1. Developing Your Career Skills (an entrée to an e-Grad School module)
Dr Paige Maguire, Director e-Grad School Australia
November 2018

2. Welcome! Today’s objectives are to : Learn a bit more about yourself
Learn about networking
Develop some ideas and skills for improving employability
Think about your own professional development needs
Welcome!

6. Why Am I talking to you? PhD in biotech/med sci
Joint Fellowships at Harvard and MGH (Boston)
Scientist for Scientific / R&D company (Silicon Valley)
Commercialisation/Management exec
Principal Academic Consultant QUT
Director, GRE+D (and e-Grad School, Australia)
Along the way:
Worked in multiple unis
Extra study
Board seats
Managed start-ups and large R&D programs
Industry Committee appts and awards
Education and Training roles across Australia/Internationally
Worked in multiple countries and cultures
Professional development at each step (GAICD, SFHEA)
Why Am I talking to you?

7. Understanding You and Your Skills
You are your own product - you need to understand a product before you can sell it.
What does the product represent, what are its values, why would it be valuable to others?
Self Assessment is VITAL to your career development
Understanding You and Your Skills

8. ACTIVITY: think about your values
Which of these values are the most important to you in your working life?
Discuss what they mean if you are not sure
What are your top 4? Write them down for later.
ACTIVITY: think about your values
Accomplishment
Aesthetic
Altruism
Challenge
Creativity
Contact with people
Learning
Integrity
Independence
Flexibility
Recognition
Security
Working Alone
Variety
Routine

9. What are Generic Vs Technical Skills?
Generic skills are often also called transferrable skills or soft skills
These are the skills that can be utilised in many workplaces and for many projects
They include skills like
Problem solving
Leadership & team work skills
Communication skills
Project management
Digital literacy
These are different from your personal attributes (which are more aligned to your values) and from your technical skills
Technical skills are the specific skills you have learned from being a practitioner in your discipline (some of these may also be transferrable skills)
Research students often find it hard to articulate and demonstrate their skills in different contexts
What are Generic Vs Technical Skills?

10. ACTIVITY: Think about your skills
Think about the technical skills you have developed during candidature
What skills have you developed?
How easy are they to identify?
How would you demonstrate these?
Now think about transferrable skills you have developed
If you compared your results to your peers you would see some similarities and some differences; do these align with what employers are looking for & how would you improve your chances of employment?
ACTIVITY: Think about your skills

11. Current Workforce Realities
Only about 20-30% of HDR students will be able to find employment in academia
Most employers want research graduates who are technical experts in their fields but who also have the ability to demonstrate broader generic skills and communication.
Current Workforce Realities

12. What do employers and students say about this?
Employers often cite a lack of following skills in graduates:
HDR students say they want training in the following skills:
What do employers and students say about this?
Unis want research staff who are innovative, transdisciplinary, entrepreneurial and industry engaged
What does this mean to you?
Think back to your skills activity

13. Planning ahead (never too early)
Don’t be disheartened
There are jobs out there that will be fulfilling and take advantage of your unique skills
You may need to broaden your aspirations
You will may need to think about yourself in different ways
All Australian universities (and global) are now offering HDR students broader learning and development offerings
Make the most of these
You definitely need to be building skills now towards your goals
Planning ahead (never too early)

14. Improving your workforce strategies
You are your own product:
Your product is you, your skills and your experience
Your marketing material is your CV and your face to face comms
Your marketing strategy is to be visible
Your sales pitch is how you network and deliver first impressions
You get to “close the deal” if the relationship progresses further
You need to be able to recognise opportunities when they appear (they are not always “advertised”)
Hidden job market represents up to 60% jobs
Improving your workforce strategies

15. Improving your visibility will open doors to collaborations, jobs and other opportunities :
Make new contacts - improve networks, learn about broader opportunities, make yourself known
Tap into the hidden job market – if you are known, opportunities may come to you; it is cheaper to be recruited this way
Learn about orgs and industry- developing a deeper understand of the broader landscape can help a research career and an industry career
It gets easier the more you do it
Networking: Why do it?

16. Networking: Who to do it with
In short – almost anyone
Visiting scholars AND industry reps
Asking questions at a cross-disciplinary seminar (great practice)
At conferences (of course)
With your peers
Other Academics not in your discipline (a single disc project is not always the case these days)
At professional associations
Networking: Who to do it with

17. Networking: How to do it
Know yourself and if you don’t like it, recognise this but don’t let it hold you back
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
Think about your self-assessment activities and use your personal interests & values to build conversations and relationships
Practice small talk as a way of breaking the ice
Ask questions and LISTEN. Being interested in someone is a great way to build rapport. “What did you think of that presentation?”
Don’t overwhelm them with factoids about you. Have a well practiced spiel if asked about what you do. Be confident and interesting but make it low on jargon
Look at body language
Networking: How to do it

18. Who would you choose to network with?3 1 2

19. Top Tips Always have your 30 sec elevator pitch ready
If you have a purpose, know what you want and what you will say
Scan the attendees list and if there are people you want to meet, be in the right place
If not & you are nervous, start with someone who is on their own. They will most likely be feeling the same way
Ask strategic questions during the seminar that make people take notice. Always start by saying your name and where you are from
Introduce yourself to the speaker afterwards – this may lead to other introductions
Have your business card ready and write notes on the back of the cards you receive to remind yourself of the conversation
Follow up via any outstanding conversation threads
Don’t linger if it is clear that the person is not that into you (don’t be put off by this)
Top Tips

20. Reconnecting What can you do after networking?
If you re-connect make sure it is for a purpose
It may be to find out about the person’s
Entry path into their current job and skills needed
Current role and responsibility
Organisation and landscape
Always engage professionally and know when to “cut and run”
If the relationship continues, it may become more of a mentoring arrangement
Mentoring can be tacit and is often organic in its development
Can give you gateway to seeking advice, bouncing ideas, being introduced to others
It has to be a 2 way street though and the mentee must be the one who is active in pursuing advice (not passive)

21. Online profile and brand
Everyone checks online profiles before hiring, so make sure you manage this
Information online can be saved and distributed even if it is deleted by you
Decide if you want to keep your private and personal sites separate – if not manage these!!
LinkedIn is used by many recruiters and companies
Keep your information short and use a professional looking photo (not you on holidays)
Manage how and what you communicate online with every interaction (don’t for example provide research information before it is published)
Get an ORCID ID for your publications
Check your research profile on other sites
Online profile and brand

22. Improving your game You have to be prepared for all opportunities
An academic CV used as a “one-size-fits-all” will no longer cut it
Each application and conversation must be tailored to the person, organisation and job needs
You need to be organised
Develop a system of storing all of your credentials under groups of skills and experiences
These may include:
CVs
Experience
Skills
Achievements/Awards
Research projects / pubs
Learn to think about yourself in broader contexts eg Not only about your specific research project but also in relation to project management skills, meeting timelines, problem solving, managing deadlines (milestones) etc etc
Practice articulating your skills in response to selection criteria
Improving your game

23. But I want to be an Academic: Do I need all of this?
All of this is still relevant
Get some teaching experience as soon as you can – ask your supervisor
Seek formal recognition/training in teaching (eg Teaching Advantage or HEA fellowship)
Professionalise yourself – eg add a signature to your
Network with collaborators and at conferences
Stay in touch with academic contacts and let them know your plans
Start seeking guidance and training in grant writing
Be visible (use tools, volunteer etc)
Find out the “rules”
REMEMBER: researchers today need to be more skilled in industry relevant and engagement skills, innovation, entrepreneurship and transdisciplinarity
But I want to be an Academic: Do I need all of this?

24. I am open to other career paths (there is no “dark side”)
Leaving academia does not mean you have wasted your time – a PhD/ MPhil teaches you more than your thesis topic
Shows passion, commitment, drive, autonomy
Demonstrates outside-the-square analysis
Higher level critical thinking and problem solving
Can also show focus, and special skills
Technical skills can be used in many other jobs
Many reasons for changing directions – don’t get stuck in what is the ‘expected’ path
Show future employers how your knowledge and skills can be tangible in their business
A valid and interchangeable career option
BUT you need to be able to develop and demonstrate how your skills apply!
I am open to other career paths (there is no “dark side”)

25. Parting words Find a mentor at every stage of the game
If it is applic. do at least one good stint as a Postdoc – international?
Plans change all the time, learn to be agile
Watch, learn and apply
Don’t be afraid to try something new –take risks
Learn to communicate at all levels
Don’t let poverty drive your decisions (if possible)
Don’t think obtaining a PhD is the end of the line for education
Learn how to sell yourself
Get involved in professional organisations
Do more training! (e.g. e-Grad School modules)
Network , network, network.....
Parting words

26. Email us at: egsacoordinator@qut .edu.au
This has been a sample of the Developing Your Career Module from the e-Grad School suite. Here are the other modules that you do (all online and all achievable while you do your research):
us at: .edu.au

27. Questions? For more information contact your Graduate Research School