Graduate Student Professional Development: Job Visits and Job Talks

"Information Architect" © BUSINESSTOWN 2014–2015 

As I prepared my short remarks for faculty panel on professional development for the Organizational Communication and Technology area (Team OCT) graduate students, I was inspired by the wonderful artwork of Tony Ruth (@lunchbreath). My topic was the job visit and job talk.

I shared these principles: 

1. Demonstrate you can do the job
2. Ask questions
3. Be yourself
4. Remember that interviewing is embodied
5. Inform your support networks

Really though, I pointed them to the work of wiser folks than me including Dr. Edward Schiappa’s helpful book, and this handout of questions that I received from the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I mentioned too that ethnographic fieldwork provides a helpful model, and pointed folks to my piece with Rebecca Gill and Marleah Dean on practical advice for shadowing.