Supporting Meaningful Career Conversations with Your Students

This session introduces TAs and graduate student course instructors to career learning as a reflective and integrative dimension of teaching. As many students face anxiety about their futures—including financial pressures and uncertainty around career paths—career learning offers a way to support them by connecting academic content to personal meaning, values, lived experiences, and long-term goals. Participants will explore foundational concepts in career development theory and consider how career learning can be supported through everyday teaching practices—such as tutorials, office hours, and course design. 
Through guided reflection and practical examples, participants will identify ways to support students in navigating uncertainty, building confidence, and engaging more deeply with their academic work. Graduate students, who often navigate complex and evolving career paths themselves, will be invited to reflect on their own career goals and how these experiences can inform their teaching practice. The session will emphasize scalable, authentic strategies for supporting career exploration while enhancing engagement and motivation in academic settings. 
 Learning Outcomes: 
By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 

• Describe foundational concepts in career development theory relevant to teaching roles 
• Identify strategies and resources for supporting career learning in tutorials, office hours, and course design 
• Facilitate reflective activities that help students connect academic learning to future goals 
• Reflect on their own teaching practices and career goals