The SAWH is committed to mentorship and professional support and is pleased to offer this Mentoring and Professional Development Toolkit for its members and friends. We have selected a range of topics of interest to graduate students, young professionals, and even veteran historians. For topics that are particularly rich or complex, such as minority faculty experiences and job searching, we have included multiple entries to reflect different perspectives. We hope to phase in new topics over time and welcome suggestions and feedback, which can be sent to the chair of the Professional Development Committee. The SAWH is indebted to our contributors and past Toolkit editor Antoinette van Zelm.

In 2020 the Professional Development Committee began hosting a series of Zoom sessions in order to add to and update the existing toolkit. The topics of these discussion sessions vary from making the most of your graduate school experience, to presenting your research at conferences, preparing your work for publication, career possibilities and preparation, and a score of other helpful topics. Recordings of these sessions are linked below. Please contact the Committee Chair if you’ve got a topic idea and please contact the SAWH secretary at Secretary@thesawh.org for the password for the recordings.

Conferences: Suggestions on conference presentations, networking, and organizing.

• “Conference Presentations” by Kelly Kennington
• “Presenting Your Work at Conferences,” Zoom session for “Let’s Talk: SAWH Mentoring in Action” series, November 2020.

Finance and Funding: Fellowships, grants and other funding opportunities.

• “Fellowships, Scholarships, and Assistantships” by Kirsten E. Wood
• “Grants and Fellowships” by Carole Bucy

General: General advice on history and the academy.

• “Promoting Equity and Inclusion in the Academy,” Zoom session for “Let’s Talk: SAWH Mentoring in Action” series, March 2021.
• “Becoming A Historian” by Karen L. Cox
• “Higher-Education Teaching Venues and Culture” by Melissa Walker
• “Participating Effectively in [Male-Dominated] Discussions” by Amy Feely Morsman
• “Sexual Harassment” by Glenda Gilmore and Margaret Nunnelley Olsen
• “Musings on a Career or Advice to Graduate Students” by Claire Strom

Graduate Students: Advice for surviving graduate school.

• “Fostering a Successful Graduate School Experience,” Zoom session for “Let’s Talk: SAWH Mentoring in Action” series, January 2021.
• “Selecting a Graduate School” by Danielle L. McGuire
• “Completing Your Dissertation” by Shannon Frystak
• “Getting the Best From Your Teaching Assistantship” by Jean Stuntz
• “Graduate School Survival Guide” by Heidi Scott Giusto and Elizabeth Gritter
• “How to be a Successful Teaching Assistant” by Jessica Brannon-Wranosky
• “Preparing for Comprehensive Exams” by Rhonda Ragsdale
• “Time Management Tips for Dissertation Writing” by Elizabeth Gritter
• “You’re ABD, Now What?” by Heidi Scott Giusto
• “Your Advisor is Leaving!” by Darren J. Pierson
• “Musings on a Career or Advice to Graduate Students” by Claire Strom

Life: Strategies for the rest of your life.

• “Dual Career Couples” by Rebecca Sharpless
• “Juggling Family and Career” by Carolyn Dupont
• “Just Say No, Or How to Manage Your Life Outside the Classroom” by Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore
• “Work-Life Balance,” Zoom session for “Let’s Talk: SAWH Mentoring in Action” series, December 2020.

Mentors and Mentoring: How to find, and keep, a mentor or mentee.

• “Mentors: How to Find Mentors” by Antoinette G. van Zelm
• “Mentoring/Mentee Suggestions From Experience” by Alisa Harrison
• “Identifying Mentors and Fostering a Productive Mentor/Mentee Relationship,” kick-off Zoom session for “Let’s Talk: SAWH Mentoring in Action” series, October 2020.

Professional Development: Career advice, the job market, and publishing.

• “Navigating the Job Market,” Zoom session for “Let’s Talk: SAWH Mentoring in Action” series, February 2021.
• “Getting Your Work Published,” Zoom session for “Let’s Talk: SAWH Mentoring in Action” series, March 2021.
• “Alternatives to the Academic Job Market: Archival Work” by Jennifer Davis McDaid
• “Applying for an Academic Teaching Job” by Mary Carroll Johansen
• “Minority Faculty Experiences” by Yvonne Davis Frear
• “Minority Faculty Experiences, Questions, Questions, Questions” by Elsa Barkley Brown
• “Navigating the Job Search” by Megan Shockley
• “Publishing in Peer Reviewed Journals” by Connie L. Lester
• “Tenure” by Kirsten E. Wood
• “Turning a Dissertation Into a Book” by Anne F. Scott

Teaching: Skills and techniques for teaching.

• “Adjuncting” by Joan Marie Johnson
• “Teaching History with E-Learning Components” by Jessica Brannon-Wranosky