The Inclusive Research Network is a public LinkedIn group, designed to connect prospective and current postgraduate researchers, alongside addressing some of the barriers that ethnically minoritised students face in postgraduate research. The network ran an online panel event called ‘Navigating Job Applications with Confidence’ on the 28th October, 2025. It was co-hosted by Haddi Malik and Bashra Mahamed, and included insights from Dr Rodrigo Campos. Below, Haddi and Bashra share their reflections and experiences co-organising and co-hosting the panel.
Why did we apply to co-host and organise this event?
Navigating job applications both inside and outside of academia has been a challenge, especially for racialised postgraduate researchers. We found solidarity, space and community in our peer groups and networks. When we read the initial call out to plan this peer-led event, we wanted to share authentic perspectives from postgraduate researchers for postgraduate researchers about how to navigate the often scary and daunting academic job market.
We resonated with this call-out, because racialised postgraduate researchers often feel like imposters, undeserving or unqualified for opportunity and career progression. We aimed to help develop the skills needed to build strong job applications and CVs
Key questions we went into designing the event included:
- Who am I as a scholar?
- What are my skills and strengths?
- How do I position myself?
- And, what is my philosophy regarding teaching and student development?
Lastly, we talked about the reality of reflecting on jobs outside of academia e.g. NGOs.
Creating Navigating Job Applications with Confidence
To create the event, Bashra and I, collaborated with Dr Rodrigo Campos, a Lecturer in the Department of International Development at King’s. Rodrigo finished his PhD in 2024 and reflected on his personal lived experience navigating the academic job market post-PhD.
We also worked closely with Ade Omitowoju and Dr Asha Akram, who work in Workstream 3 of YCEDE. Ade and Asha gave us creative control over the design and structure of the event. They provided us with extensive advice and resources which included signposting dedicated resources for racialised postgraduate students navigating the academic job market e.g. mock interviews and designing CVs.
Working with Bashra was fantastic! We come from different disciplinary backgrounds which facilitated different yet complementary reflections when coming up with an event structure. We wanted this workshop to be practical and engaging, encouraging attendees to share insights and develop the skills necessary to identify job opportunities and how to apply to them.
When Ade highlighted that there were over 30 sign-ups, I was a little nervous, but it was fantastic to see such great engagement with the event. Rodrigo gave an insight that many of us face the ‘grey space’ where PhD funding finishes and the job hunt begins. Rodrigo’s honesty facilitated a candid refreshing discussion to highlight personal lived experience.
Final Thoughts
We had an enjoyable time designing and co-hosting this event discussion. This event also allows us to develop our event-management skills whilst also reflecting on our personal career trajectories. This highlights the importance of the work that the Inclusive Research Network conducts to empower racialised postgraduate researchers to navigate their careers with confidence.