Career Development & Employability
The Careers and Employability Team provides dedicated support for doctoral researchers with careers and employability related matters. One to one appointments are available.
To book an appointment with Abigail use the online booking system or send an email to a.sexton@westminster.ac.uk
A suite of dedicated career workshops has been designed for doctoral researchers, as set out below.
Career Histories: Reflecting on your career so far and how this may influence your future career plan
31st October 2024
This first session will welcome participants to this five-part series of career development workshops for doctoral researchers. Participants will have the opportunity to meet and collaborate online from October- March with fellow doctoral researchers through large and small group exercises.
The average age of a doctoral researcher at the university is 38, this workshop recognises that many doctoral researchers will bring many years of professional experience to their PhD, and it can be useful to reflect on this. Using exercises involving video case studies from popular culture and career development theory, participants will leave this session with a clearer sense of their career so far and the factors influencing this.
Career Settings: Researching the labour market and your career options post PhD
21st November 2024
The first half of the session outlines the array of career paths doctoral researchers pursue with a PhD. Both career paths in and outside of academia will be covered, from the very conventional, to the non-linear avenues.
The second half of the session invites participants to evaluate sources of labour market intelligence and learn how this can contribute to career planning. The internet is full of copious amounts of information about the labour market, but it can be challenging to decipher the fact from the fiction. This workshop explores how participants can do this using a memorable framework.
Career Realities: Focusing on your current career identity and creating a CV to reflect this
22nd January 2025
Following on from the second session, this workshop explores how doctoral researchers view themselves professionally in the present, centring around the question: ‘how would you describe your current career identity?’
This session invites participants to focus on their current career identity through visual exercises. CV writing will also be covered to encourage participants to find work experience in and outside of academia whilst completing their doctoral research. Using mood boards and CV examples, participants will articulate their current career identity in both a creative and practical way. Attendees will be encouraged to update their CVs in their own time and are welcome to book a follow-up one-to-one careers consultation to discuss their updated version.
Career Connections: Identifying members of your current network and generating ideas for forming new connections
14th February 2025
Many doctoral researchers will have established networks from their career so far, but these may lie outside the area in which they plan to pursue a career once completing their PhD. This session reiterates that it is never too early to start networking when pursuing your PhD and invites participants to reflect on their current professional network as well as planning how to maximise this. It also provides an opportunity to generate new ideas for growing networking opportunities.
Career Identities: Exploring your career dilemmas and making career decisions
12th March 2025
Making the right career decision is a dilemma that many of us grapple with. This session will define what decision-making entails. In addition to this, it will invite participants to reflect on previous significant decisions they have taken.
The second half of the session will introduce a decision-making activity that explores participants’ potential career options through an imaginative exercise in small groups. The factors that affected their career history explored in the first session will be revisited in this session.
As this is the final workshop, if participants require further support, they will be encouraged to book a careers consultation to discuss their career plans on a one-to-one basis with a careers consultant.