We offer advice from our team, from external coaches, and we put you in touch with people who can provide information about their own career paths in an informal conversation!
1) Advice in the PostDoc office:
We provide advice in personal meetings, via email and by telephone/ video call. Inquiries are, of course, treated confidentially. If necessary, we will refer you to relevant experts within and outside the university. Examples for how a personal consultation can be useful:
- Taking stock of your own career portfolio & planning next steps
- Effectively designing job search & application processes
- Developing strategies to create a supportive environment (i.e. mentors, communication with superiors, teamwork)
- Gaining confidence in new professional roles (i.e. leadership role, independent researcher)
- Financing one's own research
- Time management, compatibility of career & personal well-being
- Networking with key people & targeted information provision
- ...and much more!
2) External Coaching:
The PostDoc Office offers a limited contingent of sessions with professional coaches (up to two sessions per person). Possible areas where coaching can help:
- professional development,
- strategic career planning,
- negotiations,
- job applications,
- drawing professional boundaries,
- overcoming challenges or conflicts,
- working on leadership and team style,
- resilience/well-being.
If you are interested in any of these topics, you can apply via postdoc@uni-graz.at. If budget is available, we will confirm your spot, send you a list of coaches, and you can schedule the appointment on your own. We do not share information about researchers who use coaching with third parties. After coaching, we will send you a brief satisfaction questionnaire to ensure that we are providing quality services on an ongoing basis.
3) Connecting you to professionals for an informal chat about their own careers:
Over the years, we’ve built a network of experienced individuals in research-related leadership roles, in research positions outside the university, and with really exciting jobs which suit a person with a research background. Upon request, we make this contact list available to our University of Graz postdocs. It‘s a curated list of selected people, and like a good library it can provide information from a great diversity of disciplines and fields. You can browse these professionals‘ profiles and we can facilitate contact with one of them. All of the professionals on the list are happy to have an informal chat with you about their career path, their daily work life, success strategies, networking tips, and more.