GSAS: Special Programs

Please visit the GSAS calendar for the most current program information.

Below please find descriptions of several special programs OCS offers each academic year for GSAS students. As indicated in each specific description, some programs are scheduled cyclically and others only during a given semester. For example, the Job Acceleration Work Group is offered during the fall semester and the Career Transition Work Group is offered at various times throughout the academic year. If you are interested in any of these programs, please read more detailed descriptions below and email the contact person to express your interest in future events.

Job Search Check-in Group—Spring 2013

If you are job searching, then you know it continues to be a tough job market and that staying motivated and proactive can be challenging. This group can help you stay focused, connected, and goal-oriented. Joining this monthly meeting enables you to get together with other GSAS students searching for nonacademic jobs to share tips and advice wherever you are in your search. Even as fall recruiting has ended this year, many organizations fill positions on a “just in time basis.”

Eligibility: PhD/Masters students from all GSAS departments seeking nonacademic jobs. Space is limited.

Friday, February 8, 10:00–11:30am
Friday, March 8, 10:00–11:30am
Friday, April 5, 10:00–11:30am
OCS Conference Room

Registration is required. To register, email Heather Law (hlaw[at]fas.harvard.edu); include your name, G-level, and department.

Career Jump Start: Assessment, Skills, and Options—Spring 2013

Considering your next step after the PhD? Are you on the fence, debating between academia or a career beyond the Ivory Tower? What else is out there? Discover some exciting career options that might be a great fit for you and jump start your career! Join this four-session series for PhD students where you will consider whether a nonacademic career is right for you and learn the skills needed to begin the transition through in-depth self-assessment, brainstorming, and exploring career options.

Eligibility: PhD students and alumni from all GSAS departments.

Tuesday, April 16, 10:00am–12:00pm
Tuesday, April 23, 10:00am–12:00pm
Tuesday, April 30, 10:00am–1:00pm
Tuesday, May 7, 10:00am–12:00pm
OCS Seminar Room

Registration is required. To register, email Laura Stark Malisheski (malishes[at]fas.harvard.edu); include your name, G-level, and department.

Job Acceleration Work Group—Fall

Are you entering the nonacademic job market this fall? If so, then be a part of this informative group that will help you WOW employers. Learn how to best present yourself to prospective employers in current, HOT industries such as consulting, finance, patent law, biotech/pharma, etc. Join this multi-session program designed to help you:

• View your credentials from an employer’s perspective.
• Learn the details of the recruiting process.
• Find out what employers are looking for.
• Perfect your “elevator speech.”
• Develop your interviewing skills.
• Learn from other students about what works in the job market.