 p.m.) hosted by Beyond Graduate School serves master’s-level students. Each session offers an overview of the free virtual platform VCU uses to support graduate students looking to maximize their degrees. A host of webinars and other recorded sessions on topics such as résumé writing, interviewing and networking are among the platform’s resources.

Tuesday, Nov. 7 – Though VCU won’t hold classes that day, event organizers encourage graduate students to use Monday’s sessions as a spur to review academic progress, consider questions for academic advisors, review resources through Career Services and network with individuals in targeted fields.

Wednesday, Nov. 8 – Career Services hosts a professional headshot session (9-11 a.m.) in University Student Commons, offering updated photos for social media platforms and professional websites. A virtual session (4-5 p.m.) for students who hope to become faculty members explores VCU’s Preparing Future Faculty Program and Graduate Qualitative Research Credential.

Thursday, Nov. 9 – A virtual workshop (noon-1 p.m.) outlines tips and best practices for job interviews, including planning for tough questions and reflecting on skills to highlight. A STEM Career Expo (1-4 p.m.) in the Commons highlights opportunities and resources on campus, as well as a chance to network with others.

Friday, Nov. 10 – Another headshot session (9-11 a.m.) is scheduled, and if students are unable to attend either one, they can arrange a session directly with Career Services through Handshake. (The Graduate School also will offer later headshot sessions, with a goal of serving at least 500 graduate students this year.) A lunch and learn session (noon-1:30 p.m.) on Leveraging LinkedIn is an opportunity to share professional experiences, network with others and optimize usage of the social media platform; the session is in the Commons.