Queen’s graduate students and post-doctoral fellows recently took advantage of workshops and networking opportunities to help them plan for their future after academia.

“I found Career Week valuable in terms of experience and connections,” says Jessica Hiscocks, a PhD candidate in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. “The workshops introduced me to new techniques and approaches for furthering my career and the networking session was valuable and pleasant.”

The topics of the sessions ranged from entrepreneurship and social innovation, to best practices for LinkedIn profiles, to discussion panels with employers and alumni from sectors such as academia, government, non-profit and business.

“The School of Graduate Studies extends its gratitude to all the presenters who took part in Career Week, as well as the staff in Queen’s Career Services and Alumni Relations,” says Brenda Brouwer, Vice-Provost and Dean, School of Graduate Studies. “Of course, the graduate students and post-docs who came out in large number and fully engaged in the sessions made the inaugural Career Week a tremendous success – an event to be repeated in the years to come."

Students and post-docs learned how to translate the knowledge and experience they acquire in their academic training into the skills that employers look for when hiring. During the panel “The Employable You: Identifying your Program Specific Skills,” participants met with experts from their disciplines. A number of representatives were present, including Dr. Jim Banting,  president and CEO of PARTEQ Innovations, Dr. Jennifer Polk, who writes for the "From PhD to Life" blog, Dr. Chad Gaffield, past president of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and members of the Science 2 Business network. The final event of the week was a networking reception where graduate students and postdoctoral fellows could connect with alumni and representatives of local businesses and organizations.

Students can get further information about career-planning from the School of Graduate Studies’ website.