Some Highlights of a Career Symposium

Greetings again. I hope you’re doing well.

Recently I took part in a career symposium. This symposium was organized by postdoctoral fellows at Texas Medical Center. Its purpose was to help postdoctoral fellows and graduate students explore career paths, develop skills, and expand their networks.

At the symposium, I spoke at a session on careers in scientific writing. I was happy that many people came. A graduate student of mine who is interning at Texas Medical Center even surprised me by showing up!

I also attended other sessions. In one session I learned of individual development plans (IDPs), which help people to explore career options and set goals. Resources regarding IDPs include a website from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Another session focused on using LinkedIn for networking. The speaker recommended a video tutorial on using LinkedIn. She said the most important parts of one’s LinkedIn profile are the photo, profile heading, and summary.

The symposium included a session largely about the intersection of leadership and mentoring. Of course, given AuthorAID’s emphasis on mentoring, I attended.

Something extra at this session was an exercise on group behaviors. In this exercise, each person identified his or her most constructive group behavior and most destructive group behavior from among those listed. Insights from this exercise can help people work better in groups.

Although the symposium was mainly for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, it included content useful at any career stage. I look forward to using—and continuing to share—what I learned.

Until the next post—

Barbara