Before we start...

• Introduce yourself to someone you haven’t met• Ask them

– Where are they from?– How did they get here today?– What discipline are they studying in?– What are they hoping to achieve today?

– Did you find anything in common?

www.careers.qut.edu.au

QUT Careers and Employment

Welcome to the Postgraduate Career Development day!

Dr Shari Walsh – Postgraduate Careers Counsellor

sp.walsh@qut.edu.au

Ph 3138 2649

What are your expectations of the day?

Welcome & Overview

• So what is today about?

– Non-career specific

• Expectations of day

– Interactive – participate at own level

– Understand yourself

– Develop an action plan for the year

By the end of today – identify 3 people you will keep in touch with & get their contact details

Stretch

Career future?

What’s on today9.00 – 9.15 Registration9.15 – 9.45 Welcome & Introductory Activities9.30 – 10.30 Career planning considerations10.30 – 11.00 Morning tea11.00 – 12.00 Problem solving activity

12.00 – 12.45 QUT activities – RSC, ISS, Careers & Employment

12.45 – 1.30 Lunch1.30 - 1.45 Values game1.45 – 2.45 Marketing your Phd2.45 – 3.30 Putting it all together

3.30 – 3.45 Afternoon tea break3.45 – 4.00 My career development plan3.45 – 4.15 Discussion/review of day4.15 – 4.30 Close

Career Planning Model

Self

Influences

World of Work

Understanding

Decision Making

Goal Setting

Implementation

Review

Self

Influences

World of Work

Understanding

Decision MakingDecision Making

Goal Setting

Goal Setting

ImplementationImplementation

ReviewReview

My Postgraduate Life

• Complete questions in book

• Discuss in small groups

Career Planning Considerations

• Dr Ruth Bridgstock

• Reflection in book

Kelvin Grove Redistribution exercise

• 8 groups

• 4 groups on each side of room

• ½ an hour to complete exercise

Kelvin Grove redistribution exercise - reflection

• What skills were used in the activity?

• What did I do well?

• What would I change about how I performed the activity?

• How would I do it differently?

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QUT Careers and Employment

Development Opportunities at QUT

Information session re activites

• RSC training – Dr Eliza Matthews

• ISS - Maria McCarthy & Peter Nelson

• Postgraduate careers – Shari Walsh– SAP 19 March 2010– SCAD 9 & 23 July 2010– Mentor Scheme – Jacqui Owen

www.careers.qut.edu.au

@ QUT Careers

QUT Careers and Employment

Postgraduate Careers ServicesDr Shari Walsh – GP (Mon & Tues) & KG (Wed & Thurs)Dr Susan Ryan – KG (Fridays)Dr Alan McAlpine – GP (Mon – Fri)

• Career counselling – 1 hour booked appointments GP & KG

• Workshops throughout the year – Effective Applications– Working productively – understanding your work style – April 6– Networking Know-How - July– Life Beyond the PhD – academia vs industry– Discipline specific upon request

• Resume checking (5 day turnaround)– E-mail: careers@qut.edu.au

• Newsletter

• Discussion group??? – email Shari if interested

Next workshop

• Understanding my work style – applying Myers-Briggs to enhance performance

Tuesday April 6 2.30 – 4.30 pm Kelvin Grove

Register via CareerHub

• July 26 – Postgraduate Career Development day KG

Sessional Academic Program Tutors & part-time lecturers

• Meet other staff members from your Faculty?• Engage with teaching and learning issues specific to your Faculty?• Explore different strategies to help further enhance your teaching

and learning skills and scholarship?

When & Where:  8:50am – 3:40pm (registration from 8:15am) Saturday, 19 March 2011, Z Block, GP

Standard catering will be provided. Payment for attendance.

Register via StaffConnect before COB Monday 14 March

Enquiries to teach@qut.edu.au or phone 3138 9797

SESSIONAL CAREER ADVANCEMENT DEVELOPMENT (SCAD) PROGRAM Semester 1, 2011

SCAD 2011 PROGRAM SCAD is an invitational program for higher degree

research (HDR) students who are also undertaking sessional teaching at QUT and have aspirations of becoming an academic. The program aims to assist participants with preparing for their future career in academia by identifying potential skill or experience gaps and developing goals and plans to address these.

Program outcomes for participants will include: Understanding of the Australian Higher Education

Sector and the role of an academic; Development of the framework for an academic

portfolio encompassing teaching and learning, research and service;

Development of a career action plan focused on obtaining an academic position; and

Establishment of a mentoring relationship with a QUT academic.

SCAD 2011 PROGRAM

Two full day workshops supplemented by mentoring and eLearning activities Workshop 1: Saturday 9th July, KG Campus Workshop 2: Saturday 23rd July, KG Campus

Participants will be paid at the standard sessional rate for their attendance at workshops

Each Faculty may select up to 5 participants, information on how to submit your nomination will be circulated soon...

For further information: http://www.hrd.qut.edu.au/staff/development/academic/scad.jsp

Career Mentor SchemeCareer Mentor Scheme

Go Go confidently confidently

into the into the real world…real world…

insight

directio

n

advice

What is the QUT Career Mentor Scheme?

• Students are matched with an experienced professional who has “been there, done that”.

• Assists you with your transition to the workforce.

• Real world information and knowledge.• Advice and feedback.• Networking opportunities.• A supportive relationship to support your career.• Potential access to real workplaces.

CRICOS No. 00213J

How do I register?

• Via QUT CareerHub

• Further information and registration links are available from the Careers & Employment website

www.careers.qut.edu.au/student/mentor/

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QUT Careers and Employment

Values

Values

• What are values and why are they important?– Are there work and personal values?

• How do your values impact on your interactions with others and your work style?

• What is it like when you work with or interact with people who have different values to your own?

Guess the university

• ??? is a highly successful Australian university with an applied emphasis in courses and research.

• ??? is one of Australia’s premier learning and research institutions.

• Since opening its doors in XXX, ??? has come to be regarded as one of Australia's most innovative tertiary institutions and one of the most influential universities in the Asia-Pacific region.

• ??? is the ???, a public university funded by the Australian Government and open to students and staff of all beliefs.

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QUT Careers and Employment

Marketing your PhD

Marketing your PhD – AKA just what do I have to offer an employer?

• What are the skills you are developing during the process of completing your PhD?

• How do these transfer to employability?

Postgraduate Research Capabilities

1. High Level Communication2. Advanced Teamwork3. Knowledge and Research Problem Solving4. Research Career Learning5. Technical Research Skills6. Self and Project Management7. Research Conduct8. Leadership9. Creativity10. Enterprise

Identify your skills and learn how to link these to jobs/careers?

• What do you think are the most important things

when marketing yourself for employment?

What are the most effective tips on how to market yourself?

1. Self Reflect 2. Have a vision 3. Define your brand 4. Have an elevator story 5. Be willing to work outside your comfort zone 6. Do not wait to be noticed 7. Cultivate people skills 8. Volunteer 9. Dress for success 10. Be a strategic thinker

(Karalis, 2007)

10 Tips to effectively market yourself

• Spend some time figuring out your career trajectory

• Assemble a knowledge and skills inventory

- What are your unique strengths?

- what you do better than others in your field

- What skills are you developing during you PhD?

- What organisations could use your knowledge?

1. Self reflect

Have a broadly defined goal

Plan the steps that you willhave to take to get there

Be as specific as possible

Think about where you want to be in 3yrs? 5yrs?

and 10yrs?

2. Have a vision

• What makes you unique?

• What are you best known

for?

• Be able to state these

qualities fluently and with confidence

3. Define your brand

What is a feature?

-A distinctive element: an attribute, characteristic, mark, peculiarity, property, quality or trait.

What is a Benefit?

- Something that promotes or enhances well-being; an advantage.- Something that contributes to an organization, such as enhanced profitability, better efficiency, or reduced risk.- Something that reduces hassles or inconvenience

Take home message:

People buy benefits, not features.

Feature vs Benefit

SMARTIES

Feature vs Benefit (cont.)

Activity:

• Features• Knowledge• Skills • Abilities• Other

• Benefits• How do the features translate

into a benefit for an employer?

How this works:

-Describe your key features and then the benefit -(i.e., what this means for an employer or collaborator)

•Describe who you are•Why you will be a benefit

•Describe who you are•Why you will be a benefit

•Describe what it is•Highlight features that specialise it

•Describe what it is•Highlight features that specialise it

A concise summary of yourself or your research

Key message should be delivered in 30-60 seconds (or the time taken to ride an elevator)

4. Have an elevator story

Pitching the research Pitching Yourself

• Overcome fear to forge into a new and unfamiliar area: Do not let the job requirements stop you from applying

• Always accept additional responsibilities that can build and diversify your curriculum vitae

5. Be willing to work outside your comfort zone

Modesty does not create opportunity

The one who gets noticed is the one who makes sure that his or her boss knows how good his or her work is

If there is a vacancy or assignment you want, ask for it When you are ready to make a career move, talk about it out loud.

Let people know you are ready for the next challenge. The more peopleyou talk to about it, the more likelyyou are to hear about opportunities asthey arise

6. Do not wait to be noticed

Ways to get noticed

Distinguish yourself Speaking at conferences Actively participate in professional organizations. 

Be likable Demonstrate your self-awareness, self-control, trustworthiness,

motivation, empathy and social skills

Define your brand Define your personal story, guiding principles, and elevator pitch Consider your biggest successes Consider your most instructive failures

(Goodman, 2010)

• Good communication skills are vital in advancing yourself; they are more important than the degrees behind your name

• Good people skills can enable you to advance

at a much faster pace than others with more experience

7. Cultivate people skills

- Smiling

- Eye contact

- Listen to understand/listen intently

- Using first names

- Being open and confident

- Being positive

- Keeping messages to the point

Consider - What impact does culture have in communication?

What are good people skills?

Why volunteer?

To experience a specific work place

To get a taste of the real world of work in your field - leading to sounder career choices

To work on problem solving, initiative and team work skills, which you can then write about in selection criteria and talk about in interviews

To enable employers to observe potential employees in their work place

Gain referees and references for your resume and for general recruitment purposes

8. Volunteer

• First impressions are crucial

• How you dress sets the tone for interactions

9. Dress for success

This means having the end in mind If you don’t get a job get some feedback and work out

what you can do differently for next time

“I found the job that I wanted and then applied three times (over approximately10 years) before I got it. Each time I tried to figure out why I wasn’t chosen and make

it a point to get expertise in that area.”

10. Be a strategic thinker

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QUT Careers and Employment

Putting it all together

• Forming connections

• Linking with employers

• Cover Letter & Resume

• Answering Selection Criteria

• Interview

Why form connections?

The Hidden Job Market

Where can I find unadvertised jobs?

Who can I contact?

How do I prepare?

What questions do I need to ask?

Who do I network with?

• Friends& Family• Fellow Students• Staff Members• Employers• Alumni• Professional

Associations

• Conference delegates• HR Professionals• Librarians• Career Practitioners• Former employers

Remember….The first, or second, person may not be the person you need to talk with!

How do I form connections (AKA networking)?

• Work within your comfort zone

• Ask opening questions – what, where, when, how ...avoid why

• Be confident about YOUR SKILLS!– Understand your keywords

• Importance of business cards

• Practice, practice, practice

Information Interviewing

• You are not looking for a job• You are finding out information about the job and/or

company• It will help you to develop a well focused Resume• It will enable you to speak knowledgably about the

career you wish to enter

• Prepare some questions that you might ask a contact

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QUT Careers and Employment

Cover Letters & Resumes

Cover Letters

• Complements your resume

• Explains WHY you want to work for that organisation

• And WHY you want the job

• Lets your passion & commitment come through

Customise the Cover!

• Create a new cover letter for each position• Align your cover letter with the organisation

Contents of the Cover..

• Opening paragraph - Introduction• Paragraph 2 Why are you applying?• Paragraph 3 Why you?• Paragraph 4 Highlight your skills• Closing paragraph See you soon!

Resumes!

Your skills, knowledge, education and experiences – in only 3 pages!

• Evolving document and therefore needs to be updated• Analyse the advertisement and identify key skills and attributes• Research the organisation via website and media releases – will

you fit in?• Tailor your resume for the employer, highlighting your skills and

abilities

What should your resume include?

• Personal details • Career objective/skills statement/personal profile etc• Education • Work experience• Achievements • General skills • Interests/Hobbies • Publications• Referees

PLUS ANY OTHER SECTIONS RELEVANT TO YOUR BACKGROUND

Consider

» Photo?

» Hobbies/Interests?

Key points

• Bold important information throughout

• Personal details – clear and simple• Skills/professional summary –

– 1 paragraph - benefits to employer • Education –thesis title, supervisors, synopsis or skills• Work Experience –career related / other, Academic /

industry• Publications – sections – conferences, journals, ERA, IF• Referees

Do’s and Don’ts Spell check and proof read Well presented easy to read Active rather than passive voice Matches your skills to their requirements Lets your benefits show though Presents a positive focussed image

Don’t get it done by a professional- should be in your own words

Don’t raise straw men Don’t be dishonest!

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QUT Careers and Employment

Selection Criteria

Understand the criteria

• Responsibilities vs Selection Criteria• Mandatory vs Desirable• Read each criterion carefully & answer specifically

• Good project management skills with the ability to participate in the management of projects, which have a commercial focus (QIMR – Business Development Associate)

• Evidence of developing skills in communicating with diverse audiences. (CSIRO, Postdoctoral fellow)

• Ability to operate effectively in the field, including carrying out research at sea. (Australian Institute of Marine Science – Research Scientist)

Typical Lay Out & Length

• Address each one under a separate heading – Don’t summarise criteria; write in full

• Content for each SC (except Qualifications) – 3/4 a page to a page for EACH criteria– Approx 300 Words for EACH criteria – 1 per page

• Use a combination of narrative & bullet points where possible

Let’s compare…

• I have good communication skills

• My communication skills are demonstrated by the number of people I have spoken to during my PhD

• During my PhD I have communicated with a range of people. I outlined my research to participants. I have presented my results on numerous occasions to my peers and to my supervisor and other academic staff. On each occasion feedback has been positive.

The Magic Formulas

S

T

A

R

L

or

C

A

R

ituation

ask

ction

esult

earning

ontext

ction

esult

Example

ContextA group of around 20 Postgraduate Students who wanted a workshop

on Job Seeking Skills

ActionSpoke with staff, researched employers needs and sourced relevant

information

ResultAll students attended and verbal feedback indicated that content and

style of workshop was both highly relevant and useful to them

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QUT Careers and Employment

Interviews

What are your concerns?

Overcoming concerns

• Understand the purpose of an interview

– Organisation’s reason

– Your reason

• Research yourself, the role, the company

• Prepare your responses

– Describe a time when....(behavioural)

– Can you tell me a bit about yourself? (personal)

• Develop your keywords/theme

• Anxiety reduction

Salary Questions

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QUT Careers and Employment

Planning my next steps....

Steps to achieving a vision

• Have an overall picture of where you want to go

• Break it down into manageable steps

• Start along the way

• Record your progress and reward each achievement

Career development activities at QUT

• Tutoring• Research assistant • Laboratory assistant/tutor• Grant collaboration• Publications

• Networking, networking, networking

External activities

• Join a professional association

• Become an expert advisor

• Join the Board of a community organisation

• Write articles for blogs, newsletters etc

• ?????

Action planning - SMART• S = SPECIFIC

– Who is involved?– What do you want to accomplish?– Where? - Identify a location.– When? – Establish a time frame.– Why? – Specific reason, purpose, or benefits of achieving a goal.

• M = MEASUREABLEHelps you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience achievement.

• A = ATTAINABLEBreak it down into steps - each step should move you closer to that goal.

• R = REALISTICPersonal and situational factors which may influence your ability to reach your goal.

• T = TIMEBOUNDDefine start points and end points to your goal and maintain commitment to these deadlines.

Writing an Effective Goal Statement

• Rules for writing goal statements:

• Use clear, specific language.

• Start your goal statement with TO + a VERB

• Write your goal statement using SMART Goal Criteria

• Avoid using negative language. Think positive!

Next workshops

• April 6 – Understanding my work style – applying Myers-Briggs to enhance performance

• July 26 – Postgraduate Career Development day

Review of workshop/reflection

• Sentence starters

• I have learned….• I discovered that…• I will ….• It surprised me that….• I was pleased that…

LOCATION

Gardens Point Campus:

Level 2, U Block(Above the Art Museum)

Level 2, X BlockReception: Room X226

Kelvin Grove Campus:

Level 4, C Block(Above the Refectory)

Caboolture Campus:

Student Centre - J Block

EMAIL

careers@qut.edu.au

WEBSITE

www.careers.qut.edu.au

PHONE

Gardens Point: 07 3138 2649

Kelvin Grove: 07 3138 3488

Caboolture 07 5316 7400 U BLOCK, GP

X BLOCK, GP

C BLOCK, KG

Contact Careers and Employment