Through The Advising Project, GSAS has shared best practices with faculty that include ways to help graduate students navigate their graduate careers and prepare for their chosen profession through the development of professional development skills.
Graduate students can also take steps to incorporate professional development into their training. Your graduate program may offer opportunities for you to present your research in progress. You can learn about the conferences in your field and take advantage of the opportunity to attend or present (The Chronicle of Higher Education recently published How to Make the Most of an Academic Conference, which can help). You can also enhance your CV by developing a teaching portfolio or winning a prestigious fellowship.
GSAS and Harvard resources can help! The Fellowships & Writing Center offers workshops on developing presentation skills and sessions to help you prepare a winning fellowship application. The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning runs teaching certificate programs and presentation skills sessions. The Office of Career Services holds events covering CV review and jobs outside academia. When you have a developed a promising line of research, you can consider applying for Harvard Horizons. And the GSAS Office of Alumni Relations connects graduate students with a network of 34,000 alumni.
Whatever opportunities you take advantage of, remember that faculty mentors and others in your advising village can help support your career exploration and direct you to important career resources.
