Last Friday saw our PhD researchers continue on their training with career development coach, Lorraine Shine. This training aims to prepare our researchers for the next stages of their careers as they come to the end of their PhDs. This week’s session centred on Personal Branding, Networking, and LinkedIn (so be prepared to see a lot more from ADVANCE Researchers on here!)

Last Friday saw our PhD researchers continue on their training with career development coach, Lorraine Shine. This training aims to prepare out researchers for the next stages of their careers as they come to the end of their PhDs.

This week’s session centred on Personal Branding, Networking, and LinkedIn (so be prepared to see a lot more from ADVANCE Researchers on here!) The timing for this was perfect as also ran our Research Colloquium last week and the training there also touched on the importance of networking.

Firstly, Lorraine took us all through how to more effectively use our LinkedIn profiles, not only in searching for jobs but also selling ourselves and giving prospective employers and idea of yourself as succinctly as possible by utilizing your Headline and About sections.

Next up was Personal Branding, where Lorraine helped our researchers come up with Mission Statements to better communicate to employers the skills they bring to a team, their values, and the impact that their research will have on society.

Finally, she looked at the importance of building your network.

This session is part of our Beyond the PhD: Career Readiness Series—a targeted online training programme supporting PhD researchers as they approach the final stages of their journey. The goal is simple: to help them think strategically about their next steps and make informed career decisions that truly recognise the value of the skills, experience, and effort invested during a PhD 🎓

Next month we will be looking at the importance of effective CVs and cover letters.

Previous post It was a pleasure to facilitate the opening session of the Beyond the PhD: Career Readiness Series with ADVANCE CRT (Research Ireland Centre for Research Training in Advanced Networks for Sustainable Societies). The researchers come from a range of universities including UCC, MTU, Maynooth University, TU Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. Next post We had our third session of the Research Ireland ADVANCE CRT PhD: Career Readiness Series this week, focusing on CV and Cover Letter Success. We explored both industry and academic applications and delved into areas that can often be challenging for researchers – such as deciding what level of role to apply for and the use of AI in application documents.