I was the seminar speaker for 8/5′s event. The title of my talk was “Overqualified and Underexperienced: Breaking the PhD Job Seeker’s Curse”. We had a wonderful turnout — I suspect many PhDs encounter this curse.
Since you’re members of this group you have probably read about this topic in the discussion archives. I presented information from the 2 key chapters of PhD [alternative] Career Clinic (book) that talks about “overqualified” and “underexperienced”.
I want to use this thread to share with you the questions I’ve received from the PhDs who have applied for jobs, especially the interview questions. The memorable ones:
- How do you answer the question, “where do you see yourself 5-10 years from now?”
- How do you answer the question, “what are your weaknesses?”
- How should a cover letter be constructed?
- What does networking really mean?
… and my favorite:
- How do you answer the question, “If you were a body of water what would you be?”
I suspect most of the attendees found value in the interactive Q&A session and we went about 30 minutes over our scheduled time for the Q&A, which was great for me because that’s where I get the most value (and have the most fun).
I appreciate ACES for letting me bring copies of my book. I was able to sell all of them and not have to lug them back to Los Angeles with me! My memorable moment here was when one of the professors bought 1 copy for himself and 1 for his student. I thanked him for being there for his student wanting to explore alternative careers. I love advisors like him.
Then I went with the ACES officers for a nice lunch and that was also memorable because we’re a much smaller group and so people asked me more personal questions best reserved in a small group setting.
Kudos to the Mizzou ACES officers for this excellent seminar series and the support they offer for their PhDs!
Jane
