Going Beyond Subject Matter: How to Identify Skills Employers Want (Beyond the Professoriate)

Graduate education and postdoctoral training give PhDs the opportunity to develop deep expertise in a specific subject area. But for most PhDs who pursue nonacademic careers, what connects their graduate training to their professional life is not their subject matter — it is the skills, values, and interests they developed along the way.

When starting a nonacademic job search, many doctoral students and postdocs ask: “What can I do with my PhD?” But that is often not the most useful place to start. A more productive question is: “What skills have I developed, and where can I apply them?”

In this webinar, you will learn how to reflect on your graduate training, identify the transferable skills you’ve developed, and communicate your value clearly to nonacademic employers — in your job documents and in interviews.

This webinar is designed for doctoral students, PhDs, and postdocs from all academic disciplines who are wondering:

• How do I identify the skills I’ve developed in my graduate training?
• What do nonacademic employers look for in a candidate — and how does my background align?
• How do I communicate my value to employers when my expertise is highly specialized?