Types of Postgraduate Employers

This week's Careers blog post come from LinkHigher and is all about the different types of employer and how they value postgraduate skills.

It is almost impossible to generalise about all of the different types of postgraduate employers because of the simple fact that there is no such thing as a â€˜conventional postgraduateâ€™.

Variations in age, subject areas, work experience, life goals and motivation create an almost infinite number of postgraduate types and that means that the motivations for employing somebody with a Masters or PhD qualification are also massively varied. Perhaps an employer wants somebody with experience using a particular type of instrument; perhaps they want somebody who has worked in academia for a few years; or perhaps they just want somebody who can show they are packing a little extra intellectual muscle.

At LinkHigher we are passionate about the value of postgraduate study to all types of employers. However, if you look at all of the jobs being advertised in large companies that tend to recruit graduates it is actually still quite rare for an employer to demand a Masters or PhD level qualification. Therefore, understanding why an employer has included a postgraduate qualification as an application requirement OR more importantly why they arenâ€™t demanding a postgraduate qualification can help you tailor your application.

Based on our research there are essentially 2 basic types of employers.

- Those that value postgraduate degrees and the extra skills and experience they bring.
- Those that donâ€™t place a specific value on postgraduate degrees.

The first category can also be subdivided further into those that value specific skills and those that value general skills. So letâ€™s consider each in turn.

1. Specific Skill Seekers
Specific skill seekers do what the name suggests. When these employers offer a research or management related vacancy in a specific discipline, such as a physical sciences or business, they are looking for people who have a Masters or PhD in specific subject areas. For example, if a pharmaceutical company advertises a vacancy to join their Medical Scienceâ€™s R&D team, then a taught Masters in Sociology is unlikely to be appropriate for the job.

When applying to these types of vacancies, the higher your academic credentials and the more tailored to the vacancy they are, the greater your chances of success will be. For example, in a research job a PhD will outrank a Research Masters which will outrank a taught Masters. Whilst for a business role, an MBA will usually come out top of the list.

2. General Skill Seekers
General skill seekers are aware that postgraduate level study provides you with an array of additional transferable skills which they value. Therefore, a postgraduate applicant to a specific job who has suitable experience would be considered favourably compared to a first degree graduate.

For example, letâ€™s consider a pharmaceutical company again but this time consider a job in their sales team. Whilst having a postgraduate qualification in a related science discipline would be an advantage, experience working in a sales environment and demonstrable interpersonal skills will probably be more important than the degree you have.

Being able to highlight your problem solving, project management and independent working skills in addition to your additional qualifications should give you a good chance of being considered.

3. Those that donâ€™t value postgraduate abilities
Some graduate employers are very open about the fact that they only recruit graduates into a graduate scheme and that direct hiring into more senior roles will only take place for people with years of work experience behind them. In many cases they will tell you that it doesnâ€™t matter what level of qualification you have, you will be considered equally.

Many of the companies that have been involved in research with LinkHigher expressed this opinion about their own graduate schemes and said they found it difficult to take on postgraduates because they couldnâ€™t offer a specific programme, or guarantee that they would advance more rapidly within the company at the end of the graduate scheme. It wasnâ€™t the case that they didnâ€™t think postgraduate study was useful or developed transferable skills, it was simply the case that they couldnâ€™t offer any career advancement based on having a postgraduate degree. These companies also said that postgraduates on the scheme might find it difficult working with people who could be a lot younger than them.

However, if you are comfortable entering a scheme like this and are fully aware and happy with the remuneration and career path you are entering into, there is no reason you should not apply. These companies are always looking for extra intellectual muscle and want to employ the brightest brains they possibly can.

Conclusion
If you want to stay working in your chosen subject but move outside of academia then you have to find Specific Skill Seekers. If youâ€™ve decided to move away from your specific subject into a more strategic or management role then a General Skill Seeker may be for you. Alternatively, if you want to take your first steps on a corporate career path then you may find yourself in a graduate scheme. As long as the types of employer you apply to fits with your own career goals you are probably making a good choice.