GCC Mid-Career Conference Enhances Members’ Professional Development
On May 13, the Professional Development Committee hosted the Mid-Career Conference, “Improving Efficiency so We Can Do More of the Stuff We Love”. Now in its fourth year, the Mid-Career Conference is an immersive half-day webinar for members working in graduate/postdoc career and professional development for more than one year to grow their skills and chart the next steps of their careers.This year saw record attendance as 64 participants built community with colleagues and learned from our featured speakers, Tracy Costello and Evan Walsh.
Tracy’s session addressed an important, but often overlooked, topic: professional development for us! In “Unlocking Your Potential: Mid-Career Re-evaluation,” she encouraged us to apply the techniques we use with trainees to ourselves– identifying our values and interests within our careers and leveraging our networks to create fulfilling opportunities for professional advancement including coaching, consulting, facilitation, and volunteer work. Using the GCC IDP for mid-career professionals, participants in this interactive session re-envisioned career identities, explored diverse career options, and connected with each other to gain support.
To help us implement our vision of fulfilling careers, Evan’s session focused on leveraging generative AI to enhance efficiency in career and professional development roles. In “AI-Powered Efficiency: Free Up Time for High-Impact Career Support,” he presented a plethora of AI tools for scheduling meetings, note-taking, managing spreadsheets, and project management, streamlining administrative work to focus on the high-impact career and professional development work we love. Participants gained concrete tips and crowd-sourced recommendations for responsibly incorporating generative AI into our daily routines.
The 2025 Mid-Career conference concluded with a new addition, a panel where GCC members Thi Nguyen and Eric Vaughn joined the featured speakers to synthesize the conference themes and highlight ways to get involved with GCC’s committees and communities of practice. As we prepare for the annual conference in Minneapolis, the Mid-Career was a valuable opportunity for members to gather in a virtual community and reflect on the next steps in our careers. Many thanks to Tracy, Evan, Thi, and Eric and to the Mid-Career conference participants for making this event a success!
Want to get involved in the 2026 Mid-Career Conference with the Professional Development Committee? Have a recommendation for a 2026 Mid-Career Conference speaker? Contact Professional Development Officer, Katie Homar (profdev@gradcareerconsortium.org).
Participant Testimonials
“I appreciate that Tracy’s session asked us to reflect on our values and goals as professionals. We don't do this often enough.”
“I'm really excited to join the AI community of practice, and I learned a lot from Evan's presentation.”
“The conference program was wonderful; plenty of tools and resources to explore!”
“It was a wonderfully well-thought-out program—excellent job!”
“Thank you for the excellent workshops and encouraging the community to connect.”
