One of the key facets employers seek in potential new employees is resilience. Indeed, resilience is right up there with the key soft skills that make an individual employable. Stuff happens, things go wrong. What matters is how people deal with the stuff that goes wrong, and see a project through. Whatever your views on […]
Postgraduate Researcher Careers
Scoping Failure
This week a colleague returned from a conference with some interesting feedback on the conversations she had been involved in around the purpose of a PhD and the views held by various stakeholders. One of the sessions reflected on the views held within Universities of those who completed a PhD and then went on to […]
Is it really Social Media?
One day this week I sat in a coffee shop with a friend. Two men of a certain age, we discussed the phenomena of social media with wonder. Whether it be the urge to live tweet from professional events or putting one’s ‘life’ on Facebook, we marvelled at the instant turnaround of information and the […]
Reflection: So easy to say, yet so hard to do……
Across a wide range of professional areas reflection is seen as a key skill. It is a key element of the Kolb Learning Cycle, that good old staple of many management and professional development programs. Reflection is seen as essential in order for the professional to evolve, develop, learn and move on in their career […]
Equalities should be Equal
Ok, so I have to prefix the first paragraph by saying I do not watch reality TV. However, I cannot help but be aware of an incident in the recent run of “Celebrity Big Brother” where a female contestant accused a male contestant of having punched her. Apparently, part of her explanation of events to […]
Looking Forward – Looking Back
In the now dated ‘Western’ movie ‘Paint your Wagon’, Lee Marvin ‘sings’ (talks) his way through the song ‘I was born under a wandering star’. The song includes the classic line ‘I’ve never seen a sight that didn’t look better looking back’. Of course, how much better would it be if we got the optimum […]
When you’re working, you’re working.
This morning I read a very interesting article titled “Time to call time on out of hours email?” Whilst this article could be easily categorised as just another treatise on work-life balance and the contemporary tendency to work long hours, its impact on me was driven by one sentence: “in 2015 people in the UK […]
Graduation
So, this is the week when all of the hard work, by so many students is rewarded with the award of degree certificates. Proud parents, siblings and partners watch on as graduands receive their degrees, whilst draped in regalia that most will never wear again. In a blaze of colour Bachelors, Masters and PhD degrees […]
What others think of us is none of our business
This morning I learned that someone from my childhood in another country has died. It is sad above all else for his family and friends, of whom I believe he had many. It is also sad for those who were his fans, who enjoyed the music he produced. Oh yes, did I forget to mention, […]
Looking down the road.
A couple of years ago we used to deliver a PhD Induction program called Personal and Professional Development Planning. Within this I would use an Advanced Driver Training model to demonstrate the benefits of looking down the road to observe what is ahead and anticipate what might unfold, leading to decisions about the most appropriate […]
Recent Comments