As a postdoctoral researcher, you have a lot of demands on your time and it can be tricky to carve out the time to truly focus on reflecting what you want from your career long term – and also act on those career goals with plenty of time before the end of your contract. I saw the Prosper programme as a way to do this with the bonus of guidance from career professionals with experience in supporting postdocs to pursue many different career pathways, while also meeting and networking with other postdocs from around the region. 

Which aspects of the programme did you find most valuable? 

The reflect part of the programme was particularly interesting to me – many of the activities that we did throughout that day were different to anything I’d done before. It helped me to both challenge some of the pre-existing ideas I had in my head about my career, while also identifying what was really important for me to prioritise in my future career.  

Whilst I was already fairly comfortable with my interview and cv skills, the “act” workshop was incredibly well thought out to also provide the experience of being on the “other side” of an interview/selection panel – when we interviewed and reviewed our peer’s applications. This has provided me with a new way of thinking about how to break down a job description when putting together an application, and what I should keep in mind going into an interview. 

I also found it incredibly rewarding to do all three workshops alongside other postdocs. Even though we were from different universities and disciplines, there was a real sense of community in terms of shared challenges and experiences and a lot of opportunities to learn from each other as well.  

How has participating in the programme influenced your thinking about your future career path? 

I’d previously been rather focused on one career path and timeline, which was quite stressful as there were no guarantees it’d go to plan!

“The programme has helped me both identify multiple pathways towards that goal, as well as allow myself to also seriously consider opportunities beyond that which could lead to equally fulfilling careers.”

I also feel more confident in mapping my existing skill set to a diverse range of opportunities if the need arises.  

Do you feel more confident in your ability to navigate your career? 

Yes, I feel like I’m much more aware of the options available to postdocs. Prosper also gives you a huge range of career tools from reflection to action, so while not all of them will work for everyone, I definitely have a few new tools which I’m confident in using moving forward in my career. 

What are your immediate or longer-term career goals following the completion of Prosper? 

I’m lucky enough to still have over a year left on my current contract, which gives me time to continue to explore my options and gradually start applying for new opportunities. Following Prosper, I’m hoping to balance both my personal goals with career goals in my next step – ideally looking for a more permanent position in my next move.  

While I’m still aiming for an academic career at this stage, I’m also intending to keep an eye out for other interesting opportunities in places I want to live – and I feel ready to start applying for them as they come up! 

What advice would you give to a postdoc who is considering applying for the Prosper programme?  

“Go for it. I’ve attended many different development training sessions over my career, and this is one of the best I’ve done.”

The White Rose team have been fantastic and presented such a wide variety of career-related activities that you’ll be sure to do some things you haven’t done before that can help you think about your career in a new way. By structuring it over three days over three months, it also gives you time to think on what you’ve learnt between sessions, and it’s comforting to know you have a cohort of 23 others going through the same thing along with you! 

Chelsea and her cohort of the Prosper programme.