PhD Employer Forum – Careers in Campaigning and Policy – 20th March 2012

Date/Time:  Tuesday 20th March, 5.30pm to 7.30pm
Venue: JBR, Wilkins Building

The aim of this event is to provide PhD and other research students with the opportunity to hear from and network with employers from the Campaigning and Policy sector. A panel of speakers who themselves are PhD holders and work in a range of organisations across local and national government, think tanks, NGOs, charities and development agencies have been invited to talk about their sector, their career progression and the best routes into these positions. They will also give tips on how PhD and research students can use their qualifications and experiences to enter these fields.

Companies/Panel Speakers:

• Jonathan Carr-West, Director, Policy, Local Government Information Unit 
• John Young, Director of impact Assessment, Partnerships and RAPID, Overseas Development Institute
• James Doeser, Senior Officer, Research & Knowledge, Arts Council England
• Michael O’Brien, Committee Specialist, Energy & Climate Change Select Committee, House of Commons
• Martin Walsh, Global Research Adviser, Policy Research Team, Oxfam
• Rory Yeomans, Senior International Research Analyst, International Directorate, Ministry of Justice
  

For full  information and to register for this event please go to the Graduate School Forum website page.

A career in the public sector – How can doctoral students sell themselves?

Graduates seem to be undeterred by the public sector cuts programme according to the GuardianUK 300 survey which shows that almost a third of graduates have identified the public sector as their preferred place of work.

With this is mind what can doctoral students bring to the public sector that other graduates cannot?

According to the panel speakers at the recent UCL PhD Employer Forum on Careers in Government and Policy research students need to evidence their transferable skills when vying for jobs in these areas. Although technical and specialist research skills are very important for niche roles and will help you to specialise in an area of your interest it is the other skills that your doctorate studies give you that will demonstrate your employability. As a PhD student you may have had to work in or even lead a team; you will have had to communicate ideas; research, analyse and present data to non-specialists; organise your workload; meet deadlines and network within and outside of academia.  All of these skills will be important when working in public sector or policy roles as you may need to communicate about complicated research and policy issues to the public, you may need to work on multiple local or national projects with tight turnarounds and you may need to gather, digest and summarise large amounts of information quickly for ministers and other interested parties. It will be the transferable skills that you have gained that will help to get you into the sector and provide you with further opportunities if you need to widen your job search in order to become employed.

The importance of selling the transferable skills you have gained  is borne out by some of the case studies that UCL have carried out with PhD alumni (see Career Histories of UCL Graduate Research Students). For example, a student with a PhD from the Institute of Child Health completed an internship at Green Alliance and then worked as the Committee Specialist for the Science and Technology Select Committee for the House of Lords. Her current
role is working for Defra as a Higher Scientific Officer. Although her PhD is essential for her role she does not use her technical skills, rather there is more of a focus on her transferable skills in communication, team work, decision making, planning and organisation and independent research.

If you want to make sure that you are keeping your transferable skills up to date keep an eye on the different skills development workshops run by the Careers Service and Graduate School, and don’t forget the Careers Service can help you identify these skills in a quick query session.

Careers in Government & Policy – Civil Service Fast Streams

 

 

UCL Careers Service held a well attended Forum on Careers in Government & Policy yesterday for PhD students.

In addition to the information given out at the Forum you might be interested in finding out more about the specialist Civil Service Fast Stream programmes such as the Graduate Fast Stream – Science and Engineering, the Analytical Fast Stream and the Technology in Business Fast Stream.

If you are interested in the European Fast Stream you may be want to read the European Fast Stream Brochure.

Careers in the European Union

A very interesting website has been created to raise the profile of EU careers amongst the UK population. The site was launched as part of the UK Foreign Office’s EU Careers Month which started on the 7th of February. The site contains video podcasts of individuals in a variety of roles, an overview of career opportunities within the EU, career history case studies and information on the application process, managed by the European Personnel Selection Office. It is stated that applicants must have competency in either French or German (presumably in addition to competency in English). Click here to access the site. If you are interested in similar careers with governmental, and related organisations, then don’t forget that the Careers Service, in conjunction with the Graduate School, are hosting a ‘Government & Policy’ forum on the 8th March and there are a small number of places left for this event. For further details access the course information on the Graduate School website.

Posted by Calum Leckie, UCL Careers Service

PhD Employers Forum – Government and Policy

The aim of this event is to provide PhD and other research students with the opportunity to hear from and network with employers from the Government and Policy arena. A panel of speakers from local and national Government departments, charities and think tanks have been invited to talk about their sector, their career progression and the best routes into government and policy positions. They will also give tips on how PhD and research students can use their qualifications and experiences to enter this field. As there will be an opportunity to ask the speakers about careers in government and policy sectors at this event please research the organisations represented and come prepared to ask questions.

Confirmed speakers:

• Introduction and Panel Chair, Karen Barnard, Head of UCL Careers Service
• Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive, RSA
• Philip Wilson, Chief Psychologist, Cabinet Office
• Alistair Paton, European Policy Adviser, Department of Transport (European Fast Stream)
• David Joyce, Head of Placeshaping, London Borough of Camden
• Varun Sitaram, Healthy Places Co-ordinator, National Management Trainee, London Borough of Enfield (National Graduate Deveopment Programme )
• Kirsty Hughes, Head of Public Policy and Advocacy, Oxfam

This event will be held from 1.15pm on Tuesday 8 March 2011. Registration is required so go to http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/course-details.pht?course_ID=1221 and register if you want to come along to this event.

Civil Service Fast Stream deadline approaches

Application deadlines for key programmes of the civil service fast stream are due at the end of this month. The Direct Gov. website gives a useful overview of the programme;

The Civil Service Fast Stream is a talent management programme for graduates who have the potential to become the future leaders of the Civil Service. It is ranked at number three in the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers. The following fast streams are available now:

• Graduate Fast Stream – 30 November 2010
• HR Fast Stream – 30 November 2010
• Technology in Business Fast Stream – 30 November 2010
• European Fast Stream – 30 November 2010
• Northern Ireland Fast Stream – 30 November 2010

The deadline for the Analytical Fast Stream has now passed. The next round of recruitment will begin in February 2011. The Summer Diversity Internship Programme is now open, closing on 4 January 2011.

As for many graduate schemes they are not just open to those with a first degree, PhD holders are very much welcome to apply. For more information visit the Fast Stream website at: http://faststream.civilservice.gov.uk/The-Fast-Streams/

Posted by Calum Leckie, UCL Careers Adviser

Careers in the EU Institutions

A very interesting Email has been sent from the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services regarding recruitment for careers in a variety of EU institutions

On 16 March 2010, the European Personnel Selection Office will launch a procedure to select graduates to work in the EU Institutions. This selection procedure will comprise the fields of European public administration, law, audit, economics, and information and communication technology. A career in the EU Institutions offers a lifetime of different jobs doing interesting and challenging work that makes a real difference for Europe, in an environment where staff are encouraged to learn new skills and languages, and have opportunities to work and travel abroad.

Detailed information on what’s on offer, the type of graduate they are looking for and how to apply can be found on the European Careers website. When describing who they look for they state

We are looking for people who have something more than just knowledge and professional skills: the drive to deliver results and the ability to work effectively as part of a multi-cultural team.

I’m sure many of you would agree that doing a postgraduate research degree can very much develop such qualities.

Dr Calum Leckie

UCL Careers Service