Building Community Through the GSAS Career Fellows Program
April 29, 2024
Abigail Arnold | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
While graduate school is a notoriously busy place, it’s always a good choice to make time to think about career planning and the future. The Brandeis University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Professional Development team supports students through this often tricky process through a variety of programming and services, including the Career Fellows Program. Now in its third year, the program brings together students across departments who are committed to career exploration, building a cohort who connect with each other while attending a range of professional development workshops, informational talks, and networking sessions.
This year, thirty students, who were selected from sixty-seven total applicants, participated in the program. Fifteen students came from the sciences, and fifteen came from the humanities, social sciences, and creative arts. Session topics included approaching career exploration, the job search for international students, faculty careers, AI careers, optimizing LinkedIn, resumes and CVs, informational interviewing, and interviewing.
Marika McCann, Associate Director of Professional Development and Employer Outreach for GSAS, explained the process of developing this year’s programming and building on previous work. “Last year we sent out a survey to fellows to get feedback and see what areas we should focus on this year. We wanted to prioritize AI, as we had many questions about careers in these areas, and held a session that talked about interdisciplinary AI careers,” she said. “We also listened to feedback and added more sessions specifically for international students about the job search.” Along with GSAS Faculty Director of Professional Development Jonathan Anjaria, McCann also worked to make sure that the programming was helpful to students no matter what program they were in. “For our informational interviewing session we provided a variety of alumni contacts to our students in different careers that span across disciplines,” she said. “We have focused on bringing in professionals in industry, academia and nonprofits to help build connections.”
In putting together the career fellows programming, McCann and Anjaria worked to bring students together, as well as to get them started on a journey of career exploration. “We prioritized having a few in-person casual lunches with students to get to know each other,” said McCann. She also explained why she thinks the program is so important: “The skills we are teaching in our fellows program are essential for graduate students in their job search, and, unfortunately, many aren't gaining these skills early enough in their graduate career. By learning the building blocks of career exploration and the job search earlier on, they are getting more time to practice these skills and connect with those outside of their programs and are better prepared for when they graduate and are ready for the next step in their career.”
Students at all stages of their graduate careers had words of praise for the career fellows programming and what they learned from it. Derrick Kim, a first-year PhD student in Computer Science, said, “I think it's important to talk to people in other disciplines, especially if we have more opportunities to talk about our research interests and what we are doing. I think it would be nice to distill our research into a form where someone who has no idea about the field can understand. As a PhD student, I think we are tempted to overspecialize, but when we go out in the real world, we struggle to simplify our research so that people from other disciplines can easily understand.” He appreciated the chance to network with fellow students and alums across programs, saying, “I think it's better to build a stronger alumni network – as Marika said, 70% of jobs are gotten through connections. I think this is a safe arena to develop good social skills and talk to people from different disciplines.”
Kwame Gayle, a first-year PhD student in Sociology, agreed about the importance of community building. He said, “I liked the networking lunches throughout the semester, where I could get to meet other graduate students on campus…Through the fellowship, I have built connections with other graduate students and alumni across different fields.” Gayle highlighted the importance of using these interpersonal connections to advance one’s career and personal journeys, saying, “Community is vital as you navigate graduate school. The more spaces you're able to build community, the better! Career development programming creates a space for like minded individuals (students and alumni) to connect and have future engagement. It is also a window into the possibilities which helps to keep current students grounded and hopeful. Lastly, it challenges the narrative that life stops in grad school; rather, you can continue to build connections as your career progresses throughout graduate school as well.”
Jiahua Chen, a fourth-year PhD student in Biochemistry and Biophysics, was excited about the ways in which the program helped her answer her questions about finding and preparing for a career after graduation. “The Career Fellows program seemed like the perfect place to find the answers to my three ‘how’ questions that had been wandering in my heart for some time: How to find my first matching job? How to translate my current skills into tangible advantages in the workplace? How to align my skill set with the demands of a prospective position?” she said. She also liked how the program walked her through the career exploration process, saying, “As a fellow, I have acquired multiple skills in a step-by-step and build-up manner, from pinpointing my career goals/positions to structuring resumes, navigating job searching social media platforms, and conducting interviews.”
Lianne Gallant, a first-year PhD student in History, liked how the program allowed her to begin her career planning process early in her graduate student career. “As the academic job market becomes increasingly difficult, an increasing number of graduate students are planning for industry positions after graduation and I believe institutions have an obligation to prepare us for that, something GSAS and the Career Center at Brandeis have done really well,” she said. “I try to think of graduate school as an entry-level job and a key part of that is to develop a sense of our professional selves as early as possible.” Gallant particularly appreciated the session on teaching at community colleges and their focus on teaching over research; she said, “So much of the academic job market often focuses on research experience and publications and it's nice to know that there are other options.”
Both Kim and Chen especially liked the LinkedIn session, for which McCann and Anjaria brought in Omar Garriott and Jeremy Schifeling, previous leaders of the LinkedIn Education team. “It was highly beneficial to hear about LinkedIn insights and tips from the previous leader of the LinkedIn education team, Jeremy Schifeling, who worked at LinkedIn and knew the LinkedIn story ‘behind the scenes,’” said Chen. “I got to hear important things that recruiters wanted to see on a resume,” added Kim.
Through the career fellows program, the GSAS Professional Development team gives students the opportunity to learn from staff, from alums, from outside experts, and from their peers. By taking a process that can feel scary and providing guidance and steps for how to approach it, the program sets GSAS students up for success.