Career Clarity & Job Search Course for PhDs

Career Clarity & Job Search Course for PhDs

Options 4 Success

Are you looking for a safe space and proven method to explore your nonacademic career options? 

Is it time to look beyond your role as a professor for greater fulfillment and work-life balance?​​

Are you done complaining about academia’s flaws and ready to take back your power?

Welcome, my Ph.D. friend.

You’re in the right place.

My name is Fatimah Williams, Ph.D. For nearly a decade, I’ve been a career coach to PhDs at all career stages and in fields as wide-ranging as history, biomedical sciences, and architecture.

That’s long enough to know that PhDs have a complex relationship with the academy...

…You may enjoy aspects of your work, but you are not valued, supported, or compensated well enough to do your best work.

…You may feel uncertain about your future in academia.

…Maybe something’s shifted for you personally so academia-as-usual no longer fulfills you.

Listen, this is a judgment-free zone. 

Contrary to what you may expect, I’m not here to convince you to leave the academy.

My deepest desire as a career coach is to see you win. For you to be empowered to make career decisions that bring you value, alignment, and fulfillment. 

So I created Options4Success for PhDs who want a roadmap to gain career clarity and to take the necessary steps to secure your job of choice. 

I was once where you sit, trying to decide my next career steps after being immersed in academia and the PhD identity for years. 

I wanted a step-by-step process to figure out what nonacademic career would suit me best and how to make myself stand out for a well-paying, intellectually stimulating nonacademic job.

When I didn’t find this comprehensive resource I decided to create it. I spent years building and testing this PhD career transition framework so you don’t have to. 

Career transition support at the pace you need.

What’s Included?

  • Self-paced, private course – work around your own schedule

  • 20 Dynamic video and audio lessons – listen on the go

  • 7 Workbooks with templates & scripts – stop creating search materials from scratch

  • Everything Resume Guide (™)  – easily convert your lengthy academic CV to a professional resume

  • Full access for 12 months – gives you time to apply what you're learning

  • BONUS Live Career Strategy Sessions  – get live coaching and implementation support to move forward in your career transition and job search

Bonus Live Career Strategy Sessions: Live sessions to support you in your career transition and job search. Meet with your coach and your PhD peers for information sharing, co-working and job search feedback.*

*Whether you can make these sessions or not, you will still receive all course materials and an advanced invitation to any future live sessions.

Expertly designed modules…

20 Power-Packed Video & Audio Lessons for Learning on the Go

See exactly what you’ll learn inside Options4 Success:

  • Module 1: Detox

    • Detox from academic trauma and isolation.

    • Set personal goals for taking this program. 

    • Create your own schedule for module completion and content implementation.

  • Module 2: Envision

    • Reimagine career and life possibilities.

    • Review and reset your professional goals.

  • Module 3: Discover

    • Learn about top career fields for PhDs.

    • Learn to navigate the unspoken norms of the professional world and the nonacademic job search.

    • Use the ecosystems and economies method to identify viable career options.

  • Module 4: Assess

    • Identify your transferable skills and experiences.

    • Create your very own professional resumé using the Everything Resume (™)  template.

  • Module 5: Connect

    • Sharpen networking and interviewing skills to stand out for nonacademic positions. 

    • Develop an asset-based career narrative to effectively translate your academic experience to employers. 

    • Make new professional connections online and in person.

  • Module 6: Explore

    • Gain exposure to new organizations and career fields.

    • Learn to evaluate potential career paths to find the right fit for you.

    • Enhance your professional portfolio to be competitive for top positions.

Join Options4Success

Proven career coaching to help you reach your next well-paying, fulfilling nonacademic job.

Options4Success is for you if….

  • You know there’s more for you professionally. You need a safe space and a proven method to explore what’s next. 

  • You’re done complaining about academia’s flaws and ready to take back your power. 

  • You’re tired of piecing together nonacademic job search information from Google, one-off resume writing workshops, and well-meaning but incomplete advice from friends.

  • You’re ready for a career where you are valued, well-compensated, and intellectually stimulated.

Meet your coach.

Hi, I’m Dr. Fatimah Williams.

I’m a firm believer that PhDs have options beyond academia for career success and fulfillment. You just need support from a trusted, tailored-to-the-PhD resource to help you determine your options and take the next step. 

I’ve used the methodology behind Options4Success to achieve my own career wins:

  • Entrepreneur earning a six-figure salary 

  • Consultant to federal government, healthcare, and philanthropic agencies

  • Commissioned by Oxford University Press to author nonacademic job search workbook for PhDs (forthcoming 2024)  

  • Featured in Inside Higher Education, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Essence Magazine, BlackDoctor.org, and more

You, too, can feel valued, engaged, and fulfilled.

I’d love to be your coach.

Options4Success Alumni Success Stories

Will you be the next success story?

See how Options4Success helped these PhDs achieve career success:

“I knew I could find a better path, but I didn’t know how.”
— Aisha Rousseau, Ph.D.

Before O4S: Assistant Professor, Disability and Psychoeducational Studies


After O4S:Director, City & County Government, Colorado


I had made a decision to leave my current academic institution as a tenure-track assistant professor and had been applying to several jobs. When I reached out to Fatimah, I found myself at a crossroads about the best opportunity I should pursue that would allow me to utilize my skills and have job satisfaction. What I most appreciated about the work with Fatimah was that she understood the internal challenges of choosing to leave academia. These were things that I really had no outlet to work through as others thought it was incredulous to leave academia or they were dealing with the same apprehensions themselves. I knew I could find a better path for my life outside of academia but I wasn't sure how to navigate that.

While it was a hard decision, Fatimah helped me make an informed decision and it was one of the best decisions I could have made for my family and me. Working with the program, I felt more confident in identifying and contacting my personal and professional network. I left a toxic environment to a very satisfying and fulfilling one. I received a job offer with a pay raise.

“I had no idea how to start looking or what my value might be.”
— Hilary Pritchard, Ph.D.

Before O4S:Linguistics Ph.D. Candidate, University of Pennsylvania


After O4S:Data Scientist, Comcast


I came to Fatimah disillusioned with academia after five years in a Ph.D. program, with no idea how to start looking for other career paths. I wondered what my value might be, and was stuck not knowing how to approach an industry job search. In the first session, we covered networking - from there we worked on everything from identifying my values and strengths to how to approach an interview and how to negotiate a job offer. Fatimah’s negotiation advice netted me a $3k salary gain on top of an already comfy offer.

“O4S helped me streamline my process for applying”
— Arika Easley-Houser, Ph.D.

Before O4S:History Ph.D. candidate, Rutgers University


After O4S:Faculty, Rutgers Preparatory School

Options for Success is a wonderful program which helped me streamline my process for applying to particular positions that fit my interests. I was able to secure a teaching position at an independent school by expanding my network and receiving encouragement from other participants.

Controversial opinion loading….

You don’t have to leave academia to be successful and happy. You just may need to change roles. 

These three Options4Success alumni who achieved career success without leaving academia:

Before O4S: Assistant Professor, Rutgers University


After O4S:
  • Accepted full-time role as Director, Faculty Development Program.
  • Shifted from tenure-track Assistant Professor to Visiting Assistant Professor.
  • Within a few short years became Assistant Dean, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Before O4S: Gallery Director & Curator, SUNY


After O4S:
  • Showcased her work in elite international art forms, institutions and publications.
  • Debuted solo exhibitions in NYC and LA and a group exhibition in Milan, Italy. 
  • Contributed catalog essays in Virginia Museum of Fine Art and Georgia State University Printmaking Exhibition.
  • Admitted into Smithsonian Institute’s Art Journal Program.
  • Secured first paid art-related speaking engagement.

Before O4S: Assistant Professor + temporary administrative role, St. Mary’s College of California


After O4S:
  • Promoted to Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs
  • Maintained Assistant Professor position

O4S provided a step-by-step framework for these alumni to:

  • Identify gaps in their career-life fulfillment. 

  • Unearth and translate existing skills and knowledge for promotion. 

  • Develop leadership confidence. 

  • Create a lasting, sustainable career trajectory that aligned with their values.

Got questions? We’ve got answers.

FAQs

  • I am a big fan of making informed decisions. Before making a decision about leaving or staying in academia, it is best to first gather information about how your interests, goals and work environment needs have changed.

    Options for Success is a safe space and guided program to help you consider what your professional needs are at this stage of your life and career; to assess what you want in your work; and to create a strategy to get the job you want.

    It may be just the program to help you create time and space to consider what you need next -- whether that's in your current institution, current role, or a new one. Options for Success provides career clarity and transition strategy so you can make informed, empowered decisions.

  • Even if you’ve never worked a single job outside of academia in your life, you have plenty of valuable skills that are transferable to other fields. What you need to know is how to identify those skills, match them effectively to different job types/roles, and market yourself effectively to pursue a new career.

    High achievering PhDs often take for granted the skills they already have that are very valuable outside of academia. If you’re not sure how your experience applies to different careers, Options for Success will help you discover just that, especially the module that discusses “ecosystems and economies.”

  • Nonacademic career transitions take time. Not just time on tasks like networking and applying for jobs, but time to reflect on and explore your options without pressure. That’s why you get course access for six months.

    Course videos and audio lessons are no more than 20 minutes each. Give yourself permission to explore your career options before academic exhaustion makes it impossible for you to make a shift.

  • Program alumni have come from various disciplines in the social sciences, humanities, life sciences, engineering, education and public health. The program provides the career transition foundations and strategies unique to the PhD mindset, identity, and training. You’ll fit right in!

  • I’ve included the foundations of your detox, discovery and application processes in this program.

    Still, I understand that personal coaching and document review can make all the difference in your success.

    Private coaching sessions with Dr. Fatimah Williams are not included in the course but may be purchased at a special rate for course members.

What are you waiting for, Brilliant One?

Fulfillment begins with your next step.