Holly Prescott's Avatar

Holly Prescott

@holby83.bsky.social

Researcher careers and development devotee. Helping PhD and postdoc researchers make career transitions, especially beyond academia. Trainer and PhD careers blogger at: https://phd-careers.co.uk Living with #AZOOR 👁

341 Followers  |  569 Following  |  20 Posts  |  Joined: 08.12.2024  |  1.8507

Latest posts by holby83.bsky.social on Bluesky

Preview
Keep, lose, add: a checklist for plotting your next career move in science Julie Gould learns of a career-planning framework that can help pinpoint what you love about your current role, and how that can influence future job moves.

I’ve never been fond of the phrase ‘career planning.’ I spoke to Julie Gould for @natureportfolio.nature.com Nature Careers Podcast about why this is, including the ‘keep/ lose/add’ framework I use to help researchers with their next steps:

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

29.10.2025 19:08 — 👍 7    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
From PhD to Consulting: An Insider’s Guide - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog ‘The key is that you are not selling your subject knowledge, you’re selling your methodology.’ – Pierbruno Ricci, author of From Science to Consulting Whenever I talk to PhD researchers one-on-one abo...

New blog post on moving from PhD to consulting!

⭐ An overview of the day-to-day work
⭐ Example projects to give an idea of the type of tasks
⭐ What consulting employers look for in PhDs
⭐ The imposter feelings that can come with getting to grips in a new industry

phd-careers.co.uk/2025/09/01/f...

01.09.2025 19:52 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Claiming Your Space in Academia: Practical Tips for the Academic Job Market In this in-depth post, Holly Prescott, the PGR Careers Advisor from Careers Network, shares practical advice from the PGR Careers in Academia webinar series earlier this summer, offering strategies…

If you’re determined to continue the academic research or teaching that you believe in, is there anything you can do to increase your chances of tapping into opportunities to do so? Here are key takeaways from our webinar series looking at just this:

uobpgrdevelopment.wordpress.com/2025/08/18/c...

18.08.2025 19:55 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Post image

Ok folks, that’s the last bit (the acknowledgements) of full draft DONE to submit in August!

‘Navigating Careers Beyond Academia: A Practical Handbook for Doctoral & Postdoctoral Researchers’ - coming in 2026, published by Routledge! 🥳

04.07.2025 12:03 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
S12: E5 Reframing Your Academic Story | Job Titles, LinkedIn, and the Power of Spin Careers in Your Ears · Episode

*NEW PODCAST EPISODE*

Chuffed to be interviewed for Careers in your Ears podcast about all things job hunting post-PhD!

Want to know what butter and avocados have to do with convincing employers of your skills? Take a listen! 👇

open.spotify.com/episode/2vll...

23.06.2025 20:16 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
What does 'industry' mean if you're a humanities PhD? - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog ‘Society needs more, not fewer, people […] who can read, critique, and synthesise complex and competing arguments.’ – Katina L. Rogers, Putting the Humanities PhD to Work When I was coming towards the...

*What does ‘industry’ mean for humanities PhDs?*

Academia to ‘industry’ chat has grown a lot recently…but just doesn’t resonate with many from the humanities.

So here’s my attempt at mapping what ‘industry’ might mean if you’re coming from the humanities:

phd-careers.co.uk/2025/05/19/w...

19.05.2025 19:20 — 👍 6    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
BP Academy Webinar Recording: Life beyond your PhD: Navigating your next career steps
YouTube video by BrainProductsGmbH BP Academy Webinar Recording: Life beyond your PhD: Navigating your next career steps

If you missed our ‘Life Beyond Your PhD’ panel Q&A last week with Brain Products, catch up here! We talk managing the job search alongside your PhD, finding employers who value a PhD, tips for pursuing postdocs, and more…

youtube.com/watch?v=y6om...

07.05.2025 18:55 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Registration for new Brain Products Academy webinar Registration is open for the next Brain Products Academy webinar: Life beyond your PhD: Navigating your next career steps

*Free post-PhD careers webinar open to all*

Got questions about careers and next steps post-PhD? Want some solidarity and to feel less alone in the process? Join us for a free webinar chat on 29th April, 2 time slots available!

www.brainproducts.com/registration...

21.04.2025 09:30 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Registration for new Brain Products Academy webinar Registration is open for the next Brain Products Academy webinar: Life beyond your PhD: Navigating your next career steps

*Free webinar open to all*

Got questions about careers and next steps post-PhD? Join us for a free webinar chat on 29th April, two choices of time slot available!

www.brainproducts.com/registration...

15.03.2025 13:58 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
'What if I hate life beyond academia?' When the move doesn't go to plan - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog I’ve never been much of a fan of romantic comedies. I mean, even before spending 8 years as a humanities student analysing and deconstructing narrative tropes and gender stereotypes (!), I never bough...

*NEW POST* what if your post-PhD career move doesn’t go to plan?

Remember:

⭐ You are not alone

⭐ You are not to blame for things outside of your control

⭐ Many 'success stories' are more nuanced than they may appear

Thank you, Tabujong, for sharing your story.

phd-careers.co.uk/2025/03/03/w...

03.03.2025 12:35 — 👍 3    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

I’ve been a fan of @researchadjacent.bsky.social podcast for ages now, so it was brill to be interviewed by Sarah for this episode!

We chat managing work with health conditions, careers that span both academia and beyond, magic wands… and more! 🪄

28.01.2025 10:59 — 👍 6    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
Post image

My PhD looked at how liminal (eg underground & abandoned) spaces in literature affect protagonists’ identities. Several novels I’ve read recently also present the post-PhD phase a liminal space.

It’s not easy, but it’s normal to feel ‘in-between’, and like you don’t know who or what you are yet.

25.01.2025 12:44 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
I have a PhD but don't meet all the requirements for this job. What do I do? - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog ‘How many of the criteria do I need to meet to be considered for a job?’ It’s a question that never goes away. It’s a particular bugbear for researchers looking to move into sectors beyond academia, a...

*NEW PhD CAREERS BLOG POST* What to do when you don't meet some of the job 'requirements?'

I've devised an approach inspired by baking (humour me...) to see how you can substitute out ‘ingredients’ (requirements) for others that do a similar job.

phd-careers.co.uk/2025/01/13/i...

13.01.2025 09:48 — 👍 8    🔁 4    💬 0    📌 0

Hahaha… ooh we’re also ENFJ twins 😂

23.12.2024 20:09 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

This one was analysing my LinkedIn… burrrrn 🔥😂

22.12.2024 15:08 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
Post image

Over on LinkedIn I jumped on the ‘2024 Rewind’ summary bandwagon. For BlueSky, I thought I’d try something different, so here it is… my 2024 ‘Roast.’

Think ‘letting your imposter gremlins write your annual progress review feedback for you.’

But I do LOVE a semi-colon.

Merry Christmas! 😂

22.12.2024 11:37 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
Preview
Understanding employers beyond academia: tips for PhDs - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog How to identify 'PhD-friendly' employers, and manage conversations with those less likely to understand the value of a PhD.

*THROWBACK POST* In July, my colleague Alice & I looked into:

✅ How to identify employers who value PhDs

✅ How to convince employers who aren’t specifically looking for PhDs

✅ Managing conversations with employers who don’t fully ‘get’ PhDs

Find our tips here 👇

phd-careers.co.uk/2024/07/29/u...

13.12.2024 17:16 — 👍 3    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0

It was great to chat! I love that question, maybe I just want to be Tinkerbell (!) 🧚🏻‍♂️🪄💫

10.12.2024 12:46 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Had a lovely time today talking to Sarah McKlusky at @researchadjacent.bsky.social for her Research Adjacent podcast! Episode drops late Jan/ early Feb. Features me having a rant about the trying to dismantle the misleading dichotomy that you either ‘stay in’ or ‘totally leave’ academia. Yay.

09.12.2024 19:25 — 👍 7    🔁 0    💬 2    📌 0
Preview
Repackage your PhD: How to pitch your skills to any employer - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog I remember the day when weekends away with friends would begin by comparing the new outfits we’d each bought for the holiday. Now we’re into our 40s, it seems that comparing new threads has been repla...

*LATEST POST* How can you ‘repackage’ your PhD experience to appeal to employers or audiences with different interests and needs? That’s the focus of this post, to help you develop the perfect pitch (with practical examples): phd-careers.co.uk/2024/10/28/r...

08.12.2024 21:59 — 👍 8    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0

@holby83 is following 20 prominent accounts