Past Events › Academic and Career Development

Dr. Isaiah Hankel (The Cheeky Scientist) This section is created based on the networking strategies of some of the most strategic networkers in the world and also goes into the science of building rapport and why this is important for the job seeking professional. While this topic tends to be popular, it seems people are still not using it effectively and thus we have detailed specific action steps job seekers can take, and specific scripts to use while networking. Workshop…

Dr. Isaiah Hankel (The Cheeky Scientist) This topic discusses the strategy of interviewing beyond just answering questions. There is an entire process of preparation for an interview, beside learning how to answer interview questions. We will detail the entire interview preparation that is required for professionals to demonstrate they are invaluable to a company; from the research to the categories of interview questions, and the best ways to respond. Workshop component: Live Interview Research, Body Language & Questions All PDI…

The Professional Development Initiative Presents: Writing Workshop Series: Writing Strategies For this highly hands-on workshop, expect to learn strategies to employ while pre-writing, writing, and revising documents, such as journal articles, your thesis, or even a short email. This workshop is intended for students who know what they need to write and have done the necessary research but may be struggling with getting words on paper or making sure the words on the paper are the ones they really want.…

Dr. Isaiah Hankel (The Cheeky Scientist)  Most jobseekers don’t negotiate even though companies expect them to negotiate. We will cover how companies start negotiations long before the candidate realizes, to condition the candidate for a lower salary. We will demonstrate how to spot these negotiation techniques and then the order in which a candidate should negotiate so that a candidate can put themselves in a position of strength to negotiate on average 10-15% higher salary. Workshop component: Live negotiations in…

The Professional Development Initiative Presents: Writing Workshop Series: Writer's Block   So you've got a deadline, you know you need to write something, ANYTHING, but the words just aren't flowing! You've followed writing strategies, and they just aren't working! For this highly hands-on workshop, attendees should expect to learn and practice multiple ways of getting past those invisible barriers to writing. Through guided exercises, attendees should expect to leave the workshop feeling more confident in overcoming writer's block. As such,…

With recent government budget cuts throughout the United States and limited funds going to higher education, the availability of faculty positions have been few and far between. When a faculty position does open up, competition is high. Although many applicants are qualified, many applicants do not succeed in their search for a faculty position because they are simply not prepared well enough when they enter the job market. Preparation of a faculty application package goes well beyond sending a resume…

This workshop contains three segments focused upon preparation and landing an academic position in the humanities, social sciences and business.  Segment 1 is an overview of the job seeking process from early graduate school to negotiating your offer.  Segment 2 is a panel discussion emphasizing three components of the process; early (building competencies), middle (the application), and final (appointment negotiation).  Segment 3 is a breakout session for students to speak directly with panel members from specific disciplines. All PDI events…