Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

CareerCheck is an internet-based career advice and career planning tool for young scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). It complements the existing career services such as guidance talks, trainings, Career Days and the internet platform www.dkfz-connect.de.

CareerCheck offers an integrated platform for career-related information, personal self-assessments and goals. It is aimed at supporting young scientists early with relevant information for their career planning.

The career information in CareerCheck was collected from DKFZ Alumni and is therefore highly relevant for the target group: young life scientists.

CareerCheck is based on the career advice from more than 300 DKFZ Alumni. Initiated by Dr. Barbara Janssens and Marion Gürth, the content was developed by Sabine Schuler-Hofmann in 2017-2020. Advanced development of CareerCheck was managed by Dr. Chiat Cheong from 2021-2023. It was programmed by Adelina Waldecker under supervision of Dr. Claudia Galuschka from the DKFZ IT Core Facility.

CareerCheck is part of the Helmholtz Career Center established by Dr. Barbara Janssens in 2017, which is funded by the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association.

The use of CareerCheck is free of charge for researchers at institutes with a user agreement.

CareerCheck is keen to broaden the use of this Career Platform. Please contact us on careers@dkfz.de to learn about our options to set-up trial accounts and institutional licences.

To determine the profiles, DKFZ's career experts developed a list of skills, values and preferences, consulting with the career advisors from the CARE Career Advice for Researchers in Europe group.

In an anonymized survey, DKFZ Alumni were asked to rate their jobs based on these skills, values and preferences. So the skills profiles, for example, are based on job holders' judgment, rather than relying purely on the assessment of career advisors.

To ensure that this information remains up-to-date, we will continue to ask DKFZ Alumni in future surveys.

DKFZ Career Center is going to conduct new Alumni surveys at least every two years that will serve to further improve the data base.

In addition, user feedback is collected regularly and used to continually update the site. Plans to refine and add to the content are already underway - look out for our newsletter.

CareerCheck is your professional and focused companion on your career transition journey. It answers questions like:

• What could my next step after my Postdoc or PhD look like?
• What are the good options for me?
• What do Alumni recommend?
• How do I work stepwise towards my future position?

CareerCheck offers:

1. Self-assessment, compare your skills and preferences with responsibilities and tasks at different types of jobs in academia and beyond at the Self-Check.
2. A Resource of career information: job descriptions, insights into career development, application know-how and trainings.
3. A stepwise approach in Career Planning. No matter whether you are still exploring your options or preparing for transition: Find suggestions for your next action.

The Career Checkpoint on our landing page gives you an idea of the suggested process:

1. We suggest that you start the process with completing the Self-Checks
2. then researching different career paths.
3. Choose one or two career goals in My Plan.
4. Make an appointment with Career Center to discuss next steps and training opportunities.
5. Complete My Plan with SMART to-dos and review it with your supervisor or mentor.

DKFZ Connect is a great resource for networking and finding a mentor. Document your progress and adapt your goals in CareerCheck.

There are two versions of the Task Chart:

• You can view the Task Chart without completing the Skill Check or Preference Check. It shows the task graphs for different jobs.
• To add your skill or preference set to the chart, complete the Skill Check or Preference Check then click on View Skill-to-Task Alignment or View Preference-to-Task Alignment.
  Or, if you already completed one Skill Check or Preference Check before go to Self-Check Results - choose one Skill Check or Preference Check result - click on View Skill-to-Task Alignment or View Preference-to-Task Alignment.

DKFZ researchers can register with their DKFZ e-mail address and password.

Yes.

• Researchers employed at DKTK can register with their DKFZ e-mail address and password.
• Researchers at NCT and KiTZ can register using their NCT and KiTZ e-mail address and password respectively

If you are researcher at DKFZ, at a DKFZ partner institutes or at one of the affiliated Helmholtz Centers, remember you access CareerCheck by using your institutional credentials. Please contact your IT department directly if you forgot this password.

Cooperation partners (e.g. Trainer) should use the Contact Us form with subject "Problems with Website".

If you are an Alumni, you created your own password during your first log in to CareerCheck. If you can no longer remember it, you can reset your password: On the sign in page there is a small icon at the bottom right of the log in box "Forgot password?" - click here and enter your @alumni.dkfz.de address. You will receive an e-mail with a link to reset your password.

All Helmholtz Centers are automatically displayed, although not all centers have signed a cooperation agreement with the DKFZ. Only employees from centers that have signed a cooperation agreement with the DKFZ can sign in to CareerCheck.

When using this service first time user will need to register. The registratrion will happen during sign in process.

As a DKFZ researcher, your CareerCheck account is linked to your DKFZ e-mail address. As this will no longer be active when you leave DKFZ, you will no longer be able to access CareerCheck.

There is however the option to create a DKFZ Alumni account via DKFZ Connect which allows you access to CareerCheck.

For data protection reasons it is not possible transfer data from one account to another. It is therefore advisable to download your data before account closure (see FAQ entry: Is it possible to download my CareerCheck data). This allows you to re-enter any information that you still deem relevant for future use into your Alumni account.

DKFZ Alumni are able to access this platform with a DKFZ Alumni address (@alumni.dkfz.de).

Upon leaving the DKFZ you can apply for an @alumni.dkfz.de address. Should you not have one, please apply for an @alumni.dkfz.de address by contacting: alumnirelations@dkfz-heidelberg.de.

Once you have this address you can create your own account here by using your @alumni.dkfz.de address and creating your own password for CareerCheck. Please keep this password somewhere safe that you can reaccess it.

Currently CareerCheck can only be used by DKFZ employees as well as employees at other Helmholtz Centers, that is already connected. Look out for new releases.

Only you can see your data. Neither Career Center nor your Supervisor is able to see whether you are using CareerCheck or have access to your data.
More information can be found in our Privacy Policy.

It is completely up to you with whom you want to discuss what part of your results.

As clarity and progress are achieved through (inter)actions, we do recommend reaching out to others for feedback as part of your career plan: Your supervisor, a Career Counsellor at the Career Center, alumni who already transitioned, ... We definitely recommend to discuss your career plan with your supervisor.

CareerCheck has a standard storage period of 5 years for DKFZ researchers and 1 year for all other users after last login.

The data entered will be saved for this period, provided you are still entitled to access CareerCheck. A CareerCheck account and its data will be deleted when inactive/not used beyond this period.

Yes, it is possible to download the data you entered, the matching and alignment results of saved Skill Check and Preference Check, as well as the to-dos you defined in My Plan, as an overview or separately.

Simply click "Download all my data" button in My Profile to download.

If you object to the collection of this data, you can unclick the box in the Privacy Policy - Web Analytics.

To delete your account simply click "Delete" button in My Profile.