Careers and employability

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Careers and employability

• By Zoë Mitton, Careers Information Officer
• and Stephen Boyd, Careers Adviser
• University of Huddersfield

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Aims Objectives

• What you can offer?
• What do Employers look for?
• Future Career progression
• Sources of help information

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Current situation for researchers

• Growth in numbers 500 increase in last 20
  years
• 2 increase in the number of academic posts
• Lower unit of resource amount per student is
  40 less than 20 years ago
• Improved demands for quality QAA and RAE
  assessment
• Flexibility fixed-term contracts

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The principles of Personal Development Career
Management

• Current/previous activities knowledge skills
  used
• Determine strengths weaknesses
• Action to consolidate strengths
• Action to address weaknesses
• Consistently review these activities

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Skills Common to Researchers

• Communication
• Oral
• written
• Interpersonal
• Negotiating
• Teamwork
• Supervisory
• Counselling

• Administrative
• Time management
• Organising
• IT
• Business awareness
• Research skills
• Practical
• Analytical
• Learning
• Debating

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Personal characteristics including ..

• Perseverance
• Resilience
• Adaptability
• Self motivation

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Career Direction

• Linear progression
• Changing emphasis
• New direction

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Linear progression

• To remain in academia
• Publications
• Funding/budgeting
• Project management
• Quality assessment
• Wider issues
• Networking

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Changing emphasis

• Occupation related to subject or different role
  within HE
• Background research
• Extra skills e.g. IT
• Enhance commercial awareness
• Work shadowing
• Develop contacts

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New direction

• Something entirely different
• Analyse qualities transferable skills
• Recognise what potential employers seek
• Research/Network
• Information I/v Work shadow

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Requirements of academic employers ..

• Expertise knowledge
• Published output
• Teaching experience
• Administrative experience
• Evidence of motivation
• IT skills

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Requirements of employers outside academia
..SOURCE University Researchers, Employers
Attitudes and Recruitment Practices (Wright,
2000)

• Researchers
• Analytical thinking, independent working
• Good learning skills, Commitment, minimum
  supervision
• Research presentation skills

• - Researchers
• Lack of commercial awareness
• Limited team working skills
• Competence with short term tasks
• Lack of awareness of transferable skills

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Presenting yourself to Employers

• Dont over rely on academic achievement.
  Emphasise skills such as teamwork, report writing
  and leadership (Scottish Environmental
  Protection Agency)
• Focus on skills and competencies and relate them
  to the commercial environment if possible (Smith
  and Nephew plc)
• Make it clear you can offer more than your
  academic experience (Powergen UK)

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What your Careers Service can do for you

• Careers Information Officer!
• Find information
• Initial career enquiries

• Careers Advisers
• Brief, preliminary discussion
• Focussed guidance session
• Basic skills

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What your Careers Service can do for you (cont)

• Workshops
• Basic skills
• Careers Management Skills focus on researchers
• Personality testing

• Visits by employers and professional bodies
• Highlight recruitment procedures
• Common threads

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What your Careers Service can do for you (cont)

• Information
• Paper and web based
• Occupational, course, overseas, CV, application
  form etc
• Professional journals
• Employer directories

• Vacancy bulletins
• Online both national and regional Graduate Link
  and Graduates Yorkshire
• Paper e.g. Prospects Today

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Useful Publications

• Moving on in your career a guide for Academic
  Researchers and postgraduates L. Ali and B.
  Graham, Routledge, 2000
• The Academic career handbook Blaxter et al,
  Open University Press, 2001
• University researchers and the job market L.
  Schofield, ULCS and AGCAS, 2001

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Some final dos and donts

• Do look for opportunities to develop new skills
• Dont underestimate the extensive body of skills
  you already possess
• Do use networking strategies to research your
  career options
• Dont restrict your job search to your current
  field your knowledge and skills will be in
  demand elsewhere

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Useful websites

• www.careers.strath.ac.uk/jobsearchguide/index.htm
• www.careers.lon.ac.uk/output/page212.asp?node345
• www.prospects.ac.uk
• www.grad.ac.uk
• www.thesjobs.co.uk
• www.phdjobs.com
• www.jobs.ac.uk
• www.hesda.org.uk/subjects/rs/rs_links.html
• www.vacancies.ac.uk
• www.shef.ac.uk/gmpcrs/
• www.nottingham.ac.uk/careers/research/index.htm
• www.hud.ac.uk/careers