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Careers beyond academia 14.3.2012
- 1. Careers Careers Beyond Academia Dr. Tracy Bussoli Careers Service
- 2. Careers What will wecover? • Why......do you need to consider careers outside academia? • What……….else can you do? • How……….do you go about securing a job outside academia?
- 3. Careers Why? Why consider jobs outside academia?
- 4. Career Aspirations Careers of PhD s PRES 2011: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/postgraduate/PRES_report_2011.pdf
- 5. Careers Questions……. • What percentageof PhDs are working outside of academia three years after they have completed their PhD? • Why is this the case?
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- 7. Careers Reasons… • Competitive/saturated academic job market. The standard of research/publications required to secure lectureships is high! • Academia does not suit everyone
- 8. Careers What? What other jobs can you do?
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- 10. •Teaching schools/colleges •Publishing books/journals •Project Manager •Research Institute •Journalism •Postdoc •Administrative roles •Charity •Management Consultant •Research Fellow •Research Grant •Consultancy firm •Teaching Fellow Facilitator •Start your own •Think Tank •Lectureship •Grant Advisor, Public business •Independent Consultancy •Any grade graduate •Research Engagement (self-employed) Associate job •Policy Advisor •SME •Analyst (finance) •Accounting •Marketing Narrow Horizon A little wider Still research Using knowledge Using Known and But still but and transferable safe university - transferring understanding skills but insecure based research to but not research rather than another specific setting knowledge Increasing risk and research effort to investigate Increasing likelihood of retraining
- 16. Careers How? Do I apply and secure a job beyond academia?
- 17. Careers Research Your Career Optionsand The Labour Market • Time to research different jobs/sectors • Making a transition from the academic sector to another sector/role is challenging and takes longer than you think. Find out how people have made the transition.
- 18. Doctoral Transitions: Careers Careers Beyond Academia for STEM researchers 17.30-19.30 Thursday 22 March Francis Bancroft FB 1.15 This is a panel session in which five QMUL PhD alumni give 15 minute talks about how they made the transition from academia into roles beyond academic research. Speakers have a range of roles including Business Development, Management Consultancy, Medical Writing and Modelling for the Environment. To book please visit The Learning Institute Course Booking System http://www.esdcourses.org.uk/userlistcourse.php and enter the code RC301. Follow us on www.Facebook.com/qmcareers or www.twitter.com/qmcareers to find out about all our events
- 19. How you areperceived by Careers employers is everything To make a successful non-academic application, you must: • Understand how recruiters see PhDs • Learn to identify and articulate your relevant strengths/skills/expertise using their language.
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- 21. Who is interestedin Careers PhDs? • Group 1: 6% of respondents think very clearly about the value of doctoral graduates to their business. They are actively targeting doctoral graduates and typically have lots of practice related to the recruitment and retention of this group. • Group 2: 25% of respondents also show a strong interest in doctoral graduates. These companies have some practice designed to engage and recruit them but their level of engagement with this section of the market is less developed than group 1. • Group 3: 47% of respondents have some interest in doctoral graduates with some employers already recruiting from this cohort. Many more in this group expressed an interest in doctoral graduates but do not seem to be actively targeting this group at the current time. Employers in this group have not generally developed a range of practice to target doctoral researchers. • Group 4: 22% of respondents have no real interest in doctoral graduates and answered ’no‘ to almost all questions about engagement with the cohort.
- 22. Careers Match your competences,know their fears • Analytical skills + Maturity • Research skills + Research ability • Writing skills + Analysis and critical thinking • Dealing with information effectively + Initiative, self-reliance, independence • Capacity for self-direction + Project management • Ability to accept supervision + Alternative perspective • Project management • Communication skills – Too narrow in interest and outlook • Presentation skills – Lacking commercial awareness • Teaching/mentoring skills – Lone worker not team player • Networking – Unsophisticated social skills • Organisational awareness/political sense – Speak a ‘different language’ • Perseverance – Would find it hard to integrate into any • Subject specific knowledge non-academic culture – May have unrealistic expectations http://www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/Recruiting_researchers_employer_survey_2009.pdf
- 23. Careers Use their languagenot yours! • Scholarship: Planning, research ability, creativity, analysis, fieldwork • Academic Rigour: Continual scrutiny, quality control, quality assurance • Lecturing: Giving seminars: presenting • Tutoring: Motivation, monitoring • Examining: Marking essays: appraising, assessing
- 24. Careers Use their languagenot yours! • Research Group: Teamwork, creativity • Surveys, Fieldwork: Project Management, problem solving • Multi-disciplinary: Flexibility, versatility, lateral thinking • Thesis, articles: Reports, publications • Supervising: Instructing, training, communication skills
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- 28. Careers Job Hunting • Newspapers– national, international • Specialist magazines, • Journals and trade press • Press releases and news articles – hidden opportunities • Linked In
- 29. Careers Job Hunting…… • Speculativeapplications • Your network • Set up your own business: – research, consultancy, policy development, policy implementation – The benefit of a PhD is that you are an expert! – Consider what you offer and design your ideal product/role/service from there • Dream Job: – How would it make you feel? – Plan a variety of routes to get there – What risks might you need to take?
- 30. Careers Networking • The powerof word of mouth – Get your requirements into circulation – Promote yourself through others – Get opportunities and insight • Map your network – Do you know who your contacts know? • Maintain your network – Find a premise for reintroduction – Be strategic, organised, outward-looking
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- 32. Careers Basic Principles • CVsare generally shorter – no longer than 1-2 pages for corporate role – no longer than 3 for research-related • Emphasis on cover letter, especially for speculative applications. • You are more than a PhD student now • Relevant information and evidence
- 33. Careers The non-academic CV •Know the priorities of the recruiter • Work experience and relevant skills are as important as education • Choose information well (e.g. skills, relevant experience) to defuse prejudice about being ‘too academic’ • ‘Professional paragraph’ to open CV
- 34. Careers Layout • Education first,or work experience? • Work experience can be split – Relevant, Other • In summarising jobs or roles, highlight functions relevant to the new post with bullet points
- 35. Careers Covering Letters: ‘MyShoes’ • Why do I want to work in this sector? • Why would I do well in this job/career? • What specifically do I offer in terms of skills and experience and how can I use them? • What interests me about this particular role? • What challenges in the job appeal to me?
- 36. Covering Letters: ‘Their Careers Shoes’ With reference to the job specification: • What evidence do I have of my suitability? • What value can I (as a PhD) add? • How can I (subtly) reassure them that my academic experience will be an asset not a hindrance? • How will their business be enhanced by my contribution?
- 37. Careers Speculative Applications • Particularlysuitable for small or highly specialised sectors • Research the company well first – know them and what you can offer that they don’t have • Introductory email or cover letter plus CV • More emphasis on the cover letter to sell you • Think of the reader: – Why do you really want to work for them? – What qualities and experience do they want? – What specialism can you offer? – What unique advantages do you bring them? – In what role would you be an asset to them? – Reference specific elements/outcomes of their work
- 38. Careers Action Plan • Startnow…don’t put it off! • Pursuing a career (academic or not) is an active process. Ensure that you have some plans....they can change! • Look at some of the gaps in your CV and start to put together a plan for how to bridge them….consider internships! • Keep options open and have a good spread of activities.
- 39. Careers Support for Careers PhDs • One to one advice for academic and non-academic careers (call Careers 8533) – CVs, cover letters, application forms – Interviews, presentations, assessment centres – Career planning and job search • Careers Seminars, Workshops and Events • Careers Blog http://qmresearcher.wordpress.com/
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