Sorting out your career is nobody else's job

People have started asking my opinion on job searching recently: Here's what I had to say to King's Graduate School on their blog...

I’m sorry to break it to you, guys, (and this is something I only really realised recently) but there is no-one out there that will be able to tell you exactly what job you should be doing and how to get it: that includes careers consultants. (Clearly they can help with your thinking and the processes of applying and so on but read on….)

About a year ago I started to realise that maybe the career in industrial research that I’d planned for the last 10 years wasn’t what I wanted. I confess it was partly initiated by the difficulty in getting a job but the more and more I thought about it, the more I realised I probably didn’t want the jobs I’d been applying for anyway.


Phew. Bullet dodged. Now what?

Well, first I started to complain. "My supervisors have never talked to me about what other careers are available", "No-one wants to talk about jobs outside of research", "I haven’t been given the opportunity to do anything else", I whined to the very nice careers consultant at KCL. I was quite whiny at this point, looking back on all the missed opportunities during my PhD and PostDoc and basically blaming other people.

Then I went to the Nature Careers Expo last September and realised things had to change. Every presentation I went to seemed to start with, "So I created this forum..,", or "I started this blog" and I sat there thinking "I can barely use my phone for email, how the hell am I going to blog?". It was at this point that the penny dropped: if I wasn’t going to take responsibility for getting myself a new career path, why should anyone else?

So I started a blog on my career search. I write down what I found out and shared it with other people. Almost every link and image I uploaded for the first month was broken and I’m still convinced that only my mother reads this but it gave me a start that lead to a free place at a SciComm conference, new contacts (yes, networking), a new understanding of the field around research and the jobs therein, a chance to blog on Speakers of Science, involvement in ScienceGrrl, the opportunity to do some public engagement with schools, joining twitter…but not necessarily in that order. Fundamentally, if you don’t know what you want to do, that’s fine: but you’re the only one who can find out.

During your PhD you can easily feel like you don’t have time for extra things but you will never get less busy, I promise you. The wonderful thing about your PhD studies is that there are lots of things you can try for free and if you don’t like doing them, you can stop. Here are some examples of things you can try…

1. Offer to write your PI’s research paper or review, even if it’s not on your specific area of work. This will help you decide if you want to do medical writing, where you have to summarise other people’s work, clinical trials and even the inserts that go in medication. I’ve written (and published) two papers this year and have two more underway. This is helping me get the most out of my PostDoc and making me practise my scientific writing.

2. Enter writing competitions to see if you like writing about science for a mainstream audience. I entered Access to Understanding with an article on arthritis (not my area) and got lots of feedback from friends and family.

3. Write news articles about cutting-edge science and submit them to the university paper/a blog/your boyfriend to see if they’re any good, to see if you like doing this and to see how long it takes you. I wrote something on antibody-drug-conjugates (sort of my area) in application for an internship at The Economist.

4. GO ON COURSES They’re free for many students, you probably have to go on some and you’ll definitely never have access to so many experts. I did a public speaking masterclass, public engagement course with King’s, science journalism at The Guardian and science writing at OBR. I paid £50 for the Guardian course, but the rest were free and it was a great way to meet like minded people for advice and support.

5. Talk to new people at every conference, meeting and seminar. If you’re absolutely awful at this then a job that requires networking is probably not for you. If you’re good at this then you will have made new contacts that could be invaluable. I ended up at a ScienceGrrl brainstorm, teaching kids about oxidation and sitting in on meetings about Science Museum lates all because of ‘someone’ I met ‘somewhere’ – not through my supervisor.

6. Read some patents. Properly. Is this something you find interesting? Patent law is a popular and competitive choice for graduates. It’s not easy so you should know what you’re getting yourself into. (I worked for a patent company as a chemistry consultant for a bit as part of my PhD – I’m pretty certain I find this dull)

7. Seriously think about how much money you’d like to earn and how little you will settle for: this will have a massive impact on what jobs you will apply for. My current job (which I love) is less than half my PostDoc wage and less than my PhD stipend.

8. Start a Twitter account or blog for yourself or your research group This is a great way to see what’s going on outside your research institution. If you do this for your research group you MUST ask permission from your superiors/head of department.

9. Plan something complicated from start to finish. A work party, a conference, a hen-do, a football tournament. The organisation this requires will tell you if you’re cut out for planning or project management and if you like doing it. I got married during my work search. I’m pretty sure I can now organise the hell out of most things. (Disclaimer: I’m not suggesting you get married purely for the project management experience, maybe just an engagement party…)

10. Apply for some jobs.  Even if you don’t know what you want to do. At least browse the job boards to see what’s out there. Some applications that I made steered me towards positions that I was better suited to. If you want a wake-up call, check out the picture below. It’s a screen shot of my ‘Applications’ folder. It doesn’t include those applications that were speculative or required only an online form…there are over 60 individual applications in less than a year. Don’t moan, just do something.

Any of the extra things on your CV will make you seem more well-rounded and not just another fed-up researcher. I was told on a forum that I was just another ‘desperate PostDoc that couldn’t make it in academia’ – you need to make sure your CV shows that that’s not the case and that you have other skills! And remember, if you try something new and you don’t like it or you’re rubbish at it, that’s fine, just stop and try something else. Then you can also add ‘perseverance’ to your CV.

I was ridiculously busy during all of this but I’m now at a job I love. I work for Sense About Science, a charity supporting projects that equip the public to make sense (get it?) of science. We create guides for the public, run events for researchers to train them in the best way to talk about their work, address bad journalism and put writers in touch with scientific experts whenever we can to make sure that science is clear, well-represented and useful for the public and policy-makers alike. It’s fast-paced, responsive, dead-line driven and no-one has cried for the whole eight weeks I’ve been here. So far, it’s wildly different to academia.

A version of this post was first hosted on the King's College London Graduate School blog. If you're affiliated with King's I strongly urge you to check them out as they are really helpful.

It's not just scientists who use 'jargon'

How often do you hear...

I'm in e-commerce...

I'm a web professional...

I work in emerging markets...

I'm in tax...

I'm in IT (urgh)

How are any of the above statements any more explanatory than:

'I'm a microbiologist' or 'I'm a solid-state chemist?'

As I've been looking at new careers, I've started to ask anyone (and everyone) what they do. They inevitably patter out three or four sentences that mean nothing unless you're already in their field. Then I ask them 'Ok, thanks, but what do you actually DO?' They ummm and aah, come out with a version of 'Well, it's difficult to explain...' or 'It's a really diverse role...' and then think I'm being a bit weird for asking again 'Sorry, I don't understand, what is it you DO?'

What I'd really like to hear is what people actually do with their day. Scientists are often told that we need to explain what we do and I do always try. For example, when people ask what I do, after telling them that I'm a research chemist (and then telling them that it's not the same as a pharmacist), I almost always tell them that what I do is very similar to cooking but instead of mixing food and producing a cake/lasagne/burnt useless blob, I mix 'chemicals' to produce bigger chemicals/a drug/the occasional burnt useless blob. However, I think most people are guilty of slipping into jargon rather than really explaining something, particularly (and frustratingly, for me) when it comes to their job.

I've just got back from a(nother) careers fair and left early. It was heavily populated with super keen undergraduates (so young!!!), edgy Novartis employees (for now) and me. Oh, yeah and that guy who won the Apprentice, you know, the other 'Ricky Martin'. He genuinely had a copy of Alan Sugar's novel as a prize if you submitted your details to his recruitment agency - you can see why he won with such high-end incentive schemes. Although to be fair, you could hand out barb-wire toothbrushes at these fairs and people would love it. You can see a selection of my swag below - yes, that is a stress ball shaped like an aeroplane. Natch. 

Whilst everyone there was very enthusiastic and very friendly, I'm not sure what I got out of it. I approached several stands to ask about what positions they had for more people-facing scientists, i.e. a job where I could talk to people. The exhibitors went on to describe jobs that they know aren't in the lab like 'Regulatory affairs', 'Supply chain manager' and 'Qualification technologist' (No clue). So when I asked, 'That's great' what do those people DO all day', I just got an awkward response and a 'Oh, that's not something I deal with, have you seen the website?' 

I completely appreciate that it's not their responsibility to coach me through this early mid-life crisis, but apart from titles, it would be really useful if people could start talking to job-seekers about their jobs in terms the 'uninitiated' could understand and not assume that the listener has prior knowledge - much like scientists are constantly encouraged to do. 

For example it took me four versions of the same question to get:

         'I decide what forms of media (radio/tv/print) are best to promote particular UK businesses', 

and pushed on to get:

         'I do this on the phone, by email, go and meet lots of different directors and then I tell my team what/how to broadcast/publish something in-line with what I've decided.' 

The first three attempts to get this information yielded "I work in promotion', ' I deal with UK businesses' and 'Well, it's hard to explain...'

What I'm saying is, next time someone asks you what you do, try actually telling them, who knows, they might actually be interested! There's a whole new lingo to understand when looking for a job, particularly if, like me, you might be considering an alternative career. I'm aware that job adverts aren't designed to cater for all and have their own agendas, but, when discussing what we do, could we all try to stop speaking in job-advert-ese, please?

I still don't really understand what my brothers do all day (one regulary sends me funny pictures by text), my friends are in tax, project management and e-commerce. I have no idea what most of these things mean and I'm going to start trying to find out. By force if necessary.

In the meanwhile, I'm off to apply for 'Evaluations Manager', 'Downstream Process Development Team Leader and 'Transdermal Manager' 

What do you mean 'What are they?' - Don't you know?

All PhD-ed and nowhere to go

So, I’ve just got back from the Nature Careers Expo 2013. For those of you that don’t know, ‘Nature’ is one of THE journals that we scientists would all like to get in to - It's like our ‘Vogue’. For several years now they've run a day where different companies pitch themselves to PhD students and PostDocs, and vice versa. Where it differs from your standard university careers fayre is that the exhibitors almost all have vacancies and are genuinely on the look out for ‘talent’, whilst the attendees are, like me, genuinely looking for jobs and not just interested in a novelty gonk and some pens – although there is a lot of that and I left my fair share of free tat, plus a nice T-shirt from Digital Science. I’m not going to describe the entire expo- that’s too time-consuming, not helpful for me and quite boring for you! What I’ll do in this post is describe some good strategies for getting the most out of such an event. This has all been gathered from advice from the careers service and my own experience on the day, see if it helps...

       1. Try to go to see a careers adviser BEFORE the event

 

The excellent careers service at King’s gave me some great tips on the best way to find out what you want without sounding like a self-serving tool. E.g. Don’t ask ‘What can I do because I don’t have THAT skill’, ask ‘What kind of training do you offer to new starters’

They will be able to give you some pointers so that you can narrow down the number of inhibitors you actually want/need to speak to. It's a long day so you need some sort of strategy and a careers advisor can help you to crystallise (no pun intended, chemists) what you want to get out of the day.

  

        2. Prepare

This sound obvious but take the time to at least google all the relevant employers and have an idea what they do. The exhibitors are busy and you can see them start to glaze over as they start to tell you things about the company you can find on Wikipedia.

  
3.  Discount the exhibitors you really don’t need to see

Yes, I know they’re giving away chocolate at the Science in Switzerland stand, but if you’re going to have to fake 20 minutes of interest umming-and-ahhing just buy yourself a Mars bar and move on – there’s not a lot of time at these things and the exhibitors get a bit ‘peopled-out’ by the end of the day. Catch them early! 

4. Once you’ve got your list of 5-10 stands, DON’T start with your favourite!

Whether you clam up, mumble, or, like me, you’re a waffler, we all tend to show a bit of start-of-the-day nerves. You want to make your best impression, so give yourself chance to settle in.

        5. Pick your moment

I did most of my ‘networking’ (Urgh, I know) and quizzing of staff early and not at lunch. The few people I did chat to during lunch were a bit distracted and, frankly, hungry.

        6. Take notes

It's easy to think ‘I’ll remember that, I don’t want to look too keen by whipping out my notebook’ but you won’t. There are a couple of things I wish I’d written down – names, buzzwords, it’s just too easy to forget them within seconds in such a noisy, busy atmosphere. Take down exhibitor names for job application cover letters.

       

     7. Go back for more

I got the best feedback and the most positive reaction from people at stands where, after speaking to them and having a think, I approached them for a second or third time. You want them to remember you, you want a job and it’s a really good chance to speak to someone in the company, so, why not? They’re bombarded with random faces asking the same questions all day, so make yourself stand out with a re-visit.

       

        8. Take their advice

A big part of today was about employers telling us what they want, or employees at the companies telling us what they have that made them desirable. There’s no point in focusing on ‘Oh, but I haven’t done a policy internship’ or ‘I didn't get any opportunity to present as part of my degree’. They don’t care, if you want a job, go the extra mile because plenty of other people are willing to do so to get that job!

  

        9. Follow up

So I haven’t done this yet as it’s 2 hours since the conference ended and I don’t want to be THAT person, but, once I have something I want to say/ask, I fully intend on dropping all the people I spoke to anything from a polite ‘touch-base’ to a full blown job application. Even the jobs you’re not so sure about, there’s no harm in keeping in touch.

    

     10.  Talk to strangers and get their details (see how I avoided the word ‘Network’)

Everyone hates this word- it makes us feel all scummy inside, I know, but, the thing is, we do it all the time. When you start a new job, chat someone up at the bar or even bump in to Steve from Accounting at a Metallica/Rhianna/Justin Beiber gig, it’s all networking really – chatting to someone you didn't know before and finding out if you’ve got any common ground. Usually at conferences, there are the big names at one end, guffawing over some in-joke, the cool-PhD student group at the bar getting hammered, and, if you’re foolish enough to go alone, as I often do, then you can find yourself feeling like the last kid into the lunch-room with no-one to talk to. Today was different, meeting new people wasn’t the subliminal event, as it is at a conference, it was the whole point of the day, so you can genuinely walk up to someone, chat about their work and exchange a business card or e-mail address without feeling weird about it. Honest. 

Other pointers from talks/presentations throughout the day

• You don’t necessarily need a business card as a lot of the stands have iPads and e-registration for you to leave your details – I got the impression the last thing they want is 412 tiny pieces of paper that they can’t link to a face.

• Take a CV – I wouldn’t hand them out as they're difficult to tailor to so many exhibitors but, like today, there might be a CV clinic. There will definitely be a number of HR professionals. Who knows you might network yourself into one of them glancing over it with regard to their company? 

•    The exhibitors are busy – they aren’t there to tell you what job you should do. Try asking them different questions to everyone else to get the most out of them!

•  If you check out the Nature Careers Expo 2013 site, there are all the slides on cover letter and CV preparation that we covered in some of the workshops, plus a list of exhitors. I spoke to Johnson and Johnson, Teach First, Medimmune, Macmillan Science Communication, Nature Publishing Group, Vitae, Bioscience Careers Group,  Digital Science and Envision Pharma Group

In my next blog, I’m going to investigate one of the careers that I looked into today – teaching. More specifically, I’m going to try and fathom the difference between the normal PGCE and the TeachFirst programme, endorsed by the government and who ‘inspire change in education in and outside the classroom. Apparently.