CASE
KU Leuven - YouReCa
From insight to conscious career decisions: how KU Leuven supports young researchers in reflecting on their next career steps
Career development is an important part of the doctoral and postdoctoral journey. At KU Leuven, the YouReCa Career Center supports PhD researchers and postdocs in exploring their strengths, motivations and career options, both within and beyond academia.
For many young researchers, career questions do not start with choosing a specific job title, but with gaining a clearer understanding of the competences they have developed, the type of work that motivates them and the professional contexts in which they may thrive. This reflection is especially relevant because the transition from an academic research environment to other professional contexts is not always straightforward.
Within this broader career support offer, myCareerCompanion is used as a structured reflection tool. It helps young researchers make their career profile more explicit and provides a basis for further exploration in workshops and individual career coaching.
The YouReCa Career Centre
At KU Leuven, career development for young researchers is approached as a process of reflection, exploration and informed decision-making. The YouReCa Career Center supports PhD researchers and postdocs in this process through workshops, individual career coaching and other career development initiatives such as mentorship programmes, job shadowing, etc.
Young researchers are often strongly focused on their research, and understandably so. At the same time, they do not always have a clear view of the broad range of competences they are developing, or of how these competences may be relevant in different professional contexts. The YouReCa Career Center helps them reflect on these questions and supports them in making more conscious career choices.
This support is aimed at helping young researchers better understand their own profile, explore possible career directions and prepare for next steps, whether within academia or in another professional environment.
Why did KU Leuven choose myCareerCompanion?
Many PhD researchers and postdocs develop a wide range of transferable competences during their research work. These may include analytical thinking, project management, collaboration, communication, problem-solving, resilience and the ability to work independently. However, young researchers are not always aware of these competences, and they may find it difficult to describe them in a way that is meaningful outside their immediate research context.
KU Leuven chose myCareerCompanion because it offers a structured and research-based way to support this reflection. The tool helps participants identify patterns in their competences, interests, motivations and preferred work environments. These insights then serve as input for further career exploration.
This approach fits with the YouReCa Career Center’s broader aim: to support young researchers in making informed and conscious career decisions, based on a clearer understanding of who they are, what they value and where they may want to develop further.
How YouReCa used our platform
Within the YouReCa Career Center, myCareerCompanion is used as a preparation tool for the Discover Your Career Profile workshop and as input for individual career coaching. Participants complete the questionnaires and receive a personal career compass before taking part in the workshop or coaching session.
The report gives them a structured overview of their competences, interests, motivations and preferred work environments. During the workshop or coaching conversation, these insights are further explored and connected to possible career directions. This helps participants move from self-insight to more conscious career exploration.
The tool is therefore not used as a stand-alone assessment, but as part of a broader guidance process. Its main value lies in creating a shared language for reflection and in helping young researchers prepare for meaningful career conversations.
The impact: gaining language, perspective and direction
Young researchers at KU Leuven value myCareerCompanion because it helps them describe their competences and motivations more clearly. The personal report gives them a vocabulary to talk about their strengths, interests and career drivers. This can be useful in coaching conversations, networking situations and job interviews.
The tool also helps broaden their perspective. Rather than focusing only on job titles or predefined career paths, it invites participants to reflect on the type of work, environment and development opportunities that may fit them. This supports more conscious and better-prepared career decisions.
For the YouReCa Career Center, myCareerCompanion offers a consistent basis for workshops and individual coaching. It helps create a more structured conversation about career development, while leaving room for individual questions, context and nuance.
One PhD user put it very clearly:
Getting to know which vocabulary can be used to describe one’s competences and use those in interviews. myCC helped a lot in that!
Positive evaluation thanks to practical relevance
The Compass is appreciated for its practical relevance. Participants indicate that the clear overview and shared competence language help them articulate their strengths more effectively, particularly when preparing for job interviews or other career-related conversations.
The combination of competences, interests, career drivers and preferred work environments also helps participants look beyond obvious career options. It supports them in exploring roles and contexts they may not have considered before, but that may correspond with their profile.
This positive experience is reflected in recent evaluations:
71% of users rate MyCareerCompass as good to very good.
71%
A long lasting partnership
KU Leuven and myCareerCompanion have been working together since 2019 within the context of career development for young researchers. Each year, around 600 PhD researchers and postdocs complete the myCareerCompanion questionnaires as part of the YouReCa Career Center’s broader career support offer.
The value of the collaboration lies in the combination of a research-based reflection tool and professional career guidance. The tool helps young researchers prepare more consciously, while the workshops and coaching conversations support them in translating those insights into possible career directions and next steps.
Over the years, myCareerCompanion has become a useful component in the YouReCa Career Center’s approach to career support. It provides a shared language to discuss competences, motivations and career preferences, both within and beyond academia.
For many young researchers, an important first step in career development is recognising the competences they have already built and understanding how these can be relevant in different professional contexts. myCareerCompanion helps make that reflection more explicit and offers a structured basis for further dialogue in workshops and coaching.
— Veronique Meert, Team Manager Career Center KU Leuven
Looking ahead
Building on the experience with young researchers, KU Leuven is preparing a broader use of myCareerCompanion for administrative and technical staff. In this context, the focus will be on professional development and internal mobility.
The aim is to use the tool as a structured way to support employees in reflecting on their competences, motivations, development needs and possible career directions within KU Leuven. This can help employees prepare for development conversations, explore growth opportunities within their current role, or consider future steps elsewhere in the organisation.
As in the YouReCa context, the tool will not replace personal guidance or dialogue. Its value lies in offering a common language and a structured basis for more informed career conversations. In this way, myCareerCompanion can support KU Leuven’s broader approach to sustainable employability and career development.