Grad School Professionalism 101 Webinars

“Impostor syndrome” is a feeling that you do not belong in a place, often related to new experiences in graduate school and academia, but also connecting to many other areas of life and work. We might feel like an “impostor” in these settings because we look different, talk different, or have different life experiences from the perceived “cultural norm.” This detrimental internal narrative can prevent us from being our most genuine and authentic selves. Reflecting on this and sharing our feelings with others are key steps in alleviating “impostor syndrome” and reaching our full potential.

Presentation Highlights

0:58 – Dr. Ana Barrata shares her understanding of impostor syndrome

11:30 – Impostor Syndrome bingo! You can download your own copy here. This is produced by Dr. Sarah Ballard and the University of Florida.

19:20 – Impostor Syndrome vs. Reality

25:00 – Coping with impostor syndrome. Realize you are not alone! and more.

28:00 – Academic culture and impostor syndrome. Coping mechanisms. There is no guidebook of “how” to be in graduate school. There are norms that are not explicitly stated.

32:20 – Jargon terms that “haunt” people new to academia such as “epistemological assumptions”, “multi-variate analysis” and “construct validity”. It’s ok if you do not understand all these (and other) jargony terms when you are starting out! Ask or look them up and don’t feel bad.

33:30 – Top five ways to thrive. Humor… and other ideas.

37:40 – Impostor syndrome and marginalized identities.

39:20 – the difference between shame and guilt.

47:58 – Alternative professional pathways. Find your own path!

Friday, February 14, 2020 12:00-1:30 PM (ET) In this stream, Dr. Shelby Summers Ballard discusses job searching and interviewing tips to assist Miami University graduate students in their post-study job search.

In this webinar, Shelby Summers Ballard discusses tips for improving CVs and Resumes and when to use each.

Going live Friday, November 8th, 2019 from 12-1:30 pm. This presentation, by Learning Specialists Tory Lowe and Anna Baratta from Miami University’s Rinella Learning Center, will cover effective ways to teach students how to learn.

Dr. Shelby Summers Ballard is Associate Director of Academic Initiatives and Special Projects and Graduate Student Advisor at the Center for Career Exploration and Success (CCES) at Miami University. She works with a staff of 28, a large group that can help you with many elements of career exploration. Her presentation covers various services and tips for supporting your career development. 

Note: We apologize for some background noise during the presentation. We were working out our audio recording system for this talk. 

Don’t forget to join our Project Dragonfly group on LinkedIn. The group has >600 members as of October 2019 and is growing. 

See “Presentation Notes” below to jump to specific areas of the video. 

Presentation Notes

@1:40 How Miami’s Career Center can help with resume or CV review and development, interviewing strategies including mock interviews (online through Big Interview System), graduate school applications (e.g., for PhD programs), preparing for academia versus industry interviews, likely questions for first versus second interviews, and more. 

@5:21 Miami’s Handshake portal which is used to schedule 30 or 60 minute consultations with Dr. Ballard, as well as searching vetted job postings.How to upload a resume and set up a profile in Handshake (aka “LinkedIn lite”). 

@9:15 Setting up individualized career coaching in 30 or 60 minute increments via phone call. 

@12:00 Using Miami University’s Big Interview system to schedule a mock interview. Works for remotely based students as well as those on the Oxford campus. 

@16:45 “Job shadow days”, 12-20 students visit an employer in Cincy or Columbus areas. Mostly focused on undergrads but can be for some grad students. 

@ 21:20 Updating your LinkedIn profile. Follow along with Shelby as you make updates! Lots of great tips in this section on building your LinkedIn profile including tips for profile pics, using first person to express your life narrative, personalizing your “About” section and more. 

@36:17 Using LinkedIn for job searching using various searches and the Miami alumni network.  

@48:06 Using LinkedIn to search for non-profit jobs including how to turn on job alerts so recruiters can contact you. 

@52:56 Using Miami Alumni Connect, a community of 4,000 Miami alumni who have opted to be mentors for current students. Find someone who is in a position you would like to have so you can find out how they got in that position!  

@55:46 Questions and Answers