Career & Professional Development Learning Modules

The first step in building a meaningful career is learning what your career options are. In this module, you’ll explore career pathways that you can pursue with your degree. There are unlimited opportunities and a vast scope of different fields and positions in your area of interest. When considering a career path, it’s important to consider factors such as skills required, your interests and characteristics, how you define meaningful work, salary, location, schedule and hours, in person or remote, advanced degrees required and academic time commitment, and lifestyle and family. You’ll have the opportunity to explore all of these factors in the following steps:

1. Participate in Career Exploration Workshops offered quarterly during week 2
2. Attend a BioSci Industry Trek
3. Enroll in BILD 84R Career Exploration, a remote course offered in winter to undergraduates, taught by Dr. Joe Pogliano
4. Conduct informational interviews and learn how to conduct one by attending the Networking & Elevator Pitch Workshop during Week 6 and reviewing our Career & Professional Development Resource: Networking & Elevator Pitch

After you’ve researched what career options are available to you, it’s time to experiment and make discoveries. In this stage, you’ll discover your top professional interests and goals by applying to internships, on-campus lab positions, and jobs to secure after graduation. This module is all about learning how to tell your story, building your professional network, and conducting outreach, which you’ll do through the following steps:

1. Participate in Resume, CV, Cover Letter, LinkedIn, Cold Email and Networking & Elevator Pitch Workshops offered Weeks 3-6
2. Apply to our BioSci Co-Op Program
3. Apply to internships and jobs found on Handshake and our BioSci Industry Internships & Jobs page
4. Write cold emails to labs on campus that you’re interesting gaining experience at

Now that you’ve discovered and applied to meaningful career opportunities, you’ll be preparing for interviews. In this stage, you’ll launch your career by mastering your behavioral interview skills and learning how to successfully navigate the hiring process. You’ll learn about the hiring process and timeline, how to communicate with a recruiter and hiring manager, interview prep skills, and how to negotiate your salary in the following steps:

1. Participate in the Interview Skills & Salary Negotiation Workshop offered during Week 7
2. Participate in a virtual mock interview with an industry hiring manager during Week (prerequisite: attend Interview Skills & Salary Negotiation Workshop during Week 7)

You’ve either been hired or are actively applying to internships, jobs, Co-Op positions, or labs, and are ready to learn how to succeed in the workplace. In this stage, you’ll learn to lead by developing soft skills, which are skills that speak to your work ethic and ability to effectively interact with others and complete projects. Strong soft skills are critical even in the beginning of your career search. In fact, most employers admit they hire based mostly on soft skills because technical and scientific skills can be taught on the job, while soft skills are developed over time. So feel free to jump ahead to this module at any time. You’ll learn to develop soft skills such as leadership, collaboration, problem-solving, work ethic, adaptability, public speaking, written and nonverbal communication, and how to present at a conference and give a poster presentation, by following the steps below:

1. Participate in Soft Skills Workshops during Weeks 9 and Weeks 10