Academic New Year's Resolutions for 2019

It’s a new year! It’s that time when people make resolutions…and often break them. We did a post like this last year, which you can read here. While there’s good advice in that post, this year’s New Year’s resolution post is going to focus on academic resolutions that may be helpful to your academic career and your dissertation journey. Here are some ideas for academic New Year's resolutions:

Commit to a research topic and research questions (or at least come up with some preliminary questions). If you’re struggling to narrow down a topic or settle on your research questions, make the resolution to get down to business so you can get started on your study! Check out our post on choosing a research topic here. Once you have your topic, you can then think of research questions after doing some preliminary reading. (Pssst – Dissertation Editor can assist you with this; contact us to get more information!) 

Start an academic bullet journal (BuJo). Check out our blog post about this here to learn how it can help you with your dissertation journey. Remember, a BuJo, especially an academic BuJo, has no one “right” way to be. Make it your own and find what works for you to help keep you and your information organized!

Network. We know, we know – the word makes many a grad student (and professional) cringe, but it’s necessary. Networking doesn’t have to be a negative word. Think of it as building and nurturing relationships in your field of study. By networking with peers, colleagues, researchers, and others, you can learn about job openings, research opportunities, new developments in the field, conferences, and projects. Get involved in student groups and clubs, cultivate professional relationships with professors, maintain a professional online presence, and keep in touch with your established connections. Once you become more comfortable with networking, you won’t think twice about it!

Be aware of your online footprint. Did you know that approximately 70 percent of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process? Those drunken or inappropriate pictures you thought were funny from undergrad or those expletive-laden public status updates may not reflect well on you when seen by a potential employer. Why not take this opportunity to screen all of your social media accounts and make sure they put your best foot forward, should a potential employer see them? Update your LinkedIn profile (check out our post here about that) while you’re at it!

Start thinking about the job market. Even if you’re a few years out, it never hurts to start thinking about career paths. This includes potential research projects or teams to join and various internships or fellowships that may be of interest to you that could boost your CV. Talk to your professors and visit the career center on campus. Take note of hiring trends across the country and think about which direction you see yourself going after graduation.

Whatever resolution(s) you decide upon, Dissertation Editor can help! Our team of editors and statisticians is here to assist you on your dissertation or thesis journey from start to finish. Even if you’re not working on a dissertation or thesis, we can help with grant or fellowship applications, refining your resume or CV, or helping you write that book you’ve always wanted to write. Contact us today to learn about the wide range of services we offer to help you have the best year yet! < Networking as a Graduate Student Books to Read Over Winter Break >