The first section of the presentation bridges the gaps between academic training in departments and career and professional resources for graduate students, thus reconciling the student experience with their values, emerging career interests, and outcomes. It provides methods for faculty and departments to engage with campus resources and career/professional educators. We will also share the potential benefits of these outreach and collaborations, including strengthening mentor-mentee relationships, incorporating external advising support, and receiving potential grants and fellowship awards from external funding bodies.

In order to facilitate conversations between mentees and mentors, the second section of this presentation considers the graduate student’s perspective and introduces key career design resources. The presenters explain how career design aligns with the timeline of a degree program (master’s and PhD). Starting with the needs of early-career graduate students, the presenters walk through ImaginePhD’s assessment tool to highlight the fundamentals of Individual Development Plans (IDPs) and to explain the benefits of such a tool in the early stages of graduate school. The presentation then moves into exploring ImaginePhD’s Job Family Resources to discuss how the materials can be used to support students' exploration during the middle stages of their program. The workshop concludes by highlighting some of the key topics relevant to students preparing to enter the job market as well as early-career PhD alums who are transitioning into the workforce.