Career Paths Mentorship Program

Interested in joining the program as a mentee?

Penn’s BGS Professional Development Office provides professional development opportunities to our graduate trainees. This year, we are continuing the Career Paths Mentorship Program with BGS Alumni Mentors. This program is designed to assist graduate trainees with their career development by facilitating connections and long term interactions with alumni from our program who can aid in career exploration and decisions.

We are excited to start off this program to benefit our trainees' professional development!

Career Paths Mentorship Program Information

Mentoring groups are composed of current trainees in the BGS PhD program and BGS Alumni volunteer mentors. BGS Alumni Mentors coordinate to meet monthly at a designated time over the course of an academic year.

The goals of this program are to:

Facilitate frequent and long-lasting interactions between trainees and alumni
Encourage network building and professional development including relationship building, teamwork, and mentoring
Provide informative and exploratory approaches to different career paths to effectively compare and contrast future career options

Each mentoring group will meet monthly to share their career advice, decisions, networks, and opportunities to achieve these goals and facilitate our trainees professional development both as a graduate student trainee and as a future professional in the career of their choosing.

Overview of the Program

BGS Alumni Mentor Recruitment (September)
Kick Off Mixer* (Sept 28th 7PM EST)
Graduate Trainee Sign Ups (October)
Monthly Mentoring Groups (Nov-April)
Wrap Up Event (May 2nd 7PM EST)

*Tentative Dates, subject to change

If you have any questions about the program, or would like to assist with coordinating the program, please reach out to Laura Ohl.

Time Commitment is ~8-14 hours total throughout the academic year (Sept-May)
- Kick off Event and Mixer (1 hour)
- Sign BGS Alumni Mentor and Mentee Expectations Agreement, Pre-Program Survey for Mentees
- Monthly Mentoring Groups: 1-2 hours per month over the 6 months (Nov-April)
- Wrap Up Event and Mixer (1 hour), Post-Program Survey for Mentees, Feedback Survey for Mentors

Evaluate your Values
Create a Career Path Tree
Create a Mentoring Map
Developing Confidence, Aligning Expectations, and Speaking Up for Yourself
Finding Opportunities to Improve Transferable Skills: Communication, Writing, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Teamwork, Leadership, Adaptability
Transitioning from Graduate School to your Career
Network/Mentor Map Building
Applying for Jobs, Negotiating Salaries, and Leaving Jobs

What if I don’t know what Group to Sign Up for, because I don’t know what career I’m interested in or what careers I want to learn more about?

Explore BGS Career Development Career Paths Videos to learn more about different career paths to determine what mentor group may fit your current interests (link here: https://bgscareerdevelopment.com/career-paths/)

If I sign up for one group, can I switch to another later?

At this time we do not have a way to switch between mentoring groups. However, this could be a possibility in the future as the program expands.

How do I sign up to be a mentor?

You can sign up to be a mentor here: https://forms.gle/DELWFJbFxZPufHpX7

How do I sign up as a graduate student trainee?

Attend the Kick Off Event in September and Fill out the survey to sign up for the program and pick your mentoring group. Remember, space is limited in these groups (to keep them small), so sign up ASAP, if you’re interested.

What if I have questions about the program?

No problem. Please do not hesitate to contact the coordinator: Laura Ohl (laura.ohl@pennmedicine.upenn.edu).