2014/04/25
by Katrin Wodzicki
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Introduction of Workshop Trainer Gudrun Henne

Dr. Gudrun Henne works as a consultant for change management and executive coach since 2005 when she set up her company “Viveka International” with an office at the “Gendarmenmarkt” in Berlin. As a lawyer with a PhD in International Law and a former researcher, she knows the context of science and scientific institutions very well. As a certified trainer in Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), a systemic organizational consultant and a Master Coach by the European Coaching Association and with her long experience in working with people she offers a broad spectrums of methods. Trainings with her are not only instructive but also great fun.

2014/04/24
by Katrin Wodzicki
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Career Fair “Praxisbörse” in Göttingen, 3-4 June 2014

Do you consider a career outside Academia? Do you not have the time to travel to a career fair? Here is your chance: On 3-4 June 2014, the next Praxisbörse takes place in Göttingen. The Praxisbörse allows you to get in contact with potential employers and to get information about several career issues. On Tuesday, 3 June 2014, potential employers and other organizations will present at the NordCampus in the building of the Faculty of Physics.

The accompanying program includes, among others, (German) talks about

“Arbeitgeber EU – Einstieg und Perspektiven” (Guido Kemmerling, Leiter Personalpolitik und Dienstrecht in der EU, Auswärtiges Amt),
“Do’s and Don’ts bei Bewerbungen” (Daniela Müller, HR Service Partner, Sartorius Corporate Administration GmbH), and
“Arbeiten im internationalen Umfeld” (Claudia Bölter, Leiterin Öffentlichkeitsarbeit, KWS Saat AG).

2014/04/17
by Katrin Wodzicki
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Women&Work 2014 – Trade Fair for Women – 24 May 2014

Do not miss the Women&Work 2014 on 24 May in Bonn. The Women&Work trade fair is free of charge. However, registration is necessary for specific offers such as the BITKOM speedmentoring. Have look on the website to find out about exhibiting companies and further offers. An overview is moreover given by Melanie Vogel, initiator of the event, in a webinar on 19 May, 18-19 o’clock.

2014/04/15
by Katrin Wodzicki
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Several Online Career Resources

First of all, the Career Handbook 2014 of the Science Career Magazine is available. Moreover, thanks to the Neuroscience Newsletter of our International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences, I recently became aware of the tipsheets and multimedia resources (inculding webinars) of the Columbia University Center for Career Education. The tipsheets and webinars include a lot of career-related topics such as cover letter and CV writing, the job search process and networking at career fairs or on LinkedIn.

2014/04/15
by Katrin Wodzicki
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Get some insights in founding: The HAWK StartUp FOVEA shares its experience

If you are interested in founding your own business or just curious about what it means to be entrepreneur, the following event of the HAWK might be informative.

Experience report of the HAWK StartUp FOVEA

Date: Monday, 5 May 2014, 17:30 o’clock

Place: HAWK, Fakultät N, Von-Ossietzky-Str. 99, 37085 Göttingen

More information is available here.

2014/04/10
by Katrin Wodzicki
1 Comment

Diversity Of Career Opportunities For PhDs: Career Planning As A Creative Process

I suggest avoiding the question about staying or leaving academia. Successful careers are possible inside and outside academia. However, being successful in your career requires finding the career that fits best to your individual skills, interests and values. I’m convinced that people are most successful

in jobs they are best qualified for,
with tasks they enjoy to do (which are not necessarily the task for which they are best qualified), and
with goals and working environments which fit best to what is important for them to be productive.

This involves also private issues such as family duties or private engagement. Career planning is an integral part of life planning!

I recommend seeing the career planning process as a creative process: Puzzle your skills, interests and values to create a picture of your future career. You could use MyIDP for an analytic process. Or you write, paint and visualize yourself on a huge piece of paper. Here already is no limit to your creativity!

I recently found a presentation which highlights the many careers PhDs created based on their skills, interests and values. So the presentation is not about the careers for life science PhDs outside academia that usually come to one’s mind, such as quality manager or patent attorney – which are of course equivalent options. The presentation, however, aims at stimulating your creativity about future careers to broaden your perception of options.

Who if not highly qualified PhDs have the choice to become whatever they aim at? If you have a favor for a specific task or aim at improving something, look for jobs to do it! Make informational interviews such as the one with the science writer Viviane Callier. Then make the most out of your current position to succeed in your desired career!

Of course, we career counselors also have to increase the knowledge about the diverse career paths of PhDs – and I will do my best on that account. However, there are such a lot of opportunities and, in the end, it is up to you to choose and strive for a specific career.

If you need support in this process, do not hesitate to contact and make an appointment with me!

Further readings about career options:

2014/04/09
by Katrin Wodzicki
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Workshop “Job hunting and application skills”, 15-16 May 2014

PLEASE NOTE that this workshop is already fully booked. The next workshop of this kind is planned for 24-25 November 2014. If needed earlier, the trainer could arrange an additional workshop on 12-13 June 2014. Please write me, if you would be interested in a workshop in June!

We are happy to announce the next workshop on “Job hunting and application skills: How to apply with a PhD degree”.

Date: Thursday, 15 May 2014, 12:00-17:00 & Friday, 16 May 2014, 10:00-17:00
Place: European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen (ENI), Grisebachstr. 5, room 0.055
Duration: 1,5 days

Goal:
The workshop deals with how to write a professional application. Participants will learn about the requirements according to form and content of CVs and the respective differences between academia and companies. They will reflect about how to convey their strengths and motivation in response to a job advertisement, but also how to make use of speculative applications. Moreover, participants will train their self-presentation in the job hunting process, including self-presentation on career fairs, conferences, and interviews. The workshop will include a couple of training sessions, partly accompanied with video recording for a follow-up analysis.

Registration:
If you would like to take part in the workshop, write me an e-mail (ggnb-career@gwdg.de). The e-mail should include a motivational statement (Why do you want to take part in the workshop and why right now?). Subsequent to the workshop, it is possible to get a CV check from the trainer.

More information about the trainer Barbara Hoffbauer is available here.
A retrospective view on the first workshop of this kind is available here.

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