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Careers Beyond Academia

Dr. Tracy BussoliCareers Service

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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?

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Why?

Why consider jobs outside academia?

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Career Aspirations of PhD s

PRES 2011: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/postgraduate/PRES_report_2011.pdf

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Questions…….

• What percentage of PhDs are working outside of academia three years after they have completed their PhD?

• Why is this the case?

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Reasons…

• Competitive/saturated academic job market. The standard of research/publications required to secure lectureships is high!

• Academia does not suit everyone

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What other jobs can you do?

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Narrow Horizon Known and safe but insecure

A little wider But still university - based

Still research but transferring research toanother setting

Using knowledge and understandingbut not research

Using transferable skillsrather than specific knowledge

•Postdoc•Research Fellow•Teaching Fellow•Lectureship•Research Associate

•Research Institute•Charity•Consultancy firm•Think Tank•Independent Consultancy (self-employed)•Policy Advisor•Analyst (finance)

•Teaching schools/colleges•Publishing books/journals•Project Manager•Journalism•Management Consultant•Administrative roles

•Research Grant Facilitator•Grant Advisor, Public Engagement

Increasing risk and research effort to investigate Increasing likelihood of retraining

•Start your own business•Any grade graduate job•SME•Accounting•Marketing

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ersHow?

Do I apply and secure a job beyond academia?

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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.

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Doctoral Transitions: 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

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How you are perceived by 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.

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Who is interested in PhDs?

• Group 1: 6% of respondents think very clearly about thevalue of doctoral graduates to their business. They are activelytargeting doctoral graduates and typically have lots of practicerelated to the recruitment and retention of this group.

• Group 2: 25% of respondents also show a strong interest indoctoral graduates. These companies have some practicedesigned to engage and recruit them but their level ofengagement with this section of the market is less developedthan group 1.

• Group 3: 47% of respondents have some interest in doctoralgraduates with some employers already recruiting from thiscohort. Many more in this group expressed an interest indoctoral 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 indoctoral graduates and answered ’no‘ to almost all questionsabout engagement with the cohort.

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Match your competences, know their fears

• Analytical skills• Research skills• Writing skills• Dealing with information effectively• Capacity for self-direction• Ability to accept supervision• Project management• Communication skills• Presentation skills• Teaching/mentoring skills• Networking• Organisational awareness/political sense • Perseverance• Subject specific knowledge

+ Maturity+ Research ability+ Analysis and critical thinking+ Initiative, self-reliance, independence+ Project management + Alternative perspective

– Too narrow in interest and outlook– Lacking commercial awareness– Lone worker not team player– Unsophisticated social skills– Speak a ‘different language’– Would find it hard to integrate into any

non-academic culture– May have unrealistic expectations

http://www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/Recruiting_researchers_employer_survey_2009.pdf

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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

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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

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Identify and articulate your skills

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Job Hunting• Newspapers – national,

international• Specialist magazines, • Journals and trade press• Press releases and news articles

– hidden opportunities• Linked In

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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?

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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

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ersApplications……..

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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

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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

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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

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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?

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Covering Letters: ‘Their 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?

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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

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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.

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Careers Support for 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 Bloghttp://qmresearcher.wordpress.com/

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