Having worked with doctoral researchers for over two decades, I have yet to meet a candidate who is not nervous about their doctoral defense. Although this nervousness can feel uncomfortable, rather than trying to suppress it, it is worth getting to know it and viewing it as a helpful and normal form of “activation” that increases alertness before an important occasion.

Interviews with labour-market actors across 10 European countries conducted within the CROSS – Career Management Services for European Talents project provide answers and highlight where universities and labour-market actors need to work more closely together. These insights offer an early view of findings that will be presented in more detail in a forthcoming report to be published as a CROSS deliverable.