Career development for researchers
Systematic and focused career management is becoming increasingly important for both researchers and their employers. It should enable the research institutions to fully use the potential of their human resources and researchers to identify and grasp the number of different opportunities that labour market offers for their careers.
The set of questions which currently need to be answered by the career management process is broad. Researchers should “know why” (values, attitudes, internal needs, identity, and life style); “know how” (career competencies: skills, expertise, capabilities; tacit and explicit knowledge); and “know whom” (networking, relationships, how to find the right people) but also “know what” (opportunities, threats, and requirements), “know where” (entering, training and advancing), and “know when” (timing of choices and activities). Phrase “intelligent careers” has therefore been suggested to manifest the elements necessitated for effective career management on the individual side [1].
On the other hand research organisations face the challenge of how to guide researchers through this process and what can they do in order to enable individual careers and train researchers to become creative, critical and autonomous intellectual risk takers.
Offering both researchers and their employers tools and assistance in the set up of career management process is therefore a critical task. EURAXESS network should overtake an important role in this in the foreseeable future and become the reference point in career development for mobile and non-mobile researchers alike. The network members will be expected to transform into career development centres with the ability to provide personalised services.
To find out more about the researchers careers development in European Research Area visit the Policy Library of the European EURAXESS portal here >>.
[1] See Baruch, Y. (2004) Transforming careers: from linear to multidirectional career path. In International Journal of Career management. Vol. 9 (1).
Last modified: 2015-06-12