Career conversation: what preparation for what expectations? (216)

23 April 2026

Dr Joëlle Bédat

The steps involved in building a career path are personal and complex: clarifying your values and aspirations, recognizing and showcasing your skills, developing your network, identifying positions that match your profile… Then come the more technical aspects: writing cover letters, tailoring your CV, preparing for job interviews. Alongside all of this, it is also essential to gain exposure to the reality of the non-academic professional market: understanding its codes, expectations, and opportunities. And yet, for PhD candidates, concrete chances to set dialogue with that world are rare. Sometimes, we hear stories of "successful" career paths - but few chances exist to ask questions to those who hire or support professional transitions.

The "Career Conversations" series offers a safe, supportive, and interactive space where researchers can meet professionals from the recruitment and corporate world, ask questions, and gain a better understanding of the job market and its realities.

These sessions are open to all PhD candidates, regardless of discipline.

However, we encourage you to carefully read the specific topic of each session (*) as well as the speaker's profile, so you can prepare relevant questions and make the most of your participation.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of each session, participants will be able to:

• Understand recruiters' expectations when it comes to highly qualified profiles

• Strengthen their ability to engage with actors from the socio-economic world

• Develop a better understanding of the job market and its dynamics

• Foster strategic reflection on their professional positioning and communication

Transferable Skills Developed

Communication (formulating relevant questions, speaking clearly, active listening); networking (interacting with professionals from outside academia); career planning (understanding recruitment processes, assessing options, refining your career path); critical thinking (comparing perspectives, challenging assumptions, sharpening your choices).

(*) Specific Topic of This Session

We will discuss recruiters' expectations and how PhD students can effectively prepare for them. Drawing on the experience of Joëlle Bédat, who works at the interface of recruitment and support for highly qualified profiles, this session will allow participants to:

• Better understand the logic and criteria that guide recruiters' decisions

• Align their professional positioning with the realities of the job market

• Reflect on how to highlight their academic trajectory in a non-academic context

ONLINE!

Date : Thursday 23rd April 2026

Schedule : from 13h to 14h15

Place : Online, via Zoom

Trainer :

Dr Joëlle Bédat is a Consultant and Researcher passionate about corporate governance and strategic HR management. Founder of Gouvernance RH, with the mission to support boards of directors, executive committees, foundation boards, and institutions in addressing issues related to human management. Concurrently, a researcher dedicated to exploring the impact of boards on HR policies.
She has extensive experience in executive recruitment, competency assessment, strategic workshop facilitation, executive coaching, and training, gained through numerous mandates supporting SME leadership teams. Previously, she worked for eight years as a Senior Associate in executive search at Spencer Stuart. From 2015 to 2024, she facilitated workshops on effectual approaches and the business model canvas within the module on Interdisciplinary Collective Work of the MAS MRHC program, offered by the four universities of French-speaking Switzerland. She also serves as a trainer at CEFCO for the HR Management module of the Federal Diploma for SME management specialists.
She holds a PhD in Management from Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University, a Postgraduate Master's in Human Management from the University of Geneva, and a Bachelor's in Political Science from the University of Lausanne. She became an ICF-certified coach in 2008 and holds certifications in psychometric profiles such as the AECdisc Method (behavioral preferences and motivation) and EQ-i (emotional intelligence and leadership). Certified in adult training programs (FSEA), she is trained in graphic facilitation and is an accredited trainer in the LP3 Leadership Development Program.

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