After the PhD: Career Options & Employability Dr Shona Johnston Senior Careers Adviser

Career management Successful career management depends on: Self Knowledge Aptitudes/Skills Interests Values & Constraints Knowledge of Opportunities Labour market info Contacts Effective Networking Positive marketing Excellent CV Well-developed interview techniques

Self assessment  What do I enjoy / dislike doing?  What motivates me?  What skills and experience do I have to offer?  What do I want from my job?  Complete the following sentence: I want a job where...

Knowledge of opportunities  Where are you now? I know what I want to do I have some ideas I have no idea!  What jobs and opportunities are out there?  What are they actually like?  Would they suit me?... It’s a major research project...

Is there a specific market for PhDs? Yes:  Universities – contract researchers, teaching fellows, lecturers, non-academic positions  Research careers outside academia No:  Major employers recruit graduates and postgraduates at the same time, so compete for the same jobs  PhD may not be viewed as work experience

What do PhDs do? - Trends  Unemployment rate of 3.6% (6.2% for first degree graduates)  1% in ‘stop-gap’ jobs  50% in education sector (22% Postdoctoral Researchers)  17% health/social work  14% manufacturing  9% finance, business, IT  5% public admin  5% other Careers Research Advisory Council, 2007,

Widening your horizons  66% of vacancies on offer in the 2007/8 issue of Prospects Directory are open to graduates from any discipline  Info & case studies  Professional bodies  Careers Service Events and fairs Individual appointments

Widening Horizons Nearby Still close A little Away from Anything further research goes Increasing ‘risk’ and effort to investigate Increasing breadth of opportunity Increasing likelihood of retraining (but not always) Research contract somewhere else Health Service psychologist Short-term contract with current supervisor HE teaching position Market research Research policy Lectureship Civil Service Marketing Human resources Private Practice IT School teaching Science communication Statistician Export training programme Event organising Management Consultancy Police

What do PhDs offer? “ Their strong intellectual capacity is an advantage” Andersen Consulting “Analytical thinking, up to date experience of research methods and published demonstration of their abilities.” BMSP “They have a high academic profile which is advantageous when presenting their CVs to prospective clients and their research skills are crucial…” McKinsey & Co “Recent PhD recruits have shown a good deal of maturity and have been able to move through their early career faster than undergraduate recruits.” Financial consultancy firm

Any drawbacks? “Lack of commercial awareness/experience and lack of career motivation.” KPMG “Lack of commercial experience and adapting to lifestyle differences such as longer hours and short term deadlines.” McKinsey & Co “These candidates tend to be focused on their subject area and don’t emphasise their transferable skills which actually make them more employable.” Esso-Exxon “They tend to have unrealistic salary expectations.” Engineering firm

What do employers want? Graduate Employability, The Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE), 2008 Communications skills86 % Team-working skills85 % Integrity83 % Intellectual ability81 % Confidence80 % Character/personality75 % Planning & organisational skills74 % Literacy71 % Numeracy68 % Analysis & decision-making skills67 %

Where a PhD adds value  Project management skills  High level analytical and creative thinking  Increased confidence and maturity  Well developed oral and written communication skills  Ability to work autonomously, to self-motivate, to persevere (determination)  Problem solving  Intellectual capacity

Describing your transferable skills  Research Councils’ Joint Skills Statement  Research Career Builder  Subject specific Student Employability Profile  Identify the skills and qualities recruiters are looking for, and build up evidence of times you have demonstrated these

Next stages  Finding out more Internet Careers resources Personal contacts Newspapers / journals  Getting ready to get the job you want Developing a CV Taking advantage of opportunities to develop your interests and skills

2. Marketing yourself

Your CV  Is a unique document Choose your own preferred format... but be aware of conventions  Is a summary of your relevant experience and skills Updating and targeting required  Is a marketing tool Use your information to make an impact Don’t be modest!

What sections should a PhD graduate CV contain?

CV structure  Chronological  Skills-based  Academic  Most important information first  Use bullet points, font, spacing and headings to break up text

CV content For each section, focus on:  Specific responsibilities  Achievements  Skills displayed / developed  Avoid unfocussed, generic statements

Describing your research  For academic jobs Specify academic achievements  For research jobs outside academia Highlight knowledge, skills, techniques Give examples of communication  For jobs outside your research area Focus on transferable skills

Academic CVs Likely to also include:  PhD summary/title and name of supervisor  Details of publications (including those in progress)  Conferences attended, papers given, posters presented etc  Teaching and supervisory responsibilites  Specific technical skills and competencies  Administrative responsibilities

Further Information  Get feedback from different people  See further examples online:  Books and resources available to view in the Student Guidance Centre  Make an appointment to discuss further: