Career planning for researchers

Careers information and advice for PhD students and research staff at the University of Huddersfield.

This section contains advice on the following:

Application process for researchers -  including CVs, applications, interviews, viva's and assessment centres

Career planning resources for researchers

Self-assessment for researchers

Choosing career options for researchers

Careers in academia

Careers outside academia

Career decision making for researchers

Career action plans for researchers

Whatever stage you have reached in your life - research staff or student at some point you will make a decision about your future career.

Professional guidance from the Careers and Employability Service

The Careers and Employability Service offers professional career guidance to research staff and students.

• Guidance appointments - 30 minute bookable appointments with a careers adviser, please contact us via telephone or in person to book an appointment.
• Management Skills Workshops for researchers and research staff - please contact us for further details.
• Career Development Programme - we offer a series of practical workshops to help you to develop the skills and understanding you need to manage your career; learn how to market yourself effectively via CV, application and at interview; gain practical information and advice on job hunting and much more. See the Events section for further information.
• Further information on the services we offer including quick query sessions
• See also the About us section.

Career management skills

Increasingly career planning can be seen as a lifelong process, you are likely to face many changes in your career, you may even decide to make changes yourself. In order to be successful at managing your career you need to be able to develop career management skills so that you remain employable throughout your working life.

What are career management skills?

Key issues to address

• Do you know what your skills and values are, what interests and motivates you? - Self-awareness, self-confidence, coping with uncertainty.
• Are there any personal constraints you need to take into consideration such as health, financial, personal? - Coping with uncertainty.
• What type of environment suits  - Matching and decision making.
• Do you know what the range of possible opportunities are and where to find them? - Exploring and creating opportunities, networking.
• Can you match these to your skills, interests and motivations and values? - Matching and decision making.
• Do you know how employers view postgraduate researchers? - Exploring and creating opportunities, political awareness.
• How up to date is your CV and how good is your interview - Self-promotion, transfer skills and self-confidence.
• Have you assessed your longer term career goals and how to keep developing and progressing in your career? - Action planning, negotiation.

Career Planning

This is one approach you can take to managing your career - it takes you through the following steps:

• Self-assessment - Know yourself and what you have offer

• Explore your career options - Where do you want to be and how do you get there? Do you you have a definite career or careers in mind to match your skills, knowledge and experience to?

• Make decisions - Understand what steps you need to achieve your career goal. Do you need to gain further experience, develop your skills?

• Career action plan - Make it happen and draw up a career action plan.