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PfLAGS
Planning for Life After Graduate School (PfLAGS)
PfLAGS is a two-day workshop held by the American Chemical Society (ACS) designed to inform chemistry graduate students and postdocs about their career options after graduate school and how to prepare for them. About two-thirds of the PfLAGS workshop is directed toward nonacademic careers in business and industry. Broadly defined, the workshop covers three topics: defining careers for chemists; some nontechnical skills and knowledge needed for career success (with an emphasis on industry); and finding employment opportunities (including a postdoc). A third optional day includes mock interviews and resume reviews.
CPDO hosted PfLAGS at the University of Michigan. The seminar was held Wednesday, February 29th - Thursday, March 1st, 2012. Mock interviews and resume reviews were held on March 2nd.
Register for PfLAGS:
PfLAGS Planning Committee:
- Chair: Se Ryeon Lee
- Marketing/ Advertising: Onas Bolton and Ping Guo
- Finances: Laura Thoma and Anna Wagner
- Planning: Ningkun Wang
Tenative PfLAGS Schedule
A Workshop Presented by the American Chemical Society Office of Graduate Education and Department of Career Management and Development, February 29 to March 2, 2012.
| Wednesday, February 29 | |
| 8:30 to 9:45 am | Introduction to Workshop: R&D in Industry, Government, and Academe (Joel Shulman) |
| 9:45 - 10:00 am | Break |
| 10:00 - 11:30 am | Teaching at Universities and Colleges |
| Dr. Anna Mapp, University of Michigan | |
| Dr. Ruth Ann Armitage, Eastern Michigan University | |
| 11:30 - 12:30 pm | Lunch |
| 12:30 - 1:45 pm | Working in Industry |
| 1:45 - 2:00 pm | Break |
| 2:00 - 3:45 pm | First Year on the Job: Academe and Industry |
| 3:45 - 4:00 pm | Break |
| 4:00 - 5:00 pm | Intellectual Property and Patents |
| Thursday, March 1 | |
| 8:30 - 10:00 am | The Postdoctoral Experience |
| Dr. Theodore Goodson III, University of Michigan | |
| 10:00 - 10:15 am | Break |
| 10:15 - 11:00 am | The Beginning: Starting Your Job Search |
| 11:00 - 12:15 pm | The Resume and Cover Letter |
| 12:15 - 1:15 pm | Lunch |
| 1:15 - 2:45 pm | The Interview |
| 2:45 - 3:00 pm | Break |
| 3:00 - 3:45 pm | Sample Mock Interview |
| 3:45 - 4:45 pm | Academic Employment Package |
| Dr. Mark Banaszak Holl, University of Michigan | |
| 4:45 - 5:00 pm | Summary of Workshop and Evaluations |
| Friday, March 2 | |
| Individual meetings (30 - 45 minutes) scheduled with student participants to do a resume review and/or mock interview | |