Preparing Your Application for Roles Beyond Academia (207)

13 and 27 October 2021

Dr Verity Elston

This workshop will focus on the fundamentals of the application process for roles beyond the academic track: the theory and practice of the job ad, CV and cover letter.

This workshop is split into two sessions of four hours each, in addition to preparation and transfer work. This format will give participants the opportunity to explore their professional profile, and create and have feedback on their own CV and cover letter aimed at a potential position.

Based on preliminary reading, in our first session we will review the job ad as an expression of an employer's needs, capacity and preference, before turning to the CV and cover letter as a response in terms of the candidate's competence to respond to those needs and their motivation to do so well. Participants will also be asked to complete an online skills profile analysis (e.g. docpro, myIDP, ImaginePhD) prior to the workshop. This work will provide participants with an initial overview of the skills-related vocabulary they will need in order to review job ads and complete their application material.

The preliminary work and discussion during the first session will provide the building blocks for participants to put together their own mock (or real) application materials in the following days. While sample, real-life job ads will be provided, participants will be encouraged to find opportunities that interest them. For the purposes of this workshop, opportunities should be based off the academic track (i.e. not postdoc, academic research/teaching, etc.).
In the second session, participants will work in small groups to feedback and learn from each other's application material. Discussion will also touch upon connected topics such as gap analyses and personal development objectives, spontaneous applications, applicant tracking systems, online profiles, internal referrals, and recruitment processes in general.

Learning outcomes

With completion of this workshop, participants will have explored:
• The identification of their strengths and weaknesses, and the vocabulary for the knowledge and skills they can contribute in a career beyond academia.
• The job ad as problem statement: the analysis and deeper understanding of potential opportunity to identify an employer's criteria and create an adapted, contextual application.
• The presentation of a professional profile in the CV and cover letter: finding the words to express their experience, ability, and motivation.

University of Fribourg + Online

Date: Wednesdays 13th and 27th October 2021

Schedule : from 1 pm to 5 pm on both days

Place: University of Fribourg on Wednesdays 13thOctober ; Online on Wednesday 27th October 2021

Trainer:

Director of Portfolio Formation Sàrl (https://twitter.com/portfoliophd) and head of career advice for the University of Lausanne Graduate Campus, Dr Verity Elston was previously director of the CUSO Transversal Programme and Deputy to the Dean of the EPFL Doctoral School. She has broad professional experience in the private and public sectors in several countries, including in middle- and high-level recruitment. She holds a doctorate in Sociocultural Anthropology from the University of Chicago, the FSEA certificate in adult education, the ACC certificate in integral coaching and is a certified TRIMA practitioner. She conducts ongoing qualitative and quantitative research and analysis on the career paths of doctorate holders in Switzerland and in Europe.

Participants are eligible for reimbursement of incurred travel expenses by train between the city of their university and the location of the workshop (half-fare card, 2nd class).

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