On 3rd June, SSCR Research Trainee Elsie Ledger and PhD student Ben Vass travelled to York for a Career Development day, joining more than 30 awardees from partner universities and taking part in valuable training delivered by Cappfinity and organised by the national SSCR.
Summary
- On 3rd June, a research trainee and a PhD student went to York for a training event.
- They met other people carrying out research with the School for Social Care Research.
- In the morning, the training covered how to navigate change and take control of your career.
- Attendees enjoyed lunch and networking, learning more about each other's research projects.
- In the afternoon, the training focused on how to engage audiences.
- The day was interactive, and attendees left with skills to help them be resilient in a research setting.
The SSCR Career Development Day was organised by the lead university, York, and held at The Milner, York. The training day started with refreshments and an introduction from SSCR before handing over to training provider Cappfinity.
The morning training session began with Navigating Change. The three levels of change were discussed - strategic, transactional and interpersonal, and awardees were encouraged to reflect on any changes they were experiencing and where these changes might sit.
Cappfinity described the change curve and provided valuable insights into how to move through it, enabling change not only to be managed more effectively but also harnessed. Attendees reflected on the benefits of embracing change, viewing it as an opportunity for growth, improved self-image and new opportunities. Cappfinity also discussed barriers to navigating change successfully, introducing Martin Seligman's Model of Learned Optimism as a practical method for responding more positively to change.
The second session followed smoothly, focusing on becoming your own career activist. This encouraged attendees to reflect on their career journeys to date by creating a career journey map. The exercise highlighted that careers are often not linear and encouraged attendees to consider how they could take greater control of their career development. Cappfinity used the acronym ACT to encourage reflection and provide tools for taking control of career choices: Always learning, Cultivates champions, Takes all opportunities. The training also encouraged attendees to ask themselves key ‘What’ questions such as: What got me to where I am today? What aspects of my job do I find fulfilling? What factors might be holding me back?
Before the final session, attendees enjoyed lunch together, providing an opportunity to network and learn more about each other's research. The final session explored engaging audiences, looking in depth at presence, delivery and content. Cappfinity explained that audience engagement happens not only during presentations but also in day-to-day interactions such as meetings, workshops and lectures. The pressure-performance curve was used to demonstrate how some pressure can positively influence performance, including during public engagement activities. Attendees were encouraged to adopt positive mindsets towards engaging audiences and were presented with practical tips for effective communication, including authenticity and storytelling.
Attendees were able to put this learning into practice before the end of the day by delivering three-minute pitches to their colleagues, helping them to craft and communicate effective messages.
Overall, the day equipped awardees with skills to support their career development, providing many opportunities to put learning into practice and connect with fellow awardees.
