Boosting your employability skills as a researcher

Recruitment is similar to match-making in that the fit has got to work both ways. Unfortunately, we tend to dwell on trying to understand which work settings may suit us best, rarely considering how a research background is understood in working worlds outside academia.

Our research amongst employers shows that some have outdated, stereotypical views of academic research, for example that it comprises one core activity e.g. staring down a microscope or at ancient manuscripts. Others see it as involving very long time horizons such as thesis submission after three or four years, not realising that there are multiple project deadlines within this time-span. Another common perception is that researchers always prefer to work independently and have little or no experience of teamwork.

One could laugh at these stereotypes or dismiss them because they do not reflect personal experience. Yet the reason to pay attention is that they will to some extent shape the way your application is seen.

Meeting people is the best way to understand what every day working life is like in any given sector, and to hear what organisations are looking for in new recruits.

Every year we run a number of Careers Fairs catering to all interests, plus the Careers Beyond Academia - Careers Conference for Researchers.

• Use the above links to find our online booklets for full details of the varied organisations and individuals who have participated, many of them with doctorates now working beyond academia.
• Remember; participating organisations want to recruit from Oxford and have paid to have their contact details remain available in the booklet. They will be happy to hear from you and respond to your questions by email or phone.

Conversations are ideal when exploring your options. 

Keep updated on timings for each fair and pre-event orientation sessions via the Careers Fairs page.

Your skills will broaden and deepen as you progress through your research degree or contract.

Check that you understand the broad core employability skills listed on our page and if you're pressed for time, use these for a quick audit of what you can already demonstrate. Similarly review the lenses on the RDF, focusing on the employability lens to get an overview of where you currently are.

Inkpath is an excellent tool for tracking the training and other activities you engage in to boost certain skills, which can then be used in your applications. You can sign up for free as an Oxford student or staff member and retain your personal profile for use anywhere in the world. There's an excellent demo on the Inkpath site.

We recommend talking about the skills you would like to boost with your supervisor (if you are a DPhil student) for example in your annual Training Needs Analysis, and with your PI or another senior colleague (if you are a research staff member), including in your annual Professional/Career Development Review.  

Remember that DPhils at Oxford can also book an appointment with a Careers Adviser to discuss ways of identifying and expanding your skills.

If you are very busy, take a moment to reassess your priorities. What matters most in the long term: your PI’s project (if you have a research contract); your supervisor's ambitions for you (if you are a research student) or your ability to contribute to the world?

In the NatureJobs blog, David Bogle, Professor of Chemical Engineering at UCL and chair of the LERU (League of European Research universities) Doctoral Studies Policy Group emphasises the importance for postdocs (and, we would add, research students) of investing time and resources in effective skill-development opportunities for careers in all sectors:

Lots of the research might not be going anywhere, (but) the newly trained postdoc will. Every postdoc must eventually move on to a new position and will make a difference there. We need them all to be given skills and confidence to do this for the benefit of us all, whether in business, industry, academia and society in general.

Be bold in your decision to set time aside for investigating and pursuing activities suited to your needs and interests: all research staff are eligible for professional development time within contracted hours (see leveraging your postdoc), and students are actively encouraged to take up offers of training focusing on personal and professional development as well as the technicalities of the PhD.

Being job-ready also relies on knowing and using the terminology of particular careers sectors in your application and even those early, exploratory conversations. Our top tips are to:

• Use our CV guidance to adapt your academic CV to one suitable for a wide range of opportunities.
• look carefully at organisational websites and recent job descriptions for vacancies, make a note of the skills required and use this to adapt your new CV.
• talk to people who work at the interfaces of your academic work and relevant policy or business areas, and develop skills and pleasure in 'networking' that is genuinely rewarding (then use these insights to re-work your CV and inform your cover letter or speculative approach).

For evidence on why and how you can network effectively for all concerned, read Sarah Blackford's article. Her conclusions hold for early career researchers both in the sciences and beyond.

Cast your eyes a bit wider to identify emerging opportunities in various work sectors where quantitative or qualitative research skills are being sought in ways you never imagined …

Keep tabs on the UK government's priority research areas by browsing Innovate UK's current open competitions, many of which ask for research organisations, small business and/or wider collaboration. You can subscribe to their regular summary via [email protected].

If your focus is international, look for these themes on similar sites hosted by relevant national governments or research councils and/or in the UK's Global Challenges Research Fund.

Being in Oxford gives you access to many opportunities for ‘light-touch’ engagement with people engaged in or connected to areas of work that intersect with your research interests or skills. The choice of options can be overwhelming, so ...

• Start by browsing on the list of Oxford's wide-ranging student clubs and societies then attend a meeting to find out more.
• Attend one of   regular events to connect members of the University with local social, environmental and business-related entrepreneurship and browse their site for upcoming training or skill-sharing.
• If you are keen to get practical experience in these areas, consider volunteering or becoming a trustee via OxfordHub, who offer opportunities to all residents of Oxford and are particularly keen on DPhil students and research staff for many roles.

Some University societies have a core interest in the use and application of technologies; others are more cause-driven in their call for practical innovations. There is a large, active University Artificial Intelligence Society  which collaborates with other groups in the University and the Said Business School to explore this emerging field and its applications for people from all disciplines.

Look out for hackathons that are are open to all and require no previous coding experience.

'Bootcamps' can be an effective way to explore and equip yourself for using your skills in another sector. Some are quite costly, so do your research before committing yourself. Seek to understand what outcomes previous attendees have achieved, whether participants are introduced to recruiting companies during the course, and how quickly they enter work on course completion.  To start you research, take a look at Switchup.org's research and reviews online.