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

http://phdcareerclinic.com/

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?

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/p!elmjX

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….?