Identifying your skills as a researcher

Reflect on the transferable skills you have developed as an early career researcher.

As a researcher, you will have developed extensive knowledge and expertise in research governance, organisation and management. You will also have gained subject-specific expertise and possibly skills in financial management, applying for funding and the allocation of resources. However, it is easy to lose sight of the many transferable skills you have acquired through your research career so far. Transferable skills can be developed in one role or sector and applied to almost all others. It’s essential to recognise how and where you have developed these skills throughout your career so far, as they can help you to make your next career move.

The importance of transferable skills

Transferable skills are highly sought after by employers as they tend to reflect your levels of professionalism and career readiness, including how you work with others, manage conflict and organise your own workload.

The World Economic Forum has outlined the top 10 skills needed for the modern world of work:

Top 10 Employment Skills

(World Economic Forum, 2023)

1

Analytical thinking

2

Creative thinking

3

Resilience, flexibility and agility

4

Motivation and self-awareness

5

Curiosity and lifelong learning

6

Technological literacy

7

Dependability and attention to detail

8

Empathy and active listening

9

Leadership and social influence

10

Quality control

Type of skill:

Cognitive skills | Self-efficacy | Technology skills | Working with others | Management skills

Note: The skills judged to be of greatest importance to workers at the time of the survey.

Cognitive skills top the list for 2023. Image adapted from World Economic Forum, 2023.

You can read more about the skills graduate employers look for and the graduate labour market on Student Futures+.

Your transferable skills as a researcher

The skills you have developed as a researcher extend far beyond research skills and subject expertise. In fact, through completion of a research degree and your work as an early career researcher, you have fine-tuned many of the top skills needed in the global economy.

Vitae have developed a Researcher Development Framework  to help researchers identify the broad range of knowledge, attributes and behaviours they have acquired.

Whether you’re looking for your first academic role, looking to progress in your research career or see how your skills can be applied to a different sector, we recommend using Vitae’s extensive resources designed to help you get the most out of the Researcher Development Framework.