'I would 100% recommend engagement with Prosper. It’s a unique development offering which speaks to postdocs who want to explore the full range of opportunities open to them within and beyond academia – a voice which can quite often find itself diminished across most universities.' – Dr Alex James (Physical and Environmental Sciences and Engineering)

'Prosper was an eye-opening journey for me. It changed my perception of academia, and I now actively seek out research projects that encompass both innovation and impact. I was very fortunate to be a part of it, and look forward to the future with confidence.' – Dr Ashley Gluchowski (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

'Prosper has been an amazing journey full of self-discovery and development opportunities – it allowed me to re-evaluate where I was and re-imagine my future. The team were supportive and engaging, the sessions and resources incredibly informative.' – Dr Dominic Chiwenga (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences)

'Before Prosper, career development always felt like this massive thing that was too broad to know where to start.' – Dr Marieke van der Zande (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences)

'Prosper helped me realise that I’m more qualified, skilled and competent than I previously gave myself credit for' – Dr Modupeh Betts (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘Prosper’s resources have been very helpful. I know what to do, I know how to increase my competitiveness and I've made a few applications.’ – Dr Innocent Asiimwe (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘My time with Prosper was very enriching; it has definitely broadened my horizons. Being relatively new to academia and recently ex-business, I’m still considering the possibilities open to me both within and outside academia. However, thanks in part to Prosper, I’m more attuned to possible future sideways moves into research roles in the commercial world – the Law Commission is an organisation of particular interest.’ – Dr Caroline Redhead (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences)

‘I just wasn’t aware of all the kinds of research settings that exist outside of academia – places where you can still do research, learn new scientific skills, even publish papers. It was only via Prosper, and the way it encourages you to talk to people in different organisations, that I came to appreciate the landscape. I realised that while I want to be a researcher, I would much prefer to do research in a non-academic environment.’ – Dr Revathy Krishnamurthi (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘I started to be much more selective when pursuing new opportunities, with a particular eye for transferable skills. Prosper helped me become more mindful of both my own priorities as well as those of the employers I was considering.’ – Dr Anthony Evans (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘Prosper really helped me understand the extent to which persistence is the key to success – get in contact with recruiters on LinkedIn, be bold about what you apply for, keep going until you find the role that matches both your essential and desirable criteria.’ – Dr Priyanka Raina (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘I strongly recommend informational interviews if people are still learning about different areas. Everyone I've emailed has either not replied (fine, probably just busy), or has been friendly, generous and happy to talk candidly. I'm naturally a rather shy and socially anxious person, but I have discovered that pushing myself to email and meet people has been entirely worth it. I started with my existing network of friends - which was easy - and have moved out to acquaintances and strangers — which is still very doable!’ – Dr Cai Wingfield (Physical and Environmental Sciences and Engineering)

‘I continue to treat technical, communication, and interpersonal skills as equally important in my science and software-focused role: something I often forgot before engaging with Prosper.’ – Dr David Ashmore (Physical and Environmental Sciences and Engineering)

‘I realised through Prosper that my skillset was unique to me and that I could highlight what I’m good at to stand out in a sea of applications’ – Dr Erin McCloskey (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘I have many skills that I did not realise [before the Prosper cohort] (e.g. ability to negotiate, making and keeping work relationships and collaborations, enthusiasm for what I do)’ – Dr Laura Bozicevic (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘I used the [Prosper] skills audit and create an excel file for skills using the STAR method. I then had an interview for a job where I could use my STAR spreadsheet to help answer questions. I got the job!’ – Dr Rebecca Jensen (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘One key takeaway [from Prosper] has been the importance of expanding and nurturing a professional network. For instance, I’ve become more active on platforms like LinkedIn, which has been incredibly useful for staying connected, visible, and engaged with developments in the field.’ – Dr Rosa Morra (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘Networking is a ‘learned’ skill. [Before the Prosper cohort] I used to feel you must have been born an extrovert to be able to connect with people in professional settings. But I have learned there is actually a lot of preparation involved that can help you make the first contact and start conversations’ – Dr Alzbeta Chabronova (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘What stood out to me was the sessions on networking. They provided me with new opportunities and helped me to feel more connected to the broader academic community.’ – Dr Ali Ehsan (Physical and Environmental Sciences and Engineering)

‘The resources Prosper offered were extremely engaging and helpful – one year on I felt much more confident about my ability to pursue opportunities beyond academia, and develop my career independently. It demystified a lot of the processes that were previously quite alien to me.’ – Dr Marcos del Cueto (Physical and Environmental Sciences and Engineering)

‘At the beginning of the pilot, I was feeling quite lost in terms of career direction. I had just started my first Postdoc and felt that I had been following the academic career path by default. I found the group coaching sessions so valuable for gaining direction on how to move forward. I am about to start a new role as Project Manager of a Clinical Trial and now have the tools to inform my future career direction.’ – Dr Lorna Ginnell (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences)

‘The only thing outside of academia that I was aware of before joining Prosper was industry. I didn’t think of anything else. I was either going to do the same job in academia or go to industry and work there -possibly in management. Prosper showed me that there are many more opportunities. I actually did end up applying for Civil Service jobs and have since started my new role as a Senior Scientific Advisor.’ – Dr Lenka Stejskal (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘Prosper made me really think through my priorities on a deep level – what is it I want out of my career? What drives me? What makes me go home feeling good, and what fills me with enthusiasm to get up and go in the morning?’ – Dr Devon Crouch (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘The journaling and reflecting were the most useful parts of Prosper for me. I learned about what I really value in a career, and that I need to follow my values.’ – Dr Briony Banks (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences)

‘Reflecting on transferable skills made me realise how my academic career could make me a good candidate for a wide range of academic and non-academic positions’ – Dr James Charles (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘The information in Prosper’s career clusters helped me to find a lot of individual industries I didn’t know existed within the life sciences space.’ – Dr Alejandra Zarate-Potes (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘I found the Prosper Explore resources really really useful. What became obvious is that I'm very much wedded to more public sector work – charity work. And that’s probably where my interest lies and where I come from.’ – Dr Lynsey Warwick-Giles (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘The career clusters were tools that basically gave me more information and opened my mind to some stuff outside of academia...Another thing that I got from looking at the clusters and through the career coaching sessions as well, is the fact that I may be a biologist and work on cancer, but that nothing is forever. In the sense that talking to other people and the coaches, I've seen how it’s possible to switch from one area to another. Simply because you have that specific skill which you can apply to other areas.’ – Dr Erminia Romano (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘The Act resources gave me a much better understanding of how to prepare my CV – not just for jobs in industry but for academic positions as well. In academia we’re used to listing out all our skills and papers and so on in chronological order – but the net result, even in academia where this is culturally normal, is that your skills get lost in the noise.’ – Dr Efthymios Gavriil (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘The Act resources and sessions have been fantastic. I think the CV side has really helped because the last time I wrote a CV was so long ago and it was academia-based. This has really allowed me to focus on how I need my CV look if I'm heading out of academia.’ – Dr Anzy Miller (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘The sessions on transferable skills and resume building were particularly useful, speaking as an arts and humanities postdoc. We in the humanities tend to do more social stuff like organising a conference, organising a colloquium, or editing a book. Our resumes are also way too long. So, I think those things are very helpful’ – Dr Esmerelda Bon (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences)

‘Because we are a close-knit cohort, particularly with the coaching groups, we have created a strong, supportive environment where I can be truly honest with my colleagues. Being around a lot of people who are uncertain really helps you deal with uncertainty. I’m now far more comfortable with the unknown, which is important.’ – Dr Christina Picken (Physical and Environmental Sciences and Engineering)

‘Prosper allowed me to see that others were feeling and having similar thoughts to me.’ – Dr Patricia Pacios Centeno (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)

‘Members of my Prosper cohort were a good sounding board for thoughts and feelings - professional or otherwise - and I'm glad to have spent the time that I did with them. It helped me become more open to talking with peers about career prospects - especially asking for other people's opinions on careers.’ – Dr Ryan Hunt (Physical and Environmental Sciences and Engineering)

‘[Prosper] was great. Such opportunities help me develop – or re-discover – a bit of confidence. When I’m working or focused on getting the next contract there can be a bit of tunnel-vision – I’m in my own little world, and it’s very competitive. Programmes like Prosper help me see outside of that bubble. It reminds me that I do have many useful skills and that there’s a market for these elsewhere too.’ – Dr Paras Naik (Physical and Environmental Sciences and Engineering)

‘I don’t think that I’d have had the confidence to interview for my current role if it hadn’t been for Prosper.’ – Dr Catherine Hayer (Physical and Environmental Sciences and Engineering)

‘I felt very supported by Prosper – it was like I was building myself up again from scratch. It gave me back the confidence I’d lost. I was able to find more time to do the things that I enjoy and in doing so felt happier and more motivated to tackle career issues.’ – Dr Zohra Butt (Biomedical and Biological Sciences)