Category: For PhDs

Brand You! – Developing your online social presence.

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Social mediaGoogle yourself – don’t worry, no one’s watching and I won’t judge you! Were you pleasantly surprised, alarmed or was everything just as you expected? Most of us think we have no social presence online because we do not have any social media accounts but that can be far from true. If your search yielded no results, is that what you really want? Whether you work in sales or not, we are all in the sales business. We are constantly selling our services – skills, expertise, experience – or products and to do this we need to NETWORK. Think of social media as networking with the biggest audience possible – the whole world. In this article, Amara shares how some of these social tools can be used to boost your professional presence and develop your unique and personal brand.

I  like to think of my social presence as not just how I present myself as a professional (and as a person) to the public but also how I am perceived by that public as well. Every time we interact with individuals or organisations, we create an impression whether we are immediately aware of it or not. This is true whether this interaction occurs face to face or online. Social media has become a powerful connection tool and I am constantly reminded of this by the number of guest articles we have received by people I have never met in person but have had the opportunity to connect with online or have just found The Aspiring Professionals Hub through Facebook or Twitter. 

So where to start? For ‘digital visitors’ like myself, I’ll share some examples of some tools and how we can use them to build an online social presence.

LinkedIn

Do you have a LinkedIn account? If no, why not? In my opinion, LinkedIn is the most important ‘place’ for aspiring professionals to be ‘seen.’ Think of LinkedIn as a Facebook for professionals. Your profile is akin to a CV and you are in control of what you choose to reveal or not. Establish a professional image by using an appropriate picture in your profile – no holiday snaps from the beach please! LinkedIn can be used to build connections with other professionals but just as important, you can follow organisations and join groups relevant to your field. There is virtually no discipline that is not covered by a group and if there isn’t one for you, why not start one? Are you naturally shy and find it difficult to walk up to someone at an event and introduce yourself? Look them up on LinkedIn and invite them as a contact. I always recommend adding a short note to the basic LinkedIn invite message introducing yourself. Be professional.

There are many recruiters on LinkedIn so your dream job may just be a new contact or updated profile away. Remember that all recruiters have to work with is your profile, so ensure you update regularly and truthfully. Joining your alumni’s LinkedIn group can help you develop relationships with alumni working at your target organisations who may be willing to offer advice and mentorship. Don’t ignore your LinkedIn page, share posts that you think are relevant to your contacts and within the groups you follow.

Twitter

Twitter could very well be one of the easiest and quickest ways of establishing connections and developing your online social presence. Using 140 characters at a time you can share what you’ve written, information you find insightful or you can follow that company you really, really want to work for, learn about different industries and global brands. For your professional Twitter account, I would recommend using your name in your handle, for example – @amaratweets, @emmanueladukwu, @AspProfHub) – so people associate your handle with your person. I have been pleasantly surprised when someone I have not ‘met’ before has walked up to me and said hello because they recognise me from Twitter. When writing a bio for your profile, make sure that people can understand what you do and not just who you are.

Whenever I attend a meeting or conference, I use hashtags to share information from speakers as well as connect with other attendees. Another way to interact with people in your discipline is to attend webinars and tweetchats. Don’t be shy, contribute to the conversation. Be nice, reply when people ask you questions or send direct messages, retweet what other people are saying. Don’t worry if you do not have many followers in the first 3 days, it takes time to build a network. This rule applies whether building a network face to face or online. You are building your brand – be careful what you tweet especially if you are tweeting on behalf of an organisation.

Facebook

A lot of us are already using Facebook to connect with our family and friends but it can also be a powerful professional networking tool. As of the first quarter of 2015, Facebook had over 1.44 billion active users and with this, the world can really be your oyster. I would advise that if you want to project your professional social presence using Facebook you maintain two separate personas.  I do not think there is anything suspicious about doing this. If potential employers are going to be checking job applicants on networking sites, it is in your interest to find a way to keep private things private. Alternatively, set your privacy settings to manage what you share with your ‘friends’ vs. your professional contacts.

Build your network by adding contacts, joining relevant groups and liking pages where you can connect with like minded professionals. I am learning how important it is now to not just be a silent observer but contribute meaningfully to conversations.

Blogging

Of course, I hadn’t forgotten. Blogging is a communication tool that can really allow you share your story. Everyone loves a good story, it doesn’t matter if you are sharing something personal or communicating your point of view on recent events. If you are a creative person, you can showcase some of your products on your blog. We all know people who have made millions off blogging. Like I said earlier, online, your potential audience is the whole world!

Know your audience and write for your audience. Don’t be afraid to mix things up on your website. Keep improving. Link your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts to your blog and use social media to disseminate your work.

There are other tools like Google+, YouTube, ResearchGate. You don’t have to be involved with all of them. Find out what works for you and work it!

My rule when it comes to developing my social presence online is to be authentic and true to my values as well as being professional at all times. I try and practice #netiquette. Always have at the back of your mind that when it is online, it is forever. My mantra is, ‘if you don’t mean it, don’t post it!’ Project an image that you are proud of. It can be intimidating living in the ‘socialsphere’ but you can manage how much you put out there. In my next post, I will discuss some tips for managing your online social presence.

I am left wondering what the next decade will bring. Do you think a day will come – if it isn’t here yet – when our online social presence will mean just as much, if not more to employers than our CVs and personal statements?

HeadshotAbout our writer – After completing a PhD in Microbiology and Food Science,  Amara is developing her career in academia – providing teaching and learning solutions in UK FE and HE Institutions as well as conducting research in Food Microbiology. Amara believes in the combined power of education, mentoring and productive relationships as essential tools for building successful careers.

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Reflections – Attending my first international conference

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I have always loved attending conferences because they provide opportunities to network with other scholars, publicise my research activities, as well as build my research profile. I have attended some conferences in the UK and when I got the email that my paper has been accepted for presentation at the American Marketing Association (AMA) Winter Education Conference, I was excited and started looking forward to it.

Attending an international conference requires good preparation. The conference organiser was very helpful with providing travel information, especially regarding obtaining a visa. All that was required by the American Embassy was my invitation letter in addition to a student confirmation letter from my University. I was amazed at how simple the process was.

Before I knew it, I was off to San Antonio, Texas. The immigration officials seemed surprised that I was only visiting for a few days for a conference. The Conference had a very different atmosphere to conferences I had attended in the UK – this could be due to the fact that Americans were by far the biggest nationality present!

There are some things I found particularly interesting:

Early Riser – I am used to the first session of each day starting between 9:00 and 10:00 in the morning but sessions started as early as 8:00 am! Each day was fully packed with events but it was great to have the opportunity to explore different sessions and meet lots of people.

Networking – Though I was quite reserved in my networking approach, I used every opportunity to network. I chatted to people I sat with in sessions or met during lunch. In relaxed atmospheres, it is easier to start conversations and get to know people. Interestingly too, I was able to network with people I had met on Twitter before the conference.

The PhD Process: US vs. UK – I learnt about the differences between how PhDs are structured in the US and the UK. In the US, PhD candidates can spend at least 5 years working towards their PhD. A lot of work (and time) is spent grooming candidates for research and academia, which I find to be very different from how the PhD process occurs in the UK. There were also indications that a large proportion of American Marketing research is quantitative – developing and testing models – this means researchers heavily rely on statistical packages and tools. Candidates are taught to use these tools as an integral part of their PhD.

The Job market – I learnt that you can use ‘one stone to kill two birds’ while attending the AMA Conference.  Apart from presenting your research and networking, you could probably leave with a new job and start preparing for life as an Assistant Professor! This requires a lot of planning though as you would need to have applied long before the conference. The point to note however, is the fact that it has been incorporated into the conference. Universities know they can recruit at the conference and students are well prepared for the fact that they could be interviewed during the conference.

The Socials – Unfortunately, there was no social event as I would have expected. Typically, UK conferences are for three days; Wednesday to Friday; with socials being held on the penultimate night. Socials provide a good opportunity for conference delegates to ‘let their hair down’ and socialise in an informal atmosphere. I decided to entertain myself by visiting some key landmark sites in San Antonio.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience, I did enjoy myself, meet nice people and develop some productive relationships. Most importantly, it was a challenging, thought provoking opportunity to see how I could best improve myself, in terms of developing my research skills, publications and getting ready for the job market. I plan to attend the Summer AMA in 2016 as I will be more than ready to explore opportunities USA has got to offer.

Emmanuel Mogaji is a member of the Centre for Advances in Marketing, Business and Management Research Institute at the University of Bedfordshire Business School. His research interests are on the design and development of marketing communication for service providers, universities and charity organisations. He is currently working on his PhD, focusing on advertising strategies by UK financial service providers. He tweets @e_mogaji.

Please share your stories with us, we would love to hear from you. Contact us @ aspiringprofessionalshub@gmail.com or @AspProfHub

A Master Chef at Work – A Culinary Take on the PhD Process

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CookingI have heard many metaphors for the PhD process – ‘a dark tunnel’, ‘a lonely path’, ‘skating like an octopus on wheels’ but I had never thought about doing a PhD using culinary terms. In this ‘Reflections’ article, Dr Nadia Anwar shares an interesting take on her PhD journey.

Doing a PhD is like cooking a very complicated but worthwhile dish on a steady and consistent heat. One needs to be extra careful right from the beginning, keeping in mind all the logistic and practical issues involved in creating one’s delicacy. For instance, how much will the whole dish cost? What kind of hob will be good? Which cooking pot will be best to use? A non-stick pan is highly recommended as you need something that can take the heat and not burn too easily. Do you have all the ingredients? What if one of the ingredients is unavailable? Where will you find it, when…, how…? Who will be the people helping you in your preparation and then in the process itself? These and many other questions will be your preliminary guide to a wonderful cooking experience. You do not need to worry about who is going to share the dish with you for there will be many to lick their fingers once it is cooked.

You will need three types of people according to the function they will perform in your cooking process: Dish sponsors (the ones who are financially supporting you – they can either be your family members or external sponsors), tasters (supervisors), and judges (external examiners). Although all these people are somehow mandatory, in this project, a very significant part is played by the tasters. Once you have got all the ingredients, you start putting them in one at a time at the appropriate stages of the cooking process. Check the fire, is it low, medium or high? If it is low, the dish may never get cooked. If it is very high it may burn the whole thing before it is cooked. So use the proper heat it requires. Sometimes, though, you may need to increase or lower the heat in order to evaporate the extra water or otherwise to retain the proper amount of moisture. You must be flexible.

Now, the tough part (yes! it’s still easy until now); start putting the spices into your pan which although are not your main ingredients, have a crucial role to play in the final texture and taste of your dish. Have you got the right measuring spoon and are you using a non-sticking ladle and moving it only when really needed? Good. A difficult situation can sometimes occur when by dint of bad luck or while busy in cherishing an unavoidably inspirational moment you put a particular spice more than it is needed and there is no way you can undo the act. Do not panic, it may be several times that you make this mistake. The only thing you can do is to save as many ingredients as you can, throw the rest in the sink and start over again. It is advised that you keep extra calm in such dire situations as panicking will only aggravate the situation. Your senior fellow researchers can be of some help as they can listen to your kitchen tragedies and relate their horrible failed experiences to empathise with you. Since their noses are very sensitive to smells, they may even tell you if something is burning.

ChefBe patient with your plans. By this time you may already be performing as a creative and expert cook.  Just keep cooking and adding into your dish all those relevant new spices that have recently been introduced in the market. You will soon realise that your dish has attained a particular texture of its own. Let me tell you the most difficult part is to know when it is cooked or how much time it still requires for the final dish to be ready. Do not worry. Your tasters will tell you when to turn the heat off, decorate your dish and serve. Once out there in front of the judges, even they cannot do anything to save the day if you have made a last moment mistake.

It is time now for the judges to comment. They may reject it altogether, they may make funny faces, they may spit it out or they may ask you to keep cooking it on the same heat for a tad bit longer. If you have really put your energies into making your dish a success and you are lucky then it is highly likely that they find your dish very tasty and start licking their fingers (yes, and even in front of you). I know the whole process is tiring and many a times may test your nerves but be patient. If it is done properly, you will become a master chef!

Nadia Anwar recently completed her PhD in Nigerian drama from The University of Northampton, UK. She is a lecturer in English at the Education Department in Pakistan and visiting faculty member at University of Management and Sciences. Her primary areas of interest are African literature in general and Nigerian theatre and drama in particular.

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So you want to do a PhD? – Your survival guide…Part 1

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For most PhDs, successfully completing their degree will rank in the top 3 of the greatest challenges they have faced in their lives up to that point. PhDs stretch you on all levels, not just mentally but physically, emotionally and even financially. In the first part of ‘The Survival Guide’, Amara discusses important points for reflection by prospective as well as current PhD candidates.

“So you want to do a PhD?” – Why do you want to do a PhD? Write down your answer, memorise it and make it your mantra. There will be moments when you’ll ask yourself “Why did I do this?” Remember that only crazy ‘special’ people decide to do a PhD. Most of our more ‘intelligent’ friends headed straight into the world of full time employment after completing their degrees but we decided to stay back at University to ‘do’ research. Some of us left reasonably well off jobs for the penury uncertainty of PhDs. Others still, went for the part time PhD (a myth!) route combining it with full time employment. These are my all-time stars!  As a PhD candidate you provoke both awe and pity among the ‘general population.’ Your why is your personal truth so remember that not everyone will respect, understand or support your decision. A PhD is not something you do to fulfil other people’s ambitions, that is almost a recipe for failure – so really ‘Why do you want to do a PhD?’

Brace yourself – We are yet to come across anyone who found their PhD easy. My mantra is ‘A PhD is not just about intelligence but perseverance.’ A PhD is difficult and that’s ok. Embrace the challenge. Truth be told, what is worth achieving that isn’t challenging? You are going down a ‘road less travelled’, making an original contribution to your discipline, solving a problem or creating a product, allowing the world understand something just that much better. Begin with the end in mind. Create a token of what the results of your work mean. It could be a picture from your field study, an incomplete signalling pathway, a diagram of your incomplete theoretical model, the incomplete equation of your predictive model. This is something you are creating and bringing into this world. Something new. It should be difficult. Persevere.

‘No pain, no gain.’

To thyself be true – PhD candidates are unique, there is no one type of student.  You’ve decided (against all wisdom…lol) to study for a PhD. You know your why but deal with the Who? The road ahead is long…so to thyself be true. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Every day you will take both to the job with you.  What are the things that may limit you? No one is perfect but you must utilise your strengths and make allowance for your limitations. If you know you can’t deal with pressure and love the ‘que sera sera’ lifestyle, consider if a PhD is for you. What did you enjoy most about your undergraduate and postgraduate degree? A good qualification is simply not enough. Can you bear to work alone for long periods on end? Are you a committed procrastinator? Are you in a relationship? Is your partner supportive? Do you have young children? Do you plan to have children during your studies? Are you a 9 – 5 sort of person? Do you have a support network? Do you like lab work but hate writing or vice versa? What are your finances like? Will you have to work and study? Can you? What are three things you need to successfully complete that you do not have right now? How can you get them? You cannot change what you do not know. No one starts their PhD knowing it all but embracing an ‘inside-out’ approach can help identify skill and knowledge gaps and seek help.

Photo Credit: Ian Barbour https://www.flickr.com/photos/barbourians/
Photo Credit: Ian Barbour

Is s/he the One?  – No, not your significant other but your supervisor. Is s/he the one for you? This is probably going to be the most important relationship successfully completing your PhD depends on. What is your supervisor’s management style? I appreciate that it is difficult to gauge how the relationship will go but do some homework. What do their former and current students say about them? I (Amara) had an awesome supervisor who was a mentor, coach and all round superstar. My PhD was lab based and so we saw each other almost every day – difficult when you can’t stand each other. We had a great working relationship not because she told me what I wanted to hear but what I needed too. She encouraged and critiqued in the same breath. If it was bad, she said so but when it was good, she praised. Sometimes PhD candidates make the mistake of going for a big name over getting a good mentor. We hope to do a post on managing the supervisor relationship in coming weeks so stay posted. Your PhD supervisor is not supposed to be your friend – but it helps if they are friendly. Of all the PhD candidates I know did not complete, 7 out of 10 times it had to do with a breakdown in the student – supervisor relationship.  I have read, observed and heard of some horror stories. Please don’t let that be you.

Murphy’s law aka ***t happens – You’ve studied the protocol, you’ve harassed your supervisor got the equipment, its D-day and you notice your cell culture is contaminated. Five days prep has just gone down the drain. *Hugs* Or you travel for a conference and have your bag stolen, complete with your laptop containing important data (Dropbox is your friend). Despite your well laid plans, there will be setbacks. It could be your fault (you are allowed to make mistakes you know) or due to circumstances totally out of your control like your supervisor deciding to move on to pastures new in a totally different continent! Your Gantt chart has become a distant memory as you bemuse your naiveté when you thought that activity was going to take you 3 weeks but it has actually taken you three months. Your project proposal looks like a relic from times past. A friend lost antibodies worth thousands of pounds simply because someone turned off the wrong switch and shut down his freezer over the weekend!  Things may not always go to plan but remember you are a project manager and a key transferable skill you are developing is that of problem solving. So dig your heels in and keep going. Acknowledge there is a problem but don’t dwell on it, solve it!

HeadshotAbout our writer – After completing a PhD in Microbiology and Food Science,  Amara is developing her career in academia – providing teaching and learning solutions in UK FE and HE Institutions as well as conducting research in Food Microbiology. Amara believes in the combined power of education, mentoring and productive relationships as essential tools for building successful careers. ‘Ignorance can hurt more than sticks and stones.’

If you enjoyed reading this article, please share and subscribe to our network! Would you like to share an article in The Hub? We would love to hear from you. Please get in touch – info@aspiringprofessionalshub.com. 

 

 

Your Job Search – Who you know matters but who knows you matters even more!

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Looking for a job can be challenging and an arduous process. It is easy to feel discouraged when things are not working out but please hang in there! In today’s post,  Dr Genevieve Regan, Laboratory Coordinator at the University of the Sciences, Philadelphia,USA shares some strategies for job seekers focusing on the importance of networking.

I should start this with the disclaimer that ‘I am no expert in job searching, career planning, or ladder climbing.’ I am just a person who, after a year of serious searching, has successfully gotten a new position that is better than my previous position and will hopefully lead to better and better things. I can also say that prior to getting my new job,  those qualifications would be all I needed in an author because job searching is gruelling and having gotten a job means something went right for the writer so I would love to hear what they had to say.

In the last 4 months, I applied to 26 jobs, followed up on my application when I could, went to 4 interviews, and got 0 of the jobs I had applied for. My current job came from being in the right person’s mind when a good opportunity became available. Hence my title, “Who you know matters, and who knows you matters even more”.

There are three main points to my networking strategy that I think worked to my advantage. The first is to have a network. You have to think about who you know. I know I lamented, “But I don’t know anyone” but it wasn’t true. I had former classmates and professors, co-workers, and family.

The second point is to have real relationships with these people. I needed to know them but they also needed to know me. Don’t just cold call people and announce you need a job, connect with them. If they are doing the kind of work you are interested in, find out how they got there, find out what interests them about the work, and find out what you can do to help them. Let them know you are looking for work but don’t be demanding about it, give a good picture of your interests and what is going on with yourself. A good relationship needs sharing between both parties.

This leads to the last point; be memorable. People remember people who help them. It doesn’t have to be helping them out with big things, just be a friend or good colleague. Things like sharing an article you think they would like, volunteering to help out on a project or event, or being a sounding board when they need one all can help your relationships.The overriding theme to the strategy would be not to treat it like strategy.  Be the kind of person you would legitimately help to find a job and people will want to help you find a job. They will think of you when they hear of an opportunity the same way you might think of someone else you know when you hear of one. There is an added benefit to my non-strategy strategy. You are connecting with people, and that should be fun. Going for coffee, meeting up at a happy hour, having discussions about topics you both are interested in, these should be fun. In all the job search stress you need fun, so consider it to be part of the process.

If you find networking challenging, you are not alone. Please check out our articles on Networking here and here. If you would like to share an article in The Hub, feel free to contact us @ aspiringprofessionalshub@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @AspProfHub.