What to Do by Career Stage
Step by step guide
It’s always a good time to work on professional development, but some skills can be especially impactful if you focus on them during specific stages of graduate school.
Below are some recommendations of what to do whether you are just starting graduate school, well into your program, or in the latter stages of a PhD. While you’ll develop many of these skills through the coursework, research, and scholarship that is part of your graduate program, you can also seek out opportunities to further develop these skills by searching the DiscoverPD database.
Here are a few things to think about as you get started:
- Talk with your mentor(s) or more senior graduate student peers to increase your accountability to follow through on your goals and get even more advice.
- You might find that some of these ideas are more relevant to you than others. Alumni in the CGS survey reported different participation in some activities depending on whether they were in humanities or non-humanities programs. Use your judgment but think creatively about whether these skills might be useful to you.
- To maximize your likelihood of success, incorporate ideas from the lists below into your Individual Development Plan. Use the SMART goal method to develop action-oriented goals.
On this page
These recommendations are based on advice from professional development experts, as well as research from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) on PhD Professional Development: Value, Timing, and Participation, which surveyed PhD alumni including those at UW–Madison to determine which activities they found the most useful at each career stage of graduate school.
Early stage
Most PhD alumni suggest that taking advantage of professional development opportunities in these areas is the most useful when done in the beginning stages of a PhD program.
Communication
The graduate student events calendar compiles workshops and events that focus on communication skills. Think about communication broadly – encompassing written, verbal, visual, and digital skills – as well as being able to tailor media to engage fellow scholars and the general public.
Public Speaking
Try these public speaking tips from GradHacker. To develop effective materials for public speaking events, look to DesignLab for help creating presentation slides, research posters, and more.
Teaching Preparation
The Delta Program engages students in teaching, mentoring, and outreach professional development, and UW–Madison is a member of the CIRTL Network (the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning).
Pursuing the Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning represents your commitment to excellence as an educator. Coursework needs to be completed before dissertator status. In some programs a certificate may fulfill the breadth requirement.
The Center for Teaching, Learning and Mentoring supports instructors in their continuing growth as practitioners of the complex and dynamic craft of teaching. The center serves graduate student TAs and LSAs, through just-in-time training (e.g. Teaching Assistant Guide or designing a course) and professional development opportunities (e.g. Teaching at UW workshops, Enhancing Online Education).
Networking
You may already be thinking about networking in different ways, such as building intellectual or professional communities with the new people you meet on campus, or building relationships with those in your program and courses. Whether you join an existing writing group, start a regular social outing for peers, or something else, these interactions all help build your network.
Digital Literacy
DesignLab can help you learn how to work effectively with digital media, including presentation slides, infographics, webpages, video, and audio. To learn how to use different software, look to the classes offered by Software Training for Students or through LinkedIn Learning.
Quantitative Literacy/Data Analytics
The Data Science Hub offers workshops to help you learn data analysis skills, and compiles a list of data science tools on campus. The Social Science Computing Core offers training and support to researchers who use statistical analysis.
Academic Writing
The Writing Center offers writing workshops to enhance your academic writing and a self-paced, in-depth guide to academic and professional writing. Additionally, a micro-course from the UW Libraries introduces you to copyright and fair use for your projects.
Research Ethics and Scholarly Integrity
Get an introduction to research ethics and integrity with UW–Madison specific information on Research Integrity at UW–Madison and Responsible Data Planning, Use, and Sharing.
Middle stage
Most PhD alumni suggest that taking advantage of professional development opportunities in these areas is the most useful when done in the middle stages of a PhD program.
Networking
Improve your experience and effectiveness with networking, a skill that can be vital for career success as you build professional and intellectual communities and relationships.
Project Management
Learn about the principles of project management. Consider attending the Project Management Workshop hosted by the Graduate School each January (check GradConnections in your inbox for workshop announcements).
Leadership Development
The Office for Student Organizations, Leadership & Involvement connects students with opportunities to develop leadership capacity and offers a leadership certificate to interested students. The UW–Madison Leadership Framework further articulates ways you can engage in leadership on and off campus.
Grant Writing
Get an introduction to the grant proposal process with this grants and funding micro-course, then learn the basics of planning and writing a grant proposal.
Research or Fieldwork Abroad
Campus offers many funding opportunities and other support to help you pursue research or fieldwork outside of the U.S., including:
- the Student Research Grants Competition (eligibility varies each year)
- funding for fieldwork abroad through the Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS)
- Study Abroad scholarships
- the UW Graduate Research program and UW Graduate Fellowships Research program through International Academic Programs. Through these programs, you will be registered as a full-time student, as well as enrolled in CISI insurance, for the duration of your research with access to emergency support while abroad.
Mentor Training
The Delta Program’s Research Mentor Learning Communities for graduate students and postdocs offer a structured, interactive environment to build leadership capacity and practice evidence-based mentorship principles.
Career Exploration
The Graduate Career Compass program helps you explore career pathways and gain experience. The Graduate School regularly hosts career panels so check the graduate student events calendar for opportunities. Beyond the Professoriate empowers PhD students to make informed decisions about their career path and learn successful job search strategies to navigate the faculty job market and explore professional careers beyond the professoriate.
Late stage
Most PhD alumni suggest that taking advantage of professional development opportunities in these areas is the most useful when done in the late stages of a PhD program.
Networking
As you prepare to enter the job market, make networking part of your job search plan. When you attend professional conferences, make meeting new people part of what you aim to get out of the experience. And if you are exploring career options, consider informational interviewing as a way to both learn about jobs and establish valuable connections that could lead to job offers down the road.
Career Preparation
As a late-stage doctoral student, utilize career advising in your program, school/college, or the Graduate School to clarify your career goals and next steps, and take advantage of online tools like Beyond the Professoriate, Handshake, and ImaginePhD to explore options and prepare for your job search. Seek out internships and similar programs to gain hands-on experience that strengthens your skills and career readiness.
Check the graduate student events calendar for opportunities. Writing Center workshops can help with preparing materials—both academic and non-academic—and has on-demand guides for CVs, resumes, and cover letters in the Writer’s Handbook.
Leadership Development
The Office for Student Organizations, Leadership & Involvement connects students with opportunities to develop leadership capacity and offers a leadership certificate to interested students. The UW–Madison Leadership Framework further articulates ways you can engage in leadership on and off campus.
Entrepreneurship
The Weinert Center at the Wisconsin School of Business serves as a resource for all students interested in entrepreneurship and hosts the Distinguished Entrepreneurs Lunch program. The Innovate Network also provides resources in the campus and Madison community. To become familiar with intellectual property as you may encounter and produce it in your time as a student, check out the UW Libraries’ Intellectual Property micro-course or watch these videos on Intellectual Property and Invention Disclosure for Graduate Students.
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