Gaeun (Gwenn) Seo, Ph.D.
Director of Graduate Career Development & Faculty,
Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Education at Georgia TechSenior Associate Director, Graduate Student Career Development, Center for Career Development at Princeton University
Ph.D., Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Concentration: Human Resource Development
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Certified Practitioner
Certificated Career Service Provider (CCSP)
Certified Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF)
Google Scholar, LinkedIn, Center for Career Development @ Princeton
Welcome!
This website is a continuation of my dedication to research and practice, especially to Support grad student careers with Evidence for Ongoing success during and after training (SEO).
During my doctoral training at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, my own career challenges like "what can I do with my Ph.D.?" launched my scholarly and professional journey. Since then, my career has been all about developing a safe learning environment where any graduate student can explore, experiment, and pursue a diverse array of career opportunities!
As a scholar, I've examined doctoral students' career decision-making experiences and published my work via a wide range of outlets (e.g., my dissertation, peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations, online articles in Inside Higher Ed). At the same time, as a career development practitioner, I have served graduate students at multiple U.S. higher education institutions (University of Illinois, Cornell University, Weill Cornell Medicine, and currently Princeton University) to support their own meaningful career transitions (both in academia and beyond academia).
Both my research and professional experiences consistently indicate that:
Doctoral students' career decisions are primarily based on their career values and their first-hand experience, NOT based on their abilities to perform scholarly activities.
Doctoral students' career decisions are made through a gradual learning process over several years by consciously examining what's for them and what's not.
Many doctoral students experience a lack of career support and opportunities tailored to their unique career needs to achieve their career goals, both inside and outside academia.
Whether you are a doctoral student exploring career options or a faculty or career advisor collecting information for your graduate students, I hope you can find something useful in these resources.
Education
Ph.D., Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, College of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2017
Concentration: Human Resource Development
MA, International Office Administration, Ewha Womans University, 2012
BA, International Office Administration, Ewha Womans University, 2008
Professional Experiences
Director of Graduate Career Development & Faculty, Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Education at Georgia Institute of Technology: 2023- Present
Senior Associate Director, Graduate Student Career Development, The Center for Career Development, Princeton University: 2020 - 2023
Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) Curriculum Reviewer, Center for Credentialing and Education: 2020
Career Consultant & Trainer, Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM, Cornell University's Medical College) : 2019 - 2020
Career Services Manager/ Education Manager, Department of Population Health Sciences, WCM : 2018 – 2019
Career Development Specialist: Graduate and International Advisor, Cornell Career Services, Cornell University : 2017 – 2018
Graduate Research Assistant for Assessment and Research, The Career Center at Illinois (TCC), University of Illinois: 2013 – 2017
Pre-Professional Graduate Assistant for Career Development for International Students, TCC, University of Illinois : 2013 – 2014
Program Coordinator, Office of International Programs, College of Education, University of Illinois : 2012 – 2013
Senior Executive Assistant of CEO, Hyundai Corporation, Seoul, South Korea : 2008 – 2010
University & Community Services
Co-Chair, Awards Committee, National Career Development Association (NCDA)
Resource Team Co-lead, International Student Services Committee (ISSC), National Career Development Association (NCDA)
Webinar Team Co-lead, International Student Services Committee (ISSC), National Career Development Association (NCDA)
Department Education Committee, Weill Cornell Medicine
2019 Virtual Career Expo Committee Co-Chair, Graduate Career Consortium (GCC)
2018 Virtual Career Fair Committee, Graduate Career Consortium (GCC)
ImaginePhD Research Committee, Graduate Career Consortium (GCC)
Campus Career Services Assessment Committee Research Lead, Cornell Career Services, Cornell University
Student Affairs International Education Committee, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, University of Illinois
Assessment Committee, The Career Center at University of Illinois
Advisory Committee for Career Development, Korean Student Association (KSA), University of Illinois
External Vice President, Korean Student Association (KSA), University of Illinois
Career Consultant, International Advertising Mob (IAM)
Editorial Services
Editorial Board Member, Education, Language and Sociology Research, 2020 - Present
Ad Hoc Reviewer
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
Journal of Career Development (JCD)
The Career Development Quarterly (CDQ)
Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education
Gender, Work & Organization (GWO)
Human Resource Development Review (HRDR)
Human Resource Development International (HRDI)
Cogent Psychology
SN Social Sciences
Reviewer for the 2017 Career Development Quarterly Award for National Career Development Association
Conference Proceedings of Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD), 2015, 2016
Awards & Honors
Research
NCDA Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award, National Career Development Association, 2017
Hardie Dissertation Award, College of Education, UIUC, 2017
Robert P. Larsen Grant Award for Research in Career Development, The Career Center, UIUC, 2017
Exemplary Achievement in Assessment Recognition, Division of Student Affairs, UIUC, 2014, 2016
John D. Shingleton Award for Innovation, Midwest Association for Colleges and Employers, 2015, 2016
John Steele Grant Award for Research, Midwest Association of Colleges and Employers, 2015, 2016
Teaching
Teacher Ranked as Excellent by Students, Weill Cornell Medicine, 2018
Teacher Ranked as Excellent by Students, College of Education, UIUC, 2016
Others
Professional Service Collaboration Award, Global University China Career Union, 2019
Donna Reichmann Award, College of Education, UIUC, 2016
Conference Travel Award, College of Education, UIUC, 2015, 2016
Outstanding Asian American Graduate Student Leader Award, Asian American Cultural Center, UIUC, 2014
Hardie Conference Travel Support Award, College of Education, UIUC, 2014
Human Resource Development (HRD) Service of Korea Project Grant, South Korea, 2014