hei_TRACKS Statements by participants

“The coaching has given me the encouragement to focus on my career planning and to reflect on which path I want to take. Ms Scheer has encouraged me to explore all the options I can think of and actively explore the black boxes. In particular, she helped me to feel my way through the different career paths. I would like to thank Ms Scheer very much for the pleasant and positive atmosphere throughout the coaching.”

„Dr. Scheer’s Career Coaching has been very helpful, inspirational and interactive - including short take-home exercises, well-structured and reflexive one-on-one conversations and various creative learning techniques for online and offline spaces. It was remarkable how much could be achieved in one single session of 90 minutes. Through the coaching process over three months, I could talk about and - in fact - solve many of my career-related concerns, questions and anxieties. Dr Sheer’s mindful, un-intrusive and highly professional conduct created a supportive and relaxed atmosphere - which catered to individual needs and encouraged proactive thinking outside the box. I am very grateful to Dr. Sheer. and would strongly recommend her coaching to other early career researchers and beyond.”

„The career coaching at Heidelberg University was very helpful after my years as a doctoral student and postdoc, as it gave me the ideal opportunity to prepare for my next career steps outside the university. The coaching helped to prepare me for my new role in science management, as we uncovered potential sources of conflict together and worked out possible solutions."

„The career coaching with Ms. Scheer was a great experience for me. In the application-oriented part, she showed me perspectives in project and time management as well as in more efficient communication. In the part dedicated to personality work, she gave me the opportunity to reflect on my motivations, goals, strengths and weaknesses and to develop constructive strategies. During the sessions, there was an atmosphere of security - and I always left with new energy.”

„I benefited greatly from the career coaching and can highly recommend it. Ms Scheer worked with me individually to find out how coaching could help me and we implemented these goals in a focused and trusting atmosphere. Some time after the coaching, I still have the feeling that my self-reflection and organisation have improved in the long term: I am now better able to ask myself questions about myself and my progress and approach them in a more targeted way.”

„It was a pleasure to attend the “Career Coaching for Postdocs”. The sessions were extremely helpful for me to get to know my strengths and weaknesses. I have learned many important insights and I will definitely use them for my possible future applications. I would strongly recommend Postdocs to participate this wonderful Coaching provided by the University of Heidelberg. I believe one can gain many invaluable and applicable things throughout the coaching.”

„Overall, I gained more clarity about my motivation and goals and can now take the next steps with more self-confidence and focus. Through the individual tailoring, the career coaching gave me the opportunity to receive targeted feedback and recommendations on the topics that were important to me. In the process, I found it constructive that the coach developed the steps together with me, while leaving me plenty of room to shape them. Being provided with tools to further explore my topics after the coaching itself was the icing on the cake for me. I can recommend the offer without reservation.”