Job market orientation
After obtaining their PhD, most of our graduates find a new position outside the University, for instance in the private sector or a civil society organisation. As you will not necessarily continue your career within the academic world, it is important to start thinking in good time about what you would like to do after completing your PhD.
We advise you to already start thinking about your further career in the third year of your PhD programme. Important steps you can take:
- Visit the Career Platform for self-reflection and personality tests, online courses, tips and testimonials of alumni.
- Then visit a career coach. Together you work on the results of the exercises and tests. In one to three individual sessions, the coach helps you turn the acquired insights into a concrete action plan.
Postdoc
If you dream of an academic career after your PhD, a postdoc job is often the logical next step. But a career in academia is not a given for everyone, so it is important that you start thinking about what you want to do after your PhD in good time. The career advisers and the Career Platform can help you with this.
Postdocs receive a temporary contract, often as part of a specific project. Every year, hundreds of researchers apply for postdoc positions at Leiden University.
Fellowships
Some faculties offer the opportunity of a research fellowship to talented researchers with a PhD who wish to become more specialised. This enables you to conduct academic research at a high level within a research programme.
Career Service for PhD
Are you curious about your career in the near future? What are your possibilities inside or out of the academia? How would you promote yourself on the labour market?
PhD candidates and postdocs have a temporary appointment at the university. Many of them continue their careers elsewhere afterwards. The chances of finding a new job are very good, but you need to be well prepared in advance. PhD candidates and postdocs can avail themselves of career coaching free of charge. This involves a combination of individual meetings, access to the online Career Platform and various training courses.
The career coaches from the HRM Learning & Development department will be happy to answer any questions you may have.