polishing your professional profile kate daubney, phd careers adviser authoring a phd – 2009/2010...
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Polishing your Professional Profile
Kate Daubney, PhD Careers AdviserAuthoring a PhD – 2009/2010
Endgame
Where are you heading…?
• What is your next career step?– Academic– Non-academic– Both… Between the two…
• All the ‘polishing’ should lead somewhere• Time to step back and assess honestly if you
are ready to begin applying for jobs
Today’s Session
• Is about:– Assessing whether your CV will get you to where
you want to be– Working out how to improve it and prepare
yourself better for your career• Is not about:
– Helping you work out what to do with your life
Today’s Topics
• Reviewing your CV - is it fit for purpose?
• Adding value without losing sleep
• Selling yourself, not your soul
Your CV – Fit for purpose?
• Take a few minutes to review your CV• Jot down a few words to describe how you
feel about it• What are you proud of?• What do you worry about?
You and your CV
• It can be frightening to summarise yourself!– ‘But I’m so much more than this’– ‘Have I done so little?’
• At this stage, your CV often sets the tone for your professional reputation
• One size does not fit all – find the layout to suit you
General Principles for a CV• Bones not flesh• See it through the reader’s eyes
– What is important to them?– What is the first thing they will see?– Never send identical CVs out to different jobs
• Keep the layout clear– Dates– Qualification/job title before uni/employer– Divide relevant and less relevant work experiences if
appropriate
Academic CV• Education
– PhD title, supervisor, expected submission or viva date
• Academic work experience– Combined
teaching/research if not much
– Separate research and teaching if possible
• Publications– Published– Under review– In preparation
• Conference and seminar presentations
• Other work experience, language skills, IT etc.
Non-Academic CV• Skills/Professional Profile
– Optional– Useful if you have done a lot
before your PhD– Leads the reader
• Professional Experience– Relevant work experience– Or, work experience made
relevant
• Education– PhD title, supervisor,
expected submission/viva date
• IT and Language Skills • Other Professional
Experience• Optional
– Publications, seminars– Voluntary work
Skills ProfileCommunications Specialist
– Write reports, speeches, press releases for wide range of audiences– Experienced spokesman and media liaison…
Fundraiser – Experienced fundraising strategy developer…
Programme Manager– Directed outreach programmes for small NGO with international offices– Designed and implemented programmes with external accountability…
HIV/AIDS, Health and Development – Principal expertise drawn from extensive professional experience in Africa– Practitioner and researcher…
Whatever your career choice
• Academic CV length – as long as it takes• Non-academic CV length – 2-3 pages max
• Present information so its relevance is clear• When describing a job or experience, show
skills as well as achievements
For example…
Spouse Employment Adviser, Foreign and Commonwealth Office– Delivered career guidance in one-to-one and
group scenarios– Designed and wrote handbooks and web material
for guidance purposes– Trained employment advisers in other foreign
ministries– Built international spouse employment network
So your CV looks OK, but…
What does it actually say about you?Will employers feel something is missing?Are there gaps you want to fill?
Your CV is probably much better than you think! Job specifications are rarely as rigid as they seemThink positively about what you add as a PhD, as
opposed to what you are missing
Polishing is all that is required
• No.1 priority – FINISH YOUR THESIS!• Don’t overburden yourself with commitments• Small activities can add a lot• Allocate limited but regular time out of the
week for purposeful activity
• If your CV needs a lot more added, don’t try to do it all now!
So how can you add value without losing sleep?
Adding Academic value• Teaching
– UG dissertation supervision, tutoring• Research
– Seminar/conference presentations outside LSE, including quasi-academic venues
• Public profile – book reviews for journals – panels and workshops at think tanks– affiliations to research centres– memberships of relevant professional/sector associations– Build your network of academics
Adding Non-Academic value• Find non-academic outlets for your research
– Translate your work for stakeholders• Volunteer or intern with relevant organisations
– Manage your time carefully though– Be clear about what you will gain
• Build your network– Research related and/or professional futures
• Organisation open days/workshops/visits– Knowledge is power!
General value
• Audit your skills – do you need to improve or train in:– IT skills – Languages– Presentation skills
• Review, maintain and expand your network– Being known almost always helps!
Over to you
• Consider which areas you would like to work on
Also:• What opportunities have you already taken to
promote yourself professionally?• What opportunities have you ignored?• What opportunities could you create?
Kate who?
• How do you rate your professional profile at the moment?
• Make an inventory of your public identity:– Academic– Non-academic– Social– Voluntary
Chalk and Cheese
• How well does that inventory match your career goals?– Are you known academically outside LSE?– If you want to set up your own business, do
people in your network know?– If you want to move into an organisation, how
have you shown an interest in them?
Selling yourself, not your soul
• Work/volunteering/internships are not the only ways to promote what you offer
• Wealth of public and semi-public events available in all fields
• The rewards come in your network and your profile
• Be clear about which ‘you’ is being presented
Who am I?
• Important to have clear ways to describe yourself
• ‘I am a PhD student’ is not always the best place to start
• Project a future you – ‘I’m interested in…’• Use the business card activity to frame your
skills and expertise
Business Card (1)
Dr Kate Daubney
Writing Research EducationMusic in film and popular culture
Business Card (2)
Kate Daubney
Training design & deliveryProfessional development in Higher
Education
Business Card (3)
Dr Elsie Graduate
Fundraising - Budget management - Programme delivery -HIV/AIDS in West Africa
Over to you
• Have a go at the business card activity• Try an academic one, and a non-academic one• Finding ways to talk about yourself non-
academically can help with self-objectivity• Translate the business card into ‘introductory
sentences’ to use socially and professionally
Any Questions?
• Kate Daubney, PhD & Post-Doc Careers Adviser
• [email protected]• 1-to-1 appointments, email guidance• www.lse.ac.uk/careers> Info for current
students > PhD students