Monday, March 23, 2015

Two new books on career advice for Ph.Ds

The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide To Turning Your Ph.D. Into a Job by Karen Kelsky.
The author left a tenured position at a research university and now has an excellent blog and runs a career advice consulting business, for people in academia, both those who want to stay and those who want to (or have to) leave.

Navigating the Path to Industry: A Hiring Manager's Advice for Academics Looking for a Job in Industry by M.R. Nelson

Has anyone read either book? I welcome comments.

1 comment:

  1. A few takeaways from reading the second book (a pamphlet of advice from a hiring manager on how to get hired):
    * Having friends/professional contacts to lean on during a job search (i.e., networking) is important. Probably moreso in industry than academia.
    * Building said network through FB/LinkedIn/blogs can be highly effective (beyond obviously making personal contacts), keeping in mind that you get the most benefit from these online venues when you engage on them authentically.
    * My favorite point on resume creation: why do people put their degrees and the schools so high up? Why are you trying to tell people where you got your degree instead of what you did? Shouldn't what you did be far more important, in terms of skill development, and in terms of what you can provide an employer? Moreover, shouldn't it be more important for how you think about own your identity?

    Thanks for these recs! Might glance through the first as well.

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