Develop Professional & Leadership Skills
Professional development and leadership skills can sound vague due to the broad scope of what they entail, but it’s important to find opportunities to grow and develop skills and qualifications, whether applying for jobs, internships, fellowships, graduate school, or other forms of continuing education.

Get Involved On Campus
Getting involved on campus is a great way to build skills, tap into your interests & passions, and put learning into practice. Penn has a wide array of student groups and organizations that allow students to grow and explore; the payoff of getting involved are as diverse as the opportunities.

Professional Development
Professional associations that are dedicated to a specific industry or job are a great way to make connections, find professional resources, participate in events such as professional development seminars and conferences, and become engaged by way of committees and projects that offer increased growth and exposure.

Career Competencies
Employers from a wide variety of industries and hiring for various jobs, have been surveyed extensively in the past few years to determine what qualities contribute to the success of their employees. Career Services has compiled a list of competencies to help you identify areas of strength and potential growth that will contribute to productive, lifelong professional development.
Check out this post from the Carpe Careers blog published on the Inside Higher Ed website – written by PhD/postdoc career advisors for PhD students and postdocs:
Before you land a job, you might spend hours learning a particular set of skills to thrive in that industry and role. Once you start your first day, however, your learning should be far from over. Upskilling is when you …
Tiana Luo, COL ’24, Fort Collins, Colorado
Ten weeks ago, I stepped into this microbiology lab with no prior wet lab experience or any even knowing how to properly use a pipette. My past experiences in research mostly involved data …
Check out this post from the Carpe Careers blog published on the Inside Higher Ed website – written by PhD/postdoc career advisors for PhD students and postdocs:
Open to all graduate students, but with a specific focus on the experience of first gen graduate students, we encourage you all to take advantage of some of our upcoming workshops and programs as part of the First Gen Graduate …