Manage your career
Professional development workshops at ECS biannual meetings help ECS members and meeting participants improve their skills. These workshops are beneficial, whether you are a student looking for help with your resume, or a mid-career researcher needing a refresher on team management. Experienced professionals find professional development workshops useful as well.
Meeting attendees sign up by adding the session to their registration. Log in to your ECS profile today to add a professional development workshop. For questions or assistance, please contact customer.service@electrochem.org.
PRiME 2020 Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Essential Elements for Employment Success
- US Immigration and Visa Options for International Researchers
- Propel Your Career
- Resume Review
- Managing and Leading Teams
- Running an Effective Meeting
- Win Funding: How to Write a Competitive Proposal
- Patent Law for Scientists and Engineers
Essential Elements for Employment Success
Michel Fouré , Instructor
Monday ………………………………………………………………. 0900-1200h
Landing your next job requires selective and effective networking, developing and submitting specifically targeted resumes and cover letters, locating relevant job opportunities, and preparing for and participating in the job interview. This workshop provides up-to-date information and tips for employment success.
2 to 3-hour workshop.
Student Member $5.00 Student Nonmember $10.00 Member $15.00 Nonmember $20.00
US Immigration and Visa Options for International Researchers
Brendan Delaney, Instructor
Monday ………………………………………………………………. 1400-1530h
Visa- and immigration-related issues make navigating employment opportunities and career paths in the US challenging for foreign national researchers. This session reviews and discusses temporary visa options including the F-1 OPT, J-1 Research Scholar Visa, and H-1B. We review other issues associated with these visas, including the two-year home residence requirement associated with the J-1 Visa, and the process for obtaining a waiver as needed.
Other aspects of the discussion include reviewing options and avenues as careers progress, advances in terms of visa transition, and how to build a CV/resume to strengthen a case for permanent residency from employer-sponsored and self-sponsored standpoints. This includes an overview of self-sponsored green card applications including the types of evidence, documents, and material needed to pursue this option, which in turn may allow career opportunity expansion and transition to an employment position of one’s own accord in both academic and industry settings.
1.5-hour workshop
Student Member $5.00 Student Nonmember $10.00 Member $15.00 Nonmember $20.00
Propel Your Career (new)
Michel Fouré , Instructor
Tuesday ………………………………………………………………. 0900-1200h
Scientists and engineers often find themselves trapped in careers that are far from fulfilling their dreams and aspirations. It is not for a lack of working hard. It is simply because they have not learned or (re)discovered the keys to building a very successful career.
In this workshop filled with hands-on exercises, the participants actively engage these essential principles. First, we ask what success really means as we discover that, as with our hobbies or favored dishes, the word “success” hides very different and individual realities which need to be clearly articulated. Having clarified this foundation, we discuss goals, their importance, and the way to work with them—for goals are the blueprint of success.
This workshop is adapted from material developed and presented in the mentoring program for early-career scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Energy Technology Area.
3-hour workshop
*Please note pre-registration is required.
Student Member $30.00 Student Nonmember $45.00 Member $55.00 Nonmember $95.00
Resume Review
Michel Fouré , Instructor
Tuesday………………………………………………………………. 1400-1800h
Wednesday………………………………………………………………. 1400-1800h
Bring your resume for a one-on-one session with an industry leader and expert on resume development. Walk away with a resume that is sure to land you your next interview. To sign up for a resume review appointment, you must first attend Essential Elements for Employment Success. Resume Review registration occurs during the Essential Elements for Employment Success workshop.
20-minute appointments
*You must register for Essential Elements for Employment Success in order to participate.
No additional cost for Resume Review.
Managing and Leading Teams
Dennis Hess, Instructor
Tuesday ………………………………………………………………. 1400-1530h
Nearly all engineers and scientists work in teams where a leader oversees and guides process/product development and direction. Despite technical competence and good intentions, when technically-trained individuals undertake leadership roles, frustration is a frequent outcome. This workshop discusses why engineers and scientists often find adaptation into leadership roles disconcerting, and explores ways to smooth the transition.
2-hour workshop
Student Member $5.00 Student Nonmember $10.00 Member $15.00 Nonmember $20.00
Running an Effective Meeting
Dennis Hess, Instructor
Tuesday ………………………………………………………………. 1600-1700h
Meetings play a critical role in decision making and change in the successful operation of a team or organization. Unfortunately, meetings are frequently viewed as bad, ineffective, and a waste of time. Such conclusions are often justified. Bad meetings result from ineffective leadership and unprofessional behavior by attendees. This workshop explores reasons for inappropriate conduct and discusses approaches to facilitating effective and productive meetings.
1-hour workshop
Student Member $5.00 Student Nonmember $10.00 Member $15.00 Nonmember $20.00
Win Funding: How to Write a Competitive Proposal
Michel Fouré , Instructor
Wednesday ………………………………………………………………. 0900-1200h
Whether your career takes you to industry, academia, or a national lab, chances are that you will be intimately involved in writing research grant proposals. In fact, your career growth may hinge largely on your ability to raise funds. While each proposal is unique, there are very important guidelines lying at the intersection of the funding agency’s needs and your technical idea. These must be observed in order to maximize the probability of success. As this workshop is interactive, it would be particularly meaningful and useful if participants are prepared to work with a real example. This can be a proposal submitted in the past, or one they anticipate to submit.
3-hour workshop
Student Member $30.00 Student Nonmember $45.00 Member $55.00 Nonmember $95.00
Patent Law for Scientists and Engineers
EJ Taylor and Maria Inman, Instructors
Wednesday ………………………………………………………………. 1400-1700h
This interactive workshop provides an introduction to US patent law for researchers from academia, industry, and government entities. The workshop offers a historical basis for the foundation of US patent law in the US constitution. Learn the statutory definitions of an invention, and distinguish between an inventor on a patent and an author on a publication. In addition, the workshop covers the classes of patentable inventions and the requirements for obtaining a patent on an invention.
* Pre-registration is required.
3-hour workshop
Student Member $30.00 Student Nonmember $45.00 Member 55.00 Nonmember $95.00
