At a recent meeting with students from various departments at a Midlands-based university, a senior lecturer wanted to know if the students had been using used Personal Development Planning (PDP). None had, and only one student had even heard of PDP. This ignorance is indicative of the way many British…>
Career Development
Working in Higher Education FAQ
University students often fail to realize that it requires an enormous number of employees working in a huge range of jobs to enable a Higher Education institution to function. More than 300,000 people currently work in HE in the UK across more than 170 institutions. Some of these workers are…>
The Challenges Facing Academic Staff in UK Universities
by Sarah Marten Everyone who has featured as a case study in our Career Development pages agrees on one thing – they really enjoy their jobs, and have no plans to move on from the university sector in the foreseeable future! Most echo the feelings of Professor Martin Shepperd from…>
Visiting Fellow at the University of New South Wales, Australia
by Sarah Marten Dr Karl Cox Dr Karl Cox has recently returned to the UK after working in Australia for over six years, initially as a Senior Research Associate in the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney. He then…>
Life After Redundancy
This article is about people and life after redundancy, how they have fared since being made redundant and the advice they would give to anyone in the same position. Interviewing people who have come through redundancy has reinforced my opinion that there really is no best way to deal with…>
Tips for Time Management and Balancing a Busy Workload
Here’s a no-nonsense guide to time management – the process that will help you to keep balance even when you are extremely busy (which is probably most of the time) – along with a concise tips section to show you how to make a more effective schedule (who has time…>
University Administrator – Got What It Takes?
by Neil Harris University administration is a diverse business. It includes registry, human resources, finance, estates, marketing, public relations, conferences and catering, course administration in departments and numerous other activities. Every day there are jobs advertised here on jobs.ac.uk for administrators. What does it take to be successful? These…>
Long Term Academic Career Planning
by Dr Catherine Armstrong Many of the articles on this website are concerned with getting your first academic job or the transition from student to member of staff. But it’s important to remember that career development does not end there. If you have got a permanent position you need…>
Academic Jobs: How to Complete an Application Form
It sounds a little odd that highly qualified applicants might need advice on filling in application forms, but according to feedback from employers including academics and human resources staff, applicants often overlook even the most obvious points when applying for a job, and therefore can do with all the help…>
Transferable Skills: The Secret of Success
Can you put over your point of view effectively? Would you be able to utilise your transferable skills to explain a complex technical point to someone with only basic English skills? Have you any idea what to do if a colleague trips over and knocks himself out? Are you any…>