John Kirwan – Chartered FCIPD, Careers Adviser for

Postgraduate Researchers

Dr Tracy Johnson – Careers Adviser

PhD? Added Value?Arts & Humanities

May 25th 2010

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‘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

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• ‘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…

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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 1st degree

graduates

Unemployment % rates by degree levelSource: Vitae 2009, HESA

Believed Unemployed 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

PhD 3.2 3.9 3.6 3.2 3.1

Masters 3.7 4.8 4.2 3.5 3.7

Bachelors 6.6 6.1 6.2 6.0 5.5

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• 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 domiciled 49

Arts and Humanities 69

Biological Sciences 49

Biomedical Sciences 45

Physical Sciences and Engineering

43

Social Sciences 68

• What do Researchers do? – Vitae 2009

A8 So what do PhDs do?

• Postdoctoral researchers in HE?

Academic areas of study % working as postdoctoral researchers in 2007

All UK-domiciled 23

Arts and Humanities 11

Biological Sciences 36

Biomedical Sciences 24.5

Physical Sciences and Engineering

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Social Sciences 17

• What do Researchers do? – Vitae, 2009

A9 So what do PhDs do?

• HE lecturers?

Academic areas of study % working as HE lecturers in 2007

All UK-domiciled 14

Arts and Humanities 27

Biological Sciences <5

Biomedical Sciences 14

Physical Sciences and Engineering

7

Social Sciences 33

• What do Researchers do? – Vitae 2009

Arts - Destinations 05/06 - 07/08

• 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

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Where are you right now & where might you be going?

… are you taking control of your career?

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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?

AlternativeOptions?

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

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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 skillso Knowing what you doo Why you do it like thato 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 2009

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25Employers 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

VacancyAnalysis

jobrequirements

Job description & “Selection criteria”

Advertise?

Shortlist:Evidence againstSelection 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/Applicationo Interviewo Assessments

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www.beyondthephd.co.uk29

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

www.bristol.ac.uk/careers

Questions?