College of Medicine, Biological
Sciences and Psychology
PGR Career Management Strategy
Prepared by
Martin Coffey
Academic Practice Service
September 2013
College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology – Career Management Strategy
Executive Summary
In line with the University’s Employability Strategy, the proposed College of Medicine, Biological
Sciences and Psychology strategy sets out to:

Maximise student engagement – engaging students in developing their transferable
skills via interventions inside, outside, and alongside the curriculum, and help them
recognise and articulate their skills and capabilities for potential future employers;

Maximise supervisors’ appreciation of the importance of career management training
and thus enable supervisors to support PGRs in the development of their careers and
employability skills;

Embed PGR employability and career development firmly within College structures, to
ensure a concerted strategy involving the PGR Career Developer working with key other
stakeholders including supervisors, Enterprise Business Partners, Careers and others;

Maximise employer engagement – working with college staff to target employers and
engaging them with a service that will respond to their immediate recruitment needs,
support their recruitment and development of new talent and promote the extra
dimension Leicester’s students have.
The objective of this strategy is to deliver a programme of career management provision to all PGRs
in the College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology that is:

fit for purpose;

meets the variety of needs within and between the seven departments in the college;

ensures that PGRs leave with a research degree plus a portfolio of professional skills and
capabilities to support their (re)entry into the employment market.
The College strategy is informed by four key themes:
1. the PGR employability context;
2. engaging key stakeholders;
3. providing enhanced support; and
4. matching provision to an identified set of career management learning objectives.
We aim to put in place some baseline measures to evaluate the impact of our strategy which, in
turn, will feed into further fine-tuning and improving our provision.
.
1. The PGR Employability Context
Whilst a research degree is traditionally seen as the training route for future academics, and
laboratory careers, it is clear that the career pathways following a research degree are not
straightforward. Vitae (2011) list the common career pathways for research degree graduates from
Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology in the first three years following graduation (Table 1).
Please note classifications overlap on the data collected by Vitae, so percentages sum to over 100.
Table 1: What do PhD graduates from Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences and Psychology do?
Roles
Biological Sciences
Biomedical Sciences
Research roles
64%*
31%
Education sector
49%
37%
Health and social work
n/a
48%
Health professionals and associate professionals
n/a
41%
Education and teaching professionals
9%
13%
Research staff in higher education
36%
22%
Manufacturing
21%
n/a
*Higher than any other discipline.
These data indicate that the majority of doctorates would still need to articulate the value of their
research degree for a market outside academia, and need to have the skills to be able to do this
effectively.
Even for those who continue in HE, the intensely competitive market in HE indicates a need to
develop their employability to the optimum. The UK Higher Education Commission (2012) review of
postgraduate education noted that “the evidence we have received suggests that it may also be the
case that the traditional PhD model is not optimal for an academic career”. The report goes on to
refer to the fact that PGRs often focus on a very narrow area of their field, and some subsequently
struggle to teach undergraduate courses that require broader knowledge.
In the competitive job market that PGRs are now entering, evidence indicates that a research
degree, on its own, is insufficient to gain employment. They need to supplement their qualifications
with evidence of having developed and honed other skills for the employment market. Allen (2013)
states: “Employability is not the same as subject knowledge, qualifications or specialist experience,
A brilliant first degree, a PhD and a list of published papers on your CV may not be enough to secure
a position. You have to be aware of what employers are looking for in any employee. And you have
to demonstrate that you are employable as a person, a team member and as a contributing member
of the employing organisation”.
With regard to all employment, and particularly employment outside research, there is evidence
that PGRs: (i) underestimate the importance of what are sometimes called ‘soft skills’; and (ii)
overestimate the importance of specialist and subject knowledge.
Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (2007) found a list of 6 key skills that
employers seek, across all employment sectors. These are: communication skills; people
management skills; team skills; customer service skills; results orientation; and problem solving. It is
imperative, therefore, that Leicester PGRs are made aware of these requirements and are given an
opportunity to develop and hone their skills and capabilities, and express these in marketable ways
to find success in the future.
Such development needs to be focussed on a clear set of learning objectives as detailed below.
Objectives of PGR Career Skills Provision
The CMBSP’s Career Management Strategy is aimed at achieving the following Learning
Objectives (LO):
Table 2: Learning Objectives of the Career Management Strategy.
LO1: Enhanced awareness of the skills needed for the professional world.
LO2: Awareness of the factors that need to be considered in making career decisions.
LO3: An appreciation of the factors involved in working as part of a team.
LO4: The capacity to manage their emotions rather than being managed by their emotions.
LO5: Development of intrapreneurial and entrepreneurial skills.
LO6: Development of the skills needed to conduct an effective job search.
LO7: The capacity to develop and maintain a comprehensive CV.
LO8: The skills required to complete a job application form fully and effectively.
LO9: The skills required to participate effectively in selection processes.
LO10: The capacity to reflect as part of their development process.
2. Engaging Key Stakeholders
Engagement is crucial, and the key stakeholders here include students, supervisors, employers,
alumni and funders. Funders may be PGRs, parents, employers, government or others. A key
element of student engagement is to draw on the enthusiasm of engaged PGRs to energise their
colleagues to become involved in these activities.
Employer engagement may be improved by having students well prepared for events, internships
and any other involvement with employers. Thus the University’s reputation will be further
enhanced with the employer community. An example of preparation for events is putting PGRs
through a training programme before attending an event so that they can gain the maximum from
the opportunity, and employers are impressed with the quality of the PGRs they meet.
Engaging Students:
What follows are some specific examples of ways in which PGR engagement with career-related
training may be enhanced:
a. Provide more opportunities for one-to-one consultations: These provide an opportunity
particularly for more reticent students to come and talk confidentially about any careerrelated issues they have or foresee. Details on opportunities for consultation are made
available to all PGRs, who are then able to book through Target Connect. Increase
awareness of and encouragement to engage in general careers provision through:

College PGR Director;

Departmental Postgraduate Tutor;

Supervisors.
b. Provide hands-on examples of others who have done enterprise-related training and seen its
benefits: This is best done by getting the previous years’ participants (e.g. Year 3) to
promote these events to Year 2 colleagues, and actually deliver some of the preparatory
training to Year 2 colleagues.
Engaging Key Stakeholders in the College:
This is critical to the strategy we are proposing. To deliver a coordinated programme, and to
maximise the impact of careers provision, for example, through the provision of internships, it is vital
that there is a college-wide strategy group which can help identify sources of potential employers,
potential internship opportunities etc. This is important for internships across the college PhD
population along with the provision of Professional Internship Placements (PIP) for the Midlands
Integrated Biosciences Training Partnership (MITB) doctoral training centre. The aim would be to
maximise the impact we have in supporting the employability agenda for PGRs through pooling
resources and contacts, and ensuring that opportunities for on-the-job learning, as well as what is
delivered by way of training, is the most appropriate and meaningful for the cohorts concerned. This
strategy group could include, for instance, the PGR Director, PGR tutors, as well as the Enterprise
Business Manager, the Academic Practice Service Careers representative and potentially alumni
connections.
Working together in a concerted way we could considerably enhance the quality and relevance of, to
give just one example, the employer events we hold.
3. Providing Enhanced Support
Enhanced support will include both bespoke support and more generic support where learning will
be enhanced primarily through peer-to-peer engagement. Specific examples are outlined below:
Consultations: Each consultation will include an opportunity to set up live or on-line follow up,
where outcomes are explored and acted upon.
Enterprise-related training: This is a continual process. Participants’ development needs are
determined at the outset, through a training needs analysis. Participants would also have follow-on
opportunities to utilise their learning through:

speaking at careers events to advocate, for example, the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES)
competitions to colleagues;

participating in the delivery of training to other colleagues.
Internships: These include a before, during and after element to insure an optimum experience for
both the student and the host employer. All internships are advertised to PGRs. A shortlist of
applicants is then prepared, who are interviewed by the prospective employer. All PGRs who are
unsuccessful at the application stage, or the interview stage, receive developmental feedback on
their performance.

Before an internship: The intern has a planning meeting with the University’s PGR career
specialist to set out a plan of what they want from the internship. The host employer then
has a meeting with the intern and PGR career specialist, to share expectations for the
internship.

During the internship: There is a meeting between intern and career specialist to determine
progress and address issues. A follow-on progress meeting is held, between the employer
host, intern and PGR career specialist to determine progress against objectives and address
any issues arising.

After the internship: The intern delivers a presentation to academics and PGR colleagues
within their department on their internship experience. A meeting is held between
employer, intern and PGR career specialist to determine the extent to which objectives were
met and any issues that arose. This part of the engagement with employer hosts is a key
element of the development and maintenance of relationships with a pool of employers.
4. Matching Provision to an Identified Set of Career Management Learning Objectives
What follows is a description of six elements of employability provision, together with a brief
description of each, the phase of the research degree they are intended for, and the learning
objectives (LOs) they meet:
Table 3: Description of the Elements of the Career Management Strategy.
Type of Provision
a. Consultations
Description
One-to-ones providing access to advice on available careers
training programmes and other activities, career planning,
career change advice, CV advice, application form
preparation and interview coaching. Also utilised as a
starting point for the development of Professional
Development Plans (PDPs), focussed on career development,
incorporating their career learning during their degree, as
part of this experience.
b. Workshop Programme
Building a Portfolio 2 hours face-to-face with online follow-up. By the end of this
of Career Skills
session, PGRs would have explored the concept of
Phase
1, 2, 3
1
LOs
Met
1, 6,
7, 8,
9, 10
1, 2,
6, 7,
employment-related transferrable skills as they apply to PhD
students; looked at where they want to be post-PhD, and at
their next key career point, in the context of where they are
now; explored, realistically, their job opportunities within the
employment market; initiated a professional development
action plan to address the career management development
needs identified.
8, 9,
10
Assertiveness
2 hours face to face and online follow-up. This workshop is
designed to enable PGRs to have clarity on their goals and
how to achieve them in a professional and/or laboratory
context that may be ambiguous. It incorporates exploration
of potentially challenging scenarios and the development of
appropriate tools and techniques to enable PGRS to cope
with such situations.
1
1, 3,
4, 5
Coping with Stress
2 hours face to face and online follow-up. The Oxford
dictionary defines stress as “a state of mental or emotional
strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding
circumstance”. In research settings, and other workplaces,
stress can be caused by a number of factors, such as: the
nature of the work itself; relationship with supervisor or
other key personnel; issues relating to career development
such as limited opportunities. This workshop looks at the
sources of stress faced by researchers; explores ways of
coping with such stress; and provides an introduction to
some tools and techniques that people can use to prevent
stress, mediate its impact and overcome its effects.
1
2, 4
Team Building and
Team Leadership
2 hours face to face and online follow-up. By the end of the
session, students will have developed their personal
effectiveness in teams; engaged in personal reflection on
their experience of teamwork; developed their
understanding of the importance of working in teams;
explored the factors that contribute to effective teamwork;
explored the main roles adopted by team members along
with exploring their own preferences; developed an
understanding of the main stages in team development.
2
2, 3,
4, 5
The Secrets of
Successful Job
Hunting
2 hours face to face workshop and online follow-up. On
2
completion, students will have developed their awareness of,
and means of access to, key resources to enable them to 1.
Optimise their job search process; 2. Build a relevant tailored
CV; 3. Complete applications effectively; 4. Demonstrate
effective interview technique.
1, 5,
6, 7,
8, 9,
10
How to Succeed at
Job Applications
and Interviews
2 hours face to face workshop and online follow-up. This
session is focussed on enabling students to focus and
optimise their job application and interview techniques. It
will contain both generic elements and elements focussed on
particular sectors and professional disciplines.
2, 4,
7, 8.
9. 10
3
c. Professional
Development
Academy
This is a three-day programme designed to enable PGRs to
develop a wide range of career development skills. Each of
the three training days involves both taught elements and
experiential learning. There is a gap of approximately three
weeks between training days. During these times
participants work in teams to complete tasks that enable
them to refine the skills they develop on the programme.
The focus of the programme is for teams of participants to
formulate a business built around a product or service. They
present the kernel of their virtual business to a team of
business people in Dragon’s Den format, where they receive
feedback on the viability of their concept.
Topics covered include:
 Working effectively in teams
 What is my team role and preferred work
style
 Developing a business – what is your value
proposition?
 Case studies of successful and unsuccessful
businesses
 Building a business plan – understanding the
financials
 Intellectual Property Rights
 Understanding your market
 Making an effective pitch – including an
elevator pitch
 Reflection on on-going personal
development
1
1, 3,
4, 5,
10
d. Enterprise
Training:
Preparation and
participation in
YES
competitions
YES (Young Enterprise Schemes) competitions are designed
to enable the development of entrepreneurial skills in a
range of research areas. Examples include Biotechnology
YES, Biomedical YES and Environment YES, which are
competitions for UK-based PGRs and post-doctoral
researchers to present a business plan for an imaginary startup company to a group of shrewd investors and industry
experts.
Preparation for YES competitions involves providing
entrants with grounding in the skills of teamwork, business
planning, market research, product/service development,
IPR awareness and development of an awareness of route to
market. (As an example of a relevant YES competition,
please see details of Biotechnology YES at
www.biotechnologyyes.co.uk)
2
2, 3,
4, 5,
10
e. Internships
Internship opportunities are developed through individual
departmental contacts; the extension of the existing PGR
internship programme; engagement with the Enterprise and
Business Development unit. There is also an opportunity to
liaise with DMU on a joint internship programme. Mendez &
2
1, 2,
3, 4,
8, 9,
10
Rona (2010) highlight the positive relationship between
industrial experience and final degree results.
f.
Employer
Events
g. Interview App
For the past eight years the College of Medicine, Biological
Sciences and Psychology has held an annual Postgraduate
Careers Symposium. This event includes three main strands:
1. Speakers from a wide range of employment sectors deliver
presentations on the realities of working in their sector and
what the opportunities and requirements are from the
perspective of new entrants. 2. A networking lunch which
enables PGRs to meet speakers in an informal context. This is
an essential element of career management delivery because
it provides PGRs with the opportunity to learn about the
realities of career contexts from people who might not
otherwise be easily accessible. 3. Workshops on topics such
as “How to get a Job” and “Grants and Fellowships”.
PGRs of the College are also welcome to attend the range of
events involving presentations from other/related
employment sectors. As highlighted by Felce (2010) the
education sector has been criticised for its lack of
understanding of employers’ needs. In engaging with
employers, e.g. through events and internships, it is
important that we both demonstrate our understanding of
employer’s needs; and demonstrate our openness to
learning about the evolving trends that employer needs are
following.
All
This involves the development of an application which allows 3
PGRs to upload intelligence on recruitment, assessment and
selection processes. Other PGRs will then be able to
download the same information at the point at which they
need it. This device is currently at the development stage.
This app is built on open access principles. For example, Dr
John Smith applies for a role with ACME Inc., and is
shortlisted and goes on to interview stage. Whether he is
successful or not in obtaining the job, he can upload
information on his experience of the application process; the
interview; and any feedback he received in terms of what the
company are looking for. Later, Dr Jane Smith wishes to
apply for a similar role with ACME Inc. or another company
in the same, or a similar, sector. As part of her preparation
she can download the information uploaded by John Smith
to get some tips to help her on.
1, 2,
5, 6,
7, 8,
9
8, 9,
10
RESEARCH STUDENTS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
In the course of their PhD experience, a research student could expect to complete a comprehensive
set of the provision highlighted in 4 above. With this in mind it is advisable to incorporate a career
management section within their personal development planning process. This is an indicative list of
the career management provision that a research student should target for completion over the
course of their PhD experience.
Table 4: Model Personal Development Plan for a Research Student in the College of Medicine,
Biological Sciences & Psychology:
Year
Workshops
Enterprise Training
Employer Events
Probation Preparation
Building your Portfolio
of Skills
Year 2
Decision Making in
Career Management
Year 3
Building an Effective
CV
Assertiveness
Team building and
Leadership
How to Succeed at Job
Applications and
Interviews
Coping with Stress in
Research and the
Workplace
Professional
Development Academy
Attend a minimum of
one visiting employer
event
Internships
The Secrets of
Successful Job Hunting
Preparation for
Biotechnology YES
Attend a minimum of
one visiting employer
event
Complete one
internship
Attend a minimum of
one visiting employer
event
The provision of professional development should always be evaluated as part of a process of
continuous improvement. In the current context the key evaluation issue is whether provision is
enabling research students to set and achieve their career goals. It is essential that:
1.
good practise is recognised and built upon; and
2. lessons are learned and issues addressed.
Thus it is envisaged that career management provision will be evaluated and revised to ensure
continuous improvement and the optimisation of impact.
MEASURING THE IMPACT OF PROVISION
Whilst a PGR may have immediate opportunities to gauge the impact of research skills training,
unless they have prior experience of the professional workplace, they are unlikely to be able to
immediately gauge the impact of employability training. Any such evaluation is likely to be delayed
to the time when the PGR is seeking employment or is actually in the professional workplace.
However, as illustrated by Tamkin et al (2002) and adapted for the HE sector by the Rugby Impact
Framework, there are four levels at which the impact of training can be measured.
Level 1
Reaction evaluation or how the delegates felt about the training or learning
experience. An example is the feedback sheets completed by PGRs after workshops
and other training.
Level 2
Learning evaluation is the measurement of the increase in knowledge before and
after training.
Level 3
Behaviour evaluation is the extent of applied learning demonstrated in the
workplace.
Level 4
Results evaluation is the trainee’s effect on the workplace or environment.
Whilst at present it is practise to evaluate at Level 1, and possible to evaluate at Level 2, as
relationships with employers are forged and sustained, it is a reasonable aspiration to also evaluate
at Levels 3 and 4.
Suggested Readings
Allen, M. (2013) http://www.jobs.ac.uk/careers-advice/interview-tips/1515/employability-whatare-employers-looking-for/
Beausaert, S., Siegers, M., Fourage, D., & Gijeselars, W. (2013) Effect of using a personal
development plan on learning and development. Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 25 (3),
pp 145-158.
Felce , A. (2010) Towards a Context Engaged Approach to Work Based Learning. Gloucester:
Learning & Teaching in Higher Education, No.4, pp 20-34.
Mendez, R. & Rona, A. (2010) The relationship between industrial placements and final degree
results: A Study of Engineering Placement Students, Gloucester: Learning & Teaching in
Higher Education, No.4, pp 46-61.
Perkins, J. Christie, K. & Snelling, B.(2010) Work related learning and co-curricular activities.
Gloucester: Learning & Teaching in Higher Education, No.4, pp 115-118.
Tamkin, P., Yarnall, J. & Kerrin, M.(2002) Kirkpatrick and beyond: a review of training evaluation.
Institute for Employment Studies; Reports 392. Brighton: Institute for Employment Studies.
www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/Vitae_What_do_researchers_do_Career_paths_2011.pdf
www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/survey-reports/changing-hr-function.aspx
www.policyconnect.org.uk/hec/sites/pol1-006/files/he_commission_postgraduate_education_2012