Career Planning for Education and Social
Work Research students
Julie Doherty
Careers Centre
sydney.edu.au/careers
8627 8403
No 1
No 2
Today’s session
1/ Career planning and review – where do you
want to go?
2/ Networking
3/ Successful applications
4/ How to perform at interview
No 3
Planning your career
› Assess and Review - assessing yourself and what really
matters to you
› Research – What is out there?
› Set Goals - Setting short or medium term goals can
make the process more manageable.
› Take Action - practical actions such as making
networking appointments, producing resumes and filling
in online applications.
No 4
Your turn
›Ask the person next to you about a
career goal/idea they are thinking
about or working towards
No 5
5
Where do Education and Social Work Research
students go?
› Learning Technologies Officer
› Research Assistant
› Associate lecturer
› Secondary school principal
› Secondary teacher
› E-Learning Consultant
› Oncology Social Worker
› Disability and Home Care Policy Officer
› Policy Officer, DEEWR
› Relationships Manager, DOCS
› Co-ordinator, Fostering NSW
No 6
6
Career Planning continued
› Know your sector - Do your homework whether you are looking for work
inside or outside academia
› Find out about the future of research funding in your area Postdoctoral opportunities funded by Research Councils are affected by
public funding.
› Use and build upon your network to find out about potential job
opportunities. This can be real networking and virtual networking.
Increasingly employers from all sectors will search for candidates online.
So make sure any virtual identity you have is positive. Consider
www.academia.edu; www.researchjobs.net.au
› Use your Careers Service & do a skills audit - Less than 30% of jobs
are advertised. Make sure the relevant people know what you are doing,
so you are front of mind when a position arises.
No 7
Selection Criteria
› A 'Survey of Employer Attitudes To Postgraduate Researchers'
(McCarthy & Simm, 2006) outlined some of the research-related
skills gained from completing a PhD :
› Analytical thinking, report writing and the ability to work
independently
› Highly developed research skills and intellectual approach
› Communication and presentation skills
› Committed, need minimal supervision
Other common selection criteria include: Team work, Leadership
/Teaching experience, Problem solving, Time management
Planning and organising/program management, Decision making
› For university and government roles it is best to make a separate
heading for each selection criteria
No 8
Research Development Framework
(Vitae.ac.uk)
No 9
Matching Selection Criteria
Employer needs
My evidence
Excellent academic record
PhD, undergraduate prizes
Strong technical skills
experience with relevant equipment
Communication skills
conferences, demonstrating
Initiative
finding funding to attend conference
Leadership
Postgrad rep and president of student
society (SUPRA)
Good command of English
written skills: articles and publications,oral
skills: presentations, teaching, spoken at
conferences
Other languages
no evidence
Commercial awareness
attendance at GRADschool, membership
of Student Industrial Society, part-time
work
No 10
Your turn
In pairs discuss and write down
the key elements/titles of a resume
No 11
Discuss the elements of your resume/CV
› Personal/Contact Details –mobile, professional email, PR/Cit
› Career or Job Objective – eg seeking academic role within ……
› (Summary of Skills/Qualifications) – use words relevant to field
› Key Educational Qualifications- current first (give a brief summary of your
research/thesis, then attach a more detailed synopsis as an Appendix)
› Professional Membership/s/Associations
› Employment Experience- Casual/Volunteer, dates, company
› Awards & Scholarships- across university & interests.
› Publications/Conferences/Presentations (for Academic roles)
› Extra Curricular Activities & Interests- not garden variety
› Referees- number, type? References for academic roles
No 12
Sample resume
› Name
Email
Mobile
Address (Optional)
› Career Objective: State the role you are looking for and make it specific to the organisation. Use
the Career Objective to market yourself eg “Utilizing my strong research and analytical skills, am
seeking a role with xxx organisation where I can develop systems and enhance research profile”
› Education:
› Qualification:PhD (Education )
2008 – present
› University of Sydney Thesis Topic : Theoretical framework for early intervention in reading
recovery primary aged children
› Brief paragraph summarising thesis. Keep it to 3-4 lines and if applying for industry limit use of
technical terms
› Qualification: Bachelor of Education (1st class Honours)
2003-2006
› University of Sydney
› Major: Include honours topic, subject highlights, any relevant programs, any exchanges
No 13
› Work History:
› Job title: Sessional lecturer
2007- present
› Education Department,
› University of Sydney
› Key skills: Note skills such as research and preparation, assistance to senior lecturers,
marking and assessment
› Key Achievements: List what you are most proud of eg Associate Professor in
department requested that I be given more subjects to teach or devised new, time
effective method of assessing students
› Alternatively or in addition, you can group your experience under broad headings as
below:
› Administration
› Outline any roles where you obtained office skills as these are relevant to most positions
in and outside university. List computer programs/applications you are competent with eg
Microsoft Office suite, SPSS. Note any achievements within these roles.
No 14
› Teaching/ Lecturing
› Particularly important for academic positions, but generally useful to outline any lecturing or tutoring
positions you have held within the faculty. Also include any marking or assessments in which you
have been involved.
› Information Analysis and Management
› Developed methods of evaluating data and synthesizing to produce tangible, user friendly results.
Refer to any programs/systems you are familiar with, any resources/databases you have used
throughout your PhD
› Research/Conferences/Publications
› Outline the main skills you have gained through undertaking postgraduate study – ability to work
independently, presentation skills, need minimal supervision. Experience in the selection and
appraisal of research methodologies
› Strategic Approach
› Most postgraduates can strategically evaluate relevance and value of others opinions and data and
can devise programs/ initiatives according to employers needs.
› Referees (2-3) or Referees available on request Then 1 page appendix detailing your research
No 15
Cover letters – yes or no?
› Your address
› The date
› The name, title and address of the receiver
› The title and reference number of the position for which you're applying. Also any
connections/contact you’ve had with the organisation.
› Explanation of what particularly interests you about the job, the department or
organisation, etc.
› A paragraph or two briefly highlighting the main skills or abilities you can bring to
the job and any relevant personal qualities or attributes. For academic roles,
mention recent publications/conferences
› Details of how and when you can be contacted if required to attend an interview.
No 16
Key interview tips
› Research the company and indicate in interview you have done so
“When I was preparing for this interview, I noticed on your web page…”
› Dress appropriately and find out who is on the panel
› Re-read your application
› Practice some possible questions so you have prepared responses
› Arrive 10 – 15 minutes early
› Stay calm & talk slowly
› Breathe
› It is okay to make notes
› It is okay to ask the panel to repeat a question
No 17
Your turn - Possible questions
› Why have you applied for this role?
› What can you bring to this organisation?
› Outline for us the skills you feel your research degree has given
you?
› Tell me about a time when you have had to meet an urgent
deadline. What was the situation? What steps did you take? What
was the outcome?
› Describe a specific situation in which you have had to manage
multiple projects? When was this? How did you approach the
situation? What was the result?
› What has been your greatest achievement in the last year?
No 18
Questions for you to ask
› Show you have done your homework “When I was preparing for
this interview, I noticed in your annual report that you have
employed several PhDs in this area. Could you tell me more about
this?”
› Ask questions that allow you to sell yourself. “From my research
on the organisation, I see that significant changes are taking place
in the Xxx sector. Can you tell me more?”
› “How is success measured within your organisation? “
› Don’t ask questions that are clearly answered on the employer's
website
› Never ask about salary and benefits issues until those subjects are
raised by the employer
No 19
Useful sites
› www.graduatecareers.com.au/
› www.prospects.ac.uk/
› www.vitae.ac.uk/
› www.academia.edu/
› www.researchjobs.net.au
› www.unijobs.com.au/
› www.ncoss.org.au
› www.ethicaljobs.com.au
› www.det.nsw.edu.au/jobs
No 20
Careers Centre
Make an appointment
Ph. 8627 8403
Fax. 8627 8477
careers.information@sydney.edu.au
sydney.edu.au/careers
No 21