Ohio States Office of Student Life, located in the Union, will host a virtual workshop Tuesday aimed at assisting with job negotiations. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Lantern File Photo
For students in graduate, professional or postdoctoral programs who want to pursue an industry career rather than teaching, negotiating job offers is an important skill to learn.
The Office Of Student Life’s Buckeye Careers will host a virtual Tuesday workshop highlighting job negotiation strategies — including how to think about one’s own budget and consider areas other than money, such as working from home.
Ryan Wilhelm, assistant director of career coaching for Buckeye Careers at the Younkin Success Center and a workshop presenter, said this workshop will focus specifically on negotiating within industry positions.
“A lot of people who attend these are Ph.Ds or postdocs at OSU, and then they’re deciding between, do they want to go try to be a professor or teach or do they want to head into industry?” Wilhelm said.
Jasmine Stephenson, career coach at Buckeye Careers and a third-year doctorate student, said it is important for students to pair their interests with their skills and values when searching for an industry position.
Stephenson said when it comes to negotiation, students must first understand the market and consider their expectations.
“A lot of those conversations just need to be had in a way that’s professional, respectful — not in a way where there’s any hint of arrogance or anything like that — but with some firmness and confidence in terms of what they bring to the table, Stephenson said.
Wilhelm said it is also vital to consider transferable skills gained during a graduate program. Stephenson said there seems to be more opportunity in industry than academia because of these skills.
“Maybe they’re doing a Ph.D. in psychology, but they’re probably doing a lot of statistical analysis, a lot of quantitative research — and those skills are applicable in so many different sectors of industry,” Stephenson said. ”They probably would be able to find someone who’s going to be a good fit for them.”
Wilhelm said students don’t spend enough time in the job search process networking with the over 360,000 university alumni currently on LinkedIn.
“Just reaching out to alumni and seeing if they’re willing to have conversations with them, that can be really fruitful in terms of making connections that lead to jobs in different places,” Wilhelm said.
The workshop will take place from 3:30-5 pm Tuesday. Students can register online.