Professional Development Workshops
Career and Professional Development and the Graduate School offers many workshops designed for graduate students. Find more information below about upcoming workshops.
Meet CPD: Career Resources for Graduate Students
This 30-minute session introduces you to Career and Professional Development (CPD) and the resources available to support your career development and job search
Tuesday, January 20th | 2:00-2:30 (Session 1)
Register in Handshake: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878654/share_preview
Friday, January 23nd | 12:00-12:30 (Session 2)
Register in Handshake: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878665/share_preview
30-Minute Career Boost Workshop Series
30-Minute Career Boost for Grad Students: Career Fair Prep
Wednesday, January 21st | 12:30-1:00
Spring career fairs start February 3rd—are you ready to stand out? This workshop gives you the essentials: how to research employers, craft your pitch, and make a confident first impression. Get the key strategies you need to navigate career fairs like a pro
Register at: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878807/share_preview
30-Minute Career Boost for Grad Students: Crafting ATS-Friendly Resumes
Wednesday, January 28th | 12:30-1:00
Stand out in your job search with a resume built for today's hiring process. This workshop covers the essentials: crafting an effective resume that gets past Applicant Tracking Systems, highlighting your graduate experience, and using generative AI tools to strengthen your writing. Get practical tips you can apply right away to stand out in your job search!
Register at: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878810/share_preview
30-Minute Career Boost for Grad Students: CVs and the Academic Job Search
Wednesday, February 4th | 12:30-1:00
How do you stand out in a competitive academic job market? This workshop covers how to structure your CV for faculty and research positions, plus essential strategies for the academic job search process.
Register at: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878821/share_preview
30-Minute Career Boost for Grad Students: Academia to Industry
Wednesday, February 11th | 12:30-1:00
Thinking about industry careers but not sure how to translate your academic CV? This workshop will show you how to transform your academic experience into a compelling industry resume. Learn what to emphasize, what to cut, and how to reframe your skills for non-academic employers.
Register at: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878826/share_preview
30-Minute Career Boost for Grad Students: Job Search Strategies
Wednesday, February 18th | 12:30-1:00
Want to run a more strategic and successful job search? This workshop covers the essentials: conducting industry research, gap analysis, and connection with alumni. You'll also learn about key resources like Handshake, CareerShift, and Interstride to support your search.
Register at: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878830/share_preview
30-Minute Career Boost for Grad Students: Networking
Wednesday, February 25th | 12:30-1:00
Want to expand your professional network beyond your department? This workshop covers the essentials: utilizing LinkedIn, conducting informational interviews, navigating conferences strategically, and building relationships that support your career goals.
Register at: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878839/share_preview
30-Minute Career Boost for Grad Students: Interviewing
Wednesday, March 4th | 12:30-1:00
This workshop covers the essentials of the interview process, including a clear formula for answering behavioral questions and how to research and prepare for common interview questions. You'll leave with practical techniques to help you perform at your best!
Register at: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878841/share_preview
30-Minute Career Boost for Grad Students: Offer Negotiation
Wednesday, March 18th | 12:30-1:00
Received a job offer and not sure what to do next? This workshop covers key factors in evaluating career decisions, effective negotiation strategies, and best practices for responding to offers—whether accepting or declining. You'll also discover online tools for researching salary ranges and cost of living to make informed decisions with confidence!
Register at: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878844/share_preview
Friday 15 Workshop Series
Resume Writing | Friday, January 30th 1:30-1:45
This quick 15-minute session delivers top tips for highlighting your graduate experience and getting past ATS.
Register at: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878850/share_preview
Job Search Strategies | Friday, February 6th 1:30-1:45
This quick 15-minute session delivers top tips for strategic job searching, connecting with alumni, and leveraging key resources like Handshake, CareerShift, and LinkedIn.
Register at: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878853/share_preview
Interviewing | Friday February 13th 1:30-1:45
This quick 15-minute session delivers top tips for interview success, including using the STAR format, researching questions, and effective practice strategies.
Register at: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/events/1878857/share_preview
If you need an accommodation, please contact Dr. Suzanne Shelburne at sshelbur@vt.edu
Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Zoom
Are you a PhD student interested in landing an industry career?
Join us to learn from Ashley Moses as she shares insights from her work as a career coach at Stanford as well as her interviews with 300 PhDs who successfully transitioned from academia to industry.
This event will:
- Share how they found opportunities, built meaningful connections, and approached applications strategically.
- Demystify the often-overlooked hidden job market and how most roles are found through people, not postings.
- Explain how to network effectively, prepare standout application materials, and craft a compelling story for industry roles – all while realizing the power of people in landing your future position.
The first 50 students to register *and attend* this workshop will receive free access to the PhD Paths Portfolio – a database of 300 PhDs, their industry careers, and interviews sharing how they found their current positions.
Register here.
This workshop is designed to help graduate students translate research ideas into formal written proposals to external sponsors.
January 14, 2026, 1-5 PM, Zoom and In-person at the GLC Multipurpose room
This workshop covers what you need to know to compete successfully for funding as an independent researcher, including:
- how to develop a long-term funding strategic plan
- how to identify and understand likely funders
- key steps for planning a fundable research project
- how to recruit collaborators
- and best practices and common mistakes to avoid when writing a competitive research grant proposal.
Register here.
Writing Series: Writing Sessions for Every Stage
Designed for graduate students in a writing phase at any level!
This series offers a variety of structured and flexible sessions to support your writing journey. Whether you’re seeking a structured writing period, a focused environment, or the freedom to drop in as needed, our offerings cater to diverse needs. From facilitated workshops and Pomodoro sessions to quiet, open writing spaces, this series allows you to develop skills, boost productivity, and bring your ideas to life. Embrace the chance to write, connect, and grow in a community dedicated to creative and academic excellence.
All-Day Writing Retreats* | 9:00 am to 4:00 pm | Options available for Blacksburg and DC Campuses
Graduate Life Center [Blacksburg Campus] | Academic Building One [DC Campus]
Snacks, Coffee, and Lunch will be provided for registered participants
- Wednesday, January 28 - Registration Closed
- Wednesday, February 18 - Register Here
- Wednesday, March 4 - Registration Coming Soon
- Tuesday, March 24 [Graduate Education Week] - Registration Coming Soon
- Monday, April 20 - Registration Coming Soon
- Thursday, May 7 [Reading Day] - Registration Coming Soon
Three Options for the All-Day Writing Retreat
- Facilitated Workshop | workshop during the first part of the morning, Pomodoro writing session the reaminder of the day
- Facilitated Pomodoro Writing Sessions [25-minute Proctored Session, 50-Minute Un-Proctored Session]
- Open, Quiet Writing Session [Recommended for Experienced Writers]
Zoom options available for all sessions
This event is intended for graduate students.
If you have any questions, please contact wdh@vt.edu.
Pre-registration is required for each event*
[You will receive a confirmation of your registration within 1-3 days after you submit the registration form]
Get into Grant-Mode: How to Identify Funding Opportunities and Refine your Grant Proposal to make your Research Shine
In this grant writing overview session, participants will learn about resources and strategies for how to find and prepare grant proposals. Topics to be covered will include how to analyze funding agencies and solicitations along with foundational knowledge of grant planning to prepare postdocs for their future careers in a variety of research occupations. Resources will be shared for various postdoc fellowship opportunities, application requirements, and funding timelines.
Attend this session to learn the do's and don'ts of grant writing that are applicable to any researcher!
The facilitator, Dr. Lisa Nielsen, is a grant writer and currently Associate Director of Research Development at Purdue University College of Engineering.
New Faculty Hire Conversation Series 2025
As another faculty application period approaches in Fall 2025, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will host a series of new faculty hire conversations with individuals who have recently navigated the faculty job market to land assistant professor positions at Virginia Tech and beyond.
Attendees can hear about former postdocs' experience applying for faculty positions and are encouraged to come with questions on navigating the faculty job market. A variety of fields will be represented across the series which, aims to provide space for more personal conversations with new faculty hires. Each 1-hour session will be held over Zoom and will feature one new faculty member.
Attendees can register for sessions aligned with their field or all sessions to gain a wider perspective on the faculty job search and interview process.
Find the events here.
Power Ties: The International Student's Guide to Finding a Job in the United States
Date: September 30, 2025 | 3-4 pm EST
What Every International Student Should Know About U.S. Employment
RSVP: https://evt.to/eooaeioew
Tired of sending out resumes and hearing nothing back? Dan Beaudry, former head of campus recruiting at Monster.com, shares the potent job search system used by many international students to find U.S. employment. H-1Bs are won in ways you likely don’t expect. What you’ll discover in this talk may surprise you.
What You’ll Learn:
Through frank insights, relatable stories, and actionable strategies, Dan will discuss:
- Why 70 percent of open jobs are never advertised - and how to find them before anyone else.
- Why human resources is often an obstacle instead of a conduit to finding a U.S. job-and how to bypass it.
- Why submitting résumés online is not an effective use of your time-and how you can better invest that time.
- Securing H-1B sponsorship at companies that have a policy against sponsoring H-1B visas.
Following the talk, Dan will have time for questions from attendees.
Dan Beaudry
Professional Bio
Dan Beaudry, author of Power Ties: The International Student’s Guide to Finding a Job in the United States, is a nationally recognized expert on helping international students navigate the U.S. job market. Over the past decade, he has spoken at more than 100 universities, major industry associations, and in outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and Voice of America. A former Campus Recruiting Manager for Monster.com and Associate Director at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, Dan has spent over 20 years in recruiting—as hiring manager, career strategist, and headhunter, bringing a unique 360° view of hiring. Dan began his career in management consulting at Willis Towers Watson. He is the founder of LDP Connect, a global association of early talent development program managers and recruiters. He holds degrees from Vanderbilt and Boston University, studied at La Sorbonne in Paris, and lives in the Boston area with his wife and two sons.
Key Messages - Real Time for 2025 Challenges
Immigration policy has long been delicate and challenging, with international students facing particularly intense pressure today. Securing U.S. employment is never guaranteed, as only part of the process is within an individual’s control.
The focus is on maximizing that controllable portion: motivating an employer to extend a job offer. Political swings do not change the fundamentals of hiring, and the recommended system remains constant—ownership of the job search process, structured outreach, relationship building, and a long-term, non-transactional approach. These strategies create value well beyond the immediate job search.
Legal issues belong with lawyers and politics with policymakers, as both can shift rapidly. The priority is equipping international students with strategies to give themselves the best possible chance of U.S. employment.
The Individual Development Plan (IDP) concept is designed to help students define and pursue their career goals. Throughout the academic year, Dr. Surprenant leads this interactive workshop in-person and virtually. Learn what an IDP is, why IDPs are useful, and provide some tools for you to get started on making your own. Please note: NSF GRFP grantees are required to have an IDP on file with the Graduate School. View slides from this workshop.
This two-part workshop series is designed to foster professional development in graduate students planning to work in research intensive fields, whether in academia, government, or industry organizations. Graduate students will learn how to make their research more competitive, find funding opportunities, and make their research and themselves more visible and impactful for their graduate careers and beyond.
Workshop 1: Presented by Connie Stovall and Sarah Over
October 15, 2025, 3-5 pm EST. Zoom
- Strengthen your research through conducting research intelligence:
- Employ smart and effective use scholarly literature databases
- Conduct a basic patent and patent application search for existing technologies
- Use tools effectively for maintaining awareness of funding opportunities and conduct retrospective
- Utilize market reports to understand trends and gaps in STEM fields
- Find collaborators to strengthen your research
Register here.
Workshop 2: Presented by Rachel Miles and Emily Mazure
Nov 13, 2025, 3-5 EST. Zoom
- Strengthen your research visibility and impact:
- Manage your researcher profiles: what they are, why they matter, and how to manage them to your advantage: ORCID, Virginia Tech Experts, Scopus, Google Scholar
- Select publication venues for maximum visibility and impact
- Share or publish your work Open Access
- Promote presentations and publications for greater visibility and impact
- Understand research metrics and altmetrics: pros and cons
Register here.