Foundations of Career Planning: Self-Branding and Compiling Professional Work Search Documents (POSTPONED)

Compiling professional work search documents is an essential step in your career journey; however, effectively communicating your expertise and value to potential employers, whether for academic or industry positions, can be a difficult task, even for the most seasoned writers. Participants will leave this two-part session equipped to identify relevant positions, analyze job advertisements, and customize a wide variety of work search documents with clear, concise, and consistent messaging, style, and tone.

This interactive session mixes small group activities with content delivery to provide participants with practical, hands-on experience in creating work-search documents. Participants are asked to come prepared with their current resume and/or CV, bios, profiles, or any other work-search documents they would like to refer to. Please also bring or bookmark at least one specific job description or posting of interest.

Pre-work:

• Gather your existing resumes or CVs so that you’ll have all that you need to create a “master” resume. Please create one Word document with your existing bios and/or profiles.
• Search online for 1-2 samples of resumes and/or CVs, identifying what appeals to you and what doesn’t.
• Identify at least one job description, posting, or advertisement that interests you – even if you aren’t in a position to apply for that position at the moment, it will give you some concrete information to help with targeting your work search documents. The job description will be used as a reference tool to help in the creation of these work search documents.
• Come to the session with 2-3 specific questions or areas to focus on.

Participants may be encouraged to share work search documents with the cohort (~24 participants) for the purpose of workshopping these documents, but will not be required to share these documents with the cohort if not comfortable doing so.

Part 1: Compiling Your CV for Academic Positions

Your Academic CV is a key part of many job and grant applications and, as your academic “life story,” is a vital tool for researchers at any stage of their academic career. Over time, your CV will continue to grow in length and complexity; however, subtle organizational and design elements can support readability.

This webinar will discuss the essential considerations for your CV, review the Canadian Common CV (CCV) system, and touch on the basics of writing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) statements and teaching philosophies. Participants should leave this session feeling better equipped to build and maintain their CVs.

Learning objectives:

• Explore the full spectrum of employment possibilities within academia (e.g., lecturer vs. tenure track; research-focused vs. teaching-focused universities and colleges; local vs. international)
• Critically analyze qualifications for positions of interest using job posting criteria (e.g., years of experience, skills/competencies, professional designations)
• Practice crafting and customizing your CV and other support documents (e.g., teaching philosophy, EDI statement), applying key content, structure, and design considerations

Part 2: Crafting Compelling Resumes for Non-Academic Industry Positions

Your resume is one of the most important tools in your job search. It is used by employers to assess your fit both for a specific position and for the overall organization, and unlike an academic CV, the expectation is that your professional resume will be customized for the industry, employer, and specific position for which you are applying. Compelling, targeted resumes quickly and concisely express your value and expertise; generic resumes get lost in the shuffle.

This webinar will dive into how to craft compelling resumes and associated work-search documents (e.g., cover letters, profiles/bios) for industry positions. Participants will leave equipped to effectively communicate their “elevator pitch” and to prepare an industry-ready resume format, customized for a specific position or sector.

Learning objectives:

• Explore the full spectrum of employment possibilities within “industry” (e.g., part-time, full-time, or contract work; research laboratories; government; corporate)
• Critically analyze qualifications for positions of interest using job posting criteria (e.g., years of experience, skills/competencies)
• Practice crafting and customizing your resume and other support documents (e.g., cover letter, profile/bio), communicating your relevant accomplishments, and applying key content, structure, and design considerations

FACILITATORS

Dr. Roberta Borgen (Facilitator, Part 1: Compiling Your CV for Academic Positions)

Dr. Roberta Borgen (Neault), CCC, GCDF-i, CCDP, is an award-winning leader in the career development sector, in Canada and internationally. She is a published author and international speaker on topics related to career management. Roberta's academic career has involved contract work at 10 universities across Canada, the US, and Asia and including serving as the Associate Dean of a university in New Brunswick while running her BC-based consulting company. Her extensive experience supporting graduate students, postdocs, managers, executive leaders, and professionals brings unique perspective to crafting professional work search documents. At UBC, Roberta currently serves as an Online Education Faculty Mentor, Adjunct Faculty within the Masters of Counselling Psychology Program, and Interim Director of the Psychological Services and Counselling Training Centre (PSCTC).

Dr. Deirdre Pickerell (Facilitator, Part 2: Crafting Compelling Resumes for Non-Academic Industry Positions)

Dr. Deirdre Pickerell is a nationally recognized, award-winning, industry thought-leader with close to 30 years’ experience as a career development specialist, human resource professional, and adult educator. She brings a strong history of strategic and collaborative leadership, ensuring individuals, and the organizations that employ them, have the tools, resources, and skills that allow them to thrive. Deirdre served as the Dean of Academics and Dean of Student Success at Yorkville University and is currently Program Director with the Canadian Career Development Foundation (CCDF).

ACCESSIBILITY

If you have a disability, medical condition, or accessibility concern that may affect your full participation in the event, please email postdoctoral.fellows@ubc.ca in advance of the event.

DELIVERY FORMAT

This session will be delivered online via Zoom. The following suggestions may help to improve the online experience:

• Use headphones to reduce noise and avoid feedback between your mic and speaker.
• Ensure that you are in a quiet location so that the audio does not get polluted with unwanted noise.
• Keep your microphone on mute unless you are speaking during the session.
• In case of technical problems, time for plugin downloads, etc., please attempt to log into the Zoom meeting 10-15 minutes before the start. You will be placed in the waiting room until the official start time.