Call for Professional Development Workshop Proposals: Careers Division

PDW Chair: Rick Cotton, University of Victoria, BC, Canada; cottonCAR@uvic.ca

The Careers Division (CAR) seeks PDW proposals for the upcoming 80th Academy of Management (AOM) Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 7–11 August 2020, which has the theme " 20/20: Broadening Our Sight".  This theme focuses on the important topic of exploring, navigating and potentially reconciling the tensions and self-imposed dichotomies we experience as scholars, teachers and professionals (though submissions are not required to tie directly to this theme).

The Careers Division has a tradition of innovative, provocative, interactive and inspiring PDWs and we encourage you to work with AOM members within or outside our division to submit compelling proposals for CAR PDW sessions for the Vancouver AOM Meeting as well.

The ultimate aim of CAR PDW sessions is to engage with each other in professional development with a primary focus on sharing careers expertise and insights. Successful PDWs are typically highly interactive in offering opportunities for dialogue and discussion, innovative and provocative in touching on topics and approaches that offer new insights in the field of career studies and often inspiring in prompting us to consider enhancements to our ways of thinking, doing and being as they relate to careers scholarship, teaching or practice.  In addition, because the Careers Division focuses on both careers and career development, we also encourage proposals related to the career growth and success of AOM members, within and outside the Careers Division on traditional academic career paths as well as those having non-traditional career pursuits outside of academia.

The format for PDWs is highly flexible with a minimum duration of two hours (though even this length may be shortened for the PDW program) and lengthy sessions somewhat discouraged unless there is a compelling need (e.g., doctoral consortia). Example formats from recent years include cutting edge topic and trend discussions, paper development workshops, expert panels, debates, round table discussions, offsite tours and methods tutorials although other formats are both possible and highly encouraged especially with the focus of PDWs on innovation, experimentation and learning.

Suggested topics for CAR PDW sessions include, but are certainly not limited to: enhancing careers-related scholarly, teaching and practical impact; increasing chances of publication in high-profile journals/outlets; supporting career development of AOM members across career stages; incorporating innovative methods in careers research; as well as exploring strategies for interdisciplinary careers studies (e.g., with OB, HR, GDO, RM, ENT, OMT, etc.). PDWs can also focus on a specific theme, such as career success, career transitions, work-life balance, multi-country comparative studies, sustainable careers, etc. Please note: If the PDW topic you are considering is of high interest to you, it may very well be of high interest to others, so take a chance and submit!

PDW proposal submissions describe the organizers and goals of the PDW, its underlying rationale, session design and intended audiences. PDW submissions are only a few pages in length (very achievable!) and should not mirror AOM symposia or paper sessions where presentations are sometimes made with minimal audience involvement.  Instead, PDWs should be inclusive and generative, develop members’ knowledge/skills, foster diverse connections and promote energizing interaction. PDW proposals are submitted to one primary division or interest group but should also indicate potential co-sponsorship opportunities with other divisions or interest groups. Please see AOM’s PDW guidelines for further details and note that the PDW program for 2020 will take place on Friday, 7 August and Saturday, 8 August 2020, between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM both days.

The deadline for submission is Tuesday, 14 January 2020, at 5PM ET (NY Time) and we look forward to you helping us make the Careers Division PDW program the best it can be by submitting your CAR PDW proposals online at the  Annual Meeting submissions start page beginning in early December of 2019. Earlier submissions are encouraged and if you would like to discuss a potential workshop idea, please feel free to contact the CAR Division PDW chair, Rick Cotton (cottonCAR@uvic.ca). We look forward to hearing from you!