This October, we’ve held two events for researchers to explore careers outside academia. Focussing on the consulting and economics, finance, and quantitative analysis industries, we heard from speakers at Accenture, EY-Parthenon, JP Morgan, Deliveroo, and Deloitte, among others. In case you weren’t able to attend, here’s some of the key takeaways we learnt:

Consider your soft skills and achievements

If you’re interested in a role in consultancy or finance, you should consider the soft skills you can bring to that employer. Across the board, speakers mentioned key soft skills crucial to these industries: communication, stakeholder management, cultural sensitivity, professionalism, collaboration, and an ability to challenge and be challenged, and a willingness to learn.

When considering your achievements, one speaker recommended bringing in a friend to help you decide what’s important. They recommended, “Write all of your achievements on a piece of paper – tell a friend. What you think of as your most memorable achievement may not be. You see things from a certain prism, and what you think is outstanding for you may not be outstanding for someone else. Have a third party help you in that part of the recruitment process”.

Use networking to prepare for the interview

You are likely aware that networking can help you land an interview, but don’t count it out once you’ve reached that stage. Networking can also play a critical role in understanding a role and company. A website can tell you generic information, but speaking to someone in that sector, or better yet, at that employer, will give you a huge advantage. Demonstrating your knowledge of the opportunities and constraints of a role can make you stand out amongst a crowd. According to our speakers, in the consulting world, “A recruiter may see 10-20 people in 3 days, you need to stand out”.

Know what to expect

Roles within consultancy can be well-paid, but very busy. As one consultant put it, “It’s not work-life balance, it’s work-life integration.” Although it may be busy, the added “companies value developing you as an individual, as you cannot be a successful consultant without meeting new people and building new relationships”.

In the economics, finance and quantitative analysis world, the hours can vary. If you are client-facing or in a role impacted by financial market changes, you may be looking at ten hour days (or ore). In a background research or economist role, you could expect a more typical work pattern, but this will change depending on your employer.

You can find more workshops and employer-led events through the Autumn Term Researcher’s Careers Calendar.

Kicking off our autumn term of employer events, we welcomed two researcher employers to discuss an important and hard to define area – leadership. So, what skills make up good leadership and what are researcher employers looking for? Mansi Vithlani, Business Unit Director from Dolon Consulting and Matt Tsim, Head of MedTech at Costello Medical, joined our researcher community to share their insights.

Strategic, critical thinking

Whether in an interview or on the job, Matt and Vansi agreed that employers are looking for people with a strong ability to think critically and strategically when solving problems. They shared several ways applicants and employees can demonstrate this – including adapting a structure, identifying key project risks and mitigation strategies, and planning and delivering a longer-term strategy. Matt highlighted critical thinking as the main area he assesses at interview – he seeks to understand the thinking behind the answers.

Emotional intelligence and professionalism

Mansi shared the need for leaders to demonstrate emotional intelligence and professionalism in their roles. In addition to understanding and responding to the needs of a team, this skill is a key part of cultivating strong relationships with colleagues and clients. Employers are looking for people who can manage the complexity of behaviour, strengths, and challenges in others, and use this to build relationships.

Autonomous self-driven working

In a junior role, you will have a manager or senior leader directing and overseeing your work. As a leader, you become the main driver of progress for your team. You will decide what areas to pursue, what holds value, and how you can achieve your goals. While this can be a fun part of a leadership role, it can also be challenging. You will be responsible for setting and achieving targets and creating a balance for yourself and your team within that freedom. Matt recommended developing your vision and strategy by thinking about the key things you aim to achieve in six or twelve months, and working backwards from there.

A leadership position means that you will face a series of challenging situations where you will have to use your skills to manage complex situations. These will come into play when pursuing projects, dealing with team dynamics, and implementing change. As Matt discussed, the complexity can be overwhelming. As a leader, it is your responsibility to guide your own and your team’s efforts to the things that make a difference. In seeking your first role outside of academia, you may not transfer directly into a leadership position. However, these skills are important to remember as your experience puts you in a strong position to take advantage of progression opportunities.

If you’re interested in finding out more about researcher positions in consulting, sign up for our Researchers Careers in Consultancy Panel on the 13th of October.

You can find more workshops and employer-led events through the Autumn Term Researcher’s Careers Calendar.

9^th-12^th March 2020

From the 9^th March we’re hosting a week of daytime and evening events to help you explore careers in the Life Sciences. Here’s a rundown of the week and how it can help you.

What is the Life Science Industry?

The Life Science Industry encompasses anything that aligns with Life Sciences. So a huge range of opportunities fall under this umbrella, including roles in drug development, patenting, marketing, and selling new therapies, or communicating the latest developments in bioscience to policymakers, clinicians, and the public. We’ll kick off the week with a session at 12.30pm on Monday 9th March from CK Science, a science-focused recruitment agency, who will provide an overview of the Life Science Sector, and share the kinds of roles they help companies recruit for, including roles for undergraduates, masters grads, and PhD-holders.

Can I stay in the lab?

Yep! If you’ve enjoyed your laboratory experiences so far, come along to our “Roles in the lab” event at 6-8pm on Tuesday 10^th March to hear from a panel of speakers who’ve built careers in labs within commercial companies and the public/university sector. In all of our panel events, speakers will describe their roles, share their career journeys so far, and offer top tips for progressing in similar careers. There will also be an opportunity to ask your own questions of the panel too.

Can I work with data?

Certainly! If it’s the increasingly large datasets emerging from the lab that interest you, join us at 6.30-8.00pm on Thursday 12^th March for our “Data Science Careers” panel, where speakers from private, government, and university settings will talk about their roles, and offer tips on how to enter the field.

Can I work in the Life Science Sector, but leave the “doing science” bit to someone else?

You sure can! And we have four – yes, four! – events to show you possible ways to do it.

At 6-8pm on Monday 9^th March we have our “Biology and Business” panel, where speakers will share how they use their scientific knowledge in a commercial context. You’ll hear from professionals working across life science consultancy, patent law, biotech investments, and on the business side of big pharmaceutical companies.

At 3-5pm on Wednesday 11^th March we’re hosting a Strategy Consultancy Experiential Case Study Session, where Cambridge Healthcare Research will give you the chance to try out a consulting case study that reflects their daily work, and will be similar to the type of case you’ll face in the consulting application process.

At 6-8pm on Wednesday 11^th March we’re running a “Life Science Communication and Policy Careers” panel, where you can hear from professionals communicating new scientific developments to a range of audiences, including policy makers and the public.

And at 12pm on Thursday 12^th March a representative from the European Medical Writing Association will run an interactive workshop, providing a taste of life as a Medical Writer, and offering tips for improving your writing.

For another look at the full week’s schedule, visit the Careers in the Life Science Industry Week page.

Finance and Consultancy Month… let’s reflect:

As Finance and Consultancy month comes to a close, we are reflecting on what has been an insightful and engaging collection of events. Whilst taking the leap out of academia can seem like a daunting and unfamiliar prospect our alumni and professionals have given us plenty of reassuring and motivational messages throughout the month. The first key area of reflection for this month is therefore on transitioning.

Transitioning out of academia and into a corporate role…How do you deal with any attached stigma?

1. It’s your career path! Everyone takes a different route to find their thing – don’t be afraid to acknowledge that academia may not be for you. Check out our previous blog post on this
2. There is a world of research beyond academia. So many roles within finance and consultancy are research-focused – Check out our post by economist Keith Lai for ideas
3. Your interests can be applied across the sector. Branching out and exploring other options can broaden your horizons, make you more employable and expand the practical reach of your research expertise. Consultancy is a great way to do this, offering your expertise to support businesses to grow.

Moving between academic and non-academic arenas, is it possible?

1. Yes! Many people still contribute to academic papers alongside their roles, if publishing is your passion there are always ways to continue…
2. Some organisations hire for roles with this in mind, creating and publishing research can be part of your job! Check out a previous blog on this
3. Balancing the two may not be your thing. Many finance or consulting roles require strong research, writing and publishing skills – just utilised in a more corporate setting

The best and worst parts of a non-academic career, is it really for me?

1. Stability, consistency and great benefits. The biggest response to this from both our finance and consultancy panels was the increased stability, lack of stress around funding, working more collaborative and less sporadic work schedules.
2. It all depends on what you want… teamwork, deadlines, short projects and managing client needs are central to careers in finance and consultancy, so, if this isn’t for you, it may not be the right career path. Don’t Panic! There are plenty of industries where other skills are more suited. Key an eye on our blog for more case studies.
3. Longer more intense working hours and less autonomy. Despite this, many of our contributors mentioned the increased satisfaction from shorter lead times and a better work-life balance.

So, what does this all mean fo you?

After hearing from professionals working across roles as consultants, economists, data scientists and traders the biggest piece of advice about their industry is to decide if it really is for you. Map out your skills, your interests, what drives you, how you like to work and see if that aligns with a career in the Finance or Consultancy worlds.

For example, in consultancy the key skills required are:
Teamwork, problem-solving, creativity, confidence under pressure and adaptability

Often consultants are working towards:
Fast-paced project delivery
managing a diverse portfolio of clients
and engaging a variety of industries

Roles are more structured and strong commitment is needed:
Core working hours mean more stability but overtime is frequently required to deliver projects
Consultants may work client-side within a given week, so travel is important
Managing projects within cross-organisational teams mean flexibility is key

These are the key aspects to explore before diving into applications. Is this for me? and what kind of working lifestyle do I want? 

Finding an industry where your skills as research are valued and utilised may seem tricky but you can find roles across all sectors and industry. This is where our themed months come in to play, if you’ve decided finance or consultancy organisations are not for you, join us on another themed month and hear more about careers in UK & Global Health, Data Science & Data Analytics, Communications and Research, Government, Policy and Higher Education…. the list continues! Our speakers have come from backgrounds in physics, biology, maths, humanities and more ending up in completely different industry utilising those same core skills they learnt in research.

Come along to our events and find out how your skills are so transferable across the sectors and explore how you could branch out to support an organisation to develop!

Check out our full programme of researcher events on our website today!

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG): PhD, Medics & Post Doc. Careers Event on Thursday 14 May

Thinking about what to do next? Looking for a new opportunity that will challenge and develop you?

If you’re thinking about the options available to you for the next stage of your career, come to our PhD, Medics and Post Doc careers event to find out what management consulting could offer. Our team at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) includes many who have made the transition from academia to consulting, with backgrounds as diverse as medicine, tendon engineering, game theory, 18th Century literature and the history of art.

Sign up to our Connection Event designed especially for PhDs, medics and post-docs where you will be able to find out about BCG, our global opportunities and the application process. Also meet our very own PhDs and medics over drinks/nibbles.

– Date: Thursday 14 May 2015

– Location: Holborn Bars, 138-142 Holborn, London, EC1N 2NQ

– Time: 7.00pm-9.00pm

To attend the Careers Event, please register via the following link – https://talent.bcg.com/Events?folderId=10003800

To find out more about BCG careers for those with advanced degrees, please visit http://adc.bcg.com/. Applications for full-time positions will open in September 2015.

In the lead up to UCL’s Careers in Clinical Research, Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals Forum which will be held on 28th February 2012, here is the first in a series of guest blogs by PhD holders who work at IMS Consulting Group.

I spent just under five fun, happy and, I’d like to think, productive years at UCL working towards my PhD in Neuroscience.  The first of year my PhD was actually a rotation year where I undertook three 3-month projects in labs at UCL, Kings and Imperial, following which I was able to choose where I wanted to spend the next 3-4 years for my main PhD project.  My choice was UCL, for a number of reasons:

Firstly, the campus has a great location in the heart of the city and most importantly it accommodates the majority of UCL’s degree courses on one large and single site. This gives UCL that rare feeling of a real campus university within London and creates a sense of community that is perhaps more associated with universities outside of the capital. Another attraction of UCL is its diversity, both culturally and academically. One day you might find yourself sitting in the Print Room Café alongside a Pharmacology lecturer from St Albans and the next day you’ll be sharing a table with a Law PhD from Greece. During my time at UCL, which was spent mostly in various laboratories and science buildings around the campus, I connected with a number of intellectually curious and academically brilliant people from all over the world with the same ambition to strive for excellence and challenge themselves; this is what makes UCL one of the world’s leading universities, particularly in life sciences.

The things I appreciated the most about UCL are things that equally drew me to IMS Consulting Group: people are proud to work at IMSCG and there is a strong emphasis on teamwork and community. IMSCG has a non-hierarchical structure which means that everyone’s opinion counts. Furthermore, people of all nationalities join the firm from both science and non-science backgrounds but one thing that is certain is that, like at UCL, all are welcome and all are appreciated. This opportunity to network with and work alongside so many great thinkers is something I had wanted to maintain upon leaving academia and thankfully this has been the case at IMSCG.  Our people continually challenge each other to better ourselves, though never to a level that creates competitiveness amongst peers. Because of our intellectual approach to project work, IMSCG continues to be at the forefront of the healthcare industry and is able to make a real impact on issues that our clients face and that will shape the industry for years to come.

Richard D’Mello, IMS Consulting Group

Find out more about life science careers for PhDs and IMS Consulting Group at the Careers in Clinical Research, Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals Forum.
To register for this event see the  PhD Employer Forum – Careers in Clinical Research, Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals page on the Graduate School website.