Following the broad theme of ‘Managing yourself as a researcher’, the event will start by introducing concepts and tools for strategic career planning. The aim is to help the recruits gain clarity over their career motivators (applying the concept of ‘Career Anchors’) and broad career directions aligning with them. The tools and strategies introduced in this session are meant to inform the ongoing conversations RITMO participants have with their local career mentors.
The second part of the event will centre on time management with practical strategies that can be adopted straight away to optimise individual working habits. This session will introduce principles and aids to prioritising tasks, managing interruptions and building good time management habits that suit individual preferences and strengths.
Learning outcomes
Establish principles, build awareness and provide tools for participants to develop strategies for taking charge of their own career planning and time management. The interactive format of the event ensures that participants leave the session with practical aids and tactics to adopt that suit their own working styles and circumstances.
Format
The workshop will be designed for RITMO PhD candidates and postdocs. Using the Zoom platform the event will contain short presentations alternating with individual exercises and small group discussions via virtual break-out rooms, made possible by the Zoom platform. In preparation for the workshop, registered participants will be asked to complete a short survey on their career aspirations and current time management challenges.
The Zoom link will be sent to all participants in advance.
Speaker
The workshop is held by Dr Kerstin Fritsches, Founder and Head Coach of PostdocTraining.
Preliminary Program
Session 1 - How to take charge of your career direction
09.00-10.30
Establishing clarity about your career direction is a key ingredient for developing your skills and planning your success. In this introduction to strategic career planning you will identify your career motivators as well as learn tools and strategies for maintaining a clear picture of your career direction, whatever your current work circumstances.
Session 2 - How to manage your time as an early career researcher
10.30-12.00
To succeed long term in a highly competitive environment, it is essential that early career researchers manage their time effectively. These disciplines and practices need to be robust enough to cater for changes in circumstances and location as the ongoing pandemic has shown. In this interactive session we will introduce strategies and tools to improve current working habits, particularly around challenges such as dealing with interruptions, making time for writing and prioritising tasks to optimise your time as a researcher.