We are happy to announce our next GAUSS Career Service workshop “Career Development Strategies: From Deciding What’s Next to Getting Hired” by Dr. Alexander Britz.

Are you currently working as Postdoc or finalizing your PhD? Do you plan to transition to your next position in or outside of academia, but feel unprepared for the job hunt? In this highly interactive workshop, you will get a comprehensive set of career development strategies which will help you master this process. You will learn to decide what your next career step should be and how to be effective in the application process including compiling a convincing application and mastering the job interview.

Dates: Monday and Tuesday, 1-2 December 2025
Duration: 2 full days, 9-17h
Location: in-person on North campus
Trainer: Dr. Alexander Britz

Registration: Please register here and send an email to career@gauss.uni-goettingen.de including a short statement on your motivation to attend the workshop.

Workshop description:

The workshop begins with a self-guided introspection, where participants assess their personal values, interests, and learning objectives. You will also identify your unique strengths, skills, and personality traits. Using this information, you will set short- and long-term career goals, which are then implemented into a comprehensive career development plan.  

We discuss efficient job searching strategies including effective self-presentation and networking. Further, we gather the characteristics of a convincing motivation or cover letter as well as of a CV and how to align these with our career aspirations. You will implement these into your application documents and use the power of peer-to-peer feedback to optimize further.

Building on the introspection, we will train general presentation skills to sell yourself in a job interview. We will further discuss what to expect from job interviews in general and compile a list of dos and don’ts. You will learn how to prepare to answer standard and non-standard questions and we will practice easy-to-use storytelling techniques for these situations. Furthermore, we will discuss how you can ask adequate questions yourself. You will practice these newly acquired skills in a simulated job interview in breakout sessions.

The specific topics and learning objectives of the workshop are:

• Self-Assessment: You will identify your strengths, values, interests, skills, and personality traits.
• Career Planning: You will learn how to set achievable short- and long-term goals and integrate them in a career development plan.
• Job Searching Skills: You will learn effective job search strategies, including networking and self-presentation.
• Application Documents: You will master crafting compelling CVs and cover letters.
• Job Interview Preparation: You will familiarize yourself with a structured preparation for your job interview.
• Self-Presentation Skills: You will train storytelling to present yourself in job interviews and deal with questions.

Testimonials by former participants:

“Alex is a knowledgeable, motivating, skilled coach. The exercises were extremely helpful. I
feel much better prepared for hiring processes in the future.”

“I got all the answers to my questions regarding job search. Now I feel more confident. I
acquired a system of practical exercises to help me and peers whom I can ask for advice or
opinion.”

“It’s a really great workshop that helped me figure out what I exactly need to do to start
looking for and applying for jobs.”