‘Society needs more, not fewer, people […] who can read, critique, and synthesise complex and competing arguments.’ – Katina L. Rogers, Putting the Humanities PhD to Work When I was coming towards the end of my English Lit PhD in 2011, there was very little ‘academia to industry’ chat happening. Had there been, I envisionContinue reading “What does ‘industry’ mean if you’re a humanities PhD?”
Category Archives: Career transition
‘What if I hate life beyond academia?’ When the move doesn’t go to plan
I’ve never been much of a fan of romantic comedies. I mean, even before spending 8 years as a humanities student analysing and deconstructing narrative tropes and gender stereotypes (!), I never bought the way that so many of them end with the wedding, as if to say ‘ok, job done, it’s official now… story’sContinue reading “‘What if I hate life beyond academia?’ When the move doesn’t go to plan”
I have a PhD but don’t meet all the requirements for this job. What do I do?
‘How many of the criteria do I need to meet to be considered for a job?’ It’s a question that never goes away. It’s a particular bugbear for researchers looking to move into sectors beyond academia, as you try to grapple with industry jargon and decipher exactly what it is that employers are really lookingContinue reading “I have a PhD but don’t meet all the requirements for this job. What do I do?”
Repackage your PhD: How to pitch your skills to any employer
I remember the day when weekends away with friends would begin by comparing the new outfits we’d each bought for the holiday. Now we’re into our 40s, it seems that comparing new threads has been replaced by comparing what medications we’re all on. C’est la vie. Anyway, one weekend over the summer I realised thatContinue reading “Repackage your PhD: How to pitch your skills to any employer”
Understanding employers beyond academia: tips for PhDs
Ah, summer 2024… the summer of the UEFA Euros in Germany, the Paris Olympics, and, most momentously, the end of a pilot project that I’ve been working on for the past year. The goal of our project was to see what we could do, in 12 months, to create more opportunities for our PhD researchersContinue reading “Understanding employers beyond academia: tips for PhDs”
‘Where The Magic Happens’: How to raise your profile on LinkedIn (for PhDs)
“LinkedIn is ‘where the magic is happening,’ because you can start to become known more widely and also get in contact with a lot of people you might never meet in real life.” – Elena Hoffer: Co-Founder and CEO of Alma.Me **This post is a follow up to the June 2023 post focusing specifically onContinue reading “‘Where The Magic Happens’: How to raise your profile on LinkedIn (for PhDs)”
Taking Charge: Three key things you don’t need when moving from academia to industry
‘Getting a job in industry isn’t about having all the right stuff, and then magically getting the job when you have that stuff. Instead, you just have to get out there and convince people you can do it.‘ – David Giltner About a year ago, I stopped looking for the watch I’d had since IContinue reading “Taking Charge: Three key things you don’t need when moving from academia to industry”
Leaving Academia in the Humanities: Five practical steps to help you find what’s next
‘You don’t realise the value of (and the extent to which you have) these skills as a humanities PhD, until you’re in an environment when not everyone has them.‘ – Cat Quine: career changer from academia to tech You know how career guidance appointments rarely go? ‘So, you’re looking to leave your lectureship in BiblicalContinue reading “Leaving Academia in the Humanities: Five practical steps to help you find what’s next”
“If I leave academia, can I come back?” Perspectives on a persistent question
‘The most compelling common denominator among people who have adopted the “alt-academic” moniker is that they tend to […] incorporate scholarly methods into the way that work is done. They engage in work with the same intellectual curiosity that fuelled the desire to go to graduate school in the first place.” – Katina L. Rogers,Continue reading ““If I leave academia, can I come back?” Perspectives on a persistent question”
Silencing self-criticism & redefining ‘success’: maintaining mental health in your post-PhD job hunt
Found yourself contemplating these questions when looking to job hunt beyond academia? Then read on… A Tale of Two Mindsets Fawzi Abou-Chahine’s opens his book A Jobseeker’s Diary with the confession that he never anticipated ever developing a mental health issue. Fast forward to months of fruitless job hunting post-postdoc and his mental health startedContinue reading “Silencing self-criticism & redefining ‘success’: maintaining mental health in your post-PhD job hunt”