The Graduate College's Career Ladder is a peer-led cohort program that supports graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in strengthening professional skills and exploring career options. This program is inspired by Stony Brook University's PhD Career Ladder Program. Iowa Career Ladder is a one-stop cohort program that aims for participants to go all the way from career planning to career transition. After seven specially designed sessions, participants will have:
- Explored different career paths together with peers (academia, industry, government, non-profit, etc.)
- Learned how to identify and strengthen the skills they need for their career of interest
- Expanded their interdisciplinary professional network
- Tailored their resume or CV (or other materials) for a job in their career of interest
- Developed a career exploration and preparedness framework that they can apply to any job search
- Gained tips and techniques for interviews and salary negotiation
Who?
Career Ladder is open to all post-comp graduate students and postdocs. It is best suited to those preparing to transition to the next phase of their career. For grad students, that may be in your third or fourth year. For postdocs, that’s any time!
When?
The Graduate College Career Ladder program is a two-semester commitment with monthly in-person meetings during Fall and Spring. Meeting times will be set after enrollment closes.
How?
Each Career Ladder session provides 90 minutes for you to concentrate on your professional development. By using this time to design your career path, plan your next steps, and create a transition strategy, you'll gain a valuable advantage in the job market!
Career Ladder 7-Step Curriculum
Design -> Prepare -> Transition to your Career
- Self-Assessment for Your Career Planning: Evaluate your interests, skills, and values and use them to focus on careers compatible with your assessment.
- Informational Interviews: Gain first-hand knowledge about a career of interest by interviewing people with that job.
- Personal Branding: Build your online presence for a good first impression - LinkedIn, Google Scholar, GitHub, etc.
- CV & Resume Crafting: Update your CV and customize a resume for a target job, aided by peer review and expert feedback.
- Cover Letter / Application Materials Drafting: Learn strategies to draft tailored cover letters and other application materials requested by your future employer.
- Interview Strategies: Learn about tips and tricks for behavioral questions and conduct mock interviews with the facilitators and peers.
- Salary and Benefits Package Negotiation: Practice the basic techniques for negotiation.