These seminars offer training in many skills you won't find included in your coursework—skills that can prepare you for your life beyond graduate school or your postdoctoral training. Topics such as writing grants, navigating institutional grant processing, providing effective leadership, resolving conflicts, and communicating in a variety of situations can help you envision your success in the future, wherever the future takes you.
Graduate students and postdocs are welcome to register for one seminar or many, according to their interests and schedule.
Spring 2010 Seminars
Registration is required for all events.
Registration opens January 11 for events scheduled before March 12.
Registration opens March 1 for events scheduled after March 12.*
*Exception: PDS Seminar:
"Emotional Intelligence: A Different Type of Intellect" is currently open for registration.
Hard Conversations: How to Handle Them
Dr. Christie Knittle-Mabry, Executive Coach & Director of Leadership Development at Biogen Idec
Tuesday, 9 Februrary, 12-2:00 p.m., 3118 Talley Student Center
Co-sponsored with the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and with the University Graduate Student Association (UGSA).
We all need to have difficult conversations with people in both professional and personal realms. These can include asking for a promotion, talking to someone about a difficult matter, or an interaction where emotions run high and opinions can vary. Dr. Knittle-Mabry will share insights on how to effectively conduct "crucial conversations," those discussions that are a necessary part of both professional and personal life but can cause angst, stress, and conflict. Five lucky postdocs and five lucky graduate students will receive a copy of the book Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High. UGSA will provide free pizza for this seminar. Register here.
Interview to Impress: A Workshop
Ms. Carol Schroeder and Dr. Woody Catoe, University Career Center
Friday, 19 February, 12-1:30 p.m., Walnut Room, Talley Student Center
Co-sponsored with the University Graduate Student Association (UGSA).
How do you leave a strong impression during a job interview? In this session, the Director and Associate Director of the University Career Center will share tips and strategies that they learn from employers about the best way to present yourself as a job candidate. This session will include the chance to practice what you learn from the presentation in a mock interview. UGSA will provide free pizza for this seminar. Register here.
Are You LinkedIn? Social Networking 101
Dr. Patrick Brandt, Associate Director of Biomedical Graduate Training Initiatives at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
New Date and Time : Thursday, 25 February, 9-10:30 a.m., Blue Room, Talley Student Center
Co-sponsored with the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.
In this hands-on workshop, Dr. Brandt will show attendees how to use the online professional networking tool LinkedIn. The workshop will be most effective if you have registered for and started your own LinkedIn profile prior to the workshop. Please bring a laptop in order to participate in this seminar. Tasks that will be demonstrated include:
- • how to set up your profile for maximum visibility and impact
• how to add publications, PowerPoint presentation and even video to your profile
• how to import contacts from webmail, outlook or your Mac address book to build your connections
• how to find relevant LinkedIn groups and make contacts through a group
• how to perform reverse employer searches to prepare for interviews
• how to establish yourself as an expert on LinkedIn
Communicating in Teams
Dr. Joann Keyton, Professor, Communication
Friday, 26 February, 12-1:30 p.m., 2405 Williams
Co-sponsored with the University Graduate Student Association (UGSA).
Teams present special communication challenges. Whether you’re part of a team in the lab, at your job, or for a class project, you need to find ways to communicate respectfully with your teammates while maximizing your productivity and minimizing duplicated efforts. Our speaker literally wrote the textbook on group communication. UGSA will provide free pizza for this seminar. Register here.
Clues to Corporate Culture
Dr. Lynda Aiman-Smith, Associate Professor, Management, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Friday, 5 March, 12-1:30 p.m., Walnut Room, Talley Student Center
Co-sponsored with the University Graduate Student Association (UGSA).
Interviewing for a job or starting a new position bring with them the challenges of learning what your new or prospective company values. With an understanding of these values and the corporate culture, you can assess whether a prospective employer would be a good fit , and plan your accomplishments on the job so that you’ll earn recognition and the potential for promoting your career. UGSA will provide free pizza for this seminar. Register here.
Getting Your Research Published
Dr. Shawn Utsey, Associate Professor, African American Studies and Psychology &
Chair of African American Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University
Tuesday, 9 March, 12-1:00 p.m., 3118 Talley Student Center
Co-sponsored with the Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity and the University Graduate Student Association (UGSA).
Dr. Utsey will discuss strategies for getting your research published from the perspective of a journal editor. As former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Black Psychology, Dr. Utsey brings a wealth of experience in seeing both successful and unsuccessful papers, and he will share his expertise in this seminar. UGSA will provide free pizza for this seminar. Register here.
Emotional Intelligence: A Different Type of Intellect
Dr. Rhonda Sutton, Director, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
Friday, 26 March, 12-2:00 p.m., Walnut Room, Talley Student Center
Co-sponsored with the University Graduate Student Association (UGSA).
You might know your IQ, but do you know your emotional intelligence “score”? This seminar will introduce you to the core elements of emotional intelligence and teach you how to “increase” your intelligence to benefit your health, relationships, and work. You’ll leave with a better understanding of how your emotional intelligence can improve your leadership abilities.
All participants will need to complete the EQi assessment by February 25 in order to register for this seminar. To begin the registration process, please contact pfl_assistant@ncsu.edu. Registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis and up to 25 participants can register. UGSA will provide free pizza for this seminar. Registration for this seminar is now open.
For ethical reasons, we cannot release the results of the EQi assessment to anyone who does not attend the seminar.
Be at Your Best: Improving Performance through Professional Self Awareness
Dr. Lis Borbye,
Assistant Dean for Professional Education, The Graduate School
Tuesday, 30 March, 12-1:30 p.m., Walnut Room,
Talley Student Center
Participants in this workshop will learn about the difference between performance indicators in the academic and corporate environments and how these condition students and employees. A set of common and frequently occurring yet often unexpected changes will be described, as well as how being out of the comfort zone may affect personal performance levels. Participants will gain understanding about key aspects of professional self awareness as a resource for sustainable peak performance and personal growth.
Leadership in the Private Sector
Mr. Lauch McElhaney MS ’77, Channel Manager, Starbucks Foodservice
Thursday, 8 April, TBA, 246 Monteith
What does it take to succeed as a leader in the business world? Lauch McElhaney shares the leadership principles that have paved his career path, which started with an MS in Rural Sociology from NC State and wound its way to his current position in Seattle with Starbucks. Mr. McElhaney’s talk will focus on the corporate culture at Starbucks and the way that culture has shaped him as a leader. Register here.
The Impostor Syndrome
Dr. Valerie Ashby,
Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Thursday, 8 April, 3-4 p.m., Blue Room,
Talley Student Center
Description: Coming Soon!
Have a suggestion for a future Professional Development Seminar? Email Dr. Melissa Bostrom with your idea!