Post on 10-Jan-2016
description
Looking Beyond Academia
Asaf FedermanCareers Consultant
This workshop will cover:
• Barriers to employment
• How to market your skills and experience
• Job search strategies
• Non-academic job applications
Jane Chin’s 5 Fatal Traps:
1. Doing everything yourself
2. Doing what you think you should do, not what you really want to do
3. “Speaking in tongues”
4. “There are different ways you can procrastinate. I have tried them all.”
5. Thinking about it
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
Barriers - Employer
Connor, H., P. Forbes, and D Docherty, Talent Fishing: What Businesses Want from Postgraduates A CIHE Report for Department of Business Innovation and Skills 2010
Abstract vs applied
Qualification vs skills
Focused vs open
Technical vs ‘contextual’
Barriers - Employer
Connor, H., P. Forbes, and D Docherty, Talent Fishing: What Businesses Want from Postgraduates A CIHE Report for Department of Business Innovation and Skills 2010
• 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.
Positive feedback from employers
Recruiting researchers: survey of employer practice Vitae 2009
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
“How would you expect a PhD holder to perform in the following areas?”
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
Data analysis 100% 100% 91% 91%
Problemsolving
100% 88% 89% 83%
Drive andmotivation
100% 84% 59% 74%
Projectmanagement
83% 36% 70% 39%
Interpersonalskills
67% 56% 39% 26%
Leadership 67% 28% 24% 17%
Commercialawareness
50% 20% 28% 22%
Recruiting researchers: survey of employer practice Vitae 2009
Barriers - Employer
• PhD students lack desirable skills
• Limited/no practical experience
• Cannot adapt to working environment
• Unrealistic salary expectations
• Often overly narrow
Skills audit
Exercise: complete the skills checklist. Record your strengths & gaps
“Hello, my name is .... and I am really good at ...”
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
Job search strategies
What is out there for me?
How to find jobs?
Nearby Still closeA littlefurther
Away fromResearch
Anythinggoes
Narrowhorizon:known
Wider: stilluniversity-based
Research: transferringresearch skills to anothersetting
Using subjectknowledge andunderstanding, not in research
Using transferableskills rather thansubject 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
What are the options?
Transferring your skills or experience• HE administration • Skills training• Statistics, modelling, programming • Journalism, publishing• Science related business• Teaching• Other?
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
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
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
Non-Academic Applications
Speculative Applications CVs & cover letters
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
CV
ACADEMIC
• Research• Publications• Teaching• Funding• 2-4 pages Other experience
NON ACADEMIC
• Skills/capabilities• Commercial
awareness• Other experience• 2 pages Conferences Publications
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
• 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.
Cover Letter
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
What next
• Start your research
• Update your CV
• Apply….?