2. Careers
What will we cover?
• 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
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
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16. Careers
How?
Do I apply and secure a job
beyond academia?
17. Careers
Research
Your Career Options and 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 are perceived 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.
21. Who is interested in
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 language not 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 language not 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
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……
• Speculative applications
• 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 power of 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
32. Careers
Basic Principles
• CVs are 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: ‘My Shoes’
• 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
• Particularly suitable 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
• Start now…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/
