What have you got to offer employers?
Whatever job you apply for, having a PhD on its own won't be enough. Whilst employers certainly value a high level of academic ability, they also look for evidence of the transferable skills you will have developed from a range of experiences - your research, your training, and through extra curricular achievements and positions of responsibility.
As the job applicant, you need to recognise and demonstrate evidence of these skills, in addition to your specialist knowledge. The Research Councils expect PhD researchers to develop their transferable skills. There is now an increased importance placed on the development of these skills alongside your research degree. You'll notice that there's a good match between the skills you are now acquiring and what the Research Councils expect.
Transferable skills - what are they?
One thing that all employers have in common are the transferable skills they look for. These are skills that are developed in one context, and are transferable into another. For example, if you give a paper at a conference you can use this as an example of verbal communication skills - something all employers look for, and which you would need in any job.
Your subject area may well help you to develop particular skills to a high level.
When making applications, you need to be able to identify the skills listed in the person specification or advert, and give specific examples to illustrate when you have used them, alongside any relevant specialist and technical skills. You will also need to talk about them in an interview. They are crucial to the recruitment process.
3 ways to develop your transferable skills
- Whilst at university, see all your experiences as opportunities to develop your skills.
- Use the training that is offered by your department and Reading University.
- Attend training events such as a GRADSchool. (For details of the upcoming GRADSchool at Reading, see www.reading.ac.uk/careers/postgrad/). Take every opportunity to develop as wide a range of skills as you can because you'll need to give evidence of them when you apply for jobs.
What skills do I need for an academic career?
For those of you who want to make a career in academic research and teaching, it is still a mistake to think that the only thing employers are interested in is your PhD. Of course it's important, but being a successful academic takes more than that.
You will need to show that you have the potential not only to teach and research, but also to develop the skills needed to work effectively as an academic in the future. Experienced academics need to be able to manage their own workload, network effectively, communicate with a wide range of audiences, write bids to bring in funding, manage other researchers, staff and resources, and negotiate for resources.
As a newly graduated PhD researcher, this might seem like a tall order! Remember - you won't have all of this experience, nor will you have developed all of these skills. You will be expected to develop them over time.
However, whilst still a PhD researcher, there are things you can do to increase your knowledge. Even though you are unlikely to have had bid writing experience during your PhD, you can still take the opportunity to talk to academics do this. Find out what makes a successful bid and who the key funders are in your subject area. Equally, you should be aware of assessment processes for teaching and research, and how this impacts of the work of the department.
To find out the skills developed by postgraduate research activity, see a summary of skills.
To review and assess your skills use the career planning section on the Vitae website.
What skills do I need for a career outside academia?
If you want to work in a job outside academia, employers will want to see evidence of the skills you have developed from being a researcher, and not just the knowledge you have gained.
For example, a large bank recently advertised for PhD graduates with maths/IT/engineering backgrounds to apply for jobs as financial modellers and quantitative developers. In addition to programming skills,
"both roles require a talent for creating innovative and practical solutions to real problems, strong interpersonal and communication skills, the ability to work effectively as part of a team, good organisational skills and the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and a desire to continue learning new modelling techniques or technologies. Prior knowledge of financial modelling, or experience in the banking industry, is not required."
This advert for an industry based Senior Research Scientist reinforces the same message:
"In this role you will manage a small team, planning and co-ordinating work. You must have previous people management experience in a similar environment, together with an advanced understanding of the principles of protein purification and protein analysis. On a personal level, you are an excellent communicator, passionate about your science and committed to helping develop your team members."
As the job applicant, you need to recognise and demonstrate evidence of these skills, in writing (for job applications) and verbally (in interviews).
What if I want to change my career?
The 2001 report "Career Paths of Academic Researchers" included reference to a range of competencies which were required to successfully move from one career to another. This report reinforces how important it is to have a clear understanding of the skills you can offer an employer, and to be able to show the relevance and transferability of them in different settings. Explore a wide range of different jobs at Prospects.
