Université de Neuchâtel · Graduate Campus · Developing your career

Graduate Campus

Developing your career

The doctoral and postdoctoral phases are far more than a research experience—it’s a pivotal time to shape and prepare one’s professional future

In a context marked by a saturated academic job market and career uncertainty, it is essential to start thinking about your professional path early on—whether within academia or beyond.

The Graduate Campus complements the support provided by the institution and supervisors by offering concrete resources and tools to help early-career researchers explore potential career opportunities, clarify their goals, identify both existing and required skills, and gradually build a career plan aligned with their aspirations.

To support this goal, the Graduate Campus offers:

  • Career development workshops and events
  • Skills self-assessment questionnaire
  • Individual consultations
  • Mentoring programs (for postdoctoral researchers)

Thematic workshops and events are organized throughout the year to explore various aspects of professional development. They provide practical tools and foster interactive exchanges to support meaningful progress.

Workshop and activities

The Graduate Campus provides a structured Skills self-assessment questionnaire to support doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in reflecting on their professional development.

This tool can be helpful in:

  • Better understanding yourself,
  • Evaluating both academic and transferable skills,
  • Identifying strengths and areas for growth, and engage in a critical and constructive reflection on your career path.
  • Serving as a basis for discussion with a reference person (such as a supervisor, mentor, or Graduate Campus responsible) to co-develop an individual development plan.

Repeated at different stages of your journey, the questionnaire allows you to track your progress and adjust your career plan accordingly.

Skills self-assessement questionnaire

Each doctoral or postdoctoral researcher can benefit from personalized guidance through individual consultation sessions.

These meetings provide an opportunity to reflect on one’s career path, identify short- and medium-term goals, and define concrete steps to move forward.

Conditions

These sessions are available upon motivated request and are reserved for individuals who:

  • have already participated in at least one career development workshop organized by the Graduate Campus
  • have completed the Graduate Campus skills self-assessment questionnaire.

This preliminary step ensures a structured personal reflection, forming the basis for more targeted and effective support.

 

Workshop and activities
Skills self-assessement questionnaire

Mentoring programs offer the opportunity to connect with experienced researchers and alumni who share their professional insights.

Mentoring provides a complementary framework to academic supervision, offering impartial and personalized guidance. By pairing postdoctoral researchers with mentors—either faculty members or external professionals—ideally from the start of their journey, the program supports skill development, confidence-building, professional identity, and openness to careers beyond academia.

These privileged exchanges offer practical advice, help expand professional networks, and open new career perspectives.

Mentoring program Graduate Campus
Mentoring Network for Women in Romandy

Testimonials from UniNE doctoral and postdoctoral researchers (coming soon)
Testimonials from doctoral and postdoctoral researchers outside UniNE

Online resources to further accompany you in your career development reflection

Guides

 

To explore further, you can draw inspiration from existing reference skills assessment frameworks:

Preparing for life after your PhD or postdoc means anticipating career choices—whether academic or non-academic.

Job searching involves both advertised positions and networking. Think LinkedIn, keep your profile up to date, and stay active.

To support you, here is a selection of useful websites for exploring opportunities in academia and other professional sectors.

Academic opportunities

International

Europe

USA

Other professional sectors opportunities (in Switzerland)