Q&A with a Careers Adviser: Mike Moss
Mike Moss studied Chemistry at the University of Birmingham and was a NATO Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the California Institute of Technology. Before joining the Oxford University Careers Service, he worked in research and product development at Procter & Gamble, where he became an inventor with 54 patents. He now advises on a broad range of career fields, specialising in alumni career support and running our popular Career Management Strategy Masterclass.
All our careers advisers are experts, but what about the people behind the advice? Let’s get to know Mike a little better...
Q&A with Mike Moss:
What's one piece of careers advice you wish you had followed sooner?
Make friends with everyone and make no enemies, it is never worth to win an argument and lose a friend, there is a way to disagree nicely. Buy lots of beers, bake lots of cakes, host lots of barbecues and be the most popular person as well as the most productive.
Has anyone ever taken a career path which really surprised you?
One of the best examples of career change I have seen is an alumna who made websites for rock bands for 7 years after Oxford and wanted to get into public policy. She moved to a promotions company to get something more professional on her CV. After 8 months she moved to do web content for an NGO to get closer to policy. After 10 months she started work for the Government Digital Service as a content designer. 18 months later she moved to working at number 10 Downing Street to manage the Prime Minister's twitter feed. It is a great example of taking a series of what we call "bridging" jobs, each move taking you closer to your long term objective, picking up skills and experience needed to get the next job.
How do you stay motivated and celebrate your job?
It is a privilege to work with Oxford students and graduates, often they just need a small tip or nudge, so that they can then direct their talents and strengths towards achieving their objectives, I learn so much from each conversation after more than 10,000 appointments with Oxonians I still find my job fascinating. Don't tell anyone but I would probably do this job for nothing. I was an academic until 27, then a research executive in industry until 50, I have been in Oxford for 11 years mostly helping Oxonians with the transition from academia to industry. We receive many emails of thanks, we treasure every one.
If you could have any job in the world for a day, which one would it be?
I was 7 years old when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, so it was inevitable that I would be obsessed with space and science in general. It would be great to spend a day in space, but I might be getting too old. I do enjoy helping Oxford scientists who are mountaineers or deep sea divers in their spare time - with their European Space Agency Astronaut Programme applications - unfortunately I have not had one of those thank you letters yet - it is a very tough programme to get into.
Do you see AI as a friend or foe?
AI is a powerful tool, it is the humans that use it who have the potential to be friend or foe. I am sure that AI will not spontaneously become conscious. However, it does not need to be conscious to figure out that humans are harming the planet, so I would not give AI access to weapons of mass destruction. Isaac Asimov was prescient when he wrote his 3 laws of robotics in 1942, we need similar laws of AI agreed internationally.
One thing you wish more people knew about the Careers Service?
There is a perception that the Careers Service is biased towards city careers. It is the city firms who are so keen to employ Oxford students that they pay us money to attend fairs etc. We invite everyone, tech firms, not for profits, policy organisations, arts organisations, but they get enough applications and talent already and so we often cannot motivate them to visit Oxford even if we pay them expenses to visit us. So the one thing I want to reassure people on is that we love what you love. I have four daughters, two work in the music industry, one (an Oxford musician and choral scholar) works in the Civil Service and one works in Modern Art Communications. I am the Careers Adviser who specialises in the Music Industry as I have experience of professional music production, I am also an inventor with 54 patents and so lead on innovation and entrepreneurship and have managed large science and engineering research and development organisations so lead on those sectors too. So my daughters followed my personal passion for the arts rather than my professional experience in science and business.
What’s your favourite time of year to be working in Oxford/at the Careers Service?
I love every term in Oxford, though I like to spend the summer in my small cottage in the Italian sunshine. So if I had to narrow it down, eighth and ninth week of Trinity term are fabulous. Hopefully, most students have the exams behind them and the summer in front of them and they can enjoy the parks and the river. Wednesday of ninth week we put on our gowns for Encaenia to hand out honorary degrees at the Sheldonian - followed by a garden party on one of the college lawns. I am hoping that the garden party will be at my wife's college this year - fingers crossed.
Finally, give us one top tip for career planning
The biggest mistake is overthinking your career. Managing a career is a research problem not a deduction problem. So the mantra of my masterclass is "stop thinking and start clicking". When you find yourself overthinking or worrying, stop and type a question into Google. The answer is on the internet, you will know it when you see it even if you cannot articulate it from first principles.
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Our specialist careers advisers come from a variety of professional backgrounds, including teaching, banking, publishing, and law. All of them, including Mike Moss, are equipped to help you with any career-related issue you might have.
