PGR Xuan Zhao received a Researcher-led initiative award (RLI) earlier this year. In this blog post she talks about what the project involved and its legacy.
Aims of building a job hunt community
A job hunt is not easy. We can feel isolated, self-doubt and anxious so I decided to build an Academic Job Hunt Community (AJHC) bringing together all the PGR students, early career researchers (ECR) and postdoctoral students across the University of Exeter. This initiative aims to reduce studentsā job-hunting anxiety, improve studentsā well-being, build connections across faculty, improve studentsā career management skills, create a platform to share their triumphs and tribulations during the job search, help students hear job search stories of recent graduates and even help students to seek research collaboration across disciplines.
Series 1: well-being focused activities
Series 1 runs in the form of informal coffee breaks (wellbeing-focused activities) when students can come to enjoy food and drink and talk about the concerns that they have while hunting for a job. Several sessions have been run in St Luke campus BC 03 because there are sofas and desks in this room. Sitting close to each other and enjoying coffee and drink, students are more likely to have a strong sense of community. Students mainly talked about the concerns they have while hunting for a job, including how to overcome interview fear, how to search for a job, etc. Several sessions have also been run in the Creative Quadrant (CQ) on the main campus because there are lots of board games in CQ. Playing board games and enjoying food and drink could ease studentsā job hunt anxiety. I have invited staff to join our informal coffee break. I really appreciate Professor Dongbo Zhang accepting my invitation. Having lots of experience in hunting for a job in several different countries, Professor Zhang has shared his job-hunt stories behind the scenes with us.
Series 2: demystifying job hunt
The AJHC also explores how to be competitive in academic job hunting. External speakers have also been invited to share their recent job-hunting experience. Mengya Zhao, a former PhD student at our Uni and a lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Liverpool, shared her story about finding a job in academia following university. Songyang Li, a recent PhD graduate and lecturer in Rail and Rail engineering at London South Bank University, provided his insights on the job hunt including tailoring your CV, mastering your academic interview, making good use of websites and resources and tips for application.
Long-term impacts
A Padlet has been created where students can share their recent job hunt experience, seek research collaboration across disciplines and gain access to slides on previously invited presenters and useful job-hunting resources. A WhatsApp group has been created to further foster a strong peer network of job hunts across the University of Exeter; if you would like to join, please email Xuan at xz460@exeter.ac.uk. The online resources on Padlet could help future job seekers across the University of Exeter to learn from and connect with recent graduates. The social media group will always be a place for everyone to share triumphs and tribulations. The AJHC will always be a friendly, warm and safe community where everyone can lean on.Ā Ā Ā