“When it comes to deconstructing and translating academic labor, Karen is sui generis.” ~ Law faculty and symposium organizer, Emory University 

Your grad students, postdocs, and faculty are struggling.

They need support.

They need to know how to get their work done and reach their goals, and they need to learn how to protect their mental health and well being under conditions of unprecedented stress.

My workshops offer confidential spaces for genuine communication. Because I come from outside, but understand their lives “inside,” people feel safe to share anxieties and hear solutions that they might tune out from campus staff.

I am particularly experienced with issues of sexual harassment, power differentials, burnout, and mental illness/neurodiversity.

I partner with institutions for one-off events and ongoing relationships. Don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss your needs, at gettenure@gmail.com.  Karen

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I regularly speak – both in-person and virtually – on university campuses and at disciplinary association meetings. For bio and promotional photos please see here.

I work with individual departments, student groups, postdoc groups, the graduate college, the provost’s office, and/or campus-wide initiatives that incorporate many units. 

I offer short or long workshops over one day or multiple days, and keynote addresses. Topics include:

On the Academic Career

• Managing the Academic Job Market
• The Academic Interview
• The Campus Visit
• How To Write an Academic Job Application–Cover Letter, CV, Teaching Statement, Research Statement, Diversity Statement
• How to Write Successful Grant and Postdoc Applications
• Negotiating Academic Job Offers
• Effective Presentation Techniques
• Women and the Academic Career
• Handling Sexual Harassment in the Academy
• Strategies for Neurodiverse Academics

On Productivity and Work-Life Balance

• Unstuck: The Art of Productivity (half-day or full-day workshops possible) – run by Productivity Coach Kel Weinhold
• Managing Stress and Avoiding Burnout

On The Non-Academic Track

• Going Post-Ac in Times of Turmoil
• Starting Your Own Small Business

On Surviving the Tenure Track

• Surviving Your First Year on the Tenure Track
• Managing Your Career Once You Have a Job
• Building Your Tenure File
• Finding Mentors, Mentoring Others

On Grant-Writing

• How to Write a Winning Grant
• How to Apply for Humanities Postdocs

On Advising For Advisors

• Advising Best Practices in the Current Turmoil
• How to Help PhDs on the Academic Job Market
• How to Support PhDs Seeking Non-Academic Work

And much more (including any combination of the above…

I also contract with institutions to provide ongoing coaching and support to groups of students over time.

Read this post for a close description of Karen’s Managing the Academic Job Market workshop.

Please note we have a particular mission to support women in general, and Black and Indigenous women in particular, so if your group serves these communities, we are open to arrangements at reduced rates.

Please contact us at gettenure@gmail.com to discuss your specific group’s goals and needs and to discuss rates, which vary according to size and type of event.  I enjoy working with groups and am always happy to tailor presentations to your interests and priorities. We work with institutional budgets, so don’t hesitate to mention budgetary constraints.

“We have received universally positive feedback from attendees and I personally found the talk illuminating. We had 93 attendees with 30 departments represented. Attendees ranged from PhD students up to professors. We are absolutely delighted with this turn out.” ~workshop organizer, UK Russell Group university

“Thanks for a terrific talk yesterday! Your candor and the breadth of what you covered in a very short time was impressive,”  ~ US R1 Graduate Career Services Director

 

Some institutions at which we have spoken include:

• Brandeis University
• Duke University
• Brown University
• Harvard University
• Tufts University
• Cambridge University, UK
• Oxford University, UK
• Kings College London, UK
• London School of Economics, UK
• University of Warwick, UK
• DMU Leicester, UK
• Queens University Belfast, UK
• University of Aberdeen, Scotland
• University of St. Andrews, Scotland
• University of Edinburgh, Scotland
• University of Glasgow, Scotland
• Roskilde University, Denmark
• University College Dublin, Ireland
• Maynooth University, Ireland
• ETH Zurich, Switzerland
• University of Pavia, Italy
• Deakin University, Australia
• University of California Santa Barbara
• UCLA
• CUNY Graduate Center
• Northwestern University
• New York University
• Oregon State University
• University of Oregon
• Northeastern University
• Purdue University
• Ohio State University
• Baylor University
• University of Hawaii’i, Manoa
• University of Hawaii’i, Hilo
• Washington State University
• Southern Methodist University
• University of California, Riverside
• UCLA
• University of Alaska, Fairbanks
• University of Nebraska Medical Center
• Moffitt Cancer Center (Postdoc Program)
• SickKids Research Institute
• And many others!

Disciplinary associations we have spoken at include the American Anthropological Association, American Sociological Association, Association for Jewish Studies, Academy of American Religion, American Entomological Society, and the American Astronomical Society.

“Thanks again for the wonderful presentations. The audience feedback in person and on their forms was unanimously extremely positive. I think everyone felt lucky to have had the chance to meet you.”

I wanted to send a short note of thanks for taking the time to give your talk on “Hacking the academic job market”. It was refreshing to hear a honest-take of the current job climate and how best to succeed – from speaking with others who attended the session, I know your comments were valued and have sparked much discussion. Taking some of your ideas/suggestions from this mornings talk, I can now see a way to manage my situation and take control of my career. ~ UK workshop participant

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“Thank you so much for the fantastic workshop today! As expected, the students loved you (every evaluation indicated a 5 out of 5, and several have stopped me in the hallway to thank me already).”

“Thank you for your Non-Academic Careers for PhD’s presentation at the U of Oregon on Friday. Profoundly changed my orientation about my own deflating and frustrating academic career search. You are an inspiration.”

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“Thank you so much for your talk today at Humanities Without Walls.  I am very thankful for you addressing the “not enough” mentality, and for your practical guidance in finding employment outside of academia.  Your insight, honesty, and realistic approach were appreciated by all.” ~ US workshop participant

 

 

“I just wanted to thank you for your workshop on Interviewing and Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome.  I honestly have never attended such a meaningful and helpful workshop to prepare for the job market. So many aspects of the workshop were helpful, but to name a few:

• The amount of detail on the content we should include in our interview answers (and other job documents).
• Providing actual examples/templates we could use to model how to frame our interview answers.
• Providing specific content for most major interview questions and required documents.
• Strategies on how to shift our beliefs about our abilities.
• Suggestions on how to reframe responses to sound more authoritative. You definitely understand our “positionality” and how we can quickly shift to the role of a professor without having to take years of real world experience to get there.
• Finally, all your advice on understanding the nuances and politics of academia.

I feel like I could go on and on, but this was definitely the most helpful advice I have received in my academic career. Next year, they need to give you a whole day!”

Karen is hilarious and gives excellent advice” ~ US workshop participant

I’m always happy to discuss ideas and proposals for workshops with your group, and strive to make my services available and affordable even to struggling graduate students groups!  Please email me with questions or inquiries at gettenure@gmail.com.  Thanks!