Last night, Tom Magaldi from the New York Academy of Sciences gave a terrific talk on “Preparing for a Fulfilling STEM Career.”  Tom spoke about the following:

• Using self assessment tools (such as myIDP) to find careers that might be a good fit for your skills and interests.
• Career exploration (especially via informational interviewing)
• Developing a set of transferable skills that can take you beyond the bench
• Conducting a job search (resumes, cover letters, interviewing)

Tom generously shared his slides with us here:  CUNY Grad Preparing for a fulfilling career May 8.  He also reminded students of the many great events at the Academy and the terrific resources offered through the Science Alliance.

We are definitely planning to invite Tom back in the fall.  Many of the things he talked about could be presentations in and of themselves.  So, tell us here what you’d like to hear Tom talk more about next fall.

Anyone who is interested in doing self assessment with our office can do a SkillScan assessment with Emily Seamone.  SkillScan is an interactive assessment tool that helps individuals identify their transferable skills (i.e., skills that one can take from one career to another). This instrument contains 60 transferable skill cards that correspond with six major skill categories. Students/alumni sort the cards according to their proficiency level, preference level, and skill development, and then organize the results into an insightful chart. SkillScan is beneficial for those who want to take a comprehensive look at their transferable skill sets for the purposes of communicating such skills with employers on resumes, CVs, and cover letters; talking about their skills in elevator pitches, networking conversations, and interviews; and applying their skills to various career options and functions.  You can sign up to do a SkillScan with Emily here (be sure to make note of the fact that you’d like to do a SkillScan).  In June, we will begin to offer the MBTI/Strong Interest Inventory, two other well-known career assessments, to students and alumni. Stay tuned!

– Jenny Furlong