Career and development
It is never too early, or too late, to start planning your career. As fixed term research staff (grades 6-9) you have full access to Oxford’s Careers Service during your contract period and for one year afterwards.
We have a range of specialist services available to support you.
One-to-one careers support
Useful career resources
The Careers Service website contains a wealth of resources on our pages exclusively for researchers, with an extensive range of tips whether you are looking to explore local opportunities, or find ways to boost your employability. Extensive guidance on networking, CVs, applications, interview skills and much more, is also available on www.careers.ox.ac.uk.
It is quite common for researchers at Oxford to experience setbacks, then feel uncertain or anxious about progressing in academia, or indeed more broadly. The Careers Service led a collaboration with PhD students, postdocs and established academics to produce a workbook and five podcasts to help researchers understand what can trigger a sense of academic failure and how to overcome this.
Researchers move on to a wide range of exciting roles within and beyond academia. Get some ideas by browsing our expanding database on research-careers.org to get a flavour of what they enjoy in their new roles and how they made the transition. And if there’s a sector you’d like to explore, get in touch with the team of Oxford researchers running this resource via [email protected].
Workshops and events
Careers workshops and events designed for researchers run throughout the year. These cover career management, exploring your transferable skills and potential options, writing effective CVs and cover letters, and how to shine in an interview. Insight events include discussions with academics plus people who have transitioned from academic research into a variety of sectors.
Sessions take place at the Careers Service and periodically in other University buildings
To see the full range of events and make a booking, go to CareerConnect; if you do not have a CareerConnect account, find out about how to gain access.
The annual careers conference for researchers, Careers Beyond Academia: Options and Pathways for Researchers, offers an excellent opportunity to talk to employers who recruit highly skilled researchers, listen to former researchers speak about the experience of moving beyond academia and brush up your key employability skills.
Bolstering your core employability skills
You will gain many valuable and transferable skills in your role here at Oxford. At the same time, you may want to bolster other skills such as leadership, teamwork or commercial awareness.
The Careers Service runs a bespoke schedule of career development events for Oxford researchers. Researchers are also invited to explore the opportunities available through the Researcher Hub and the Centre for Teaching & Learning.