Making the Transition to the Workplace – PhD Skills Workshop with Ernst & Young

The difference between how you manage your academic studies and how you manage in the workplace, either as a researcher, lecturer or in a non-academic role, has often been identified as a difficult transition for research students. This session will look at the key differences between being a research student and being an employee, and the skills that will be required to make a successful transition.

Time/Date: 1:00pm – 4:00pm on Mon 28 Feb 2011

You will need to register for this workshop through the Graduate School at http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/course-details.pht?course_ID=928

Most wanted: Skills needs in the environment sector

Fifteen different critical skills have been identified as necessary in order to  tackle today’s urgent environmental problems as part of a review of the skills needs in the environment sector.

Although the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) have found that these skills are in short supply PhD students and researchers from all disciplines should be well placed to demonstrate some of the generic competencies such as numeracy, modelling, data management, translating research, fieldwork and managing risk & uncertainty. Those doing research into environmental issues will have the bonus of  skills in the additional subject specific areas.

By reading the report, ‘Most wanted: Skills needs in the environment sector’, and review outputs including the skills framework students can see what skills companies in the environment sector will value and how skills gained through their PhD will enable them to compete in the growing environment sector.

If you want to know more about working in the environment sector have a look at the activities in UCL Careers Service “Get Into Environment” week which starts 21st February 2011 – go to  http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/events/getinto/environment for more details.

For more information on developing your skills and career take a look at resources for PhD students from the Careers Group and UCL skills training for PhD/research students from the Careers Service and Graduate School at http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/.

UCL Employer Led Skills Workshops – Spring Term 2011

See the range of topics and register for employer led careers workshops for the Spring Term 2011 at http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/course-details.pht?course_ID=928.

Being an Entrepreneur in Academia & Beyond

Entrepreneurship is increasingly an essential skill required for successful academic progression. It has always been important to generate ideas creatively in the context of submitting research plans for funding, but also in the creation of ‘spin off’ companies from academic research (many Universities have, for example, science parks). With the squeeze on government funding and the emphasis on contributions to the society and economy in the forthcoming Research Excellence Framework, being entrepreneurial is an activity highly valued by UCL, and other research-intensive Universities. As a postdoctoral researcher, or even research student, it is worth investigating the development of your own entrepreneurial skills. To make a start I would highly recommend ‘London Entrepreneurship Online’ an online video resource from UCL Advances, which is described as;

A free entrepreneurship education video resource from UCL. View entrepreneurship lectures from leading entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial research case studies, enterprise forums, entrepreneurship training workshops and more.

Of course, starting your own business might be something to consider for those of you who are contemplating work outside academia, after all, why wait for someone else to offer you the ideal job! For a general overview of entrepreneurship download the free help sheet from The Careers Group, University of London.

Posted by Calum Leckie, Careers Adviser

Employer Led Workshop – Negotiation Techniques

	The ability to negotiate is key whether you are pursuing an academic or non academic career. If you are interested in this important skill this workshop will give a basic overview of techniques, and give you the chance to practice in some business focused scenarios.  The workshop will be held 5:30pm – 7:30pm on Tuesday 23 Nov 2010. Registration is required so go to http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/course-details.pht?course_ID=928 and register if you want to come along to this event.

Top Tips for completing a PhD and getting a job after

Amongst a wealth of online careers information specifically for researchers to be found on the Vitae website (Vitae is the national organisation for researcher development)  is a monthly bulletin, called ‘PGR Tips’  on key topics ranging from ‘how to prepare for a Viva’ to ‘effective networking’ and ‘where to find a job’. You can subscribe to these monthly bulletins by visiting the ‘Publications‘ section of the site at www.vitae.ac.uk

Posted by: Calum Leckie, UCL Careers Service

Free Media Training for AHRC Award Holders

Recent posting on the Arts and Humanities Council News & Events page:

We are arranging media training for AHRC-funded award holders as they frequently tell us that these are skills that they feel will benefit them. To this effect, we are organising three media training events – to take place as follows:  Monday 12th July – Central London, Thursday 15th July – Central London, Friday 16th July – Central London

Final details on location and directions will be sent out to the successful applicants. These will be an all-day event, running from 10am – 4.30pm, and involve media interview practice for radio, tips for tailoring messages to non-academic audiences, identifying key messages, writing a press releases etc.

These media training sessions are aimed at early career award holders, perhaps people who have had limited, experience in dealing with the media up to now. The AHRC will pay for the full cost of the course, but participants will have to pay their own travel to London.  Spaces are very limited. Places will be allocated on first-come-first served basis. In the first instance please email AHRC Events and PR Officer, Sam Roythorne s.roythorne@ahrc.ac.uk with your full name and contact details, including email and phone number, along with a short paragraph detailing the AHRC research project you are working on. If you require any further information at all, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on 0117 9876 780.

Posted by: Calum Leckie, UCL Careers Service

Is the organisation you are targeting a Trawler, a Spearfisher or an Angler?

The Council for Industry and Higher Education has produced a report entitled ‘Talent Fishing: What Businesses  Want from Postgraduates’, based on a recent survey in which HR Directors and other senior managers from 56 organisations were asked about their approach to the recruitment of  postgraduate talent, what qualities they value in postgraduates, and whether UK postgraduates deliver the right high level skills and personal qualities.

Recruiters were found to be of three types when it came to recruiting Postgraduates into their organisations, Trawlers, Spearfishers and Anglers.

These are fairly self-explanatory but for accuracy’s sake here are their definitions:

Trawlers

Postgraduates are simply caught up in the net of employers who recruit to meet more general requirements. They do not usually actively seek them out, and treat them little or no differently from first degree graduate applicants in the recruitment process.

Spearfishers

Employers who seek postgraduate recruits with specific capabilities to fill specific job roles, usually recruit in small numbers. This group of employers tends to have good links with a university department (or target several universities), which they utilise to ensure a flow of good postgraduate recruits to research or specialist functions.

Anglers

Employers may prefer postgraduates because they are expected to have a distinct advantage over a first degree graduate for a particular role or function and because they are more mature and can contribute more quickly to the business. However, in some instances, an applicant with a good first degree plus work experience may be equally suitable.

To meet some organisations to find out a little more about how they recruit you might want to register for the PhD Employers Forum (more details tomorrow on this blog).

The report also found that although the majority of organisations surveyed do seek out postgraduate recruits, but there is  a clear concern expressed that higher education institutions and businesses need to work together to make sure that postgraduates have the specific skills and knowledge that employers are looking for – in particular leadership skills and work experience – to complement other clearly identified benefits such as analytical thinking, problem-solving, and subject-specific knowledge.

To see the full range of things UCL does to address this keep an eye on this blog, The Graduate School training site, and The Careers Service pages.

To view the full report, go to: http://www.cihe.co.uk/talent-fishing-what-businesses-want-from-postgraduates/

Robert Donovan

UCL Careers Adviser