Staff Spotlight: Aubrey Korneta
Can you describe your role within The Graduate School (TGS) and Northwestern Career Advancement (NCA)?
I am the Assistant Director of Professional and Career Development serving doctoral students in The Graduate School. My role is jointly housed between NCA and TGS.
At NCA, I work on the PhD team with Elysse Longiotti to advise students on career exploration as well as job search preparation and resources, including developing resumes and cover letters, networking (on and offline), interviewing, and negotiating offers. Our office also regularly facilitates workshops on job search resources and preparation, well-being, and networking as well as quarterly and summer exploration series that are open to all PhD students and postdocs.
At TGS, I work on the Graduate and Postdoctoral Training and Development team with Liz Stein. I support campus partners that work with PhD students and conduct outreach to raise the visibility of professional and career development opportunities at Northwestern.
Can you tell us what inspired your decision to engage in this work?
I’m particularly committed to working with PhD students to help them identify career paths that excite and challenge them, whether they are in academia or in a different industry. Having worked in higher education for over a decade in both academic and administrative roles, I am familiar with the skill sets that an advanced degree develops as well as the challenges of translating academic training for different fields (I’ve lived this experience myself!)
I want to make professional development and career education more accessible to graduate students, so that they are informed about different opportunities and resources and empowered to pursue careers that inspire them.
What resource(s) can you and your office provide for graduate students?
- Handshake is NCA’s primary resource for connecting students with professional opportunities including jobs, internships, fellowships, and career-related programming. Students can use Handshake to make an appointment with an adviser, register for workshops, and explore opportunities specifically for PhDs.
- Beyond the Professoriate is a resource developed to support doctoral students and PhDs to explore different career paths and navigate transitions into academic and non-academic positions.
- NCA Career Guide provides resources tailored to graduate students on career planning, converting CVs to resumes, writing cover letters, networking and job searching, and interviewing.
- TGS Professional Development-Explore Opportunities enables students to explore the robust skill-building opportunities available at Northwestern. Students can filter by skill category, discipline, and location to find programs that are relevant to their professional development goals.
How can graduate students most easily contact and/or make an appointment with you?
The best way to schedule an appointment with me is through NCA’s platform, Handshake. PhD students can make career advising and mock interview appointments with me and Elysse Longiotti. They are also welcome to email me at aubrey.korneta@northwestern.edu.
What’s one fun fact you can share about yourself?
I love to travel and have been to 30 countries and 5 continents!
Categories: Around Campus