Internships
Internship Interview: Brig茅t Horne
Brig茅t Horne,
Beyond the Professoriate
This fall, I had the opportunity to do a paid internship with Jennifer Polk and L. Maren Wood, Co-Founders of Beyond the Professoriate. First, Jennifer Polk and L. Maren Wood are absolutely a pleasure to work and converse with. As fellow PhDs, both of them understand the challenges graduates and PhDs face as they move beyond the classroom. Through the network of PhDs they have built at Beyond the Professoriate, Jen and Maren bring career education and professional development resources to transitioning graduates. As their SEO Content Blogger, I enjoyed researching how to incorporate SEO strategies, which I later used to write 27 blogs. The blogs accompany a series of professional development webinars that range from developing a resume, to networking on LinkedIn, to negotiating in the work place. In writing the blogs, I learned so much more about how employers approach hiring and the strategies PhDs can use to leverage their academic degrees in academic and non-academic settings.
The coolest part about my experience is that I have access to a network of like-minded and established PhDs who are so enthusiastic about helping other graduates climb the professional ladder. Jennifer and Maren themselves have extended my work with them as a resume coach and researcher. I enjoy doing both of these things, and I have two wonderful mentors that understand the value of exposure and exploration in the work place! In fact, they both took 2 hours just to chat with me about their visions and what goes on 鈥渂ehind the scenes鈥� at Beyond Prof. I really appreciated this opportunity because I am an entrepreneur myself. During our chats, I learned about some like-minded African-American educators and two really cool, inexpensive websites I can use to host my own upcoming personal training panels. There are so many things I learned that I am leaving out here, but I would definitely and strongly recommend checking out their content or reaching out to them if you want to be empowered and wield your PhD like a pro!