10th Annual Online Career Conference for PhDs
Presented by the Global Higher Education Division of ETS
May 1st - 6th, 2023 | ONLINE
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The Overview
Over the past ten years, Beyond Prof’s annual online career conference has helped nearly 12,000 doctoral students, PhDs, and faculty build careers beyond the professoriate. This year’s conference continues our mission to empower PhDs to explore their career options and build meaningful careers. After years of being successful in academia, it can be daunting and overwhelming to launch a professional job search. Every one of our speakers has been where you are now, but they have successfully made the leap to industry and are thriving. They want to help you do the same.
Join us May 1st through May 5th for workshops that will help you build a foundation for your job search strategy. On May 6th, attend career panels that will help you learn about career options and what it takes to pursue a nonacademic career with a Humanities, Social Science, or STEM PhD.
Not sure if our workshops are for you? Beyond Prof’s online career conference will help you if you want to learn:
1) About nonacademic career opportunities for PhDs and explore your options;
2) How to leverage your education and launch a nonacademic job search with confidence;
3) What it takes to build a successful nonacademic career as a PhD.
Who Should Attend: Doctoral students, recent PhDs, postdocs, adjuncts, faculty members … and anyone else interested in learning about career options for PhDs.
When: May 1st – 5th, every day from 12 – 1 pm ET. Attend career panels on May 6th starting at 11am ET. Conference is virtual via Zoom webinar.
Video Replay: 30-day replay available starting May 10th.
Price: Included as part of Augusta University’s upcoming subscription to the Beyond prof platform. It is free for you to attend.
The Program-At-A-Glance
For full details on each panel including panel descriptions, learning objectives, and speaker bios, please download the conference program.
May 1st-5th: How To Webinars
12-1 pm ET each day
May 1st: What Employers Actually Value About Your Degree with L. Maren Wood, PhD (CEO & Director, The Center for Graduate Career Success)
Yes, you have a PhD. But outside of academia, employers may not fully understand, or appreciate, exactly what that means. Your degree alone won’t open doors for your non-academic job search.
In this webinar, Beyond the Prof’s founder, Dr. Maren Wood, will explain how the priorities of non-academic employers differ from those of academic employers. You’ll learn how to translate your academic work experience into the language of employers so that you can communicate your value at each step of the job search process.
After this session you will be able to:
- Identify what employers look for in job candidates.
- Determine which skills and experiences aare in demand in career fields of interest.
- Translate academic experience into terms that employers will understand.
May 2nd: How to Write a Resume with Harry Thomas, PhD (Learner Engagement Strategist, The Center for Graduate Career Success)
As a PhD student or postdoc, you’ve likely spent time crafting a detailed CV. But now, as you begin to explore non-academic careers, the jobs you’re interested in are going to want a resume, not a CV. No problem, right? You can just convert your CV into a resume, right?
Well, no. It’s not that simple. CVs and resumes are different documents, with different audiences, content, and purposes. In this webinar, Dr. Harry Thomas will explain the differences between a CV and a resume and provide strategies you can use to write a resume that will actually get read by a hiring manager.
After this session you will be able to:
- Explain why you can’t convert a CV into a resume.
- Describe the different sections of a resume and what to include in each
- Write a resume that is tailored to a job advertisement of interest.
May 3rd: How to Network When You Don’t Have a Network with Diane Sepa-Kishi, PhD (Senior Product Manager, The Center for Graduate Career Success)
Hard truth? Close to 85% of jobs are filled by referrals. That is, employers usually hire someone because that person was recommended to them by someone they know and trust. But what if you don’t have a network outside of academia? How do you build and grow a new professional network in a short period of time?
Don’t worry! In this webinar, Dr. Diane Sepa-Kishi has your back. You’ll learn how to build and grow your professional network. The tips and strategies you learn in this webinar will help you gather information to move you forward in your job search, build connections with employees who work at companies of interest, all while being authentic and true to who you are.
After this session you will be able to :
- Explain why networking is an integral part of your job search.
- Identify networks you already have access to.
- Chart a path to grow your network(s).
May 4th: Using LinkedIn in Your Job Search with Harry Thomas, PhD (Learner Engagement Strategist, The Center for Graduate Career Success)
LinkedIn is the largest professional network in the world. As a PhD student or a postdoc, you might not have spent a lot of time on this platform. But if you’re looking to explore non-academic careers, LinkedIn is an invaluable resource. It’s a platform where you can research different career paths and connect with professionals working for companies or organizations you might like to work for.
In this webinar, Dr. Harry Thomas gives you a crash course in using LinkedIn. You’ll learn how you can design a compelling profile that will clearly communicate who you are as a professional, where you’re going next in your career, and your value to nonacademic employers. Plus, you’ll learn how to update and modify your LinkedIn profile at each stage of your career transition and job search.
After this session you will be able to :
- Determine LinkedIn’s role (and importance) in nonacademic job searching.
- Write an “About” section for your LinkedIn profile that highlights your key skills.
- Explain why your LinkedIn profile will change as you move through different stages of the job search process.
May 5th: How to Find Jobs During Times of Mass Layoffs/Recessions with L. Maren Wood, PhD (CEO & Director, The Center for Graduate Career Success)
Job searching is a tough, time-consuming process no matter when you’re doing it. But launching a job search at a time when the headlines are filled with news of tech-sector layoffs and bank closures can be especially stressful.
In this webinar, Beyond the Prof’s founder, Dr. Maren Wood, will lay out some strategies for job searching in an uncertain time. You’ll learn how to identify which industries are growing and how to adapt your job search strategy to maximize your chances of landing a great job.
After this session you will be able to :
- Explain how people really find jobs.
- Identify growing industries to adapt your job search accordingly.
- Relate what employers value to your job searching strategy.
“What can I do with a PhD in ____________?”
At Beyond the Professoriate, that’s the most commonly asked question we get, and at this year’s conference, we’ve dedicated a whole day to helping you answer it.
Our Career Panels are discussions between groups of PhDs who’ve found rewarding and intellectually stimulating work outside of higher ed. Come listen to them talk about their own career transitions, share advice, and take job searching questions from attendees. If panels organized by academic subject matter expertise, we’ve got something from everyone, no matter what your PhD is in!
11:00 – 11:45 AM ET: Humanities PhDs
12:00 – 12:45 PM ET: Social Science PhDs
1:00-1:45 PM ET: Biological Life Science PhDs
2:00-2:45 PM ET: STEM PhDs
What Past Attendees Have Said
"I walked away from this conference feeling both hopeful about future prospects and much more confident about my ability to succeed outside of academia. "
"Thank you to the entire Beyond Prof team for turning my non-faculty job search upside down, for the better! I move forward from the conference feeling connected, empowered, and very well-equipped to explore different career options outside of academia. "
"These sessions confirmed things I was doing correctly and provided lots of new ideas to expand my ability to successfully navigate the job market outside of academia. Each speaker brought a different perspective and their willingness to be candid about their own stories made these sessions very down to earth and the speakers' stories easy to relate to. "
"I love the fact that your panelists discussed a wide range of employment opportunities and career paths in the United States as well as Canada. And I would highly recommend this for ALL PhD students who are considering career options outside of academia."
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! We cannot emphasize this enough — the earlier you learn about career opportunities and what it takes to launch a nonacademic job search, the better. Learning about what it takes to build a successful career as a PhD now can prepare you for an easier, quicker transition when you are ready.
Yes! Several of our speakers held postdocs and can speak to the transition. During the conference you’ll learn how to leverage your education and experience during your postdoc to launch a job search with confidence.
Definitely! We have a wide range of speakers, including former faculty who left their positions to move into nonacademic careers. You’ll hear how they leveraged their experience into new professional career paths, and how you can translate your own skills and experience into a nonacademic career.
Yes! We have a wide range of speakers, including former faculty who left their positions to move into nonacademic careers. You’ll hear how they leveraged their experience into new professional career paths, and how you can translate your own skills and experience into a nonacademic career.
The conference is held during the week of May 1st. Webinars will be held from 12 to 1 pm ET on Monday through Friday. On Saturday, we’ll host back-to-back career panels featuring PhDs from across academic disciplines. This is a virtual conference, held via Zoom Webinar, which means you will see and hear panelists but they won’t see or hear you. Attend from the comfort of your home, take notes at your convenience, and let’s start exploring career options together!
Yes, your ticket gives you access to 30 day replay.
Yes. Discounts are available for bulk purchases of 10 or more. Email events@beyondprof.com for information and bulk purchase.
You are certainly welcome to attend, but programming for this conference is designed specifically to support PhDs exploring nonacademic careers.
Days
Hours
Minutes
Until we see you at the conference!
About Beyond the Professoriate
Beyond the Professoriate teaches graduate students and PhDs how to leverage their education into meaningful careers in academia and beyond. We partner with universities to deliver our programming and structured curriculum through digital training platforms, enabling an institution to scale career services to meet the needs of a growing and diverse graduate student population. We support over 20,000 students annually through webinars, curriculum, and conferences. Beyond the Professoriate was founded in 2017 by L. Maren Wood, PhD.
About ETS
At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and by conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually—including the TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® tests and The Praxis Series® assessments—in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide.