Key information
Tutor: Dr Anna Seabourne
Duration: 90 minutes x 4 over 8 weeks, with compulsory (about 30 minutes) and optional (up to 3 hours) of activities between the live sessions
Delivery: Live (Online, Zoom)
Audience: Postdocs, Research Fellows
Dates
- Session 1
Fri 24 October 2025
09:30-11:00, Zoom - Session 2
Fri 07 November 2025
09:30-11:00, Zoom - Session 3
Fri 21 November 2025
09:30-11:00, Zoom - Session 4
Fri 05 December 2025
09:30-11:00, Zoom
Are you wondering about what else you could do if you don't go for a further postdoc, fellowship or lectureship? Or have you already started looking elsewhere and want some support? This course is for you if:
- You are a postdoc or fellow whose contract finishes before the end of June 2026
- You have decided that you wish to seek a career beyond academia and/or research, OR
- You want to explore options beyond academia should you decide to leave at some point in the future.
Outline:
Week 1 Session 1: Introductions and your digital profile - live (online, Zoom)
Introductions and overview (course and each other); managing your online presence (including LinkedIn).
Week 2 activities (in your own time) Developing your online presence
Week 3 Session 2: Expanding your options and navigating the live (online, Zoom)
Researching what’s out there; Communities of Practice; experiments in job searching.
Week 4 activities (in your own time) Expanding your network and researching roles
Week 5 Session 3: Recruiters and recruitment - live (online, Zoom)
What recruiters do and how you can use them; recruitment processes in sectors beyond academia.
Week 6 activities (in your own time) Applications and contacting recruiters
Week 7 Session 4: Next steps and further support - live (online, Zoom)
Review and reflection; your next steps; further sources of support; staying in touch.
Week 8 activities and beyond
Keeping in touch and checking in
This course is open to postdocs and fellows with less than 9 months left on their contract.
Aims
- To improve your awareness of your career options and how to succeed in finding your next role
- To develop awareness of your online presence
- To share strategies for finding roles beyond academia
- To introduce how recruiters can help you in your job search
- To provide an overview of further support available
- To capture goals, plans and actions
Objectives
By the end of the course you will:
- Have assessed your digital footprint
- Have started to manage your LinkedIn profile
- Have planned and carried out a career transition experiment
- Have a support network of other people with whom you can share the journey
- Have taken the first steps in finding your future career and know what to do next
How to book
Postdocs whose contract is due to end within nine months will be emailed invitations to complete an Expression of Interest in attending the course.
Further Information
- Pre-Course Work
- Netiquette for online training
- Participant Quotes
- Tools
- Other Resources
- Related Courses
Detailed information on pre-course work will be sent to participants approximately one week before the course. Activities will include:
- Creating at least a basic LinkedIn profile (you can keep it private for now).
- Watching this three minute video about Miro
- It is important that you are fully present and an active participant, to create a safe space for sharing and discussion.
- For some of our online sessions, you will be required to keep your video cameras on. Please ensure prior to attending that you have a fully functioning camera and microphone. If you have any issues with your equipment, please contact us as soon as possible. If you require your camera to be off as a workplace adjustment, please let us know in advance so that we can make the tutor/facilitator aware.
- Please ensure that you are in a private space where you can maintain confidentiality and the privacy of the other participants.
- To maintain confidentiality, all participants are asked to agree to keep what is said within the group, and not record or take screenshots/photos without permission. Pictures or quotes from the session should not be posted on social media or elsewhere without the express permission of those involved.
“Believe in yourself, and go ahead with it as confidence will come along!”
“I want to tell that I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it, it helped me a lot to realise the reality of job market and at the same time help to acknowledge my potential in true sense. I am a fellow here in Imperial College and the one of the purposes of my fellowship is to improve fellow's professional career with the help from the institutional guidance and resources. According to me every future Fellow should take this cours, as it will definitely help to increases the avenues for future endeavours.”
Other resources