Syracuse University Gradcast

Elvi Caperonis , Technical Program Manager at Amazon and Life & Agile Career Coach, talks about how to stay adaptable in your job search and career using some of the techniques of Agile Methodology (used in software development). She also encourages you to increase your emotional intelligence and to discover and use your own super powers.

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Rebecca Schewe, Assistant Professor of Sociology and O'Hanley Faculty Scholar. Dr. Schewe takes us through the first-round or "screening interview" that colleges and universities use to determine whom they should invite for on-campus interviews. These meetings are short, to the point, and most often happen over Zoom or the phone. What are they looking for, and...

Shaundel Sanchez completed her Ph. D. in spring 2020 in Cultural Anthropology just as the pandemic hit, causing her postdoc in Germany to be cancelled and her to reevaluate her post-Ph. D. life and career goals. Throughout our interview she describes how she evaluated herself through self-reflection and refined her job search with networking successes along the way. Shaundel begins a Visiting Assi...

In this episode, Dr. Romita Ray, Associate Professor of Art and Music Histories, discusses the thorny issue of the reference letter, and encourages us to get started asking for them now! But before you ask, there's plenty to know: whom to ask, what information your referees need, how to "pop the question," and more. 

As many professionals work from home, we interviewed several alumni on their top tips for working well in your personal space. On today’s episode we’ll hear tips from: Tanya Achhra , G’18, Information Management, is a Program Manager at Amazon Web Services, and began her job working from home this past spring. Janak Khilnani , G’15, Information Management and Managing Consultant at IBM and has bee...

Zhicheng (Mike) Zhao , G'14, Computer Science graduate from the College of Engineering and Computer Science is currently a Tech Lead at Alibaba in China. Mike formerly worked as a Senior Software Engineer at eBay and lived in San Francisco where he created a large orange alumni community. Mike will provide tips for conducting your job search.

Join Syracuse University alum Laura Spenceley, PhD , who is assistant professor of School Psychology and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at SUNY OSWEGO to explore the ins and outs of effective teaching statements . A good teaching statement, Dr. Spenceley says, are "teasers for what faculty and students can expect from you when you're on campus." Yet so many statements let the reader down, so h...

Christa Kelleher, an assistant professor of (this is a mouthful!) Comparative Hydrology, Urban Hydrology, & Hydrologic Modeling in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, joins us this week to give us her take on the research statement. Given her preference for "shiny things," as she calls them, what makes a research statement shine? Listen to find out. 

In this podcast we welcome alumnus Meriton (Tony) Gollopeni, a December 2019 grad from the College of Engineering and Computer Science with a Master of Science in Structural Engineering. He now works as a Bridge Engineer at STV Incorporated in Baltimore, Maryland. Tony answers questions on how he secured a summer internship and full-time job. He gives advice for students conducting jobs/internship...

This edition of the Academic Job Market Series tackles the crucial and sometimes under-appreciated role of the cover letter in an effective academic job search. We answer so many questions: How long should your cover letter be? What is its purpose among so many other documents? How do you organize it,  and most of all, how do you save time when you have lots of applications to complete?

This episode features an interview with Shasta Savage, MSW. Shasta is also a Registered Yoga Teacher-200 (RYT). She is a Finger Lakes native with a background in the trauma-informed lens, human rights perspective, mindfulness and resilience. She strives to instruct wellness practices in the most accessible way. Questions we addressed: How is mental health, in general, being affected by the pandemi...

Glenn Wright, Ph. D., and Dan Olson-Bang, Ph. D., discuss creating a great CV for academic jobs, maybe the most important part of your application packet. This discussion includes: what are the key differences between a resume and a CV? What information goes on the CV and how should you organize the information? For research jobs, is there a way to organize your categories and information? What pu...

Join Tracy Bauer, G'15, and Dan Olson-Bang, Ph. D., as we answer your frequently asked questions on LinkedIn, such as: What is LinkedIn and why do I need an account? What should I include on my profile? How do I write a headline? How do I write a good “About” section? How do I find people to connect with? How do I network on LinkedIn? What should I post about in the news feed? What other features...

Glenn Wright, Ph. D., and Dan Olson-Bang, Ph. D., discuss the fundamental steps to get started (and when!) with the daunting process of applying for academic jobs. When do you get started? What kinds of materials are needed to apply to most jobs? And, of course, what is the process of interviewing for these jobs like? 

Join Tracy Bauer, G'15, and Dan Olson-Bang, Ph. D., as we answer your frequently asked questions on interviewing. - How do I prepare for the interview? - How do I start the interview? What’s small talk? (not asked but sometimes implied: Can’t we just get to the point?) - How do I know what the interviewer will ask me? - What questions do I ask in the interview? - What tips do you have for digital,...

Join Tracy Bauer, G'15, and Dan Olson-Bang, Ph. D., as we answer your frequently asked questions on cover letters. - I found some jobs that ask for cover letters. What are they and how do I write one? - Do I use the same cover letter for every job? - How is a cover letter different from a resume? - How do I speed up the process of writing cover letters?

Join Tracy Bauer, G'15, and Dan Olson-Bang, Ph. D., in answering your frequently asked questions on resumes. - What are some basics to know about resume writing? - Do you use a different resume for all positions? - As a joke: “Is this good? How about this? How about this? - I get a lot of conflicting advice about my resume. Who’s right? - How much information is enough for my resume? I want to inc...

Join Tracy Bauer and Dan Olson-Bang as we answer your frequently asked questions on networking. - What are the benefits of networking? What is the point? - How do I network as an introvert? - Who should I reach out to? - I asked someone for a referral but they refused.   - If I network won’t it really be like someone else got me the job?   - Networking isn’t working. No one is getting ba...

Join Tracy Bauer and Dan Olson-Bang as we answer your frequently asked questions on the job search: - When do companies hire? - I heard from a senior/my friend/roommate that…. - I reached out to recruiters but they aren’t getting back to me (or under networking) - I’ve applied to 200 jobs but no response. What’s wrong with my resume? - I’m panicked, or know I’ve been lazy, and have trouble staying...

Learn more about Syracuse University Graduate School's podcast, GradCast. Our episodes will offer a wide range of information for graduate students from career and professional development to speakers and event information. Subscribe today!