Ifan is a social scientist working on a modern slavery research project. Ifan reflected on his current and previous research roles and identified that meaningful work, helping others, and having an impact were his top three role-based values.

He also identified that he enjoyed working as part of a team and disliked the independence that came with academic research. Ifan had previously identified that some of his skills included strategic thinking, designing information and coordinating between partner organisations.

Reflecting on his values, Ifan realised that he could have a greater impact improving the lives of others by working on policy or campaigning as part of a charity, rather than his impact being a step-removed within academia. Whilst Ifan enjoyed academic research, he began to feel that his skills could be just as useful in third sector work.

Ifan spent some time researching anti-slavery organisations and roles within them. He read their mission statements and tried to understand their goals and values, comparing them with his own.

Having identified types of organisations and roles that aligned with his values and interests, Ifan examined the skills they looked for and compared them against his own skill set. He identified three key gaps that he wanted to strengthen: project management, pitching information to different stakeholder groups and fundraising.

Ifan met with his PI to discuss these gaps and to see whether there were ways he could address them in his current role. Ifan also began to consider whether this additional experience would be enough, or whether there was other training or experience he could gain around his current role.

He also considered whether a further targeted postdoc position in a relevant subject might give him the experience he needed to get a career that more closely aligned with his true values.