BOOST: Career Development for Researchers
BOOST: Career Development for You
Welcome to BOOST, OD&PL's programme to support the career development of our research community. BOOST offers workshops, resources and discussions to equip you with the skills and confidence to take control of your career.
See you in a session soon! If you have any questions about the BOOST Programme, email [email protected].
Who is BOOST for?
BOOST has a range of opportunities. Some are targeted to particular audiences or career stages, for example PGRs and research staff, and other sessions are available to all staff at Leeds.
What topics does BOOST cover?
Our programme contains workshops such as:
- Writing Your CV
- Narrative CV Drop-In
- Career Options
- Preparing for a Job Interview
- Using LinkedIn to Increase Your Visibility
- Sharing Your Achievements with CAR Stories
- Imposter Mindset
- Job Hunting Beyond Academia
Scroll further down this page to find out about upcoming workshops.
Do I have to attend every session?
No - BOOST is a 'pick and mix' programme, meaning you can attend as many or as few sessions as you like.
You may wish to attend just one, or you may want to schedule in multiple sessions over the year. It's up to you!
What if I’m not interested in an academic career?
That’s not a problem! Our sessions enable you to develop your skills, confidence and preparedness for any career, academic or otherwise.
Programme for 2025/26
Sessions are usually available to book ~2 months in advance. We regularly update this page so check back occasionally to avoid missing out.
We operate a 'Sign Up, Show Up' policy. Before you book, please check you can make the dates and times as some sessions have limited availability.
If you book a place on a workshop and need to cancel, please email [email protected] to allow us to reallocate your place to someone on the waiting list.
July 2026
Assessing Your Career Options
7 July | 10-11:30am | Online
Thinking about your next career steps, but not sure where to begin? This 90-minute session will offer you an opportunity to kickstart your job search, by helping you to consider the options available to you.
In this workshop, you will:
- Recognise the diversity of career pathways available to ECRs within and beyond academia, including roles, sectors, and potential trajectories.
- Develop strategies for exploring and researching career options, including how to gather meaningful information about unfamiliar sectors and roles.
- Use tools and frameworks (including AI-assisted methods) to structure career exploration and support informed decision-making.
Using LinkedIn to Increase Your Visibility
8 July | 11am-12:30pm | Online
LinkedIn is a professional network with over 750 Million users worldwide (2021). Whatever your career direction, you want to have a strong LinkedIn profile that stands out to your target audience, whether that is academics, employers, recruiters, university alumni or your peers. They all come onto LinkedIn to connect, learn, raise their visibility – and often, to find people they can recruit or recommend.
In this session, we will focus on building a comprehensive, attractive, well-written profile that showcases what you offer and provide evidence of your accomplishments.
Please ensure you are already signed up to LinkedIn before the session and that you have at least a basic profile, as we will not have time to do this during the workshop.
Book your place on Using LinkedInUpcoming Workshops
BOOST runs throughout the academic year, from September to July.
Workshops are usually made available for booking 2-3 months in advance.
Self-Guided Resources
Short on time? Want a quick refresher? Check out some of our self-guided resources below: