Initiated by chemistry NAWI Graz Fulbright Professor Andy Proctor, the first NAWI Graz career enhancement conference was held on Nov. 10th. The idea of this internet conference was to bring together two experienced professionals from the US and NAWI Graz master and also PhD students in order to transfer and exchange information and skills on how to find that first job.
Sarah Shinn, one of Prof. Proctors PhD students and Dr. Utkarsh Shah, Senior Scientist at Hershey Corp. (a former student of Proctor’s) gave very interesting insights on how to get in contact with people who might help graduates in finding their first job or get some mentoring. Both stressed the importance of building this own network: „Experienced professionals will help you, if you show genuine interest in their field of work. Just do it, try to contact these persons, ask questions and stay in touch.“
Followed by this talk, questions from the NAWI Graz students were answered by Shinn, Dr. Shah and also Prof. Proctor. Because of the great feedback, further activities are planned. The next talk with Dr. Rick DellaPorta from PepsiCo will take place on Nov. 25.
