STEM Industry Careers: A Workshop Series for PhD Students and Postdocs

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Date: Thursday February 1, 2024

Title: The Universe of Careers Waiting for You – Plan Now for Your Success
Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Location: Sheraton
Description:
The universe of careers available to STEM graduates outside academia is widespread and exciting, but those in STEM often have limited knowledge of the types of careers they can pursue upon completion of their training. This workshop engages with strategies to explore career opportunities based on a variety of factors (e.g., personal interests, industry trends, desired geography) to help clarify possible career paths. Come and explore careers that align with your interests and learn Dr. Henkin’s framework for a strategic, individualized career search. This workshop will prepare you to identify potential careers and focus on skill development that will enable you to be strong candidates for the positions you seek in the future.
What to bring: Notetaking tools

 

Title: Lunch for Faculty Mentors: Mentoring for STEM Industry Careers
Time: 12-1:30pm
Location: Rachel’s @ the Sheraton
Description:
As a hiring manager in STEM industries for 20 years, and with a PhD in cell and molecular biology, Dr. Josh Henkin understands the tough job market that early career scholars face. For ten years in his capacity as founder of STEM Career Services, Dr. Henkin has helped clients with STEM backgrounds build careers outside of academia. In this informal lunch conversation, Dr. Henkin will share his tips and tricks for supporting grad students and postdocs in their career development and answer your questions about STEM careers outside of academia.

 

Title: How to Write a Resume – Inside Tips You Need to Hear From a STEM-educated Hiring Manager
Time: 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Location: Sheraton
Description:
What does a hiring manager look for in a resume? What is the best way for you to communicate your technical and transferable skills to a mixed audience to show that you have what it takes to do the job? A good resume tells a story about you to an employer that demonstrates that you are the perfect fit for the position. It also is your first opportunity to build a relationship with an employer and showcase your expertise and personality.

You have to create a resume that separates you from other candidates, aligns your skills to the employer’s needs, and shows you are the perfect fit for the job. Usually, this all must be done in only one to two pages. This workshop will help you meet this challenge by providing you with tips and best practices for creating an effective resume that will help you get noticed by employers.
What to bring: Notetaking tools, a paper copy of your resume, scratch paper, and writing tool

 

Title: Meet and Greet: Ask Me Anything with Dr. Henkin
Time: 3:30-5:30pm
Location: Sitrus @ the Sheraton
Description:
Dr. Henkin will cover a wide range of topics and career directions in his workshops. This informal AMA is your chance to ask Dr. Henkin your individual questions instead. Come, have snacks and a beverage, and learn from an industry career expert!

 

Date: Friday February 2, 2024

Title: Breakfast: For postdocs
Time: 8:30-10am
Location: Maxwel 204
Description:
As a prominent STEM career coach, Dr. Henkin is well-positioned to discuss best practices, opportunities, and barriers in career fields outside of academia. Whether you’re sure that you want an industry job or if you want to learn more about industry, come have an informal breakfast conversation with Dr. Henkin and other postdocs in which he will share advice and answer your questions.

 

Title: Employers are applying skill-based hiring and recruitment practices. Are you ready?
Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Location: Eggers Hall 010
Description:
Your ability to secure your next job, draft resumes, and prepare for interviews is enhanced by being comfortable and confident in articulating your skills, both on paper and in person. This session will involve hands-on exercises where you will learn novel techniques and best practices to maximize your opportunities to describe your unique skills and value in both written (e.g., resumes, LinkedIn) and verbal (e.g. informational interviews, job interviews) formats. Learning and applying these techniques will likely improve your ability to showcase your value and make your job search more productive. We will also discuss how to apply these techniques to improve your networking skills, which are essential to your job search regardless of the industry you plan to enter.
What to bring: Notetaking tools

Title: Lunch: Q&A with graduate students and postdocs
Time: 12-1:30pm
Location: Lundgren Room, 106 Life Sciences Complex
Description:
As a prominent STEM career coach, Dr. Henkin is well-positioned to answer your questions about career fields outside of academia. If you have a follow-up question from one of the workshops or just want to know if industry is the right direction for you, come have an informal lunch conversation with Dr. Henkin, who will share advice and answer questions.

Title: Deconstruct the Algorithm – Profile Best Practices for Job Searching and Getting Found by Recruiters Through LinkedIn
Time: 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Location: Center for Science and Technology 1-019
Description:
Maintaining a strong LinkedIn profile is essential for networking and finding a job, both passively and actively. Every student, postdoc, and early career professional should be actively growing their LinkedIn network, their LinkedIn “brand” and LinkedIn “presence,” so that when it comes time to start looking for a job, they have a strong network and LinkedIn exposure to leverage.

LinkedIn provides more information for job seekers than any rival job board, which can accelerate your job searching capabilities. This workshop will show you numerous ways to use LinkedIn to explore careers, how to find internal contacts within a company to get your resume in front of hiring managers, and how the LinkedIn Recruiter’s software algorithm works.
What to bring: Notetaking tools and a fully charged laptop, tablet, or phone to edit LinkedIn during the workshop

This event is organized by the Graduate School and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at Syracuse University with generous co-sponsorship from:
SU Graduate Student Organization
College of Graduate Studies SUNY Upstate
SU College of Arts and Sciences
SUNY ESF Graduate School
SU College of Engineering and Computer Science
SU Women in Science and Engineering