Symposium:- Making Job Applications

The Doctoral College Employability Symposia

Every year the Doctoral College delivers a two part employability symposia to support the PGR in enhancing their post-doctoral employability skills. The conference provides:

a workshop on researching organisations – this is to help you generate a better understanding of the organisations to whom you are making job applications, which will allow you to make a sharp and informed job application.

the experience of making a mock job application against the actual criteria for post-doctoral posts (Lecture, Post-Doctoral Researcher and an HE Management Post)

a workshop on interviewing for academic posts

the opportunity to experience a mock academic job interview provided by University Senior Managers

detailed interview feedback.

The first part of the employability symposia is on 1st December, 2022.This event runs from 09:30am until 4.30pm Online and will focus on how to write a good personal statement, how to communicate well with good presentation skills and researching the organisation that you want to work for so that you make impact at your interview. An overview of the session is below:

Schedule

9.30 am – 9.40 am Introduction to the Employability Conference

Dr Debra Cureton

9.40 am – 11.00 am Researching an Organisation

Dr Ben Halligan

During this session Ben discusses the types of information that you need to find out about an organisation that you are applying to, and the role that you are applying for.

11.00 am – 11.15 am Screen Break

11.15 am – 11.45 am Making an application for a Visiting Lecturer post

Dr Ben Halligan

In this session Ben offers some advice about good practice when making an application for a Visiting Lecturer post. This will focus on CV and cover letter tips.

11.45 am – 1.00 pm Making an application for an academic job

Naresh Patel

In this session Naresh will provide some tips about how to make a strong application for an academic post. Naresh will also talk about the support that the University offers PGR and ECR when they make job applications

1.00 pm – 2.00 pm Lunch

2.00 pm – 3.30 pm Giving an impactful presentation for a job and other parts of the interview process

Dr Ben Halligan

If you are invited to an interview for an academic job, you will most likely be asked to give a presentation as part of your interview. Moreover, there are likely to be other ways that the organisation assesses you. In this workshop, Ben will cover what you need to know about giving impactful job presentations, as well as cover the other ways that an organisation may decide whether you are the right person for the job

3.30 pm – 4.30 pm Your presence and how to present yourself

Dr Debra Cureton

In this presentation, Debra will discuss how to present yourself for an interview, including timekeeping, dress and how to act on the day, how to manage imposter syndrome and how to manage stress.

4.30 pm Close.

After 2nd December 2022 those who would like to take up the opportunity of a mock job interview, will be invited to make an application for a range of posts. Interviews are to be booked with Debra Cureton ( d.cureton@wlv.ac.uk ). Please note that a completed application is necessary for an interview to take place.

Further support on developing a CV, writing cover letters and completing job applications is offered by appointment from Naresh Patel in Careers (N.Patel9@wlv.ac.uk).