This seminar is beneficial for individuals contemplating a Ph.D., like myself. Having previously engaged in research and attended conferences during my master's degree, I gained insights into the life of a Ph.D. student. The seminar reinforced the notion that a Ph.D. involves more than just research; effective communication with audiences and clients is crucial. The analogy of a Ph.D. student-advisor relationship to a marriage resonated with me, emphasizing the importance of careful selection and ongoing effort. Networking emerged as another key takeaway, especially relevant as I prepare for an upcoming conference. Establishing relationships with fellow attendees by actively listening to their presentations and posing intriguing questions was highlighted as a valuable strategy. Overall, the seminar provided valuable perspectives on the multifaceted aspects of a Ph.D. journey.
As part of the graduate seminar course, and more importantly from my personal interest, I watched more videos under the ECE 694A: Professional Development Seminar Series than I am leaving comments for. I enjoyed listening to the "The World of Engineering" session, presented by speaker Jim Watson, on his view and structural "big-picture" breakdown on the essence and "how to" in project management. Project management may sound trivial, and many cases sounds way easier than technical work itself, but what separates the good from the great is to really manage thorough PM Planning. Here are some of the most insights I gained from reflecting the session material on myself:
It is one thing to do what I feel to be meaningful, but it may not be the case for a corporate, a team, or anyone else besides me. Therefore, it is important to organize, in which case knowing "what is involved", "why involved", "How will Resources be Used", and etc. Extending this mindset to tasks and big picture of what I am doing. In doing professional work and delivering results in an efficient manner, be goal-oriented, is what Jim's point is on PM Planning. After each of these small aspects are considered, one will be half on his way to completing tasks successfully.
Jim also talked about many aspects of team work, such as values, diversity, communication, and motivation. What gave a great impression is his idea on motivation: you cannot motivate other people, but what makes impact is establishing environment, building enthusiasm, and most importantly, align. I reflected on the alignment concept, and I came to a conclusion that I need to improve on reverse thinking. For instance, when I encounter a problem that sounds impossible in natural first instinct, chances are reverse thinking will provide me creative ways to go-around the problem and attack it in an opposite way, from a different point of view, or apply the strength of a ride from another person. In order to achieve any of these, it is important to align objectives of people and things and try to find the common ground that will bring me benefit to solving a problem.
All in all, for me, Jim's talk is very intriguing and reflective for me, and I would recommend his talk to all thinkers. This may give you insight on teamwork, problem solving, and build career values.
After watching the Resume writing and Portfolio building seminars, this is a helpful seminar for job hunting. The reiteration of the CARS method in every seminar shows its importance and effectiveness. What recruiter’s want out of career fair is a really good insight for students making it easier for us to prepare for it., what we should want out of ti. How to prepare for it. How to network with the recruiters, Managing time and, carrying a map of the fair although seem very simple can save a lot of time, What to do after the fair is a very important topic that Ms.lynch talked about in fair depth.
I enjoyed the presentation overall but it lacked some detail compared to similar presentations that I have attended. This is probably due to the last 20 minutes or so of the presentation being dedicated toward explaining the new ECE694. From the information listed in the beginning, Professor Klimeck explains his past experiences in different industries and shares his takeaways from them. He also explains what he considers to be the main differences in each college degree. My favorite point was when he said that a bachelors is like learning a certain rule, then he says a masters is like learning many versions of that same rule, and finally he says that a phd is you making the rules.
Professor Klimeck also shares advice on how us students can land our first job after school. Although a lot was said, the main takeaway was to work on your communication skills. He shares that for all of his jobs, he knew the boss at least half a year before he had recieved an offer.
For me the one thing that keeps this presentation from getting a higher score is just how scattered the presentation seems to be. Most points he makes are not very in depth or different from what us students have been hearing throughout our academic career. Also even though the topics are pertain to the students in class' situations, the presentation does not have much structure where one idea will lead into another. That is not to say that this was a bad presentation, I just feel that most viewers will not watch this and come out with a new perspective on most things talked about.
This seminar was very nice and apt for me as I am in a very dilemma to decide whether to continue for a Ph.D. or not. Various aspects were discussed in the seminar which is really helpful. Such as how to choose a professor, funding aspects, etc. Another important fact which is generally missed is how networking and communication skill is an essential part of the Ph.D. journey. Professor Dimitri Peroulis mentioned that it can be really stressful and it requires a strong time commitment. He also suggests few things such as to communicate often with an advisor, works for a team and the same thoughts were also emphasized by professor Klimeck. Another very important point which came from this talk is Ph.D. is not about just getting another bachelor's or master's degree. It's about if we can think and solve a new problem which might not have even touched by anyone in the world. The point which I always ponder what to choose between a subject you love and a subject you are very good at. I thought I would get a bit idea bout this but this thought was not discussed in the seminar. Professor Klimeck emphasized the fact that it's not only about the paper and research, it's also very important to have team-building skills, supporting each other, communication skills, leadership skills. Overall it was a nice presentation and it has touched almost all the aspects of the Ph.D. journey.
This lecture was very well done. Ms. Phillips did a fantastic job of both giving context, advice, and methods of achieving the things she gave advice on. As a 1st year Ph.D. student, I have been looking for a resource manager and Ms. Phillips not only suggested many but gave insight into the differences between them and especially the advantages (ie. Mendeley is free). Furthermore, I did not know that Mendeley had integration with Overleaf, which I have begun to use extensively.
As I am beginning to write papers and starting to become concerned about my "name image", it is nice to know about Altmetric which allows us to track how many and the different ways my name is being used through multiple mediums. I also enjoyed learning about the different copyright rights that I have as someone who is submitting a paper to a journal. It was also good to know suggestions on how and when to express those rights (i.e. if your paper is not freely available it could make it hard for researchers to access it as well as be against the grant agreement if you are funded by a federal grant).
One thing that I do think could be fixed upon is the conversation of the misplaced and mislabeled data. While entertaining, I felt that it went on a bit too long, and could have easily been summarized in a couple of slides without losing any potency. This, however, is my only complaint on an otherwise very well done talk.
This lecture is great and provided many useful tips for my resume. She mentions the CARS system which I had not heard of before. In the past, I have heard of the STAR method which I believe is mentioned in the syllabus. Although these systems are almost identical.
I enjoyed her point on thinking about whether or not a job opportunity suits me. This is something that I do when I read job descriptions but it is difficult to tell how to tailor your work experience to the job opportunities. I have heard the idea of targeting a resume to a specific job opportunities before but it was helpful that she gave some examples on how to do that. This idea seems good in principle but also seems like a good amount of work to do that for each job. Some of the points she makes I have heard many times before. She discusses formatting at length but there are a few good tips like when printing the resume, print it on 2 pages if it is 2 pages. I.E. don't use front and back.
One downside. Several of the slides contain text that is very small and somewhat unreadable on the small screen provided by the player on this website.
Tim made several good points about preparing for an interview. I think his suggestion to think of the question you'd least like to be asked really helps in identifying weaknesses prior to the interview. He also makes some good points about focusing on your objective for an interview. Trying to build a professional connection may be just as useful as trying to get a job in the future. His points about reading your own resume to prepare talking points is an excellent suggestion for being ready for interview questions. He also suggested talking to classmates / peers to try to determine the format of the interview beforehand. I think that is especially important, and has been useful for me in preparing to answer STAR format questions. He also reminded me of the importance of following up an interview with a thank you note and making three forms of contact to stand out.
I just watched the seminar ‘Preparing for a Career Fair’.
Recently, around the September and October, many companies start to pay a visit to campus. Career Fair is a great opportunity for students to learn more the companies, network with faculties or recruiters or learn about the skills, culture needed in the following interview.
As a graduate student targeted at getting a job, I think it is very useful to learn how to behave in a career fair and what to do to prepare for a career fair. This is exactly what is talking in this on-line seminar.
The speaker gave a very useful format of element that should be mentioned in your narrative of your experience, that is, 15% of challenge or context , 45% of actions you took, 30% of results achieved and 10% of skills enhanced. I think that it can also be employed to the resume that we are working on. When we describe the job experience or the academic work that we have done, sometimes we get too vague and sometime we get too much details. This format may help us improve the resume. Of course, different from resume, our performance in the career fair is mainly oral, the standard is higher and may require practice.
It also reminds me many things that I once thought to be unimportant or ignored. For example, it is important to prepare some questions to ask during the conversation with the company. It is also important to dress formally.
Overall, it is a very useful seminar for students preparing to attend a career fair, and the speak is well organized.
Also I recommend the session of How to PhD because , at least for direct PhD students, the experience of doing a PhD is not a recipe to follow. So it would help you to realize how important is doing PhD.
Finally, I think it is very important to participate in this session Resume Writing Strategy because your resume may change depending of the country you are applying and the opportunity to have employers who give you valuable info makes the difference in many cases.
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Joseph Wang @ on
5.0 out of 5 stars
This seminar is beneficial for individuals contemplating a Ph.D., like myself. Having previously engaged in research and attended conferences during my master's degree, I gained insights into the life of a Ph.D. student. The seminar reinforced the notion that a Ph.D. involves more than just research; effective communication with audiences and clients is crucial. The analogy of a Ph.D. student-advisor relationship to a marriage resonated with me, emphasizing the importance of careful selection and ongoing effort. Networking emerged as another key takeaway, especially relevant as I prepare for an upcoming conference. Establishing relationships with fellow attendees by actively listening to their presentations and posing intriguing questions was highlighted as a valuable strategy. Overall, the seminar provided valuable perspectives on the multifaceted aspects of a Ph.D. journey.
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James Ct Zhu @ on
4.0 out of 5 stars
As part of the graduate seminar course, and more importantly from my personal interest, I watched more videos under the ECE 694A: Professional Development Seminar Series than I am leaving comments for. I enjoyed listening to the "The World of Engineering" session, presented by speaker Jim Watson, on his view and structural "big-picture" breakdown on the essence and "how to" in project management. Project management may sound trivial, and many cases sounds way easier than technical work itself, but what separates the good from the great is to really manage thorough PM Planning. Here are some of the most insights I gained from reflecting the session material on myself:
It is one thing to do what I feel to be meaningful, but it may not be the case for a corporate, a team, or anyone else besides me. Therefore, it is important to organize, in which case knowing "what is involved", "why involved", "How will Resources be Used", and etc. Extending this mindset to tasks and big picture of what I am doing. In doing professional work and delivering results in an efficient manner, be goal-oriented, is what Jim's point is on PM Planning. After each of these small aspects are considered, one will be half on his way to completing tasks successfully.
Jim also talked about many aspects of team work, such as values, diversity, communication, and motivation. What gave a great impression is his idea on motivation: you cannot motivate other people, but what makes impact is establishing environment, building enthusiasm, and most importantly, align. I reflected on the alignment concept, and I came to a conclusion that I need to improve on reverse thinking. For instance, when I encounter a problem that sounds impossible in natural first instinct, chances are reverse thinking will provide me creative ways to go-around the problem and attack it in an opposite way, from a different point of view, or apply the strength of a ride from another person. In order to achieve any of these, it is important to align objectives of people and things and try to find the common ground that will bring me benefit to solving a problem.
All in all, for me, Jim's talk is very intriguing and reflective for me, and I would recommend his talk to all thinkers. This may give you insight on teamwork, problem solving, and build career values.
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Aparna Karnik @ on
4.0 out of 5 stars
After watching the Resume writing and Portfolio building seminars, this is a helpful seminar for job hunting. The reiteration of the CARS method in every seminar shows its importance and effectiveness. What recruiter’s want out of career fair is a really good insight for students making it easier for us to prepare for it., what we should want out of ti. How to prepare for it. How to network with the recruiters, Managing time and, carrying a map of the fair although seem very simple can save a lot of time, What to do after the fair is a very important topic that Ms.lynch talked about in fair depth.
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Jonah Aifuwa @ on
3.0 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed the presentation overall but it lacked some detail compared to similar presentations that I have attended. This is probably due to the last 20 minutes or so of the presentation being dedicated toward explaining the new ECE694. From the information listed in the beginning, Professor Klimeck explains his past experiences in different industries and shares his takeaways from them. He also explains what he considers to be the main differences in each college degree. My favorite point was when he said that a bachelors is like learning a certain rule, then he says a masters is like learning many versions of that same rule, and finally he says that a phd is you making the rules.
Professor Klimeck also shares advice on how us students can land our first job after school. Although a lot was said, the main takeaway was to work on your communication skills. He shares that for all of his jobs, he knew the boss at least half a year before he had recieved an offer.
For me the one thing that keeps this presentation from getting a higher score is just how scattered the presentation seems to be. Most points he makes are not very in depth or different from what us students have been hearing throughout our academic career. Also even though the topics are pertain to the students in class' situations, the presentation does not have much structure where one idea will lead into another. That is not to say that this was a bad presentation, I just feel that most viewers will not watch this and come out with a new perspective on most things talked about.
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Risi Kumar Jaiswal @ on
4.0 out of 5 stars
This seminar was very nice and apt for me as I am in a very dilemma to decide whether to continue for a Ph.D. or not. Various aspects were discussed in the seminar which is really helpful. Such as how to choose a professor, funding aspects, etc. Another important fact which is generally missed is how networking and communication skill is an essential part of the Ph.D. journey. Professor Dimitri Peroulis mentioned that it can be really stressful and it requires a strong time commitment. He also suggests few things such as to communicate often with an advisor, works for a team and the same thoughts were also emphasized by professor Klimeck. Another very important point which came from this talk is Ph.D. is not about just getting another bachelor's or master's degree. It's about if we can think and solve a new problem which might not have even touched by anyone in the world. The point which I always ponder what to choose between a subject you love and a subject you are very good at. I thought I would get a bit idea bout this but this thought was not discussed in the seminar. Professor Klimeck emphasized the fact that it's not only about the paper and research, it's also very important to have team-building skills, supporting each other, communication skills, leadership skills. Overall it was a nice presentation and it has touched almost all the aspects of the Ph.D. journey.
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Sean Michael Kulinski @ on
5.0 out of 5 stars
This lecture was very well done. Ms. Phillips did a fantastic job of both giving context, advice, and methods of achieving the things she gave advice on. As a 1st year Ph.D. student, I have been looking for a resource manager and Ms. Phillips not only suggested many but gave insight into the differences between them and especially the advantages (ie. Mendeley is free). Furthermore, I did not know that Mendeley had integration with Overleaf, which I have begun to use extensively.
As I am beginning to write papers and starting to become concerned about my "name image", it is nice to know about Altmetric which allows us to track how many and the different ways my name is being used through multiple mediums. I also enjoyed learning about the different copyright rights that I have as someone who is submitting a paper to a journal. It was also good to know suggestions on how and when to express those rights (i.e. if your paper is not freely available it could make it hard for researchers to access it as well as be against the grant agreement if you are funded by a federal grant).
One thing that I do think could be fixed upon is the conversation of the misplaced and mislabeled data. While entertaining, I felt that it went on a bit too long, and could have easily been summarized in a couple of slides without losing any potency. This, however, is my only complaint on an otherwise very well done talk.
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Ryan Dailey @ on
3.0 out of 5 stars
This lecture is great and provided many useful tips for my resume. She mentions the CARS system which I had not heard of before. In the past, I have heard of the STAR method which I believe is mentioned in the syllabus. Although these systems are almost identical.
I enjoyed her point on thinking about whether or not a job opportunity suits me. This is something that I do when I read job descriptions but it is difficult to tell how to tailor your work experience to the job opportunities. I have heard the idea of targeting a resume to a specific job opportunities before but it was helpful that she gave some examples on how to do that. This idea seems good in principle but also seems like a good amount of work to do that for each job. Some of the points she makes I have heard many times before. She discusses formatting at length but there are a few good tips like when printing the resume, print it on 2 pages if it is 2 pages. I.E. don't use front and back.
One downside. Several of the slides contain text that is very small and somewhat unreadable on the small screen provided by the player on this website.
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0 Like 0 Dislike
Aaron M Barnes @ on
3.0 out of 5 stars
Tim made several good points about preparing for an interview. I think his suggestion to think of the question you'd least like to be asked really helps in identifying weaknesses prior to the interview. He also makes some good points about focusing on your objective for an interview. Trying to build a professional connection may be just as useful as trying to get a job in the future. His points about reading your own resume to prepare talking points is an excellent suggestion for being ready for interview questions. He also suggested talking to classmates / peers to try to determine the format of the interview beforehand. I think that is especially important, and has been useful for me in preparing to answer STAR format questions. He also reminded me of the importance of following up an interview with a thank you note and making three forms of contact to stand out.
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Lu Hu @ on
4.0 out of 5 stars
I just watched the seminar ‘Preparing for a Career Fair’.
Recently, around the September and October, many companies start to pay a visit to campus. Career Fair is a great opportunity for students to learn more the companies, network with faculties or recruiters or learn about the skills, culture needed in the following interview.
As a graduate student targeted at getting a job, I think it is very useful to learn how to behave in a career fair and what to do to prepare for a career fair. This is exactly what is talking in this on-line seminar.
The speaker gave a very useful format of element that should be mentioned in your narrative of your experience, that is, 15% of challenge or context , 45% of actions you took, 30% of results achieved and 10% of skills enhanced. I think that it can also be employed to the resume that we are working on. When we describe the job experience or the academic work that we have done, sometimes we get too vague and sometime we get too much details. This format may help us improve the resume. Of course, different from resume, our performance in the career fair is mainly oral, the standard is higher and may require practice.
It also reminds me many things that I once thought to be unimportant or ignored. For example, it is important to prepare some questions to ask during the conversation with the company. It is also important to dress formally.
Overall, it is a very useful seminar for students preparing to attend a career fair, and the speak is well organized.
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Enrique Aldana Sigoña @ on
5.0 out of 5 stars
I strongly recommend to not miss the "What's Better - National Lab, Industry, or Academia?". It's very helpful to rethink which is your ultimate goal but also be open mind for all opportunities that pop up.
Also I recommend the session of How to PhD because , at least for direct PhD students, the experience of doing a PhD is not a recipe to follow. So it would help you to realize how important is doing PhD.
Finally, I think it is very important to participate in this session Resume Writing Strategy because your resume may change depending of the country you are applying and the opportunity to have employers who give you valuable info makes the difference in many cases.
Best regards all.
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