A1 - Empowering career transitions - approach, tools and challenges

Background:

Postgraduate researchers and early career researchers often struggle to recognise and explore the diversity of career options that are fundamentally open to them. They may lack confidence, insights, and effective tools that can help them connect their existing reality to future career options.

This workshop will examine the approach, tools and challenges faced at Liverpool John Moores University when supporting researchers to develop a compelling vision and a map of how what they do, or could do, contributes to their future; to be clearer about where they are heading; and use constructive tools and insights to help them move in the "right" direction - for themselves. There will be an opportunity for delegates to discuss how their institutions are addressing this challenge.

Tools utilised on the Programme ‘Your Career Your Choice’ included:

• Career Model Canvas
• GPS for your career
• Know your Purpose (in 5 questions)
• Wheel of Life
• Pain Points and ‘Experiments’
• 30 day diary (‘loved it, loathe it’)

Within the Coaching element tools included:

• Various coaching models such as GROW, REGROW, OSCAR
• AUA Professional Behaviours wheel
• Clean language
• Johari Window

This session will cover:

• the challenges faced and approaches taken to engaging researchers with a 3 month long programme of workshops, tools and career coaching
• the career canvas  - a tool to support researchers to develop a compelling vision and a map of how what they do, or could do, contributes to their future, be clearer about where they are heading and first steps to developing future research leaders
• the outcomes and future developments
• decision-making and planning processes used in a cross-service team project
• a coaching element and how this supported the overall purpose of the programme

Participants will:

• have a greater awareness of a new approach, tools and challenges faced when empowering career transitions of PGRs and ECRs
• explore alternative approaches to supporting researchers in their transition to a future career option

Format:

Information, interaction and discussion. Participants should also be prepared to include examples from their own experience during discussion.