Talks and seminars

Speaking

Talks for graduate students, postdocs, faculty and professional associations on the move from academic expertise to a professional career, and why the sequence matters more than the tactics.

Every talk gives the audience something they can use the same week, names the patterns that hold PhD careers back, and ends with one clear invitation to keep the conversation going. For hosts, it is also a way to see the method at work with your own students before considering a program.

Talks

Keynote

Hope Is Not a Strategy

The transition nobody teaches: how fear narrows choices, why clarity comes before confidence, and why strategy has to come before tactics.

Graduate students and postdocs; career days; associations · 45–60 min, plus questions

Working session

Build Your Job Search Project Plan

An interactive session. Four questions, short exercises, and a career statement participants leave with. Stop the spray and pray.

Students and postdocs close to graduating; undergraduate classes · 45–60 min, plus questions

Culture talk

Smart, But Are They Useful? From Hero to Helper

What employers actually say about hiring PhDs, the problem they are trying to solve, and how to become the person who helps solve it.

Students and postdocs, especially in engineering and applied programs · 45–60 min, plus questions

Skills series

The Mechanics, One Topic at a Time

Focused sessions on the résumé as a strategic document and on cover letters that position you, for groups that want a specific skill.

Graduate students and postdocs; career weeks · 45–60 min each, plus questions

For professionals

Three Career Myths

Visibility, signal and careers in the AI era: three beliefs that still hold capable professionals back, with every figure sourced.

Engineers, early and mid-career professionals, professional associations · 45–60 min plus questions, webinar or in person

Tailored to your audience. Each talk is adapted after a short call with the host about who will be in the room and what you want them to leave with.

Talks for university units are usually offered at no fee. Conferences, associations and sponsored events: ask about fees.

How a talk runs

  1. A 20-minute call with you: the audience, their stage, and what you want them to leave with.
  2. The talk, in person or online, adapted to your audience.
  3. A page made for your event, reached by a QR code at the end of the talk, with a summary, the slides and a resource for attendees.
  4. A one-page summary for you within a week, with the key ideas and the questions your audience asked.

Selected past talks

  • 2026 · IEEE Northern Canada, Professional Development Committee · Three Career Myths That Engineers Still Believe (webinar)
  • 2025 · Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta · Stop the Spray and Pray: How to Build Your Custom Job Search Project Plan
  • 2024 · Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta · Graduate Degree… Finished! What Now, What Next?
  • 2024 · FD2D Bootcamp (NSERC CREATE), University of Alberta · From Data to Decision — From Decision to Destiny
  • 2024 · Neuroscience Graduate Student Association, University of Alberta · Your Career Journey — Why Should You Care
  • 2023 · Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, University of Alberta · Build Your Job Search Project Plan
  • 2022 · Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, University of Alberta · Writing Letters with Confidence: Compelling Cover Letters for PhDs
  • 2022 · Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, University of Alberta · Making Your Résumé Soar
  • 2018 · Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta · Innovation – You: The Six Step Science to Securing and Building a Rewarding Career Beyond the Academy

Request a talk

Tell me a little about your audience and I’ll be in touch within two working days to arrange a short call. Or write to me directly at don@phdcareeracademy.com.

Talk request