Career Development Tools
Where do I want to go? Where do my strengths lie and which skills do I bring? These questions and many more can be answered in our coaching sessions, as well as by working through our IDP workbook. Our offerings will give you a highly structured approach to your career transition with the help of professional coaches, who will focus on your individual situation. However, we also believe that there are many other additional valuable resources out there, that can help you answer these questions. We have compiled a list of online resources in the categories shown below.
NPA Core Competencies
Description of skills and checklist for post-doctoral researchers pursuing an academic career
Rate your current level of development in each of the six NPA Core Competencies. These competencies are meant to serve as a basis for self-evaluation and for developing training opportunities that can be evaluated by mentors, institutions, and other advisors.
16 Personalities
Web-based self-assessment tool
Learn about your personality with this testing model that incorporates advances in psychometric research, combining time-tested concepts such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) and Big Five personality traits with accurate testing techniques.
Discover why you do things the way you do, what drives, inspires, and worries you, and learn about different personality types. Deep dive to understand your personality traits regarding job preferences, career values, motivation, etc.
VIA Inventory of Strength
Online version of a self-assessment of character strengths tool
Identify your profile of character strengths with the VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS), a scientific psychological assessment measure developed by researchers in the field of Positive Psychology.
The tool identifies the top 5 character strengths that you draw the most energy from, that represent you from your personal best – and that you may want to focus and build on.
HIGH5 Strengths Test
Online test assessing your top 5 strengths, useful when preparing for job interviews
Discover your unique strengths profile. Being aware of your top strengths will help you focus on strengths instead of weaknesses, apply them on a regular basis, derive potential careers from them and communicate them during a job application phase.
Online Career Platform
This learning platform based in Austria derives from US-American slang meaning: “What do you do?”. Its goal is to support young professionals in their career orientation with currently over 6.200 Video-Stories of professionals from diverse fields and hierarchy levels. The strengths- and interest tests offered include job-matching too.
InterSECT Job Simulations (JobSims) is an online platform that allows Junior Scientists, regardless of professional stage, to explore future career options. The platform allows true-to-life job simulation exercises. They contain background and directions to complete tasks related to the career of interest.
You can begin with a one-hour exercise and continue with more in-depth exercises. This tool can serve as a mini-internship, although it obviously cannot provide first-hand contact with people and the overall culture of a company or branch.
Discover Careers beyond Academia
EURAXESS online guide on careers in sectors outside of academia. The guide is addressed to early-stage researchers and includes sections on sector information, jobs & competencies, career planning and career stories.
The UK's biggest website for graduate careers. Description of a variety of roles arranged by sector for browsing.
E-books
An e-book targeted at those considering or at an early stage of an academic career.
This e-book helps you explore your options outside of academia and identify your transferable skills.
E-book targeting PhDs wishing to transition into industry.
Top 20 Industry Positions for PhDs
This e-book helps you explore options outside of academia. Direct download
Booklets by Science Careers (Science Journal AAAS)
A series of booklets (PDF) by highly qualified individuals, covering the basics and more advanced matters around pursuing a career in science.
2018 Career Handbook
Booklet: "From Undergrad to Postdoc"
Booklet: "Career Trends: Industry or Academia: Where do I fit in?"
Booklet: "Career Trends: Careers Away from the Bench"
Booklet: "Finding Your Personal Job Chemistry"
Career Profiles
With its online platform "Berufenet", the German Unemployment Agency (Deutsche Arbeitsagentur) offers you in-depth portraits of multiple careers. You can start your search by professional fields, fields of activity, your study subject or by an alphabetic search. The platform is in German language only.
Career Profiles by Research Careers
A collection of profiles of people who made the transition from research into a non-academic job.
Career Testimonials
The editors of this website consist of volunteer PhD students and research staff working in partnership with the University of Oxford’s Careers Service. They source career profiles from a range of fascinating sectors written by researchers with backgrounds spanning the humanities, social sciences, physical and life sciences. Profiles can be sorted by degree, sector and when the person left academia.
Podcast
This podcast explores the bridge between industry and academia to understand how basic scientific findings take shape in products and strategies. They also follow the career paths of researchers who are both within academia and outside.
Articles
Guide on how to prepare for academic job interviews, including sample academic interview questions and hints to interview presentations.
How to write a cover letter in 2021
A comprehensive guide on how to write a contemporary cover letter, drawing on aspects such as storytelling and visuality. Contains practical graphics on the structure of a cover letter.
How to convert a CV into a resume
A curriculum vitae (CV) offers a complete career history whereas a resume, in contrast, offers an annotated and abridged career summary. A CV works well in academic settings worldwide and is the standard application document for non-academic jobs in Germany and many European countries. In the USA, there is a big difference between a resume and a CV: a resume is what would be called a CV in the UK and a CV is used only in academic contexts.
This Nature article explains how to convert a CV into a resume.
Time to Rethink the Scientific CV
This Nature Career feature Article (2022) reviews fresh formats that showcase researchers’ work more effectively.
Webcast
Video resources on Youtube for behavioural interviewing, also sample answers. Big Interview is an online interview training system used by over 600 universities, government agencies and libraries.
How to write a great CV for academia and industry
In this two-part webcast, from Nature’s webinar programme, Sarah Blackford, an academic careers adviser at BioScience Careers, runs through some top techniques for developing a CV and targeting specific job applications, before assessing and giving feedback on some example CVs.
Booklet
Transforming Your CV to a Resume
Booklet by the Center for Career Development at Princeton University including a Worksheet on identifying Key Transferable Skills and Accomplishment Statements, including sample statements & tips on transforming research "jargon" and a list of action verbs. The sample resume would have to be adapted to the German-speaking market.
Video Clip
A narrative CV is defined by the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) as a CV format that provides a structured written description of a person's contributions and achievements that reflects a broad range of relevant skills and experiences, more than can often be seen in a traditional academic CV.
Learn in this Clip What a narrative CV is, why you would write one and how you write one.
Booklets by Science Careers (Science Journal AAAS)
A series of booklets (PDF) by highly qualified individuals, covering the basics and more advanced matters around pursuing a career in science.
Booklet: "Building Relationships"
Booklet: "Transferring Your Skills"
MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are interactive open online courses that offer you a wide range of further education courses held online and designed by Universities worldwide. Courses often can be taken free of charge. Gaining certification through the courses is usually fee-based.
Coursera
EdX
Udemy
FutureLearn
Udacity
LMU MOOCs, Podcasts and more
TUM MOOCs
Podcast
Difference between Mentoring, Coaching, Supervising
In this Nature Podcast you will learn about the tools, roles and techniques that help researchers to reach career goals. You will learn about scientific mentors, how they compare with the support offered by academic supervisors and how in contrast, career coaches can support you in developing career transition skills and more.
Article
Supervising Master students is a great way for PhD researchers and PostDocs to gain leadership skills. This Nature article gives insights into making the best out of the opportunity to supervise Master students.
Teaching as a Skill and a Career
This Science article suggests a range of best-of-articles on teaching. Those articles range from how to develop and improve teaching within academia. There are also articles for those who want to leave research entirely to pursue their love of teaching suggesting ways into full-time school teaching.
Career Fairs & Talks
In addition to the variety of CAREER Talks offered by the Career Center, we have also created a list of German, European and international CAREER Fairs and Talks, which will give you further insight into a diverse range of career paths available to you.
The list below gives you an overview. For further information on each event, please click on the name of the event, to be directed to the respective website.
| Name | Focus |
| Helmholtz Data Science Career Day | Learn about different Data Science career fields and meet Helmholtz employers and partners |
| Master Messe München | Primarily for Master students, but relevant information on further education and Master's programs |
| Jobvector Career Day | Engineers, computer scientists, physicians and natural scientists |
| Chance Messe | Graduates and founders |
| T5 Jobmesse | Natural scientists, engineers, computer scientists |
| Women & Work | Digital career fair for women |
| herCareer | Women in MINT subjects |
| Analytica | Leading career fair for laboratory technology, analytics, biotechnology & analytica |
| IKOM | Recruiting Fair at TU Munich (TUM) |
| BioVaria | Europe's largest showcasing event for life-science technologies |
| MINT Jobtag | MINT career fair in Munich |
| PhD Talent Career Fair | World's biggest career fair for MINT etc. |
| PhD Job Fair | Job fair for young researchers |
| Chemtogether | Job fair for chemistry and pharmacy |
| Research in Germany | Reseachers from all subjects |
| Bonding - Kontaktmesse | Researchers from all subjects, focus on MINT subjects |
| BCF Career Fair | Biosciences, chemistry & food sciences; possibility to meet employers (Belgium, Netherlands) & CV checks |
| Tech Job Fair | For tech and digital professionals (several events per month) |
| Name | Focus |
| DKFZ Career Day | Insights into different career paths in specific fields, with the use of live career talks and webinars. |
| EMBL Career Events | EMBL Career Days & Webinar series provides career talks about different career paths. |
| German Scholar's Organization (GSO) | Insight into paths to professorship, as well as career transitions into industry (mainly German-speaking events), career talks and webinars. |
| HirePhD | Series on alternative career paths (career talks) |
| MedComms | Networking and dialogue among pharmaceutical industry and medical communications, focussing on specialist medical education, medical communications and medical publishing activities. Several events each month (webinars). |
| Young Entrepreneurs in Science (YES) | Workshops help you discover the potential of your PhD and explore your entrepreneurial spirit. |
| When Science Speaks | Podcast for scientists, engineers, and technical professionals featuring career talks |
| Wissens-Handeln? | Wie können sich Wissenschaftler*innen jenseits akademischer Diskurse gesellschaftlich engagieren und in öffentliche Debatten oder politische Entscheidungsprozesse einbringen? Podcastreihe der Arbeitsgruppe „Engagierte Wissenschaft“ der Jungen Akademie. |
| Working Scientist | The Nature Careers podcast with a strong focus on supporting early career researchers working in academia and other sectors. |
| PhD Career Stories | A podcast where PhDs share stories, successes and failures of their career development after completing their doctorate. |
| Papa PhD | Podcast exploring career and life balance for academics and graduate researchers. |
| Hopkins Biotech Podcast |
John Hopkins University Podcast. Featuring life science career opportunities in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, consulting, venture capital, and other private sector industries. |
| Beyond the Lab | Vanderbilt University Podcast. Interviews with biomedical science PhD and postdoctoral alumni about their career paths. |
| Careers in your Ears | King's College London Podcast. The Careers Podcast for PhD Students and Research Staff at King's College London. |
| Datacast | A Podcast follows the career journeys of founders, operators, and investors in the data and AI infrastructure space. |
| herCAREER voice | Diverse perspectives about the social, political and scientific aspects that define our workplaces and especially female career planning. |
| The Cancer Researcher Podcast | Insights into the inspiring and often challenging world of being a cancer researcher. |
| This scicomX podcast aims to empower scientists, universities, and research organizations to share more science on social media. To do so, the podcast creates episodes with experts in the field of social media and science communication. |
Career Search Engines
There are many job search engines available out there, the sheer quantity of which can be overwhelming. To give you a place to start, we have collected some search engines that we find useful for young scientists. The search engines are not limited to the German market but also give you an overview of the European and international markets.
| CAREER Search Engine | Country |
| Academic Positions | international |
| academics | mainly Germany |
| Access Science Jobs | Discover jobs in science, technology and engineering, mainly UK |
| EU Careers | European Union |
| Euraxess Researchers in Motion | mainly Europe |
| Euroscience Jobs | Postdoc positions in Europe |
| Faculty Vacancies | international, mainly science positions |
| Glassdoor | international |
| indeed | international (available in 60 countries, google "indeed" for your specific country) |
| jobvector | Germany |
| international | |
| Nature Careers | international, science positions |
| Pharmajobs | Germany, positions in pharma, biotech, medicine, chemistry & physics |
| Postdoc Jobs | mainly USA, postdoc positions in science |
| Researchgate | international, science positions |
| STEM Careers | mainly UK, but also other European countries |
| Jobbörse | mainly Germany |
Trainee Programs in Pharma
For those members of the target groups, who are looking for a career transition from academia to pharma, we have compiled a list of trainee programs offered by variety of known pharma companies.
| Company | Duration of Training Program | Further Remarks |
| AbbVie | 24 months, starting Oct. 1st | |
| Bayer | 24 months | International future leadership program for engineers, pharmacists and natural scientists. Information on application deadlines can be found on the website. |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 24 - 36 months |
Biopharmaceuticals Management Trainee Program (Biberach & Vienna) |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb | 18 - 24 mon | Training program for both medical or marketing & sales trainees |
| GSK | 24 - 36 months |
Applications start in March every year, with diverse Future Leaders Programs:
|
| Johnson & Johnson | 24 months |
|
| Lilly Pharma | 24 months | Diverse Traineeprogramms:
|
| Merck | 24 months |
Join the GoGlobal or Functional Graduate Program
|
| Novartis | 18 - 36 months, depending on training program |
Available Early Talent training programs:
|
| Octapharma Biopharmaceuticals GmbH | 12 - 18 months, starting in Sept./Oct. each year | |
| Roche | approx. 24 months |
Diverse training programs:
|
| Sandoz | 19 months |
The Sandoz Talent Excellence Program is an accelerated, 19 month leadership development program where trainees work through three six-month rotations in Quality Assurance, Production, Development, Engineering and Operational Excellence, at different Sandoz sites globally. Two tracks available: Natural Science & Engineering |
| Sanofi-Aventis | 24 months |
Diverse trainee programs with different starting dates:
|
| Wacker | 18 months |
The 18-month trainee program is designed to identify and develop talent. It takes into account your qualifications and strengths as well as the skills required for future tasks. Your individual training is rounded out with specific expert and interdisciplinary advanced training courses from the WACKER training program comprising a variety of seminars on professional, management, personality and social skills. The trainee program is oriented toward graduates with excellent grades in engineering or natural sciences, ideally complemented with an MBA or doctorate. We are looking for candidates in the following (or related) fields:
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