For many graduate students entering the job market after spending years researching, writing and conducting experiments can be a daunting transition.

However, to help them meet the challenge the School of Graduate Studies is hosting Graduate and Post-Doctoral Career Week, with a series of events, presentations and workshops throughout the week of Oct.11-14.

Sessions will cover topics such as career planning, preparing CVs and cover letters, building valuable skills and experience, preparing for the all-important job interview.

“Launched in 2014, Graduate and Post-Doctoral Career Week is now a firmly entrenched annual tradition,” says Brenda Brouwer, Vice-Provost and Dean, School of Graduate Studies “Workshops are tailored to the needs of our graduate students and post-docs and include interactive sessions on career planning, panels featuring employers and alumni, and a capstone reception where trainees can put into practice tips on communication and networking as they engage with alumni and members of the community.  The week offers tremendous opportunities for our trainees to think about and prepare for their futures.”

Delivering two presentations on Thursday, Oct. 13 – one for faculty and another for students – is  Dean Oliver, Director of Research and Chief Curator at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa. While they are different audiences, Dr. Oliver says he will be delivering the same basic message: that statistics clearly show that the majority of graduates do not go on to work in academia so universities need to prepare them for a career elsewhere.

It’s a talk he has delivered before and, as an employer who hires graduate students, one that he understands very well. His talks will look at the hiring process in the public and private sectors with a focus on finding employment, providing useful tips and techniques.

“Some of these are quite logistical, imparting the kind of skills that the public sector would be looking for, and the others are perhaps more attitudinal, to think not just about the thesis as the destination but more as a journey, and what are the skills and the techniques that are imparted in the thesis that reflect the (many translational skills of the) candidate over and above the (content-based scholarship) of the thesis itself,” Dr. Oliver explains.

Some of the tips may seem straightforward but are ones that are all too often forgotten. Take for example reference and cover letters. Often students repeat the information delivered in a CV. With a limited window of opportunity to make an impression, Dr. Oliver says he is always looking to see “something about the person that lies behind the document and not the black and white things that are in the document.”

Wrapping up Graduate and Post-Doctoral Career Week once again is a networking event that provides students the opportunity to connect and ask questions of our alumni and businesses from Kingston and the surrounding area.

A full schedule of the week's events can be found on the SGS website.