Career Development E-tool
Four basic steps
Step1: Self Assessment
The first step in career planning should be self-assessment, i.e. gathering information about yourself, which will assist you in making an informed decision about your potential career paths. Self-assessment is important because it can help you make career choices based on your unique skills, values, interests and personality.
• Skills: the activities you are good at, such as writing, computer programming and teaching. An aptitude may be a natural skill or one you acquired. • Values: the things that are important to you, like achievement, status, and autonomy. • Interests: what you enjoy doing, e.g. playing golf, taking long walks or hanging out with friends. • Personality: your individual traits, motivational drives, needs and attitudes. |
This step, if performed early-on, can help you prevent years of needless frustration that may result from choosing a career that doesn't work well with these factors. Self-assessment is also important in discovering new career paths possibly not previously considered, or making yourself more open to other careers available in new and developing industries. Additionally, going through self-assessment can help you identify areas of weakness where more training or education can help you develop new or existing skills into a long-lasting career.
The following table includes a set of tools designed to specifically assist you (Early Stage Researchers, ESR) in your self-assessment process. The list is non-exhaustive.
Tool | Description |
|---|---|
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis (SWOT)
| Self-Administered Questionnaire/Diagram. Think about your skills and areas for development, and organise key information into an overview. |
myIDP is an interactive, free, web-based career-planning tool, which guides you through a 4-step process: self-assessment, career exploration, goal-setting and plan implementation. The tool is based on the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’s (FASEB’s) Individual Development Plan for Postdoctoral Fellows, and is available by Science Careers, part of the AAAS group.
| Web-based career-planning tool created specifically for graduate students and postdocs. Includes knowledge and skills emphasized in graduate and postdoctoral training, and needed to succeed in a research career, as well as skills that are not a formal part of this training but are fundamental to a wide range of science-related jobs. |
The "No limits" toolkit is a career orientation tool supported by EURAXESS that provides resources and information on Values and Motivations, Skills, Career Options and Development Plan.
| Online platform created to support researchers in the proactive development of their career. The toolkit includes advice, quizzes and resources to help you explore your values and motivations and understand why these should inform your career development. |
The Career Development Toolkit is an e-book divided into three main sections: "Stop and Take Stock", "Assessing your Academic Career Progress" and "Planning and Considering Alternative Career Options". The e-book is published by jobs.ac.uk, which is operated from and by the University of Warwick.
| Self-Administered Exercises aimed at post-doctoral researchers with 1-2 years’ experience. Review your career, and experience and reflect on your career decision making up to this point. |
The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) Self-Assessment Checklist lists six core competencies essential to postdoctoral researchers to achieving intellectual and professional independence and success. The Checklist has been developed by NPA, a non-profit organization of post-doctoral researchers. | Self-Administered Skills Checklist for post-doctoral researchers. Rate your current level of development in each of the six NPA Core Competencies. These competencies are meant to serve as a basis for self-evaluation and for developing training opportunities that can be evaluated by mentors, institutions, and other advisors. |
Talent Development Suite | Self-Administered Instrument for researchers. Consists of four different types of assessment: Future, Present, Past and Personal Journey Map. |
Step 2: Exploration
The second step in career planning is exploring and researching your options. Ideally, you engage in career exploration during or after identifying your personal preferences through self-assessment, and use them to narrow down areas of career possibilities.
Exploration is an important step, as by investigating the career landscape, you learn about what employers want from employees and how to explore new opportunities. The most important aspect is to determine what occupations and jobs best match your skills, interests, values and personality.
Initially, you can use online and print resources to gather various job descriptions, learn about specific job duties, and gather labour market information including median salaries and job outlooks. After completing this preliminary research, you can start eliminating professions that don't appeal to you and get more details about those that do.
According to targetpostgrad.com, sectors and types of work likely to match the skills and aspirations of PhD graduates include:
| • Education (teaching): teach your subject in schools or lecture in a further education (FE) college. • Education (administrative and professional roles): non-teaching roles in universities and other educational institutions (PhD graduates are valued for their administrative skills and understanding of the research environment). • Public Sector: roles within the Civil Service, government agencies and local government where you can use your analytical, research and communication skills. • Industrial Research and Development: continue your research in commercial and industrial environments, for example in the medical, pharmaceutical and engineering sectors. • Healthcare Sector and Medical Research: the healthcare sector is a relatively common destination for PhD graduates who wish to continue or build on their area of research in national health systems or public research institutes. • Business and Finance: jobs are available in areas such as investment and retail banking, insurance and pensions. Specialist quantitative and statistical training and high-level analytical and communication skills are particularly valued. • Consultancy and Think Tanks: your ability to work on projects and to devise novel solutions to problems are of value in a range of management consultancy and policy analysis contexts, such as business and finance, technology and IT. • Publishing: the analytical and writing skills developed while preparing papers or writing a thesis are essential skills for the publishing sector. You may be well-placed for editorial roles. • Intellectual Property (IP): jobs are available for science, engineering or technology PhD graduates who are looking to put their skills in lateral thinking and writing into practice, in roles such as patent attorney work. • Not-For-Profit Sector: research and policy opportunities in charities, voluntary and non-governmental organisations. • Entrepreneurial Activities: whether developing a spin-out from your PhD or doing something completely new, the independence, problem-solving and creative-thinking developed during your PhD mean that you may be suited to starting your own business. |
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The following table includes a set of tools designed to specifically assist you (Early Stage Researchers, ESR) in your career exploration process. The list is non-exhaustive.
Tool | Description |
|---|---|
myIDP is an interactive, free, web-based career-planning tool, which guides you through a 4-step process: self-assessment, career exploration, goal-setting and plan implementation. The tool is based on the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’s (FASEB’s) Individual Development Plan for Postdoctoral Fellows, and is available by Science Careers, part of the AAAS group.
| Web-based career-planning tool created specifically for graduate students and postdocs. Helps you use your self-assessment as a guide for exploring and evaluating career opportunities in your field and identifying your preferred career, as well as an alternative. Science Careers Article on using self-assessment results |
The "No limits" toolkit is a career orientation tool supported by EURAXESS that provides resources and information on Values and Motivations, Skills, Career Options and Development Plan.
| Online Platform created to support researchers in the proactive development of their career. The toolkit includes advice and resources to help you investigate your career options. |
Booklets by Science Careers (Science Journal, AAAS) | A series of booklets by highly qualified individuals covering the basics and more advanced matters around pursuing a career in science: Science Careers 2020 Career Handbook Booklet: Step by Step Your Career From Undergrad to Postdoc Booklet: Industry or Academia, Where do I fit in? |
Career Webinars by Science Careers (Science Journal, AAAS) | A series of webinars by highly qualified individuals covering the basics and more advanced matters around pursuing a career in science: Webinar: Thinking outside the Lab, Finding a fulfilling non-research career Webinar: Facts and Fiction, Careers in Industry and Academia Webinar: Nontraditional Careers, Opportunities Away from the Bench |
10 Career Paths for PhDs | An e-book targeted at those considering or at an early stage of an academic career. This e-book helps you explore options outside academia and identify your transferable skills. |
A website by the Careers Organisation "Higher Education Careers Services Unit", a registered charity in the United Kingdom.
| UK's biggest graduate careers website. Descriptions of a variety of roles arranged by sector for browsing. This site also generates ideas based on values/motivations. |
The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is developed under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), through a grant to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
| A database, containing hundreds of standardized and occupation-specific descriptors on almost 1,000 occupations covering the entire U.S. economy. O*NET OnLine has detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more. |
A Website by GTI Media Ltd, one of UK and Ireland’s providers of recruitment services.
| Website for graduate and school leaver recruitment services. Includes case studies, application, progression and reward information. Information on a range of careers by sector, including "graduate career sectors". |
Job Search Sites | Various Websites offering Job Search Tools: |
Direct requests | Direct contact with recruiting companies. You may contact (or be contacted) by job search firms or agencies that have open positions. If considering a search firm, choose one that specializes in your discipline or industry, and be sure to do your due diligence into their approach and track record.
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Step 3: Focusing
The third step in career planning is improving your skills in order to match your desired career, and is a key part of your professional development. By developing yourself and your skill set,you add value to your own career development and your future employer.
The skills you choose to work on may be ones you need to build now for future success (e.g. presentation skills for future job talks), or necessary for success in your current training (like particular research skills, writing skills, and so on). If you focus on improving one to three specific skills this year, and then do the same each year of your training, then you will be much better prepared for your next career move, and likely more successful.
Setting skill-development goals is like creating your own curriculum. For each skill you want to improve, you can set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely) on how to get training, practice the skill, and get feedback. To become a better team player, for example, you may want to attend a workshop on teamwork. Then, you can practice the techniques you learnt in your everyday interactions with your team group and collaborators. You can then get feedback from trusted colleagues, your supervisor, or whoever is available and willing.
Developing your skills begins with assessing which skills are important for your desired career development. The following skill sets have been chosen based on their close proximity to early stage researchers' interests and career paths.
Skills for Academia
The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) has established six core competencies for intellectual and professional success, to guide individual postdoctoral scholars in seeking out relevant training experiences in collaboration with mentors, institutions, and other advisors who provide this training. These competencies are meant to serve as a basis for self-evaluation by postdoctoral scholars, as well as a basis for developing relevant opportunities by training providers.
National Postdoctoral Association: Skills to Achieve Intellectual and Professional Independence & Success | |
Discipline-Specific Conceptual Knowledge | Professionalism |
Research Skill Development | Leadership And Management Skills |
Communication Skills | Responsible Conduct Of Research (RCR) |
Skills for Industry
The EURAXIND project aimed to develop key resources that support researchers and institutions in increasing industry and research collaboration opportunities and promoting these opportunities. Within this framework, through an extensive literature review, a set of high level skills that industrial employers expect from academic researchers has been identified.
EURAXIND: High Level Skills Industrial Employers Expect from Academic Researchers | ||
Communication Skills | Flexibility | Entrepreneurial Skills |
Organisational Skills | Leadership Skills | Teamwork |
Problem-Solving | Confidence | Project Management |
The variety of career options currently available demands a diverse set of skills, such as grant proposal writing, communication and dissemination methods, and effective resource management, which are often left aside during PhD study and postdoctoral research.
Many of these skills can be acquired using informal methods such as one-on-one mentoring, informal talks and group meetings, along with team work, problem solving and social interaction with colleagues and collaborators. Unfortunately, this might not be feasible in today's large interdisciplinary research groups with demanding schedules, nor will every mentor have the capacity required to teach all of these topics.
Therefore, formal training is an important addition to informal methods, but must also follow the optimal learning style of each individual. Many trainees benefit from accessible, individualized online courses while others from focused group discussions or educational lectures. Most organisations run specific training programs in transferable/generic research skills open to all research staff, so your first step may be to contact your administration.
To achieve long-term improvement of a skill, you should consider using the cycle of training-practice-feedback below, several times over several months:
| • Get training: Attend a workshop, take a course, read an article or book, observe someone who excels at the skill. • Practice: Consider ways you can deliberately use the skill in your everyday work. • Get feedback: Assess your progress and identify areas where you have improved and areas for continued growth. |
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The following table includes a set of tools designed specifically to assist you (Early Stage Researchers, ESR) in your skills development process. The list is non-exhaustive.
Tool | Description |
|---|---|
myIDP is an interactive, free, web-based career-planning tool, which guides you through a 4-step process: self-assessment, career exploration, goal-setting and plan implementation. The tool is based on the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’s (FASEB’s) Individual Development Plan for Postdoctoral Fellows, and is available by Science Careers, part of the AAAS group.
| Web-based career-planning tool created specifically for graduate students and postdocs. Once you have identified your preferred career path, the third step is to set goals, which help you move forward – one step at a time. |
The 'No limits' toolkit is a career orientation tool supported by EURAXESS that provides resources and information on Values and Motivations, Skills, Career Options and Development Plan.
| Online Platform created to support researchers in the proactive development of their career. The toolkit includes advice, quizzes and resources to help you recognise, articulate, demonstrate and develop your skills, expertise and experience. |
The Career Development Toolkit is an e-book divided into three main sections: 'Stop and Take Stock', 'Assessing your Academic Career Progress' and 'Planning and Considering Alternative Career Options'. The e-book is published by jobs.ac.uk, which is operated from and by the University of Warwick.
| Self-Administered Exercises aimed at post-doctoral researchers with 1-2 years’ experience. Assessing your academic career progress and planning for the future. This section will focus on the key areas of academic career development and offer prompts for your career analysis, with suggestions for future actions and tips on how to follow up on these. |
Career Development Toolkit for Researchers – Section 3: Considering other career options | Self-Administered Exercises aimed at post-doctoral researchers with 1-2 years’ experience. Considering alternative career options. In this part of the toolkit you will be encouraged to use the reflections on your experience undertaken in section one to investigate other career options. |
Booklets by Science Careers (Science Journal, AAAS) | A series of booklets by highly qualified individuals covering the basics and more advanced matters around pursuing a career in science. Booklet: Building Relationships |
Career Webinars by Science Careers (Science Journal, AAAS) | A series of webinars by highly qualified individuals covering the basics and more advanced matters around pursuing a career in science. Webinar: Networking, Building Solid Career Connections Webinar: Effective Lab Skills, Managing People, Projects and Money |
Step 4: Action Plan
Here you plan the steps you need to take to put your plan into action. Use all you have learnt about your skills, interests and values, together with the information you have gathered about the world of work to create your career action plan. This plan will serve as a guide for identifying the long-term and short-term objectives you will have to achieve in order to reach your ultimate goal of getting a job in the career you deemed to be a good match.
Begin by asking yourself:
| • What actions/steps will help me achieve my work, training and career goals? • Where can I get help? • Who will support me? |
At the end of this step you will have:
| • A plan to help you explore your options further (e.g. work experience, work shadowing or more research); or • A plan which sets out the steps to help you achieve your next learning or work goal. |
The following table includes a set of tools designed specifically to assist you (early stage researchers, ESR) in your action plan process. The list is non-exhaustive.
Tool | Description |
|---|---|
myIDP is an interactive, free, web-based career-planning tool, which guides you through a 4-step process: self-assessment, career exploration, goal-setting and plan implementation. The tool is based on the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’s (FASEB’s) Individual Development Plan for Postdoctoral Fellows, and is available by Science Careers, part of the AAAS group.
| Web-based career-planning tool, created specifically for graduate students and postdocs.The fourth and final step is to implement your plan by completing task and meeting deadlines according to your specific goals. |
The "No limits" toolkit is a career orientation tool supported by EURAXESS that provides resources and information on Values and Motivations, Skills, Career Options and Development Plan.
| Online Platform created to support researchers in the proactive development of their career. The toolkit includes advice and resources to help you make a great development plan. |
Marie Sklowdoska Curie Development Plan Template | Self-administered Form for post-doctoral researchers. The Plan is an outline of all the activities (i.e. planned publications, development of nonresearch skills) that you will undertake during your fellowship with the goal of improving your professional and academic standing for the long-term. |
The 5 Minute Career Action Plan and The Building Academic Job Applications Guide is published by jobs.ac.uk which is operated from and by the University of Warwick. | A booklet with Action Plan Template.This booklet is for anyone who is short on time and wants a structured approach to their career planning. |
REFLEX Online Application | An online application developed to help the research institutions, researchers and professionals in process of researchers’ career development. The scheme identifies key areas of researchers’ professional development and provides the examples of activities that can be carried out to support you in all of these areas. |
Booklets by Science Careers (Science Journal, AAAS) | A series of booklets by highly qualified individuals covering the basics and more advanced matters around pursuing a career in science. |
Career Webinars by Science Careers (Science Journal, AAAS) | A series of webinars by highly qualified individuals covering the basics and more advanced matters around pursuing a career in science. Webinar: Job Searching for Scientists, Tools, Tips and Essentials |
Building Academic Job Applications: A Quick & Practical Guide for Early Career Researchers | A booklet targeted at those at an early stage of their academic career. This resource has been designed to offer practical suggestions and advice to assist in applications for jobs in Academia. |