Spring is almost here and for many the beginning of an intensive job search.

In this issue:

Grad Career Week 2009: Find Your Footing
Learning to Teach - A Professional Development Workshop for Graduate Students at McGill
Networking & the Art of Receiving
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Grad Career Week 2009: Find Your Footing

Mar. 16, 2009 to Mar. 20, 2009

As we prepare for Grad Career Week March 16-20, 2009 the McGill Career Planning Service (CaPS) is keenly aware of the many networking opportunities that lay ahead for those graduate students who are willing to take full advantage of them. Since most job openings (85%) are not advertised, most of us find work through our contacts and their referrals. Most graduate students consider their network outside of academia negligible, although this can be disputed.  Therefore, CaPS has made networking easy by hosting a series of events (cafes, panels and presentations) that showcase over 50 careers in industry, government, the non-profit sector and entrepreneurship, that graduates working locally have landed. They have agreed to share their career stories with you, to broaden your career awareness and help you find your footing.

All events are free of charge.  Registration is required.  Log in to myFuture and click on your events tab followed by the workshop tab and keyword search GCW for a detail list of events. All events will take place in Thomson House Ballroom.

To view complete event descriptions and bios, please click here.

• First Impressions : What Not to Wear
  March 11, 12h00-14h00

  Employers will often judge your appearance before listening to what you have to say. Are your clothes expressing the professional image expected of people in your field? You just have one chance to make a positive first impression. Once a negative impression is made, it’s almost impossible to change it regardless of your expertise or resume. If you want to be successful at business and employment settings, you have to consider your image as part of the process.

• Communications Café
  March 16, 12h00-13h30

  A collection of seasoned professionals have agreed to come and meet graduate students over coffee to discuss how they capitalized on their graduate training in both the Arts & Sciences & have since applied them to Communications Career in industry, government & the non-profit sector. They will answer any questions you may have about the industry at large and tell you more about what they actually do, to help you determine your first steps and beyond. Here is your chance to start building your contacts and learn more about how to get closer to a career you can get excited about.
  

• CEGEP Fair
  March 17, 12h00-15h00

  College Lionel Groulx, Dawson College, Champlain College, John Abbott College, and Vanier College. Come meet human resource representatives, deans and professors from local CEGEP’s and discuss current teaching opportunities and the process of hiring.

• Salary Negotiations: Because YOU'RE Worth It
  March 17, 16h00-17h00

  Often, once an individual receives a coveted job offer, the hard work really starts. Negotiating the tenets of a job contract can be a stressful and daunting experience. There are a number of reasons that people are unsuccessful in negotiations or even fail to negotiate. In this presentation, I will discuss the what, why and how of negotiation in order to give attendees a head start when faced with job negotiations. The focus will be on learning some basic concepts in negotiation as well as how to overcome some of the barriers to successful negotiations.

• Consulting Café
  March 18, 12h00-13h30

  A collection of consultants in various fields have agreed to come and meet graduate students over coffee to discuss how they capitalized on their graduate training. They will answer any questions you may have about their industry and tell you more about what they actually do, to help you determine your first steps and beyond. Here is your chance to start building your contacts and learn more about how to get closer to a career you can get excited about.

• The PhD Entrepreneur Panel
  March 18, 15h00-16h00
  

  Wondering about options outside of Academia and the Public Sector? Attracted to the idea of working for yourself, of starting and running your own business?
  

  Our three inspiring panelists will discuss their personal experiences as entrepreneurs, the challenges and rewards of starting your own business, managing the transition from academia to business, the process of bringing an idea to market and share tips and ideas for success.
  
  
• Science Café
  March 19, 12h00-13h30

  A collection of scientists have agreed to come and meet graduate students over coffee to discuss how they capitalized on their graduate training in the Sciences, brainstorm about your career options and answer any questions you may have about the industry at large. Here is your chance to start building your contacts and learn more about how your graduate degree can get you closer to a career you can get excited about. Pick their brains and get a sense of what it takes to make it in the field.

• Concrete Steps to Great Public Speaking Skills
  March 19, 15h00-16h30

  As a student, you are probably required to make presentations or an occasional speech. When you enter the workforce, effective public speaking skills are even more important. The ability to present effectively is a key factor in building your career and your reputation. Unfortunately, many people have a fear of public speaking, and they panic when these speaking opportunities arise -- but this does not have to be the case! This workshop will discuss the various steps you can take to create and deliver a presentation with confidence, clarity, and control.

• International Development Café
  March 20, 12h00-13h30

  A collection of professionals in the international cooperation field have agreed to come and meet graduate students over coffee to discuss their involvement in the field in order to help you determine your first steps and beyond. Here is your chance to start building your contacts and learn more about how to get closer to a career you can get excited about.
  

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Learning to Teach - A Professional Development Workshop for Graduate Students at McGill

When: Sunday, March 15, 2009 - 9:00am to 5:00pm (Registration begins at 8:30 with refreshments being served.)
Where: Leacock 132
Details: http://www.mcgill.ca/tls/resources/gsi/workshops/ltt/

This workshop provides small group sessions focused on discipline-specific learning methodologies.  The sessions during the day are organized around two themes: Assessment & Feedback, and Developing Leadership Skills in Interactive Teaching Roles.  Participants have their choice of three different sessions, two in the morning, and one in the afternoon following a catered lunch.   The day will conclude with an interactive panel on “What I wish I had known about teaching when I started”.   

Upon completion of the workshop students will receive a certificate of participation to add to their teacher’s portfolio.  Past participants found that this workshop provided invaluable information about developing a grading scheme, developing a teaching portfolio, and designing a course outline. 

Registration is required and begins Wednesday, February 25.

1. Log into Minerva
2. Select "Student Menu"
3. Select "Registration Menu"
4. Select "Search Class Schedule and Add Course Section"
5. Select "Winter 2009"
6. Select subject code "FIGG"
7. Scroll down and click on "Get Course Sections"
8. Select one morning session (e.g. FIGG TL01 001), one mid-morning session (e.g. FIGG TL02 004) and one afternoon session (e.g. FIGG TL03 005).
9. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click "Register".

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Sarah Burns (sarah.burns@mail.mcgill.ca) at Teaching and Learning Services.

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Networking & the Art of Receiving

by Susan Molnar, CaPS Graduate Career Advisor

Think about how you got to where you are today. Likely your decisions have been influenced by a few key people along the way. Perhaps it was a high school teacher who inspired your love for biology, and here you are pursuing a PhD, or maybe a parent who discouraged you from following in their footsteps and so you didn’t, or potentially even a rejection letter led you to your second choice, which ended up being a perfect gift. Maybe it was a complete stranger, who gave you some great advice that you acted on, or the person she introduced you to which led to a successful marriage! Many people touch our lives in ways we can’t predict or quantify. Naturally and inadvertently, our environment has a lasting impact on our careers.  If we view the process of meeting people as a mystery novel unfolding, never really knowing who will lead us to our next adventure, perhaps we can greet our encounters with a heightened sense of curiosity and excitement. We really have no idea when someone will share useful advice, make a helpful introduction or spare us future heartache. 

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