What is a ‘Personal Profile’? A Personal Profile (or ‘Career Profile’) is an introductory paragraph at the beginning of your CV containing a short summary of your background and career plans. The Profile is the written equivalent of an ‘elevator pitch’ designed to capture the employer’s interest quickly so that…>
Research Careers
Going on Secondment – Pros and Cons
What is secondment? Many people do not realise that it is possible to explore different career possibilities by temporarily changing roles within the same organisation. This is often known as ‘going on secondment’ and is especially prevalent in the commercial sector where companies are adept at making the best use…>
Top Tips for a Career Change
When you’re stuck in a rut and dreading each day of work, a change of career seems to be the answer. The grass looks greener and the sky bluer. But is it? These ten crucial questions, answered honestly, will help you to think it through, evaluate your position and view the prospect with a steady gaze.
How to Become a Lecturer
There are numerous routes to get into the field of academia. In the following article, I will share with you some invaluable insights into the traditional way of how to become a lecturer. Qualifications If you wanted to become a lecturer fifty years ago, a post-graduate qualification was not necessary. A…>
Five Skills You Need to Become a Researcher
Each field such as arts or science has its own specialist skills. In addition, there are a handful of key skills which are crucial to success. I have cherry-picked five skills you need to become a researcher for those of us who are aspiring to step into the field of…>
Conducting Research in China
In general, research opportunities at China’s top universities are very good, especially at the top research-intensive universities. This is because government funding has been abundant and investment in the higher education system has been strong and sustained. China’s universities are growing in reputation, prestige and excellence.
Seven Top Tips for Resilience
When faced with adversity, how do you cope? Do you adapt, spring back to action or feel stuck? Resilience means ‘bouncing back’ from a difficult experience, as defined by the American Psychological Society. In this article, I have selected for you seven resilience boosting tips. These have been tried and…>
No Time to Think? Time Management
Time management is a fast-growing trend. Most of us have been to time management courses before, read books, and listened to YouTube videos on the topic. However, we have not really cracked time management just yet. The problem with time management is that we are trying to cram in more…>
Balance for a Better Life
Many of us crave a work-life balance. We are inundated by social media, tons of information to take on, staggeringly long to-do lists, and pangs of guilt as we fall hopelessly behind with our commitments. The better job we do in our professional work, the more responsibility we receive. We…>
Research Roles Within The NHS
Academics with a specialism in the field of medicine or biology may find employment outside of Higher Education in the NHS. The National Health Service employs over 2.1 million people in the UK in total, including clinical academics. It can be a very rewarding field to work in, with many…>