What can the Careers Service do for me?
As a member of the University of Cambridge’s research staff (including some partner institutes), you can access careers support to guide you in all available options, including continuing in your academic research.
The bespoke support offered through the Careers Services is confidential and impartial.
Our offerings include:
- Interactive live workshops (virtual and in-person) and online resources designed to meet the core career needs of postdocs;
- Panel events and networking opportunities, including sector-specific festivals which include information and events;
- Careers fairs and direct access to employers through our careers portal Handshake;
- Tailored CV guide for PhDs and postdocs with examples of academic and non-academic CVs, and cover letters and an academic application toolkit with examples of statements guides to writing narrative CVs;
- Individual 1-to-1 guidance appointments covering guidance for career exploration, application reviews including CVs, cover letters, research statements/proposals etc. and interview preparation for academic and other roles.
How do I interact with the Careers Service?
In order to book 1-1 appointments, workshops and events, postdocs need to register on Handshake. Handshake is a career development platform where you can access the Careers Service at the University of Cambridge and develop your career and network.
Postdocs will need to complete this form in order to sign up to Handshake.
Note that when you are invited to complete your profile please do so as this is when you will be asked to answer a series of important questions, such as your career interests and privacy, communication and profile preferences.
Please also note if you set your profile to Private, you will still be able to access the careers support offered at Cambridge and apply for jobs advertised on the platform, however you won't be contacted directly by employers or be able to interact with other students/alumni.
Who is a Researcher?
On the Careers Service webpages, you may come across the term “researcher”. The community of researchers at Cambridge come under many job titles. In these webpages designed to provide bespoke careers support, you will see the term “researcher” used to refer to anyone in a fixed-term research-driven position. For further details, please see our eligibility statement.
