Careers workshops

We are living and working in times that are more complex than ever. Embracing the interconnected and unpredictable nature of this ever-changing world will be at the heart of future learning and working. Being able to cross the boundaries between disciplines and long-held practices will be central to this complex process.

This workshop offers:

• an understanding of what we mean by boundary crossing

• a framework to help aspiring ‘boundary crossers’ work with others from different disciplines and work contexts

• activities to help personalise the framework to your own environment and current roles/objectives

This workshop is for research staff will focus on writing academic CVs. It will address how to present your skills, experience and research effectively, and assist you to tailor your CV for different roles within academia.

This one and half hour briefing session is for research staff thinking of applying for a new job in academia, whether academic teaching or academic research.

The session will explore:

• What makes for a good CV;
• What counts in an academic CV;
• How to present your skills and experience effectively;
• Supporting or personal statements, or cover letters for academic applications.

The session will include a presentation and group discussion of some example CVs.

Please note that feedback on individual CVs is not possible at this session. This is best done by arranging an individual career development consultation.  Further information on these consultations can be found at:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/careers/university-staff/careers-service-support-for-staff

After attending this session you will be able to:

1. Improve your confidence in writing and tailoring your CV;
2. Increase your understanding of how to adapt your CV for different roles, including teaching focused or research focused roles;
3. Understand what should be addressed in a cover letter or supporting statement.

This workshop relates to domains B1, B3 and D1 of the RDF. 

For further information on the RDF visit:  http://edin.ac/2cDDzAE

This workshop for research staff will focus on creating a CV for non-academic jobs. It will address how to present your skills, experience and research effectively, and assist you to tailor your CV for different roles.

This one and half hour briefing session is for research staff thinking of seeking a change to a non-academic job (within or out of higher education) or making a career switch.

The session will explore:

• What makes for a good CV;
• How to adapt your CV for careers outside academic research;
• How to present your skills and experience effectively.

The session will include a presentation and group discussion of some example CVs. 

Please note that feedback on individual CVs is not possible at this session. This is best done by arranging an individual career development consultation.  Further information on these consultations can be found at:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/careers/university-staff/careers-service-support-for-staff

After attending this session you will be able to:

1. Improve your confidence in writing and tailoring your CV;
2. Increase your understanding of how to adapt your CV for different roles, specifically roles outside of academic research.

This workshop relates to domains B1, B3 and D1 of the RDF. 

For further information on the RDF visit:  http://edin.ac/2cDDzAE

This workshop focuses on strategies for generating and researching alternative career options. It is aimed at researchers who are considering a change of career direction but who have no clear ideas of what to do next.

This workshop will help you to explore a range of careers open to researchers.  It will focus initially on careers linked to research, but outside an academic environment, and other common career areas researchers enter.  We will discuss different strategies for coming up with career ideas and the best ways to research careers to determine interest and suitability.

You should attend this workshop if:

• You are considering making a move away from academic research but have no clear ideas of what to do next;
• You have thought about what interests you in a future career;
• You are open to exploring a range of career ideas.

After attending this workshop you will be able to:

1. Understand some of the more common career areas researchers enter outside academic research;
2. Explore different techniques for generating career ideas;
3. Identify good sources of information for generating and researching career options

This workshop relates to domains B2 and B3 of the RDF. 

For further information on the RDF visit:  http://edin.ac/2cDDzAE

This workshop will focus on the early stages of career choice and will help you to start to identify what is important to you in a career; including the skills you want to use, values to be satisfied, preferred work environment and other factors important to you.

You may be considering moving out of academia into another career area but how do you decide what else you would like to do? 

In this workshop we will look at the early stages of career choice and you will begin to identify what’s important to you in a career through structured self-reflection.  You will start to develop a ‘wish list’ of what you’re looking for in your career in terms of skills you want to use, values to be satisfied, preferred work environment, and any other factors important to you.  This will help you in the future as you start to assess your interest in and suitability for different career areas.

This workshop will help you to:

• Identify the skills you have developed in your research career which you would like to use in the future;
• Think about your key drivers and motivations for the future;
• Consider what constitutes your preferred work environment;
• Identify barriers to change and explore strategies for tackling these.

The workshop will be followed by an optional linked workshop, ‘Changing Careers: Exploring Career Options’, which will focus on strategies to help you to generate and research alternative career options.

After attending this workshop you will be able to:

1. Develop an awareness of what is important to you when considering your future career development;
2. Develop an improved insight into your key drivers and motivations for the future;
3. Work on initial development of a personal framework for assessing your suitability for alternative career options.

This workshop relates to domains B1, B2 and B3 of the RDF. 

For further information on the RDF visit:  http://edin.ac/2cDDzAE

The final hurdle of the challenging path to a fellowship is the interview. In front of a panel, you'll need to demonstrate the skills, experience, creativity and leadership expecting of future research leaders. This session will look at the typical format of fellowship interviews, the questions you might expect to face and answer your concerns about delivering the same impact in a virtual environment. 

This short workshop will outline the experience and skills expected of new lecturers.  It will encourage reflection and discussion on how to continue to build your profile and develop relevant experience to improve your competitiveness for an academic career.

You should attend this workshop if:

If you are wondering how to make the transition from early career researcher to first lecturing job then this interactive session will be of interest.  Drawing on the results of a national survey of academic staff in universities across the UK, the session will outline the experience and skills looked for in new lecturers.  We will discuss what experience you need to develop (and share tips about how you can be gaining this experience) and what to emphasise at application and interview stages.

 After attending this workshop you will be able to:

1. Understand the experience, skills and qualifications that make a good candidate for a lecturer role;
2. Assess your own experience and identify gaps in light of what is required for lectureship positions;
3. Share and gain ideas of how you can build additional relevant experience.

This workshop relates to domains B1, B3 and D3 of the RDF.

For further information on the RDF visit:  http://edin.ac/2cDDzAE

Have you ever sat in a meeting and looked around the table and heard an inner voice say what are you doing here? Have you ever spent sleepless nights worrying about not being good enough to answer the questions after a talk you have to give? Have you ever just felt like a fraud? If you have, you are not alone.  Most professionals have suffered from so-called “Imposter Syndrome” at some point in their careers, and for others it can be a lifelong affliction.  In this webinar we will look at this attitude, what causes it and offer strategies for dealing with it.

After this session the attendees will:

·       Know what is meant by “Imposter Syndrome” 

·       Be aware of how widespread it is

·       Understand its causes

·       Know how to deal with it when it happens.

A career development consultation is a 1 hour one-to-one appointment with a professional careers adviser. You can have as many consultations as you need and they are available all year round. You can use this appointment for many purposes, including:

• discussing your career options, pathways and planning strategies
• practical advice on preparing a targeted CV or application form.
• undertaking a mock job interview for an upcoming role you have applied for
• general advice and discussion on any career issue relevant to you or your current situation

Consultation appointments can help you, whatever your current stage. You may:

• have recently joined the University.
• be coming to the end, or potential end, of a project or contract.
• have been here a number of years and aim to develop a long term career in the University
• be actively looking to move in a new career direction

Eligibility: academic research-only staff, e.g. research assistants and associates, post-docs, and research fellows; and early career academic teaching staff, e.g. teaching assistants and teaching fellows. This does not include academic staff on open-ended lecturing contracts.

Please note:

1. After you book a slot for a consultation, please email any supporting documents to ResearchStaff.Careers@ed.ac.uk.  Providing supporting documents such as a CV or job description will help you to gain more from the consultation process
2. Consultations are available on Monday and Tuesdays. 
3. Advice is available via email if you have a quick query or perhaps have an approaching application deadline. We will endeavour to reply to all email requests within one working week.

Please refer to our webpage for our Privacy Statement for Career Development Consultations: https://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development/research-roles/research-only-staff/career-management/career-consultation