Handshake – a guide for postdocs

Careers Service Careers outside of academia, meet the team June 12, 2020Academic careers, appointments, events, Handshake, non-academic careers, non-research careers, workshops 0 Comment

Postdocs, meet Handshake

As a postdoc, you might be wondering how to utilise Handshake Cambridge – the new digital platform recently launched to connect with the Careers Service.

Whether you are thinking of pursuing academic research or looking for opportunities beyond the ivory tower (or both!), we wanted to make sure you were on track to making the most of this innovative careers development platform.

In a hurry? You can book an appointment and complete your profile later…

Do you have an interview looming? Or maybe you need urgent help with a fellowship submission? Perhaps the deadline for a job application is fast approaching?

Do you have an interview looming? Or maybe you need urgent help with a fellowship submission? Perhaps the deadline for a job application is fast approaching?

When you first activate your Handshake account, you will be prompted to fill in your profile, which may seem daunting, and in ways, irrelevant to academic careers.

Don’t worry.

You can skip this step by simply pressing the “EXIT” in the top righthand corner, and then access the Careers Centre from the top menu bar, where you can book appointments, workshops and events. You can always return to filling out your profile later by clicking on “My Profile” under your initials.

Access postdoc careers workshops and events

We continue to offer a great range of workshops and briefings specifically tailored to researchers for careers in academia and beyond. Booking now takes place for all these activities through Handshake

Academic careers on Handshake

Handshake might look like it’s only for career options outside academia but it’s not. It’s a gateway to a rich range of academic career resources to give you the best chances to you present yourself.

Handshake might look like it’s only for career options outside academia but it’s not. It’s a gateway to a rich range of academic career resources to give you the best chances to you present yourself.

Through Handshake, you can quickly access our CV and Cover letters guide for PhDs and postdocs to help you prepare for interviews in academia and beyond . We’ll continue to add curated resources for you.

See what’s on offer outside academia and start connecting with employers

Interested in exploring ideas for careers outside of academic research?

Handshake Cambridge is an powerful tool to help you consider this.

As more people and organisations join Handshake, the opportunities to connect directly with employers and fellow postdocs and find jobs increase. And, of course, the more complete your profile is, the better chance you have of making relevant and useful connections.

Filling out your interests on your profile is also key to letting us, the Careers Service, know what areas you are interested in so that we can send your information about opportunities and information in the sectors you like (similar to the CamCareers emails in our old system.)

Be mindful of uploading an academically focussed CV as Handshake will autofill your profile using this information.

Be mindful of uploading an academically focussed CV as Handshake will autofill your profile using this information. Building a profile that highlights key elements of your research career and includes relevant activities and interests outside of your primary research focus is key to utilising Handshake to transition out of academic research.

For a step-by-step guide and tips, check out our blog post on building a great profile for students.

Register for Handshake now

Don’t hesitate to contact us through postdocs@careers.cam.ac.uk – our team is always ready to help you on your career journey.

Our Postdoc Careers Advisers are standing by to help you with your career.

Postdoc careers advisers

Pictured from top to bottom are Diane Cardwell (AHSS), Anne Forde and Sally Todd (Life Sciences), Susan Gatell and Sonali Shukla (Physical Sciences).

Weighing up job offers – how to make the best choice for you

Careers Service Careers outside of academia March 4, 2020March 4, 2020Academic careers, Deciding on a direction, non-academic careers 0 Comment

photo of balanced stones

Sally Todd, postdoc careers adviser, discusses the factors to take into account when considering job offers.

The other week I saw a postdoc who had the good fortune to have a number of job offers. In case you ever find yourself in a similar position, I thought I’d share some of the criteria (not all of equal weight to her) she was using to help her decide which was the best next step for her.

Would she enjoy the job and be likely to succeed in it?

The postdoc I met was weighing up a lectureship, an in-house fellowship that would lead to a tenured position and a prestigious, fixed-term fellowship. They were at different types of institution in different countries. She was considering:

Would she be able to do the research she wanted?
Was there suitable infrastructure in place?
Could she access the data she wanted?
What sort of colleagues/collaborators would she have?
Would she be able to attract good staff/students?
How much teaching would suit her?

If you’re comparing jobs outside academia, consider which components of the job really attract you, and what circumstances and support you would need to do it well. For example, for a job in science communication, would you prefer more written or verbal communication? How well you could communicate the science might depend on access to source material and deadlines.

When you are making a choice, it’s worth thinking about where you want to be further down the line. What will you gain to help you secure the next job or promotion?

Would the job help her career in the longer term?

Would she be able to fill gaps on her CV/ acquire new skills/ make herself more employable?
What training would she be able to access?
Would she be able to raise her profile?

When you are making a choice, it’s worth thinking about where you want to be further down the line. What will you gain to help you secure the next job or promotion?

Person standing on arrow on ground — Find out more about careers options for postdocs on our website

What were the terms and conditions of the job?

Would she (and partner/children accompanying her) like to live in that location?
How much job security was there at the end of the probationary period/fixed term contract?
What were the salary and other benefits?

T&Cs are not just fine print, they can have a profound impact on whether a job is right for you.

What else would be important to you? Do add a comment!

R&D in industry over the horizon

Careers Service Careers outside of academia December 23, 2019Deciding on a direction, industry, non-academic careers, postdoc careers, postdocs, research and development 0 Comment

Sunrise R&D in industry isn’t a surprising postdoc career destination but it’s still surrounded by mystery. What are the reasons former postdocs in industry say that they like it? Or there any downsides they are hiding?

This year, we’ve had lots of feedback at the Postdoc Careers Service on what’s it like and what are the key differences to academia.

Shared risk and glory

In academia if your project doesn’t go well and you are struggling to get any results, the burden is on you to fix it, limp on with the project and try to recruit some volunteers to assist. In industry, inherent team work means that you are not holding the whole weight of the project. As one postdoc now in a local biotech put it “If you are struggling (with experiments) the team is struggling with you and everyone is helping you out”. Sounds great but be aware that getting all the kudos for a project is probably off the cards too as the successes rightly need to be shared. So, if a getting the glory on an individual level is your primary driver, academia might be a better fit.

High tech shiny labs

While academia is idea cutting edge territory, industry is doing it on the technology front. R&D firms invest in equipment and technology which postdocs tell us is a step above most academic institutions and a major perk of the job. Time is money, so companies don’t tend to scrimp on the resources you need to get your job done.

Fast turn around time

Having years to delve deeply into an academic research area is heaven for some and the reason that postdocs go on to be PIs. But if you get more of a kick from shorter time frames, industry will tick that box. Project managers will be giving you targets and deadlines. It might mean that you can’t go down every interesting experimental route but it will mean you know what you have to focus on when which many postdoc tell us they yearn. But that level of organisation comes at a price. Industry postdocs say the number of meetings is a “culture shock”, the work is intense and the expectations are high.

Real world applications in sight

Certainly anyone working in pharma cites helping patients as a key driver, but that applies to all R&D careers across the sectors. Knowing that people will be consuming and purchasing what you research can be a reason to get out of bed even when the projects are tough.

What, no hidden downsides?

Sure, there are downsides. We’re well aware that the people who volunteer to come back to tell us their industry story disproportionally selects those with a positive tale to tell. But we’re keen to hear the downsides too. The downsides are often the reverse of all the positives above, it’s just a matter of your perspective. But if the positives energise you, it’s worth having a look over the horizon. Find out more about real life postdoc R&D careers industry.

Anne Forde, Postdoc Careers Adviser