Resources for Graduate Students
These articles and interviews are a great place to start for grad students who want a stronger online presence
Hi! I’m Jennifer van Alstyne (@HigherEdPR). I started The Academic Designer LLC, when I finished grad school in 2018 to help people like you share their work with the world. I’ve been helping academics get confident online full-time since then. Find free resources to help you with your online presence as a grad student on The Social Academic.
This page is top resources like how to articles and interviews for grad students like you. Please share it with a friend or with your department if you think people would find it helpful. You’ve got this! Best wishes for your digital footprint as a graduate student.
Articles to help you manage your online presence
What social media platforms are right for me?
It provides an overview of all the options grad students like you should consider. Should you be on all the social media platforms? No. You probably don’t have time to manage that many profiles and actually engage with people. So, be sure to check out my guide to the social media platforms you should consider when deciding where to spend your time.
Graduate students especially, find communities on Instagram. Did you know it was a great place for networking? I even have an article about how you can use Instagram stories and Facebook stories to talk about your grad school life.
Search The Social Academic blog by category:
Thinking about jobs and networking
My top recommendation for grad students is LinkedIn. It’s the most powerful social media networking platform, and my top choice for grad students like you. Whether you’re thinking about the academic or non-academic job market, LinkedIn is the place to be.
Here’s how to update your LinkedIn profile as a grad student (free course).
Looking for jobs soon? Here’s my comprehensive guide to your social media when job hunting.
If you’re new to networking, here are some tips to finding your community online.
Watch my YouTube interview with Dr. Jennifer Polk of From PhD to Life about networking and about informational interviews.
And here’s my interview on Online Presence for Faculty on the Job Market which is more specifically about academic jobs, with Dr. Kimberly J. Hale.
Talking about your academic life
Do you manage your online presence? Many grad students haven’t really thought about it. To get started…
- You have to know what’s out there about you for people to find.
- You need to know where people are looking for information about you and your work.
- You need to create or manage content that showcases what you’d like people to know.
Learn how to begin managing your online presence in academia.
Are you presenting at a conference? Learn how a website and social media can help you get the word out.
And if you’re worried about communicating your academic life, here’s a holiday-themed post about talking to your family about what you do.
And, when you’re ready for a break from social media, I have a guide for that too.