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In this Issue
Click on each title to read the full article!
GSC-Sponsored Events at SPSP 2010
Las Vegas Insider’s Guide
Being a Little Fish in the BIG SPSP Pond
How to Beat the Mid-Year Slump
Tips for Giving a Job Talk
SPSP Graduate Student Committee
Click on an officer’s name to send them an e-mail
Austin Lee Nichols
President
Kathleen Fortune
Member-At-Large
Marina Milyavskaya
Member-At-Large
Nicole Noll
Member-At-Large
Jennifer Pattershall
Member-At-Large
Helen Lee Lin
Past President
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Welcome
to the Winter issue of the Forum! The semester is winding down, and
it’s time to start thinking about the 11th annual SPSP conference. What
better way to spend a winter weekend than by mingling with social and
personality psychologists in Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of
the World! This issue of the FORUM is your source for conference
information. You can take a look at the overview of GSC-sponsored
events at the conferences, learn all about what to see in Las Vegas,
and take in some advice on how to make the most of the conference. In
addition, we also have two articles on how to beat the
mid-year slump (other than by dreaming about all the fun you’ll have in
Vegas), and how to prepare a job talk. For this issue, we are trying a
new electronic format - hope you like it!
- Marina Milyavskaya, Editor of the 2010 Winter issue of the Forum
GSC-Sponsored Events at SPSP 2010
GSC Co-sponsored Preconference: Bridge(s) Over Troubled Waters: Traditional and Non-Traditional Careers for Personality and Social Psychologists
Thursday, January 27th, 8:30am - 4:30pm
With
the recent decline in funding and, therefore, job opportunities,
graduate students have become increasingly interested in employment
outside of research intensive Psychology departments. Therefore, the
SPSP Training and Graduate Student Committees have teamed up to recruit
leading social psychologists working outside of traditional Psychology
departments to speak on their experiences. During the preconference,
each speaker will address the similarities and differences between
their job and an R1 Psychology position, as well as the pros and cons
of each. In addition, an open table lunch discussion and concluding
panel discussion will allow ample time for you to ask any questions you
have. Click Here for more information and to register.
GSC Symposium: A Graduate Student’s Guide to External Funding
Friday, January 29, 8:15 - 9:30 am
In
today’s academic environment, seeking funding is no longer optional.
However, graduate students often have difficulty figuring out where to
look for funding, which opportunities are worthwhile, and how to be
successful in obtaining funding. Therefore, this year’s GSC symposium
focuses on these key issues in an attempt to give graduate students an
opportunity to learn the ins and outs of funding before their career
depends on it.
GSC Poster: What Graduate Students Want Faculty to Know
Poster session G, Saturday, January 30, 6:15 - 7:45 pm
As
graduate students, it is easy to think others have it better than us.
The truth is, all graduate student have struggles getting manuscripts
published, getting external funding, and getting their advisors to see
things the way they do. In this year’s poster, we present the results
of a survey asking graduate students about their experiences in grad
school. We encourage you to attend, as the results may shock you!
GSC Mentor Lunch
Friday, January 29 and Saturday, January 30, 1:00 - 2:00 pm
Continuing a recent tradition of the GSC, this year’s conference will
include two mentoring luncheons, one on Friday and one on Saturday. As
in past years, leaders in the field will host tables on topics related
to both professional issues and research-related topics. An email with
the list of mentors and registration information will be coming shortly!
Las Vegas Insider’s Guide for Graduate Students
by Nicole Noll
Las
Vegas will be the site of SPSP’s conference in January. Famous for huge
resort hotel/casinos (one of its nicknames is The Entertainment Capital
of the World), Las Vegas is synonymous with gambling and nightlife. The
conference hotel, The Riviera, is situated on the north end of the Las
Vegas Blvd, which is known as the Strip. Its 23-story tower was the
first of the high-rise resorts when it opened in 1955.
Running
from Sahara Ave in the north, to Russel Road in the south, the Strip is
about 4 miles long and home to 19 of the 25 largest hotels in the
world. Walking is the most efficient way to get around from resort to
resort. The Deuce, a double decker bus ($3 for adults), the Las Vegas
monorail ($5 one-way, $15 for a one-day pass), and taxis are also good
modes of transport around the Strip.
While
you are wandering from resort to resort, be sure to check out the
impressive (and free!) attractions that many of them boast. For
instance, outside Bellagio more than 1000 fountains dance in a show of
water, music, and lights, and beyond the lobby, a conservatory and
botanical gardens are open to the general public. Farther down the
strip, the MGM Grand offers a free lion habitat, where several lions
are on view each day. Looking for something uniquely Vegas? Check out
the Neon Boneyard at the Neon Museum, a three-acre exhibit of more than
150 historic, non-restored signs. The downtown area is about three
miles from the Strip, home of the Freemont Street Experience and the
historic downtown hotels/casinos, including the Golden Nugget.
The
area around Las Vegas is an excellent place to spend time outdoors.
Situated in the Mojave Desert, the area enjoys about 300 days of
sunshine per year, with average highs near 60 degrees in January. Red
Rock Canyon and the Hoover Dam are both within an hour’s drive of the
city. Golf, tennis, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, horseback
riding, kayaking, and hot air ballooning are a few of the activities
available. There are also several areas known for wildlife and gorgeous
scenery.
See our website for web links that will help you find recommendations for restaurants, shows, and other fun activities. Have fun!!
Being a Little Fish in the BIG SPSP Pond:
Keeping Your Sanity, Avoiding Intimidation, and Making the Most of the Conference
by Austin Lee Nichols
The
cold weather has set in, and the end of year is near. For most people,
that marks the beginning of the holiday season; for Personality and
Social Psychologists, this means preparing for the annual SPSP
conference. As a major, international conference, everything about SPSP
can be intimidating to students, from presenting a poster or paper to
networking. In this article, I seek to relieve some of the stress
associated with SPSP by providing some simple suggestions for managing
a conference of this size.
The
biggest thing you must remember when preparing for and attending the
conference is that all attendees, regardless of name recognition, are
similar to each other and you – they are all human and are all
interested in personality and/or social psychology. That means you
should not be afraid to introduce yourself, ask them questions about
their work, or even inquire about a potential collaboration. Getting
over the fear of speaking to the big names at the conference will allow
for more productive networking and will make you feel more comfortable
throughout the weekend.
Preparation
is another way you can decrease stress during the conference and make
sure to make the most of your time. Two of the most important goals
students have are learning about relevant research and networking.
Before you leave for the conference, review the program and find the
posters and symposia you are most interested in. Also, note when people
you would like to talk to are presenting so you can attend the
presentation and ask them questions afterward. Although walking up to
people at the conference is often effective, setting these meetings up
ahead of time is optimal. Make a list of people you want to meet with
and email them before the conference. If they are willing to meet with
you (which they often are), you will avoid the intimidation of blindly
approaching them and will be able to prepare your questions and
thoughts beforehand.
The
most important thing to do at the conference is have fun. Take some
time for yourself and explore the host city. Not only will this help
break up the long days of talks and posters, but you never know when
you will be back in that town. Together, remembering and doing the
things listed in this article will hopefully allow you to have an
enjoyable, yet productive SPSP conference.
How to Beat the Mid-Year Slump
by Kathleen Fortune
You
started out with the best of intentions. In September you were full of
energy and ideas. In October things were cruising along like a
well-oiled machine. Then November snuck up on you and you started
feeling the effects of the daily grind. Do I need to go on? If I can be
so bold as to label your feelings – you are experiencing the infamous
mid-year motivation slump. This is the point when fatigue overtakes
enthusiasm, guilt turns to anxiety, and productivity takes a nosedive.
Rather than dwell on these facts, let’s focus on ways to turn it
around.
First,
take a step back and realize that there is an ebb and flow to
motivation. It comes and it goes. You can’t force it and the more you
try, the worse you will feel.
Second,
set just one goal. One of the biggest contributors to burnout is taking
on too many projects. When you try and divide your energy in too many
directions, you end up doing a mediocre job of everything. Choose one
really important goal, focus on reaching it, and build on that success.
Third, seek
inspiration. This is really up to each individual. For some of you,
inspiration may be found in the copies of JPSP or JESP that you have
collecting dust on your bookshelf. Or maybe you are more like me and
you find the greatest inspiration from reading blogs and other less
academic sources.
Forth,
try and achieve some balance in your life. When you do, please tell me
how you did it. Forgive the cliché but you have to try and see the
forest for the trees. Your life cannot be reduced to whether or not
that one study worked. Your ability to multitask is both an asset and a
curse.
Finally,
remember that it is ok to feel overwhelmed. Sometimes the fatigue and
frustration that comes along with the mid-year slump is an internal
alarm that is trying to tell you to get a life. You need to listen to
this alarm and do something fun. Unhappy people are unproductive people
and they make the people in their lives unhappy too. Instead of beating
yourself up for being in a slump, take the opportunity to reacquaint
yourself with the people and the things that you love. These are your
greatest sources of energy and motivation, so tap into them.
Build a Better Job Talk
by Jennifer Pattershall
What
you have heard is true – the job talk is a key determinant of who gets
a job offer. You may be tempted to panic, but don’t. There are some
things you can do to improve your job talk and increase the likelihood
that you will be first on the job-offer list at your school of choice.
- Tell
a story: It is important to demonstrate that you have a research
program resulting from a concerted effort to explore a topic
systematically. If you have two or three unrelated research areas you
should focus on one and demonstrate how you have progressively examined
that topic. You can mention other research areas at the end of your
talk, to demonstrate breadth, but it is best not to confuse your
audience by trying to fit too much information into a short amount of
time.
- It’s all about me: Most graduate students
collaborate heavily with their advisor(s). However, when looking for
jobs, you should forget that your advisor exists. This means using
first-person singular pronouns ("my research") instead of plural
pronouns ("our research"). Take ownership of your ideas and hard work
linguistically to demonstrate that you are an independent researcher.
-
Be a teacher: Some departments evaluate your ability to teach based on
your job talk. This may be especially true at undergraduate-focused
institutions and schools that don’t require you to teach a class during
your interview. Try to incorporate some of your best teaching
strategies into your job talk to demonstrate competency in this area as
well.
- Where are you going?: Though it is
important to establish your research abilities by highlighting your
published and currently ongoing research, it is also important to give
your audience a flavor for where you plan to go in the future. If you
give the impression that you are out of research ideas you may be less
likely to receive the job offer, so save a few minutes at the end of
your talk to mention your plans for future research.
-
Be yourself: It is important to remember that although getting a job is
very important, it is also important that you find the right job for
you. Being disingenuous during your job talk or other parts of your
interview may land you a job, but it might not be a job you want. Keep
this in mind when constructing your job talk and preparing for your
interviews. Good luck!
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