Last week I went to this really generic networking event organized by Prolango. They create events to bring together job seekers, recruiters and the employed who want to expand their network in a very non-smarmy kind of way. I was impressed, I met some nice folks, and even some other scientists. I've been basically following up with those people all week.
1) I went to my first "cloned" meeting. I wanted to meet with the two scientists I met at the Mixer, who apparently get together to share ideas and encouragement regularly, so all three of us got together. It turned out to be awesome for me to pick the brains of two seasoned scientists who are in career transition. We talked for 2 hours. Wow. I hope they thought it was useful too.
2) I'm growing the LinkedIn thing. Most of the folks I met at the Prolango event I had really nice conversations with, and we agreed to connect on LinkedIn. It's helping to grow my network towards new hiring managers and recruiters.
3) Speaking of which, I had a meeting with a recruiter at Aerotek. I think recruiters are meant to be vague, I have no idea whether he thinks I'll ever find a job or not, but it was a decent practice interview.
4) One of the people I met at the event who had a vague seeming job in a company that "drives consumer interest to major retailers" and I thought might have some writing work for me was actually an Amway sales lady. I felt silly thinking I was going to client meeting only to realize I was the product. Dang.
5) All this networking is starting to feel like it is paying off. I had an internal reference for a position at Amgen. Sweet.
Next week I'll be headed to the Eastside Networking Event, which is supposed to be pretty good also. I'm taking a wingman with me, which might change the dynamic a bit. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Breaking out of the tedium
Job hunting is boring. Checking job boards, filling out the same forms online, sending emails and leaving voicemails... it's the monotony that is really wearing on me these days. I just got a rejection for a job I don't remember applying for, what does that say? It says I need to try something new so I don't present myself as a zombie candidate "Want JOOOOOBB...."
Folks usually have similar advice for me, " Have you tried the UW?" "Your network is really important." (Why do you think we are drinking coffee here?). I chatted with a really cool guy at one of the not-for-profit research institutes here about new ways to think of and look at the job hunt, so I wanted to share them. He suggested some ideas I hadn't thought of before, including industries I hadn't thought I could break into.
For example, bio-surveillance is growing in this area. It's driven by federal money to the Navy and their contractors (Northrup Gruman, Boeing). Or he suggested approaching clinical epidemiology for the major insurers as a biostatistician. ("Can you do a two tailed T test? You'll be fine.") He also suggested watching real estate announcements in the paper for major purchases by out of town biotechs, that's how he learned of a new major player in pharma moving to town. He encouraged me to go to MeetUps (people still do that), since there are some good professional ones in Seattle, which sounds like a less stuffy way to interact with folks. See, new, fun ideas to get over the tired old job hunt.
He runs a well attended LinkedIn group in Computational Biology- if this even slightly overlapps with your interests, I'd recommend you check it out. It's quite relevant.
Folks usually have similar advice for me, " Have you tried the UW?" "Your network is really important." (Why do you think we are drinking coffee here?). I chatted with a really cool guy at one of the not-for-profit research institutes here about new ways to think of and look at the job hunt, so I wanted to share them. He suggested some ideas I hadn't thought of before, including industries I hadn't thought I could break into.
For example, bio-surveillance is growing in this area. It's driven by federal money to the Navy and their contractors (Northrup Gruman, Boeing). Or he suggested approaching clinical epidemiology for the major insurers as a biostatistician. ("Can you do a two tailed T test? You'll be fine.") He also suggested watching real estate announcements in the paper for major purchases by out of town biotechs, that's how he learned of a new major player in pharma moving to town. He encouraged me to go to MeetUps (people still do that), since there are some good professional ones in Seattle, which sounds like a less stuffy way to interact with folks. See, new, fun ideas to get over the tired old job hunt.
He runs a well attended LinkedIn group in Computational Biology- if this even slightly overlapps with your interests, I'd recommend you check it out. It's quite relevant.
What's holding me back?
I'm a big picture person. I can't help myself. I worry about my job hunt because I'm not sure where I'll be in 20 years, I just want to get on a path. I've been looking for a job in science for longer then I hoped, but I think I am much more likely to end up in a position I will actually like in the long term. Meeting people in different fields, in different roles has really helped me shape my expectations and aspirations. And have been realizing recently that both of those are things I need to resolve before I can find a real job launching career.
What do I mean? People ask me what kind of a job I am looking for, and I usually say that given my background, a job in pharma or biotech would suit me well. But, I'm not really married to bench work. I enjoy thinking about science more than performing experiments, I'm more journal club than lab meeting, if that makes sense. It's not important to me to get "credit" for my work, but I do want to know I am working on a good cause. And I don't want to get bored- I am looking for a position that can lead to other opportunities, and not just in terms of salary growth. But really, I'm not sure what type of position I aspire to, so it's hard to set my expectations accordingly.
Here is the thing, when my friends pester me to talk about what I've done lately that I liked, I almost always point to my volunteer work that the Science Center. I loved playing with science, sharing my enthusiasm with kids and their families, and I've come to realize that Science Centers may play a really integral role in communities and in the future of the STEM economy. But, I presumed that my volunteer/outreach work needs to be supplemental- it seems insincere to encourage kids to go get a job in science if I couldn't be bothered.
But, the Pacific Science Center in Seattle is hiring right now. They aren't hiring molecular virologists, but they are looking for a grant writer. And I realized two things, 1) I had previously discounted working at a Science Center because I wasn't sure it was "important," but I now view it as part of a bigger picture solution to the worlds complex problems- encourage kids to believe they are innovators at a young age and when they grow up, they'll have the capacity to stop global warming. 2) I was worried about growth. I figured you join the team as a grant writer or volunteer coordinator, and there is nowhere to go. I don't know why I thought that, ignorance obviously. Clearly, I need to expand my circle of informational interviews to include this professional arena.
And I applied for that job.
What do I mean? People ask me what kind of a job I am looking for, and I usually say that given my background, a job in pharma or biotech would suit me well. But, I'm not really married to bench work. I enjoy thinking about science more than performing experiments, I'm more journal club than lab meeting, if that makes sense. It's not important to me to get "credit" for my work, but I do want to know I am working on a good cause. And I don't want to get bored- I am looking for a position that can lead to other opportunities, and not just in terms of salary growth. But really, I'm not sure what type of position I aspire to, so it's hard to set my expectations accordingly.
Here is the thing, when my friends pester me to talk about what I've done lately that I liked, I almost always point to my volunteer work that the Science Center. I loved playing with science, sharing my enthusiasm with kids and their families, and I've come to realize that Science Centers may play a really integral role in communities and in the future of the STEM economy. But, I presumed that my volunteer/outreach work needs to be supplemental- it seems insincere to encourage kids to go get a job in science if I couldn't be bothered.
But, the Pacific Science Center in Seattle is hiring right now. They aren't hiring molecular virologists, but they are looking for a grant writer. And I realized two things, 1) I had previously discounted working at a Science Center because I wasn't sure it was "important," but I now view it as part of a bigger picture solution to the worlds complex problems- encourage kids to believe they are innovators at a young age and when they grow up, they'll have the capacity to stop global warming. 2) I was worried about growth. I figured you join the team as a grant writer or volunteer coordinator, and there is nowhere to go. I don't know why I thought that, ignorance obviously. Clearly, I need to expand my circle of informational interviews to include this professional arena.
And I applied for that job.
Monday, March 12, 2012
My new professional life
In addition to my part-time job at the bank, this week I am starting as an intern at the Center for Commercialization at the UW (C4C). I've been assigned my first project, which will be helping in some regard with an SBIR. An SBIR is a grant award via the Small Business Administration to help provide vehicles for commercialization of ideas. I'll write more about this once I've read some more, but researchers who do more applied research are interested in these types of grants. I spent the afternoon reading about the differences between patents and trademarks, and searching google.com/patents which was kinda fun.
I also accepted a new contract from another mysterious Chinese editing company. I must say that dashing out of the bank to campus, then fighting through traffic to come home and look up the Instructions to the Authors for Pediatric Surgery International is pretty much where I thought my career has been headed. Someday we'll get to look back on these posts and laugh, or maybe even reminisce about the good old days when I was editing for Chinese Yuans and chilling in the U district. (That's what I'll call waiting in traffic when I am old and nostalgic.) For now though, I have 4,000+ words to 'polish' and format for publication before Friday.
I also accepted a new contract from another mysterious Chinese editing company. I must say that dashing out of the bank to campus, then fighting through traffic to come home and look up the Instructions to the Authors for Pediatric Surgery International is pretty much where I thought my career has been headed. Someday we'll get to look back on these posts and laugh, or maybe even reminisce about the good old days when I was editing for Chinese Yuans and chilling in the U district. (That's what I'll call waiting in traffic when I am old and nostalgic.) For now though, I have 4,000+ words to 'polish' and format for publication before Friday.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Not-for-profit
I must admit, this week I applied for a post-doc.
I know, I know. I'm the one who said a post-doc doesn't provide me the experience I need to get on the vaguely defined career path I am interested in. I don't want a faculty job, but at this point, working in science would be great. And Seattle has all these non-academic research institutes. I gotta be honest, this is is not a concept I was familiar with before I moved out here.
Maybe other cities don't have this always, but The Gates Foundation had prompted all this funding for soft money institutes. Because the funding doesn't rely on the NIH, the money is better (am I an ass because I care about that?), and the research is more product oriented. I have a friend I ought to interview about her job at IDRI, but she has given me the impression that unlike academic work, the entire lab at these not-for-profit gigs is all working towards the same objective. In her lab, it's finding a cure of TB, in other labs, vaccinate against malaria, or other global health issues. The upside is that your work is of dire importance, you still get to work on your publication record (if you want to go academic later), and you get paid a bit more than the NIH would recommend. You might start at 45k, but a little bit more than the NIH suggests can feel like a lot if you've been on grad student wages for half a decade.
The downside, (and I am searching here), 1) this is still a training position. I am coming up on my 30th birthday, I am ready to settle down. Why would I want to take a job that commits me to take a new one in 3 (or so) years? only to find a new one later. 2) All your pubs will have a whole host of authors. I'm trying to pretend like this is a problem- I was in drug discovery in grad school, which means all my pubs had at least 14 authors (not exaggerating). Is it important to you to publish papers that indicate your authority on the subject- like just you and your PI? I don't have that feeling, but if you do, not-for-profits might not be for you. But, if working on a legitimate cure for a major global health issue is for you- you should look into these not-for-profits. There isn't the pressure to make a profit or a product that there might be at companies like Amgen or Zymogen (Bristol Myers Squibb).
Who am I thinking of? IDRI, the Institute for Systems Biology, or Seattle Biomed. I'm told there are more, but that's a start. I'm not convinced this is the dream job, but it might be the direction I need to go to get there, so I am trying it.
I know, I know. I'm the one who said a post-doc doesn't provide me the experience I need to get on the vaguely defined career path I am interested in. I don't want a faculty job, but at this point, working in science would be great. And Seattle has all these non-academic research institutes. I gotta be honest, this is is not a concept I was familiar with before I moved out here.
Maybe other cities don't have this always, but The Gates Foundation had prompted all this funding for soft money institutes. Because the funding doesn't rely on the NIH, the money is better (am I an ass because I care about that?), and the research is more product oriented. I have a friend I ought to interview about her job at IDRI, but she has given me the impression that unlike academic work, the entire lab at these not-for-profit gigs is all working towards the same objective. In her lab, it's finding a cure of TB, in other labs, vaccinate against malaria, or other global health issues. The upside is that your work is of dire importance, you still get to work on your publication record (if you want to go academic later), and you get paid a bit more than the NIH would recommend. You might start at 45k, but a little bit more than the NIH suggests can feel like a lot if you've been on grad student wages for half a decade.
The downside, (and I am searching here), 1) this is still a training position. I am coming up on my 30th birthday, I am ready to settle down. Why would I want to take a job that commits me to take a new one in 3 (or so) years? only to find a new one later. 2) All your pubs will have a whole host of authors. I'm trying to pretend like this is a problem- I was in drug discovery in grad school, which means all my pubs had at least 14 authors (not exaggerating). Is it important to you to publish papers that indicate your authority on the subject- like just you and your PI? I don't have that feeling, but if you do, not-for-profits might not be for you. But, if working on a legitimate cure for a major global health issue is for you- you should look into these not-for-profits. There isn't the pressure to make a profit or a product that there might be at companies like Amgen or Zymogen (Bristol Myers Squibb).
Who am I thinking of? IDRI, the Institute for Systems Biology, or Seattle Biomed. I'm told there are more, but that's a start. I'm not convinced this is the dream job, but it might be the direction I need to go to get there, so I am trying it.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Related to the last post
I've finally updated my voice-mail on my phone. I've been told that while not saying anything inappropriate, my old outgoing message made me sound unbelievably young. So, it's been updated. I'm also having a friend come over to take some profile pictures for LinkedIn- nothing fancy, but slightly better than you can take yourself with your own laptop computer. And since I am still wearing my work clothes from my job at the bank, I think I look reasonably well put together.
And speaking of the job at the bank- working is good. Training is good. Learning new things is always great, and getting to interact with society it refreshing. I'm wearing slacks everyday, testing out my wardrobe for professionalism and practicing doing my hair and make-up. It's nice to do this in the context of an entry level job, I can figure out what works and doesn't without ruining my whole career. But I do need some new shoes. And I don't think I should wear mascara to work. See? I am learning new things all the time.
I'll probably be back to the bank job in future posts, but if there was ever any worry about whether or not I might just settle at the bank, don't worry. Whenever it gets out that I have a Ph.D., the kids who are working their way through college until they can get a 'real' job laugh their heads off at me. No one means to be mean, but I always get asked "Why don't you get a job as a biologist?" Ha. As if it were that easy.
It's a little harder to balance my time with apply for jobs, meeting people and meeting my other obligations for volunteer and contract work now. But I feel so much better about doing it that I am sure it is worth it.
And speaking of the job at the bank- working is good. Training is good. Learning new things is always great, and getting to interact with society it refreshing. I'm wearing slacks everyday, testing out my wardrobe for professionalism and practicing doing my hair and make-up. It's nice to do this in the context of an entry level job, I can figure out what works and doesn't without ruining my whole career. But I do need some new shoes. And I don't think I should wear mascara to work. See? I am learning new things all the time.
I'll probably be back to the bank job in future posts, but if there was ever any worry about whether or not I might just settle at the bank, don't worry. Whenever it gets out that I have a Ph.D., the kids who are working their way through college until they can get a 'real' job laugh their heads off at me. No one means to be mean, but I always get asked "Why don't you get a job as a biologist?" Ha. As if it were that easy.
It's a little harder to balance my time with apply for jobs, meeting people and meeting my other obligations for volunteer and contract work now. But I feel so much better about doing it that I am sure it is worth it.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
"You aren't who we were expecting..."
A few too many times recently, I've gotten the above comment "You aren't who I expected" when I meet people in a professional context. I could diatribe that being a young-(ish) female scientist puts me in the way of all kinds of bias and discrimination. But given that presenting myself too young or girly is actually something I've worked really hard to scrub from my professional communications and presentation, that's not exactly what that comment means. I may have bleached all the personality out of my applications- possibly to my detriment.
I do a lot of informational interviews- which usually means I find via a contact someone who might be willing to talk with me, have a couple emails back and forth and meet in person. There is always that hesitation about approaching a stranger, but I had someone tell me recently they just assumed "Dr. Sandlin" would have more grey hair. Plenty of folks that I meet face to face tell me I am very personable, not at all like the stereotype of a scientist that they imagine. Or that someone with my passion for science shouldn't be unemployed. It's flattering, but it does make me wonder- am I doing something wrong? Have I drained the passion and personality away from my CV and resume in an effort to look like a moldable, blank canvas of a candidate? Would I have a job if I led the professional summary on my resume stated "Ph.D. who is much better with people then you would think, actually likes talking and communicating and really gets jazzed up about exciting science"?
I doubt it, but I have decided to give a once over to my professional documents again. I have a very plain-Jane business card with my contact info- which I like. I have a fairly bleached out photo of myself on LinkedIn, which I need to update to something less pasty. And I might retool the language there and on my resume to be a bit more honest about where my passion is. I already don't have my dream job, but I work enough to pay my bills. That should give me the leverage to really focus on just those pie in the sky opportunities- I don't need to be that blank canvas of an applicant anymore. I can focus on being the best candidate for only the types of jobs I would LOVE to do.
I do a lot of informational interviews- which usually means I find via a contact someone who might be willing to talk with me, have a couple emails back and forth and meet in person. There is always that hesitation about approaching a stranger, but I had someone tell me recently they just assumed "Dr. Sandlin" would have more grey hair. Plenty of folks that I meet face to face tell me I am very personable, not at all like the stereotype of a scientist that they imagine. Or that someone with my passion for science shouldn't be unemployed. It's flattering, but it does make me wonder- am I doing something wrong? Have I drained the passion and personality away from my CV and resume in an effort to look like a moldable, blank canvas of a candidate? Would I have a job if I led the professional summary on my resume stated "Ph.D. who is much better with people then you would think, actually likes talking and communicating and really gets jazzed up about exciting science"?
I doubt it, but I have decided to give a once over to my professional documents again. I have a very plain-Jane business card with my contact info- which I like. I have a fairly bleached out photo of myself on LinkedIn, which I need to update to something less pasty. And I might retool the language there and on my resume to be a bit more honest about where my passion is. I already don't have my dream job, but I work enough to pay my bills. That should give me the leverage to really focus on just those pie in the sky opportunities- I don't need to be that blank canvas of an applicant anymore. I can focus on being the best candidate for only the types of jobs I would LOVE to do.
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