Career: Realising your potential outside academia

Identify, gain confidence in and sell your skills

Clare Brophy & Sarah McCowenStaff Career Coaching Service

RS Skills

What tasks or activities do researchers do in their work?

RS Skills

• Choose one of those activities (whole group)

• What skills are involved in doing that activity?

My personal skills

• What evidence do I have of the skills listed?

• Working alone, make a record of your evidence.

Employers’ wish list

What skills do you think employers are looking for?

Top 10 skills employers want

• Flexibility and capacity to cope with change

• Self-motivation• Analytical ability and decision-making• Communication and interpersonal skills• Team-working ability

Self awareness

Top 10 skills employers want

• Organisation, planning and prioritising• Commercial/sector knowledge• Ability to innovate• Mental and physical resilience• Leadership qualities

Self-awareness

Skills recruiters struggle to find

• Project Management

• Leadership

• Commercial awareness

• Problem solving

• Risk taking and enterprise

• Managing learning and career

What employers value about RS

‘Analytical thinking, report writing and ability to work independently.’

‘Good learning skills, commitment to task, need for minimal supervision.’

‘Good communication and presentation skills demonstrated by teaching experience.’

Source: University Researchers, Employers’ Attitudes and Recruitment Practices (Wright, 2000)

STAR

Situation – what was happening at the time?

Target – what needed to change?Action – what did you do?Result – what happened as a result of

your action? Did you save time, money, increase output? Be specific

Further resources

• www.bristol.ac.uk/careers• www.bristol.ac.uk/researchstaff• www.vitae.ac.uk• http://www.vitae.ac.uk/cms/files/Rugby-

Team-Employers'-views-of-researchers'-skills-September-2007.pdf

• Books in the Careers Service (11 Priory Rd)