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Professional development doesn’t always have to feel like work
Sometimes it’s a relaxed, engaging conversation over a meal with interesting folks.
Sometimes it means getting together with a group of peers to share experiences and support.
Sometimes it will have you tapping into your creative side for improvisational fun and games. (more…)
Self-assessments are not just about you
Earlier this month, I attended the “Enhancing Your Leadership by Understanding Your Personality Type” workshop offered as part of the Graduate School’s Professional Development Series. During the workshop, career consultant Shelly Hoover-Plonk discussed the characteristics of the sixteen Myers-Briggs Types and the implications of these personality preferences in the workplace. Career counselors, schools, and employers have been using the Myers-Briggs assessment for decades, so you may already know your type and what this identifier says about you. But what does your type mean for those around you?
Reflections of an undeveloped careerist
Professional development isn’t why I came to Duke. I came here to be formed as a scholar, a researcher; to become a better writer, which also means to become a better reader, which means that my eyeglasses prescription strength is proportional to the federal debt.
The questions soon follow, though. “When are you going to get a real job?” I can ameliorate the interrogation by explaining that I’m living fine, that I’m getting paid to do something I absolutely love, that I have health insurance and that I’ve been putting money away for the future. Of course, the “life of the mind” doesn’t seem so appealing to those outside my mind. (more…)
What’s next?
You may have begun graduate school for a variety of reasons—a love of research, a passion to make an impact through your work on a particular topic, the chance to study with an inspiring scholar among our faculty, a career aspiration that requires a master’s or doctoral degree, or simply a recognition that a graduate degree opens many more professional doors than a bachelor’s degree does. And if you’re a Duke graduate student, you probably had the chance to choose Duke over several other competitive options. You’re a goal-driven, ambitious, forward-looking person.
After Duke, what’s next? (more…)
