UW News

January 22, 2009

Career Discovery Week has information for current staff members, too

Career Discovery Week has been a yearly event at the UW for a decade, but this year for the first time a “staff track” will be offered, filled with sessions that might appeal to the already-employed. If you’re thinking about going back to school, trying for a promotion or just going in a new direction, check out the list of workshops on all three UW campuses. This year’s Career Discovery Week runs Jan. 26 to 30.

Given the tough economic climate, this might not seem like the best time to be plotting career moves, but Susan Templeton, career development manager in Professional and Organizational Development, thinks differently. “Regardless of what the budget situation is, or the economic climate, career development is important,” she said. “There are a lot of things you can do in place to develop your career.”

Some of the sessions being offered that might appeal to staff include Resume Writing and Interviewing, Making a Move from Peer to Supervisor and The Most Important Thing You Need for Success in a Tight Job Market. There are a number of sessions on particular areas of employment, such as sports, medicine and the environment, as well as on academic majors.

Professional and Organizational Development will offer its Resumes the UW Way workshop twice during the week. Submitting a resume for a UW job is different because of the electronic system, Templeton said.

“The way you present your information is different when you’re posting it electronically, and also you can only have one resume at a time in our system,” she explained. “So if you want to apply for several positions, you can’t target the resume, and targeting the resume is the conventional wisdom about the best way to be selected.”

The workshop will include some ways to handle this challenge. It also will cover using keywords and provides some resume and cover letter resources.

A workshop on Career Pathways at the UW will be held at the UW Tacoma. “We’ll be looking at how the University is organized, what the different areas are, and some of the jobs that use transferable skills that might be applicable in many parts of the University,” Templeton said.

She’ll also offer a session targeted for managers and supervisors called Creating a Culture of Career Development. “I want to give supervisors and managers tools and ideas for how they can support their staff in career development,” Templeton said. “I want career development to be seen as positive not only for the individual but for the University as well.”

Most of the sessions during Career Discovery Week are free and do not require advance registration (exceptions are noted on the Web site). Many are scheduled for lunch hours or late in the day to make it easier for staff to attend.

The inclusion of a staff track this year came about through Templeton and Don Gallagher, associate director of career servicesat the UW Alumni Association, who oversees Career Discovery Week. When Templeton took on the then-new position of career development manager two years ago, Gallagher talked to her about including staff in the week’s activities. Last year a few sessions were scheduled, but not a full track. This year for the first time, session leaders were able to check “staff” as one of the groups who might attend their sessions, and a track was added to the Web site.

Since becoming career development manager, Templeton has worked to build the supportive culture she discusses in her Career Discovery Week session. She has worked with employment specialists and recruiters within HR to put together some brown bag workshops that are offered free to staff during the lunch hour, she’s worked with some departments on team building and she’s doing some limited one-on-one career development counseling with staff.

“Almost universally when people come to see me, they say, ‘I want to stay at the University, but I’m not sure this is the right job for me,'” she said. “For some it hinges on relationships and recognition, but for others it’s a feeling that there’s more they can do, that they have things to offer that aren’t being tapped into.

“So I want to underscore the message that career development isn’t just about moving into a new position or getting promoted. It can be about figuring out how you can develop new skills in your current job.”

Templeton is also working with an advisory team to look at a longer-range plan — what needs to be in place at the UW to truly have a culture of career development. They’ve been assembling a toolkit for managers and also one for employees.

But essentially, Templeton said, it all comes back to the individual. “Career discovery, career development is a very proactive endeavor. So do some exploring, find out what’s out there, then look at your own situation and think about where you want to be.”

Career Discovery Week is one opportunity to do that.