When I think about looking for jobs, or anything really to do with building my career, I immediately think about a resume, a CV, or a LinkedIn account. In essence they are all very similar – they all give someone a chance to learn about your experiences, and what professional experiences you have. And for some time I thought that was it, you wrote what you’d done, people saw it, and if you’d done the right things, they’d give you a job. But it turns out, there’s a lot more to being a professional than that. Here are my top three tips:
Networking: You have to know people, not just related to your field, but have a broad network of people across various fields that you can reach out to. It gives you the ability to connect to people from various disciplines and backgrounds, demonstrating your ability to communicate, and showcasing the broadness of your knowledge and experience. A great place to do this is at clubs, classes, in lab or even at a career fair (http://www.career.uci.edu/students/networking.html)
Pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone: Graduate school is an opportunity for you to grow in many ways, but in order to make the most of your experience, you need to push yourself to go beyond what you are comfortable doing. Note, this does not mean pushing yourself into unsafe positions. This means anything from a little change like learning a language that you’ve wanted to learn for ages but have simply not been able to. Or it can mean getting involved in a club that you would not have ever tried out for, maybe a sports team! The point is, there are a lot of things that you can do at UCI, don’t miss out on them! For example:
- Take an opportunity to improve your writing skills! Use the Graduate Resource Center Writing Support Program!
- Learn how to speak in public – this will be great for anything, even presentations for conferences.
- Use the Graduate Resource Center (GRC) for all their great boot camps, and certificate programs! They have great programs that help you learn the soft skills that you will need to appear confident to your peers and interviewers!
Planning: When you’re grinding your nose in work all day, the last thing you want to do is plan the next day, week, month, or year of your life. But the most successful professionals out there do just that. They create a plan for the upcoming week or day, and keep in mind what their long term (a few months to years) goals are. That way they can stay on top of the ball, and know that they are taking small but certain steps towards their dreams. Personally, I’ve found that spending 15 minutes on Sunday evening planning out my week gives me the boost on Monday to start early, and get things done. Plus, I love the feeling of crossing something off my list!
What do you think of when you’re planning your career? What were some of your best/worst professional moments? Have you ever felt like you’ve made the worst career choice and its turned out great for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and questions!
Need more professional development tips and techniques? Here are two of my favorites!
- 10 Ways to Maximize Your Professional Development
- Professional Development Tips around Seeking/Finding Jobs by Princeton University
There are also meetup groups for young professionals. I think it’s a good way to meet and socialize with young professionals outside of your field & outside of UCI.
For example:
https://www.meetup.com/20s-30s-Young-Professionals/?_cookie-check=JFfau62zwJd_Yvx7