aspiringprofessionalshub

#CareerChat – How to perform well at your next academic interview

April 11, 2016December 29, 2016by aspiringprofessionalshub3 Comments

Previously we shared an article aimed at helping graduates prepare and perform at interviews. In today’s post, Emmanuel reflects on his experiences at academic interviews and offers advice for aspiring academics about to embark on this journey.

Before my first academic interview, my experiences of interviews were straightforward (industry and other sectors) – myself, a round table or similar and my interviewers. At those interviews, the questions centered around how much I knew about the company, a bit about me and my experience, why they should hire me etc. My experience of academic interviews was quite different.

My first academic interview was for a research fellowship in Northern Ireland to carry out a project on the molecular detection and distribution of bacteria in the gut from clinical samples. As you would expect, this was a specialised area and the interview format was no different from my previous experiences. It was about the specifics of the research area, my experience and what my technical skills were in relation to what experimentation was required for the position. No doubt, I had done my due diligence; researched my interviewers, the project, the institution, shortlisting plan and salary scales…having worked in industry previously, I went in prepared and the format was as I expected.

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#PhDChat – ‘I didn’t just survive my PhD, I enjoyed it!’

April 5, 2016December 29, 2016by aspiringprofessionalshubLeave a comment

You’ve done the research, you’ve ‘birthed’ your thesis, the last step between you and your PhD is the much dreaded viva voce exam. You have to sit in a room for a few hours to discuss your research and convince your examiners your work makes an original contribution to knowledge and is worthy of a PhD. In this article, Dr Emmanuel Mogaji reflects on his recent experience of undertaking a viva.

I was given six weeks notice to prepare for my viva. Even though I was quite confident about my research and my thesis, my approaching viva examination appeared very daunting. I reassured myself by telling myself I was going to enjoy my viva and not just survive it. To prepare myself mentally, I read articles and listened to various podcasts available on different websites.

When I heard former PhD candidates reflect on their viva experience, I always had this idea they had just survived it – akin to escaping from a lion’s den. I didn’t want to be like that, I wanted to enjoy every bit of it. My most important preparation though was reading my thesis from cover to cover.

I reminded myself of the following facts –

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#APHEvents – Networking; A Powerful Tool for Professional Success

March 25, 2016December 29, 2016by aspiringprofessionalshub2 Comments

The Aspiring Professionals Hub (APH) recently convened a workshop on networking with delegates comprising, students, University staff, members of public and diplomats who were in attendance at the Educational Forum which formed part of the activities marking the Inaugural Africa Week programme at the University of the West of England, Bristol.

We chose the area of networking as we realise how important it has been in shaping our career journey and is one of our mantras in the Hub.Our goal is simple – to demystify networking and to make it “real” for our audience especially those in the early stages of their career who might not have had the chance to network and for those who have, how to do so effectively.

The key to effective networking is to know what it is and what it isn’t– which we defined previously as ‘the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business’ We took this a step further by defining it as ‘the process of knitting together ideas, people and situations to create opportunity.’

Networking is about building relationships. We discussed the importance of networking and offered some tips to get our participants started.

Preparation – you should always be prepared to network and prior to attending an event it is important to ask yourself some questions such as;

o Who will be at the event and who/what organisation(s) do they represent?

o Is it a formal or an informal event and if so, how should you cater for your appearance – would you need to wear a suit? Would dressing informally affect your ability to engage with any high profile delegates?

o What would you consider as personal success for you at the end of the event?

We also stressed the importance of having business cards. These are very cheap to purchase these days and having your role i.e. what you do and what you can offer, your contact details including a phone number and email address which you can be reached on is what you need to begin your networking journey.

Finally, we highlighted the importance of follow up. This can be arduous and often easier not to do but when done correctly it is generally seen as a polite gesture and more often than not, people do respond when you follow up after discussing and exchanging contact details with them at events.

So next time, how about a “Hello……, it was nice to meet you at…..”

We had a really interactive audience and enjoyed the activities where our delegates got the chance to plan their next networking activity. Hopefully we have met our mission of ‘engaging and equipping’ a few more professionals who will utilise the knowledge they have learnt for their development.

You can see some pictures from the event here

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Photo credit – Olivia Dixon

To find our more or read our previous articles on networking click here.

If you would like the Aspiring Professionals Hub (APH) to run a similar workshop for your organisation, please contact us – info@aspiringprofessionalshub.com.

Finally don’t forget to join the conversation by leaving a comment, also feel free to share and subscribe to our network.

#PhDchat – So you want to do a PhD?

March 9, 2016November 19, 2016by aspiringprofessionalshub1 Comment

As academics, we routinely come across students – undergraduate and postgraduate – enquiring into how they can get into a PhD programme. Our advice is always the same, do your research! In today’s #studentchat, Mohammed shares some advice for undergraduate students contemplating undertaking a PhD.

Research is fun! Contrary to popular belief, it is much more than hours on end based in a laboratory carrying out monotonous work. It is a much more wholesome and rewarding experience but it is not without its challenges.

I have been fortunate to be involved in research prior to undertaking my undergraduate degree. Now you may wonder, why burden oneself with extra work, isn’t working towards a first or a 2:1 enough? A decade ago, the answer to that question would have been yes. However today it is almost impossible to get into a PhD programme without some form of research experience under your belt. With this in mind, I encourage other undergraduate students to look out for opportunities to carry out some type of research from the beginning of their studies. You may be thinking, “I don’t want to do a PhD, let me get out and make some real money!” There is absolutely nothing wrong with that and no one should do a PhD if they do not really want to do it. However, for those interested, remember that research in itself can equip you with a range of transferable skills that are highly sought after by different employers.

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#PhDChat – 7 steps to starting your PhD on the right track.

February 12, 2016December 29, 2016by aspiringprofessionalshub2 Comments

For some time now we haven’t shared much on the doctoral front and as the season for new starters on the doctoral journey is nigh, hence is the need for a new post! Often I am left wondering whether these type of posts are supportive or detrimental to PhD candidates due to the complex and non-linear nature of the experiences. As one man’s meat is another’s poison so is the nature of the doctoral beast i.e. no such thing as a generic PhD.

I won’t belittle you with the suggestion there is a right or wrong way to do the PhD (who am I to know?) but I’m positive some things are particularly key in helping navigate the journey from the initial thinking phase, development of the proposal, getting the application through and starting on the road to “permanent head damage” as some people refer to it.

The seven steps I have chosen to discuss here are in no particular order and the first is to “know why you want to do the PhD and what your career options and end points are before you begin”. This is very important as far too often the idea is that once you complete your PhD, jobs will be lined up for you everywhere. That in itself is a fallacy as the job market can be just as brutal to PhD graduates as it is to graduates from first degrees. Believe me, one thing you do not want after your PhD and spending countless ££££ and $$$$ is #JOBLESS…..there is nothing as demoralising as knowing they you are a broke ass jobless DR.

The second step is that you’ll need to “get career and mentor advice early on”. This is very important! I have come across many PhD graduates who have spent between 5 and 10 years, sometimes even more on contract/temporary, rolling post-doctoral research careers which for some ends up in a blind alley career. In some of those cases, these over qualified individuals look for opportunities to change career paths, taking much lower salaries to break away from the unending slave-like performance that a lengthy post-doc could easily turn into.

Now it might be that you already know your career plan and you eventually would like to be an academic, working as a lecturer at a University beyond your PhD. If that is the case, my advise would be to seek opportunities to embark on a postgraduate teaching qualification. I was fortunate to have had a mentor who changed the course of my career taking me away from my obsession with returning to medicine and telling me that she saw a career as a lecturer or educator in me. Alongside this, came two senior academics who had convinced me on the importance of starting the teaching qualification during the PhD. I won’t deny how arduous the task was; doing a PhD, keeping a part-time job and doing a teaching qualification alongside it. Painful as it might have been, it was one of the best decisions I took as it paid dividend during my PhD and instrumental in me getting my first full-time lecturing role after the PhD.

So, having an idea where your career should or could go is important before and when you start your PhD. One thing that can help you with the support to build the network and find mentors to help your PhD would be joining a professional society. The importance of this cannot be overstated. For whatever field you choose to embark on your PhD studies, even if your PhD is on trying to understand the alignment of stars, or why pandas in captivity refuse to mate or best, the phenomena of witchcraft, there is a professional society that you can benefit from immensely.

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