Career Navigator Lab LIVE
A six-part, LIVE online course for graduate students and postdocs in the sciences seeking clarity and guidance on how to find meaningful and fulfilling careers.
Join the waitlist today for sessions held in fall 2023 and spring 2024!
Do you instead prefer to learn via a self-paced format? Contact Stephanie (spearl@adaptiverootsconsulting.com) to learn more about Career Navigator Lab Online.
“The Career Navigator Lab really helped me identify ways to utilize my strengths more effectively. I am more confident in how I can present myself to new connections and potential employers. Being able to talk about challenges and successes with people in a similar career stage really helped me become more active in career preparation. I feel that I am equipped with the tools to help me be more resilient and flexible as I approach the next stages in my career. I’ve formed new connections and am more aware of different paths available to me outside of academia.”
Course Overview
Learning objectives
As a result of this course, participants will:
Be able to use a framework for navigating career uncertainty adaptable to changing and variable circumstances.
Identify their strengths, values, and passions and learn how to leverage these while approaching the job market.
Know how to test and discover new career possibilities aligned with their strengths, values, passions, and priorities.
This course includes:
Six, 75-minute LIVE Zoom sessions with the instructor and your classmates.
Top 5 CliftonStrengths Assessment (access code provided at beginning of course).
Opportunity to grow your network, gain moral support, and receive accountability to help you stay on track in prioritizing your career development.
Course contents
Session 1: Course introductions & exploring your values
Session 2: Creating an effective resume & cultivating growth mindset along your career journey
Session 3: Understanding your strengths & conducting career experiments
Session 4: Informational interviews & exploring what matters most to you in a job
Session 5: Peer review of draft resumes & LinkedIn profiles
Session 6: Course wrap-up & preparing for the road ahead
Course expectations
Participants are expected to attend and fully engage in each of the six, 75-minute Zoom workshop sessions. Sessions will be held live and include breakout discussions with other participants.
Participants are expected to complete homework after each of the six sessions. Homework will typically take one to two hours per session, though it is at the participants’ discretion to invest more time on each of the assignments. Most assignments will be completed on the honor system.
“If you’re looking to expand your horizons on available career options for researchers outside academia, want to learn how to network with professionals or are simply looking for motivation in a job search, this course is for you. Try it, you won’t regret it!”
About the Instructor
Dr. Stephanie Pearl, founder and principal of Adaptive Roots Consulting and CTA Certified Coach, became inspired to develop Career Navigator Lab as a result of numerous conversations with graduate students and postdocs seeking guidance on how to navigate career transitions in the sciences. Stephanie received her PhD from the University of Georgia (UGA) Department of Plant Biology in 2013 and worked in a postdoctoral research position at the UGA Center for Applied Genetic Technologies from 2014-2015. She then made her way to a science communication position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture by way of a 2015-2017 AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship. Following this experience, Stephanie worked in strategic communication, program management, strategic planning, and change management as an ORISE Fellow at the USDA Agricultural Research Service. When her husband, Drew, was offered his dream job at the University of Alabama, Stephanie embraced the move to Alabama as an opportunity to begin the next phase of her career experiment and become an entrepreneur. Stephanie founded Adaptive Roots Consulting in January 2022 and loves working with individuals in the sciences to find balance, authenticity, and impact in their careers.
“Stephanie is a fantastic guide through the career navigation process! The course taught me practical lessons like how to build a resume, and how to build a professional network and leverage it during the job search. More importantly, it changed how I think about finding a career. I learned how to recognize what I value most in a future job, what my strengths are, and how I can take an active, tailored approach to find a career that incorporates these values and strengths.”
FAQ
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This course is for early career individuals in the sciences seeking clarity on where and how to find meaningful work and how to navigate career transitions. This course is especially useful to those considering non-academic careers. Participants may find it most useful to take this course approximately 9 to 18 months prior to an anticipated career transition, though the course provides value regardless of the timeframe for the anticipated transition.
This course is NOT for you if you already know what job or career you want and are simply pursuing best practices in applying, interviewing, and negotiating.
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This course equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and mindsets to learn more about and prepare for any career path. Additionally, course instructor Dr. Stephanie Pearl is able to offer deeper insights into science communication, policy, government research and administration, and independent consulting based on her personal experiences in these areas.
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This course equips participants with skills, knowledge, and mindsets to take agency in generating their own career outcomes, whatever those desired outcomes may be.
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If you have additional questions not addressed on this page, please email Stephanie Pearl at spearl@adaptiverootsconsulting.com.