Top 3 Ways to Gain Skills for Non-academic Settings

Once you complete your PhD, you will be muddled with a question whether to join the academia or an industry. You may find the academia more boring than industries, but it has its own advantages such as you can research, you can teach, you can choose your boss, and there is less certainty than the non-academic world. However, industries provide you with an opportunity of earning higher money, and you will have dynamic work. If you want to work in an industry, you need the right personality, leadership qualities, interpersonal skills, and the like. With know-how, you can be easily approved by a non-academic setting.

For all an impressive resume and cover letter, you need to focus on the value that you can add to the company, or you should show you are perfect for the position you applied. Do not swank about what you did in your thesis because recruiters do not give a toss to what you did during your research. They are more interested to know about your transferable skills that enable you apt for a job.

Here are the solutions to gain transferable skills for non-academic jobs

Join industry training courses

Lack of formal industry training is one of the main reasons why recruiters hesitate to hire PhD scholars for non-academic jobs. You can vanquish this hurdle by taking business training courses. Look out for business courses at your university and join them.

Gain industry experience

Gain some industry experience to show your eligibility for an industry job. There are various consulting firms that can give you freelance work. Develop unique skills that you can offer to a company.

Take internships

There are a number of companies and universities that offer apprenticeship programmes. Attend these internship programmes pertaining to your career that you want to pursue after your PhD.

PhD does not guarantee that you will get a job in an industry. What recruiters are looking for is transferable skills, a quality that adds value to a company. Are you a team player? Do you have strong communication skills? Do you have decision-making power?