One of the things I love to do is to bring my coaching clients together in small groups to chat and exchange advice on Zoom. But in the free drop-in today it was a special treat to spend time with a candidate who had graduated a last month, and was happy to share his experiences.
One issue that he emphasized was the choice of supervisor. As all doctoral candidates know, the supervisor has the power to approve your thesis and move you on to your oral defense (or Viva if you're in the UK), So having a supervisor who is interested in your research and gives useful feedback is crucial.
We also talked about the way to work with a coach as well as a supervisor. It was agreed that, while you usually just want to show your supervisor your best work, your coach is someone you need to trust to review rough drafts and give constructive feedback. That's one of the cornerstones of coaching.
We talked quite a bit more about the challenges of writing, and the joy of being told you've passed at the end of the oral. The conversations will continue, so consider popping in next month, November 16th
Here's the information for you to note your diary. Let me know if you're interested and I'll send you the Zoom link.
https://www.phdcoaching.ca/pages/next-free-drop-in-for-phd-candidates