Slide 1:Career Planning for HDR Students

Tony McAvaneyCareers AdvisorUniSA Career Services

Slide 2:Seminar Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to: Explain the benefits of having a career plan and identify resources to assist you with this Describe common employment destinations for HDR graduates Identify job search strategies that are relevant to how the employment market really operates Describe some basic principles for self marketing including how to position yourself in the marketplace

Slide 3:What is your marketing message?

A question often asked at commencement of interview is “Tell us a little about yourself” What would you say in answer to this question? It’s a request for a positioning statement - give a strong, positive overview of: Your career background & summary of career progression Your key strengths – skills, knowledge, attitude Some milestone career (not just academic) achievements Your aims in going forward in your career (that would resonate with a potential employer)

Slide 4:Today’s career paradigm

From lifetime employment, to lifetime employability From job for life, to no guarantees – employers “owing” their people less and less Nature of work is changing - less emphasis on secure job with regular tasks, pay, hours and place of work Job role and advancement becoming more based on contribution, what you know and your skills - not seniority/loyalty More people opting for roles which offer autonomy and life style balance – ‘portfolio career’ On the other hand – skills shortages – some organisations having to focus on staff retention

Slide 5:So what?

Organisations ultimately do what is expedient – much less paternalistic today Individuals having to become more self reliant in managing their careers More career transitions for more people - (e.g. careers in future likely to involve 12-25 jobs in 5 different industries) New career paradigm means individuals need to acquire skills for career planning and management If it is to be - it is up to me!

Slide 6:The Post Grad Employment Market

Slide 7:The PhD

2007 GDS 88% in full time employment 7% work part time & seeking FT 5% not working, seeking FT Traditionally a PhD seen as apprenticeship for research and teaching in academia Approximately 50% of PhD candidates do not end up in academia

Slide 8: Employment Sectors for HDR (2007 GDS)

Education – 50% Private – 27% Government – 22% NFP/other – 1%

Slide 9:Fields of employment (’07 GDS)

Engineering and related – 30% Health – 14% Education – 13% Management, commerce – 13% Society and culture – 12% Natural and physical sciences – 7% Creative arts – 4% Information technology – 4% Architecture and building – 2% Agriculture, environment – 1%

Slide 10:Private sector roles

46% in business/finance 21% in manufacturing 12% in private health 4% in private practice

Slide 11:Government

Federal – 18% State – 35% Defence – 21% Public health – 25%

Slide 12:Occupations

Employment Type: 13% - Managerial 77% - As a professional - specialty area 10% - Para professional Roles: 36% - Uni lecturer, tutor 10% - Engineer 8% - IT professional 5% - Vocational teacher 14% - Other professional roles

Slide 13:Career Planning

Slide 14:What is a career plan?

A plan for the direction of your working life – this should be a lifelong activity Consists of: An overarching vision for what you want to achieve in your working life Short, medium and longer term goals for your career progression Matching your personality, values, beliefs, skills and interests to work which is rewarding to you

Slide 15:Career planning - how?

Essentially a three step process: 1. Self awareness - where am I now and how did I get here? 2. Options awareness - what’s out there for me, where am I going – vision for the future? 3. Self marketing - how will I get there? – action planning to achieve your goals

Slide 16:Career planningSelf analysis

Thorough review of self should enable you to summarise Your top 5: Personality characteristics Values Skills Areas of knowledge Areas of career interest These areas represent your ‘point of difference’ in the marketplace

Slide 17:What skills do employers want?

In addition to professional/technical skills the following meta-competencies are commonly required: oral and written communication skills creative problem-solving skills initiative and enterprise skills planning and organising skills learning skills technology skills team working skills self management skills emotional intelligence; interpersonal skills

Slide 18:Job Ad – Consultant; Research

THE ROLEIn this critical role the successful candidate will be part of a cutting edge team consisting of industry leading analysts and consultants. Paramount to the Consultant’s role, is the sustainability of long-term business relationships gained through a comprehensive understanding of the client's business context and industry challenges involved in the research process.THE APPLICANTA Consultant has the ability to identify and present the key findings of the research in a clear and persuasive manner, with concise and actionable reports. Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills are essential.An enthusiastic, proactive, and confident approach to business is essential. The successful candidate will thrive on gaining trust, credibility and establishing rapport with Managers and will be used to working in a fast paced, collegial work environment.The successful candidate’s previous experience will include working in a corporate environment and/or managing projects in small to medium sized organisations, ideally by using quantitative and/or qualitative research methods and drawing on keen analytical skills. A strong academic background having completed a Masters Degree or PhD is highly desirable.

Slide 19:Job Ad – Process Dev. Mgr

Multinational biotech company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel class drugs Lead the Process Development team and be responsible for designing and setting up the laboratory, managing technical and financial aspects of the projects and developing a strategic plan and tactical methodology for scaling up production of product candidates to support clinical trials, and eventual commercialization and distribution to market. Prospective candidates will have: B. Sc. and PhD Several years experience in the biotech or pharmaceutical industry Training in GMP compliance Experience in development of therapeutic protein product Proven leadership skills Project management experience Excellent written and oral communication skills Experience in working with CMO to technology transfer process development and production of clinical trial products

Slide 20:Your career plus…

What are your strongest values, needs, motives and goals for other aspects of your life: Family Relationships Mental Physical Social Financial Spiritual

Slide 21:Self assessment resources

http://www.windmillsprogramme2007.co.uk/frames.asp - tools to explore and audit “Me Pty Ltd” http://www.careerexplorer.net/aptitude.asp - a range of self assessment tools, including personality assessment http://www.seek.com.au/if.asp?loc=direction – free assessment of preferences and competencies http://www.careers.qut.edu.au/courseplanning/selfassessment/ - basic tools – values, skills, interests, working environment http://www.cdm.uwaterloo.ca/index2.asp - a very good resource, step by step approach to career planning http://www.careers.mq.edu.au/sub/students/PGRSWorkbook.pdf - Macquarie Uni workbook for Post Grad research students

Slide 22:Options awareness

Decision making in relation to employment targeting is difficult for some A targeted approach generates better results than “any job will do” OK to have several options Start with big picture decisions and narrow choices down from there

Slide 23:Develop a work target

Define the criteria for the work you want to do: The nature and level of the work Type of organisation and industry environment Management environment Remuneration and location

Slide 24:Generating options

Which sector?: Public – Federal, State, Local - Private – which industry sector or market niche, reach, size, NFP/NGO – which sector/niche Reach or market? - global, national, local, regional etc Large bureaucracy/corporate, SME, self employment?

Slide 25:Targeting options

Health Care Public Health Clinical Allied Health Natural Therapies Health Infrastructure Health Intervention Health Intelligence

Slide 26:Create a target list

Final step - develop and maintain a data base of your targeted list of potential employers Directories search Yellow Pages Online directories http://www.dlook.com.au/ http://www.nationwide.com.au/ Google search

Slide 27:Career planning - summary

Through structured self-analysis develop a concise picture of what you have to offer, and also your needs Identify employment options that match your capabilities, interests and values Next step – your self marketing strategy

Slide 28:Self marketing strategy

Slide 29:What do employers want?

Landing a job involves selling – a successful sale occurs when the buyer’s needs are met Your sales pitch must address how you will meet these employer needs: CAN you do the job – your skills, professional/technical and meta-skills, knowledge (and qualifications) WILL you do the job – interest in the position, overall motivation to perform the role, work ethic etc FIT – personality, values, communication style, likeability, personal presentation

Slide 30:The employment marketDid you know?

Slide 31:Job search strategy - balance

Everyone looks at & applies for work through the advertised market Your job search stops if there are no advertised positions – reactive vs proactive strategy Few of your colleagues (competitors!) are likely to be effectively networking

Slide 32:The advertised market

Newspapers, journals, newsletters etc On-line – register at least with seek.com and careerone Industry associations, specialist job boards Recruiters – identify and work with 2 or 3, complete list at SA Central Graduate recruitment – UniSA careers website

Slide 33:Explore the hidden market

Accessed through networking Job search networking means meeting people you know personally, or on a referral basis to conduct information interviews: Seek advice or guidance about how to find work in your chosen field Research the industry and job roles you have targeted Research individual organisations – their needs, recruitment processes, decision makers/key people

Slide 34:Referral based networkingAdvantages

No “cold calling” strangers Contacting people you know who provide easy access to those you don’t know Target your contacts – it’s about connections – 6 degrees of separation! If your contact can’t help, ask if they know someone who can

Slide 35:Other networking strategies

Some of the more obvious ways to expand and cultivate your network: Join professional associations Seek mentoring Develop contacts in your discipline, involve people/organisations in your research Publish your work, write book reviews Attend/help organise conferences, seminars, workshops Cultivate referees, relationships with associates through your employment

Slide 36:Positioning

Develop a personal commercial A strong, positive overview of: Your career background & summary of career progression What you are doing now, and why Your key strengths – skills, knowledge, attitude Some milestone career (not just academic) achievements Your aims in going forward in your career (that would resonate with a potential employer)

Slide 37:Summary

In this session we have: Discussed the changing employment paradigm and its impact on career planning generally Looked at some of the factors to be included in a career planning and self assessment exercise Identified job search strategies you can apply in both the visible and hidden employment market Described the importance of positioning yourself in the marketplace – being able to articulate who you are, what you have to offer in terms of experience and capability, and where you are wanting to go in your career