sophia donaldson, ucl careers - agcas

AGCAS Annual Conference 2019

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Dealing with the emotional side of career thinking: lessons from a researcher workshop

Sophia Donaldson, UCL Careers


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Touchy-feely icebreaker exercise part 1

• Think of a time when someone asked you for advice about a situation they weren’t actually emotionally ready to address.


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• Think of a time when someone asked you for advice about a situation they weren’t actually emotionally ready to address.

• Now draw how you felt when trying to help them/how you think you might feel.

• DON’T worry about your artistic talent! You can draw words or ‘sounds’ if you would prefer.


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• In pairs, share:

• What was the situation you were thinking of? What were the emotions you felt?

(You can refer to your drawing and what it represents if it helps).


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happyoverjoyedcheerfulbuoyantmerryproudsatisfiedcontentmellowrelievedserenelight-heartedgladgratefulecstaticsafepleasedtriumphant

saddepresseddismayeddisappointedgloomydeflatedashamedguiltylosthelplesspowerlessgrief-strickendejectedusedhumiliatedpainedlonelyabandoned

excitedpanickyunsettledsurprisedanxiouscurioussuspiciousfrustrateddeterminedtenaciousafraidterrifiedapprehensiveself-righteousvindicatedinsecureuselessrestless

angryfurioustetchyannoyedirritatedaggrievedjealousvicioushostilevengefulcheatedrejecteddefiantresentfulpeevedchurlishinsecureimpatient

downcastconfusedbemusedwoefulcrusheddefeatedpathetictrappedcold-bloodedsullenhaughtymischievousridiculoussillyfoolishamusedboredbashful

Put a name on it


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You are not alone


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The situation

• The UCL Careers Researcher Program offers workshops on analysing skills and preferences, exploring options, and marketing oneself to non-academic employers

• Many researchers attend workshops and ask for practical one-to-one advice, but are unable to progress because of emotional barriers

• We decided to dedicate a workshop to exploring and overcoming these emotional barriers


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The pilot

• We wanted something…

…which showed researchers they’re not alone

…that recognised the issue

…practical

…evidence/theory based

…researchers would actually show up to!

• We consulted UCL Psychological Services throughout and ran a pilot in Summer 2018


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Title: Why does it have to feel this way? Exploring the emotional side of changing career

New title: Managing your career change emotions


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Emotional Intelligence: Implications for Personal, Social, Academic, and Workplace SuccessMarc A. Brackett*, Susan E. Rivers, and Peter Salovey. Social and Personality Psychology Compass 5/1 (2011): 88–103.

Research/evidence-based


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Cognitive behavioural theory

Thoughts

BehaviourFeelings


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Touchy-feeling drawing feelings exercise


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League of European Research Universities (LERU) - UK figures


#AGCASAC19Posted by Dr Sarah Blackford, 2018


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Case studies

I was relieved because I knew research wasn’t for me. But everyone I knew was a scientist, so I also felt lonely. And lost. If I wasn’t a scientist, who

was I?

University sector

I felt disappointed my research hadn’t turned up anything earth-shattering,

and disappointed academia wasn’t what I’d

hoped it would be – I’d been wrong. I also felt afraid I’d get it wrong

again, that anything else I tried would be even

worse.

Pharma

I felt guilty and ashamed, like I’d let people down. Maybe I hadn’t

exactly failed – but I clearly hadn’t been good enough to make it in

academia.

Charity sector


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Thoughts

BehaviourFeelings

How might the feelings you identified influence your behaviour?


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Thoughts

BehaviourFeelings


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Thoughts

BehaviourFeelings


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Kubler-Ross and Change


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“I took post-doc roles after my PhD because it felt like the path-of-least-resistance,

and they were interesting roles and the pay was ok. I was relieved when I finally

made the decision to leave academia because I knew research wasn’t for me. But

everyone I knew was a scientist, so I also felt lonely. And lost. If I wasn’t a

scientist, who was I? I found it difficult to speak to people about my decision to

leave because some of them (usually inside academia) clearly didn’t understand

it.

In order to increase my awareness of my options I attended workshops and

events where I met PhDs who wanted to leave academia, or who’d already left. As

a bi-product, this made me feel less lonely. Once I started a new role, I met lots of

new people with the same interests and motivations as me, so then it got even

better. I also worked out who made me feel good about the move, and who (albeit

unintentionally) made me feel bad. For a while, I proactively spent more time

around the former, until I’d built enough confidence about my new direction. Now

no one can make me feel bad about it.”

Case studies – methods and hope!


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Outcome• Added to our regular programme – run once a

term in 2018-2019

• 6, 11, 13 attendees (< other workshops –marketing still not perfect?)

• 100% positive feedback• Realising not alone

• CBC exercise and changing attitude

• Case studies - seeing there is hope and approaches to tackling these emotional barriers

• For next year: highlight coping mechanisms more explicitly, create online version…anything else?

• The same workshop structure can apply to anyone – “Managing Job Hunting Emotions”?


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Thoughts

BehaviourFeelings


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Discussion

• Do you and/or your service explicitly tackle career exploration/change emotions? How?

• Is there anything (more) you could incorporate into your practice/service to do this?


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Thanks!Questions or comments?

sophia donaldson, ucl careers - agcas

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