John Kirwan – Chartered FCIPD, Careers Adviser for Postgraduate Researchers Dr Tracy Johnson – Careers Adviser PhD? Added Value? Arts & Humanities May 25 th 2010

2 ‘It is probably true that we spend more time planning our annual holiday than we spend planning a career which matches our skills, personality profile, and aspirations’ John Lees - Career Coach

3 ‘ Have not really thought about planning my career direction – it’s just evolved’ ‘No idea what else I might do outside academia’ ‘Need to keep in with my supervisor – power of patronage’ Isolation ‘I’ve never had a formal job interview’ ‘No time for other courses’ Career observations - from Postgraduate Researchers…

4 Session Plan Context – labour market? PhD destinations? Where are you now? Professional development & goal setting Employability/career transition model Selection processes – getting hired! Career resources Questions?

5 Context – labour market(s)? Is it all doom & gloom? Graduate vacancies 2009/10 – down 29% (ONS 8/09) - AGR 9% Highly dependent on employment sector > Increased competition is a reality BUT… recruiters are still recruiting! AND - Postgraduates have consistently lower unemployment rates than 1 st degree graduates

Unemployment % rates by degree level Source: Vitae 2009, HESA Believed Unemployed PhD Masters Bachelors

7 What % stay in education? Less than 50% of the whole cohort So what do PhDs do? Academic areas of study % entering education sector in 2007 All UK domiciled49 Arts and Humanities69 Biological Sciences49 Biomedical Sciences45 Physical Sciences and Engineering 43 Social Sciences68 What do Researchers do? – Vitae 2009

A 8 So what do PhDs do? Postdoctoral researchers in HE? Academic areas of study % working as postdoctoral researchers in 2007 All UK-domiciled23 Arts and Humanities11 Biological Sciences36 Biomedical Sciences24.5 Physical Sciences and Engineering 28 Social Sciences17 What do Researchers do? – Vitae, 2009

A 9 So what do PhDs do? HE lecturers? Academic areas of study % working as HE lecturers in 2007 All UK-domiciled14 Arts and Humanities27 Biological Sciences<5 Biomedical Sciences14 Physical Sciences and Engineering 7 Social Sciences33 What do Researchers do? – Vitae 2009

Arts - Destinations 05/ /08 Lecturers Research Fellows Translator Writer Historian Conservation Officer Librarian Head of Research Trainee Auditor Property Developer Lecturer ESOL Teacher Commissioning Editor Fundraising & Admin Officer Church Minister 10

11 Where are you right now & where might you be going? … are you taking control of your career?

12 How do people make career decisions?  Rationally – logic & planning  Irrationally – gut feelings  Desperation!  Pressure from others  They don’t – just evolve!  “Happenstance”…right: place/time/people

13 Pathways… What’s your path forward? Academia/ Research? Research – Other? Alternative Options?

Employability “a set of achievements – skills, understanding and personal attributes – that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the country and the economy.” Higher Education Academy 14

Career transition- employability ‘ To be employed is to be at risk, to be employable is to be secure.’ … employability attributes? … competencies

16 RCUK Joint Skills Statement - 7 key researcher (base-line) competencies  Research skills & techniques  Research environment  Research management  Personal effectiveness  Communication skills  Networking & team working  Career management

17 Career Management  Appreciate need for & show commitment to Continuing Professional Development (CPD)  Take ownership & manage one’s own career, setting realistic & achievable goals, identifying & developing ways to improve employability  Demonstrate insight into transferable nature of research skills to other work environments & the range of career opportunities within & outside academia  Present one’s skills, personal attributes & experiences through effective CVs, applications & interviews

18 What do you want from a career – your motivators What’s important to you? o Using your PhD subject? o Salary? o Professional qualifications? o Career progression? o Location? o Job security? o Intrinsic value of the work undertaken? o Work/life balance? o Travel? o Other…?

So how do you move on? Using Personal Development Planning (PDP) Evaluate your current position/skills Seek out an experience (a course, advice) Record what happened briefly Review – what went well/not so well Set specific, clear goals for improvement Plan and take action Build a resource as you go Think of it as professional development

Why set goals? To get from where you are now to where you want to be To meet your deadlines Useful in any area of your life and work To help you break patterns and unhelpful habits To help you commit to making changes Research increasingly indicates the power of goal setting Agreeing goals with a supervisor will increase your chance of success during the PhD Developing these skills now will enhance your professional career management & development later

SMARTER goals Specific Measurable Agreed Realistic Timed Evaluated Reviewed

PDP is an opportunity… To become more self-aware To develop your meta-cognitive skills o Knowing what you do o Why you do it like that o The results these actions achieve for you To develop your professional skills To find out what motivates you To help you make important decisions To develop your employability

23 What attributes (competencies) do employers look for? Commitment and drive Motivation and enthusiasm Teamworking Oral communication Flexibility and adaptability Customer focus Problem solving Managing and learning re: career Commercial awareness Planning and organisation Time management Leadership Numeracy Cultural sensitivity Computer literacy Project management Report writing Risk taking/enterprise AGR survey of 236 employers, 2006 (in order of importance to their business)

Employer ranking of PhD skills 1.Data Analysis 2.Problem Solving 3.Drive and Motivation 4.Project Management 5.Interpersonal Skills 6.Leadership 7.Commercial Awareness Recruiting Researchers employer survey – Vitae

25 Employers may ask you… Which of your achievements/ideas do you feel most proud of? What was your contribution? In terms of experience and or ability, what strengths are you bringing to this career? Give an example of when you have organized your thoughts on a matter of importance to you, effectively communicated these to others and obtained their agreement? When have you set yourself a demanding goal and overcome obstacles to achieve it? What do you contribute to a team?

26 The Selection Process – gathering EVIDENCE Vacancy Analysis job requirements Job description & “Selection criteria” Advertise? Shortlist: Evidence against Selection criteria Interview/ Assessments >> Evidence against Selection criteria Appointment Decision!

Getting hired? Work out what the employer’s selection criteria are, then… Hit the criteria with evidence, at every stage of the process: o CV/Application o Interview o Assessments 27

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30 The Next Steps Identify your options Explore and evaluate them Talk to academic and careers staff Use the Careers Service resources Set your goals and develop your action plan

Questions?