Sorry I am a bit late on this one. Did I mention, Kel is buying a bookstore? As we box up about half of the 30,000 (no that’s not a typo) books shoved into every available nook and cranny by the previous hoarder owner, I have been knee deep in amazing, old, obscure books, including a two volume set from the 1700s!

It’s been delightful. And completely consuming.

Anyway, this week we address a moment that makes many people deeply uncomfortable: Talking about what you do, in a way that doesn’t send your non-academic listener directly a) to sleep, b) into a rage spiral.

Because, most PhDs do not have a problem speaking about what we do. We LOVE to talk about what we do. But we do have a problem translating. When asked what we do, we default to academic language that is narrow, abstract, tedious, or self-involved. Or we trail off helplessly.

I know this because it’s how I started blogging at The Professor is In, until Kel (a communications expert) showed me how to communicate without defaulting to academic obscurity, multi-syllabic words, and endless caveats and “prefatory remarks,” lol.

This matters more than you might realize.

Because, you will be asked some version of this question repeatedly:

• What do you do?
• Tell me about your work.
• How would you describe your background?

Followed by:

• What are you looking for next?

If you cannot answer these clearly, you create confusion. And confusion does not lead to opportunity.

So the goal this week:  write a 90 second “career pitch.”

This is not meant to be a script for memorization, but rather a working statement that clarifies who you are professionally and what you are moving toward, in intelligent but accessible language.

As always, set aside thirty minutes to an hour. Open a blank document.

Now, enter three headings in the document:

• what you do
• what you have done
• what you are moving toward

Tackle these in any order, and expect to workshop all parts for a good long while. (Meaning, don’t expect it to be finished in this first sit-down). As you find new and better words for one part, each of the other parts will likely evolve as well.

First: what you do.

As in previous weeks, this is not your job title. It is the work itself. Use the language you identified when you were benchmarking your skills. Focus on competencies.

For example, instead of saying you are a historian, you might write that you “analyze complex qualitative data and communicate findings to diverse audiences.” Instead of saying “I am a lecturer,” you might write that you design and deliver learning experiences that help people make sense of complex information.”

You’ve already tackled this in previous weeks, so you should have lots of prompts to work from.

Second: what you have done.

Here, give one or two concrete examples that demonstrate those competencies. This is where you briefly anchor your claims in experience.

You might describe leading a research project, managing a grant, developing a curriculum, analyzing a dataset, or coordinating a multi stakeholder initiative. But remember: a lot of what academics do is opaque and obscure to non-academics, so you might need to spend a lot of time translating those examples.

And above all: Keep it concise. The goal is credibility, not a full narrative, and we all know at this point that verbosity is the single greatest enemy in post-academic communication.

Third: what you are moving toward.

This is where many PhDs will hesitate. There are many reasons: you don’t know what you’re moving toward, first of all! Also, you don’t want to prematurely limit yourself, or you are unsure what is possible. The result is a vague and generic “intentions,” or goals divorced from reality.

You need a directional statement.

For example, you might say that “you are looking for policy roles focused on education and workforce systems.” Or that “you are moving toward program management roles in nonprofit or research organizations.” Or that “you are exploring roles in data analysis where you can apply your research and analytical skills.”

Do you see how these work? They don’t lock you into a single outcome but they DO give the listener something to work with. Imagine the hiring manager launching into an interview with you. “I see here that you are looking at roles in data analysis… tell me more about how you see that connecting to our posted job?”  See how you’ve provided a launch point for a conversation? These are conversation openers, not closers.

When you have these three elements, and you combine them, voilá, you have a clear and usable pitch.

Remember, you are not claiming or performing “expertise” the way that is required in academia. The goal here is to demonstrate aptitudes/skills, some level of experience, and a forward looking orientation toward a future in a particular sphere of work.Once you have a draft, read out loud. It should take about ninety seconds. If it is longer, cut. If it feels vague, sharpen the language. If it sounds like a dissertation abstract, rewrite it.

Then, test it out! Find some willing listeners, and deliver it. See what they think. Take their suggestions, to a degree, especially if they have experience in corporate or non-profit settings.

Your pitch will definitely evolve. It should! As you learn more about the roles you are targeting, you will refine the language. That is expected. And as you learn what words seem to “hit,” and which seem to cause your listeners’ eyes to glaze over or their brows to furrow, you continually reword, and refine.

For now, your task is simple.

Write the draft. Say it out loud. Adjust it until it sounds like something a “regular person” can understand without effort. Deliver it to anyone who will listen, and take their reactions seriously. Revise continuously (but without urgency–this WILL take time!)

By the way, LinkedIn, as always, is a wonderful research data repository of potential phrasing and vocabulary. How do others with similar background thread this needle? There is no need to reinvent any wheels here.

Next week we will begin the process of bringing your pitch to the real world by using it in informational interviews and professional conversations.

But for now, get the words on the page.

PS:

There is another benefit to writing this: Clarity creates confidence. When you can articulate what you do and where you are going, you stop second guessing every conversation. You stop defaulting to apology or over explanation. You begin to engage as a professional with a defined set of skills.