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Looking Beyond Academia

Looking Beyond Academia. Asaf Federman Careers Consultant. This workshop will cover:. Barriers to employment How to market your skills and experience Job search strategies Non-academic job applications. http://phdcareerclinic.com/. Jane Chin’s 5 Fatal Traps:. Doing everything yourself

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Looking Beyond Academia

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  1. Looking Beyond Academia Asaf Federman Careers Consultant

  2. This workshop will cover: • Barriers to employment • How to market your skills and experience • Job search strategies • Non-academic job applications

  3. http://phdcareerclinic.com/

  4. Jane Chin’s 5 Fatal Traps: • Doing everything yourself • Doing what you think you should do, not what you really want to do • “Speaking in tongues” • “There are different ways you can procrastinate. I have tried them all.” • Thinking about it

  5. More Barriers - researchers • Unable to sell transferable skills • Confine job search to specialist area • Reluctance to apply for entry level or graduate jobs • Don’t know where to start

  6. Barriers - Employer Abstract vs applied Qualification vs skills Focused vs open Technical vs ‘contextual’ Connor, H., P. Forbes, and D Docherty, Talent Fishing: What Businesses Want from PostgraduatesA CIHE Report for Department of Business Innovation and Skills 2010

  7. Barriers - Employer Connor, H., P. Forbes, and D Docherty, Talent Fishing: What Businesses Want from PostgraduatesA CIHE Report for Department of Business Innovation and Skills 2010

  8. Positive feedback from employers • 6% value of doctoral graduates & are actively targeting them • 25% show a strong interest in doctoral graduates. They engage and recruit them but their level of engagement is less developed. • 47% of respondents have some interest in doctoral but do not seem to be actively targeting them. • 22% of respondents have no real interest in doctoral graduates and answered ’no‘ to most questions. Although most employers (78%) appreciate recruits with a PhD, a majority (69%) does not actively seek them. Recruiting researchers: survey of employer practice Vitae 2009

  9. The survey asked employers to rate researchers’ skills: • 1. data analysis • 2. problem solving • 3. drive and motivation • 4. project management • 5. interpersonal skills • 6. leadership • 7. commercial awareness Recruiting researchers: survey of employer practice Vitae 2009

  10. “How would you expect a PhD holder to perform in the following areas?” Recruiting researchers: survey of employer practice Vitae 2009

  11. Barriers - Employer • PhD students lack desirable skills • Limited/no practical experience • Cannot adapt to working environment • Unrealistic salary expectations • Often overly narrow

  12. Skills audit Exercise: complete the skills checklist. Record your strengths & gaps “Hello, my name is .... and I am really good at ...”

  13. More resources • LDC – What do I have to offer • Strength profiling – Realise2 • MBTI profiling – see LDC programme – Type Dynamic Indicator • Values • Skills Gap? Search the LDC programme • Contact Sandy Sparks with ideas and requests • Search professional bodies

  14. Job search strategies What is out there for me? How to find jobs?

  15. Anything goes Away from Research A little further Still close Nearby Research: transferring research skills to another setting Using subject knowledge and understanding, not in research Wider: still university- based Narrow horizon: known Using transferable skills rather than subject knowledge Increasing: “risk” and research effort to investigate; Increasing breadth of opportunity; Increasing likelihood of some kind of re-training (not always); Increasingly wider horizons, the world is your oyster Widening horizons

  16. What are the options? Transferring your skills or experience • HE administration • Skills training • Statistics, modelling, programming • Journalism, publishing • Science related business • Teaching • Other?

  17. Finding opportunities • Prospects: www.prospects.ac.ukInput youth, icould. • O*NET – the American version • Scrutinise job adverts e.g. Guardian, THES, Times • Jobs.ac.uk • Professional institutes, associations, bodies, discussion lists. IOP, Wiki, TaForum, and here • Online: LinkedIn, subject specific groups

  18. Find it yourself • Find 2 job titles that may be relevant to you • Find 2 vacancies for jobs that you can do. http://bit.ly/non-academic http://bit.ly/non-academic

  19. Discovering what is out there. Open job market includes: • Web based resources, newspapers, specialist journals, agencies, careers fairs, careers service Hidden job market involves: • networking, making contacts, speculative approaches, being resourceful…. “Up to 70% of vacancies are classed as hidden” source: interjobs.co.uk

  20. Non-Academic Applications Speculative Applications CVs & cover letters

  21. Speculative approaches • Find out which companies might be recruiting or expanding  use contacts, check press, adverts.. • Address your letter to the named manager of area in which you would like to work • Point put key selling points  avoid academic ‘jargon’ • Explain why you are interested in a) work and b) co. To really improve your chances you need to NETWORK

  22. CV ACADEMIC • Research • Publications • Teaching • Funding • 2-4 pages • Other experience NON ACADEMIC • Skills/capabilities • Commercial awareness • Other experience • 2 pages • Conferences • Publications

  23. Skills based CV • Brings academic & other experiences together to highlight ‘transferable skills’ • Bullet point skills at the beginning of your CV • Concentrate on the primary skills needed for the job • Use the job/person spec as a guide • Follow this section with a typical, chronological approach • Support your claims with concrete examples • Avoid detailed information about your PhD/master’s qualifications http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/1375/Skills-based-CVs.html

  24. Cover Letter • Introduce yourself. (‘Dear Mrs. Smith’). • What position are you applying for? • Why do you want the post? • Why that particular organisation? • Why you: Illustrate your suitability • Extenuate circumstances, if needed • Close by reiterating your suitability, thanking them for their time and saying you look forward to hearing from them.

  25. Practical strategies • Make your CV relevant • Use the job/person spec as guide • Most important info on page 1 • Use action verbs • Emphasise roles, responsibilities & achievements

  26. What next • Start your research • Update your CV • Apply….?

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