Career Services is seeking a PhD student from any discipline to coordinate a career exploration program for PhD students at Penn as the PhD Professionalism Fellow. The ideal candidate is a PhD student who would like to take an active role in learning about and highlighting career options for PhD students at Penn as part of a one-year fellowship opportunity.
Each year, Career Services hires a PhD student to develop and expand on their PhD Career Exploration Fellowship (CEF) program which encourages non-faculty career exploration among doctoral students by facilitating networking experiences and fostering mentorship relationships with advanced degree holding professionals. Each new PhD Professionalism Fellow working on this project has supported their goal of growing and evolving this program to include a diverse range of hosts on and off campus, to include more PhD students from underrepresented populations to serve as Career Exploration Fellows, and to find new ways to support the professional and career development of the fellows.
They are seeking candidates who can bring a high level of creativity and enthusiasm for supporting PhD students in their career and professional development. Skills in relationship building, event planning, project coordination, organization/time-management, and a willingness to learn are eagerly sought; general knowledge of the University and support services is preferred. This is a fabulous opportunity for PhD students in their second year and beyond.
Projects and Responsibilities:
- Support the continued development and growth of the Career Exploration Fellowship program for PhDs through recruiting new hosts on- and off-campus
- Devise and implement new strategies for increasing student interest in and applications for the program
- Communicate with hosts, applicants, and Fellows throughout the application and program timeframes
- Assist with identifying ways to streamline the application and fellow-host matching processes
- Monitor and keep track of host, applicant, and fellow information
- Brainstorm ideas for additional activities that will benefit and engage the Fellow and host communities
- Assist with online resource development, write and develop content for website, social media and other resources
- Explore new ways of engaging with CEF alumni through the alumni database of CEF Fellows
- Explore opportunities to apply for internal grants and funding through Penn to support this initiative.
- Attend occasional team meetings
What You’ll Gain:
- Expand your own professional network through recruiting and communicating with advanced-degree holding professionals and Penn alums in a range of industries, organizations, and companies
- Learn about different career opportunities for PhDs and hear about the career paths of hosts
- Learn career and professional development tips and strategies for navigating your own future
- Enhance your skills in project coordination that are applicable to wide range of careers through coordinating a program serving 30+ hosts and 40+ students across industries and disciplines.
- Grow your skills in building and cultivating relationships with different stakeholders
- Gain first-hand experience working in higher education administration and achieve tangible results at the end of the one-year fellowship opportunity
Hours and Compensation:
The PhD Professionalism Fellow works for Career Services on an hourly basis from September 2022 to the end of May 2023. The fellow will receive $20 per hour. The fellow is expected to work approximately 5-10 hours per week. Please note that BGS students will need to receive approval by submitting the form for additional compensation.
Please apply with a resume and cover letter (preferably in single pdf attachment) to Dianne Hull at dhull@upenn.edu by end of day on Monday, August 22nd.
