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.

I got a JOB! AKA a positive control for CV writing...

It finally happened. I applied for something great, I went through two interviews and, after a bit of contractual bartering, I'm starting next Wednesday! In the job application and job-finishing frenzy I haven't kept anybody up to date on what's been going on but here's what happened.

On the 19th February I applied for a volunteer role at the Natural History Museum only to find out that I'd mistakenly got the date wrong and applied one day too late! I was understandably miffed so I went into my flagged e-mail list to make sure I didn't miss any more deadlines.

I noticed that I still had one day to apply for two great internship roles at Sense About Science. Their name has come up a number of times when people were recommending employers to me so I wasn't going to let this one slip away. They make it their mission to help people understand the science they are bombarded with every day. This could be clearing up something confusing (or wrong) in the media, training scientists on how to best describe their own work or encouraging people to simply ask for evidence when given a piece of information.

Look! Dara O'Briain thinks their Ask For Evidence campaign is great!

I applied for two roles that were different in practice but similar in the skill-set required. They were Campaign Support Officer and Project Support Officer. Honestly, I put the applications together in half an hour and sent them. I did tailor each CV and cover letter to the roles but I didn't have to do too much work as this organisation (charity, actually) seemed to fit exactly what I wanted. I was really busy the next day at a TV masterclass (more on that in the future) but just two days later they asked me to come in for my interview the following week.

I had to submit a form and a written exercise beforehand and the interview itself only lasted 45 minutes. Nonetheless, I felt really pleased with the way it went. I didn't 'fake' anything or pretend to be anything I'm not and we all got on really well. There was even an awkward, but nice, moment where I had to namedrop that I'd been on Newsnight a few weeks before.

The follow-up interview with the managing director was the next week, where we discussed the role and the company in a bit more detail. Again, I felt very honest, I felt that they were being honest with me and there was no pretence. I was very excited. I still am.

Today, I wanted to pass on the great feeling that comes when you get a job you want, a job you know you can do well and (although I was sick of people saying it to me) when it's the right job for you, you WILL get it. Also, my 'positive control' CV was tinkered with in 10 minutes and sent out with a cover letter in just 30, but I've spent 18 months writing dozens of applications so I think I must've got pretty good at it! When it comes to the interview process, I've learnt that if you feel under a whole amount of pressure to 'perform' and be someone you're not, then the job is probably not for you. If you get the job under the pretence of a skill you don't really have or a type of personality that isn't really you, then the job is going to be very very stressful trying to keep that up!

Anyway, it's been a couple of weeks now but my contract is signed and I'm due to start next week, just a month after I applied. The whole process has raised quite a few issue of job-seeking including contract negotiations, juggling two jobs (I'll be at King's one day a week sometimes) and starting at the bottom, not to mention taking a huge (-60%) pay-cut. I'm hoping to share how this is all going over the next few weeks, with honest advice and tips for such a big life change.

I've also got some research to share on (science) writing and journalism. Just because I've found my niche (I hope), it won't stop me sharing my science careers stuff with you!

Oh yeah, If you're interested in the science communication side of the posts I've written, I'm writing on another blog called Experiments in Communication on the Speakers of Science network. That's more about what I'm learning about scientific communication from courses and as I go through my new career (job?)- Feel free to take a look. The other posts on the network are pretty cool too - one has a see-through egg!

Dealing with rejection

We've all been there. You're sure it can work but you are getting mixed signals from them. You wait for them to get in touch and then, it happens. 

        

"We regret to inform you that we will not be progressing your application further. We have received applications from other candidates who more closely match the requirements of the position"

Balls.

It’s genuinely a coincidence that I’ve gotten around to writing a post on rejection on Valentine’s day but it seems fitting and I hope that this will be more useful than the shit you’ll find today in Grazia, Closer and <insert-name-of-magazine-that-promotes-self-loathing-here>.

I’ve been pretty open about the number of jobs I’ve applied for (nearing 50 now, if you’re wondering) and my success rates (two interviews, one spectacular job offer that I turned down). A few people have told me that I should keep it to myself, but I feel compelled to tell people the reality of my situation. It’s a bit like when someone compliments me on a particular piece of clothing and I am compelled to tell them how old, cheap or ‘from TK Maxx it is’.*

Anyway, this is not going to be a tale of woe and gnashing of teeth. Yes, it’s crappy when companies don’t reply. Yes, it’s a bit worse when you actually get a rejection. Job applications are not easy. Two or three in a week is exhausting and I have no ‘positive-control’ so I’m working in the dark most of the time.

What I wanted to write about this week was an answer to a question I get asked a lot: How do you deal with all the rejection? I’ll be honest, there are days when I’m really tired of it all. When I feel that if I had more time to write the bloody applications then maybe I’d get one of the jobs, but I’m so busy doing extra things to bolster my CV, maybe I’m spread too thin. Then, sometimes, I have a little cry. I’m quite fond of a good cry so this is not necessarily a bad thing. Anyway, we’re heading down the ‘tale of woe’ route but I just wanted to say that I’m not impervious to feeling crappy about it all. However, what I’ve done recently has really helped.

I have simply decided to do ‘new stuff’.

I guess it started by writing this blog, something I never thought I’d be able to do. It turns out, it wasn’t that hard and I’ve found out that I like doing it. You might think blogging is a complete exercise in narcissism and it is a bit, but it’s been a tremendous boost to my confidence to actually DO something. Something I thought I couldn’t do before.

Then, just before Christmas, bolstered by a bit of jealousy of my sister-in-law’s skills, I learnt to knit. I’m not great (the curled edges below probably show my tension is too tight) but it’s been really rewarding to learn the lingo, the patterns and to create something. I used to paint, draw and sketch a lot but, as messy hobbies, my one bedroom flat sort of vetoed them in fairness to my long suffering husband. It’s been very therapeutic to do but it also really made me proud. I could do something by the end of a week that I couldn’t do before. It didn’t cost much and I’ve found it really helpful to remind myself that I can do things.

Can you guess what I'm making? 

I also made a truly inedible pizza. Honestly, I’ve NEVER thrown something that I’ve cooked in the bin. I even froze an under-whipped tiramisu rather than chuck it out, once. This time, I thought to myself, I’d like to try and make a pizza. Yes, it was bloody awful. It was good to try though.

You can see where I tried to cut the dough in half
with a scissors to see if it was cooked. It wasn't

On the plus-side, the scraped off topping made
quite a nice pasta dish 

Last week, I got on a pair of skis for the first time in nearly 20 years. I’m not one of those Northern European ex-skiers who learnt in the womb either. I was hardly drawing on years of latent experience! In the end, I wasn’t half bad!  I was convinced I’d be appalling but, after just a couple of days, I was fine.

Look at me! Doing sport!

I decided the best way to combat the cold was to ensure
NONE of my skin was exposed.

This might seem like a completely pointless list of achievements but it’s important to remember that when you’re getting lots of rejections, you also did lots of other things too. 

Try a new hobby, start that book you’ve been meaning to read, dig out your old running shoes/bike/chess-set. I’ve found that by filling my meagre spare time with a couple of new things, the forefront of my mind isn’t dominated with ‘I got a rejection again this week’ but ‘how do I do a kfb purl stitch again?’** Remember that applying for jobs is just one of the things that your doing. Fill the rest of you time with things that will keep you positive and try and keep those in mind, too.

Maybe you got your son to finally eat with a spoon or trained the dog to sit. Maybe you worked out just how to make the perfect lasagne but, most of the time, if you have a little think, there’s usually something that worked. And, if not, try making a pizza. Apparently, it’s really easy. ***

*FYI: All my clothes are from TK Maxx or made by my Nan and most of them are over 5 years old. Some, over 15. I never grew.

** That’s for the knitters. God, I’m so cool.

***During the proof-reading of this blogpost, I got another rejection. I wonder if I could learn bridge?

In the next few weeks I'll be summarising seminars that I've been to on consultancy, patent law, science writing and think-tank research. I told you I've been busy, didn't I?

How to secure a job after your PhD

The lovely people at jobs.ac.uk recently staged a live Google hangout entitled 'How to secure a job after your PhD'.

For those who haven't taken part in a Google hangout, it's effectively like eavesdropping on someone else's Skype chat. 

In this hangout, five careers experts chatted about what they think are key recommendations and obstacles for jobseekers. If you were signed in you could ask them questions or use the Twitter hashtag #jobsq (worth a look) to interact and steer their conversation. I, for one, found it really useful and thought that a lot of their points were transferable to anyone who's looking for a new job, not just those who are doing, or have done, a PhD. 

The hangout was chaired by Aimee Bateman, who is a commercial recruiter running a careers organisation called Careercake, helping jobseekers through advice, training and interactive events like the Google hangout. 

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Sharing their thoughts were: 

Dr Chris Humphrey who runs jobs on toast - a site/blog dedicated to helping people get fulfilling careers after their degree, PhDs etc.. Chris has done the PhD, PostDoc route and has ended up in non-academic project management - he wants to show the full range of career options open to qualified people and help them to identify their 'transferable skills'. 

Claire Jones, a Careers Professional at Nottingham University who works with researchers. She opened with 'PhDs are talented people with a range of attributes' - She's generally surprised at their lack of confidence.

Dr Ioanna Iordanou, a teaching fellow at Warwick Business School. She left academia but went back and now loves it - she has seen both sides of the story. 

Dr Nadine Muller, a lecturer in English Literature at Liverpool John Moores who got her academic post straight after her PhD

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The hangout kicked straight off by answering questions submitted before the event. Here is a summary of what was discussed:

How do you show an industry that you're interested if you've spent the last x years in academia?

This question is relevant for anyone looking to make a career move in to a new sector.

Advice followed the lines of thinking of yourself as a broad professional rather than your specific area of expertise. For example, you are a professional scientist, rather than a virologist. You are an expert in communication with a broad range of individuals, rather than a teacher. The pace and deadlines in different sectors will be different and you need to make sure that the employer knows you are aware of this and can manage the difference. 

Ultimately, you need to show awareness of the sector you want to work in. You can gain this through following key performers in any given market on Twitter or via contacting people on LinkedIn. Get this awareness into your cover letter and that should make you stand out.

Another key recommendation was 'Don't be defined by your qualifications'. The discussion focussed on the fact that people are more than the letters after their name. Build on (professional) relationships on-line and in person and this will help make the job search easier. One suggestion was to surround yourself with people who are doing what you want to do and see how they work. By taking time to establish relationships with people in a given sector you show your enthusiasm and drive, whilst learning a lot and getting new contacts

What are employers looking for?

This came from a number of people trying to work out what to prioritise in their work. In most jobs, including the PhD, there are opportunities to do 'extra' things. The problem is deciding which are worth making time and sacrifices for.

Try to understand what are key activities in the discipline, institution or sector you want to work in. For example, in the humanities and subjects like politics, books and chapters of books can carry a lot of prestige, but in research science, journal articles are usually favoured. Ultimately, they are both publications that required project management and communication skills. If what you've done doesn't perfectly fit what they require, sell the skills you gained by doing the project, rather than the project itself.

If you can't fulfil some of the criteria that an employer wants yet, you can also show how you plan to meet those targets in the future. Again, this shows planning, ambition and drive. 

Specifically for academia, Claire Jones recommended publishing regularly and in increasingly 'better' journals, whilst Nadine Muller suggested that it's worth keeping some work 'in the bank', especially if you can increase it's impact with more research. This is also something you can include on your plan.

If you know in advance that you will be looking for a job soon, look at the requirements for roles beforehand and see of you can tick off any of them, with a little bit of extra work, between now and when you have to apply.

This brought the conversation onto the always popular topic of...

Transferable skills

Employers are 'buying' the person, not your CV, so make sure that you show them how valuable you are! This can be difficult after a rejection (or ten) but as Aimee Bateman said 'You're value doesn't decrease just because someone failed to see it. (If anyone manages to stay positive immediately following a rejection, let me know how you did it!)

To identify your value, Chris Humphrey recommended doing a 'Skills Audit' with a friend or colleauge. You will have varying levels of around 20 skills from practically every job and qualification you have. Work out what these are by asking others if you are not sure. This can be awkward, so try asking for specifics. Don't just ask 'What am I good at? but, instead 'What kind of problem would you come to me to help you fix', 'When have I helped you in the past?' You can then add these comments to LinkedIn or even directly to your CV.

Examples of transferrable skills you may have:

Project management - delivering your thesis, research project (or wedding) to strict deadlines, with good planning

Management of people - student supervision, getting people to work in a team etc., childcare

Computer skills - manipulation of text and images for reports, as well as the use of more niche programmes specific to your role

Organising events - conferences, presentations, meetings.  

Various types of communication - influence, negotiation and clear explanations 

Ultimately, employers will be interested in HOW you did the things on your CV and not just what you did. You should always value the breadth of your experience. In research, you have the opportunity to learn new things, so try not to focus on the end target, the degree, the research, or the articles, but on the skills you developed in the process. This can help you focus on the things you actually liked doing and sell your skills to the employer.

How do you balance the job search and the job?

Fundamentally don't get 'lost' in your job (the PhD) and understand your priorities. If your priority is an academic post then you need to plan your papers. If your priority is a job in industry then it's worth networking BEFORE you leave. 

Try not to think 'I have to find a job' as this is a bit daunting, think 'I need to build a relationship with someone who could help me understand the job better'. This will make you a much better candidate when it comes to applying and can actually be enjoyable!

One great bit of advice was, with all business relationships, give something to the other person three times before you ask for anything from them. This might seem a bit contrived, but if you send someone a paper, a recommendation or a job advert they might be interested in then, by the time you ask for advice on applying to their company, you're more likely to be thought on favourably. Nobody wants to be the guy who got in touch just to ask for a favour the first time.

Alternatively, if you're not ready to apply for a job yet, try practicing your application. Get a feel for how long it takes to just prepare your CV each time!

How do you convince an employer you are not over qualified?

If you have a degree or PhD and you want to move field, then you will often have to go for a junior role. However, how do you show an employer that you are not over-qualified and just using the post as a stepping-stone. Remember that the fear of being over-qualified can be in your own head and you need to show them that, in fact, you are perfectly qualified. Show that your other skills demonstrate you are an ideal fit for that role. 

In your cover letter, talk about why you are applying and why you want to work for them. Don't make it sound like you've filled in five applications and this just happens to be one of them. Fundamentally, they want to give the job to the person who wants it the most - make sure it sounds like that is you!

Don't make it sound like you don't care about the company, either - You will have to fit into the wider organisation as well as just the immediate team.

Don't start your cover letter with why they should pick you, start with why you picked them. Use something personal, not something you found on the website mission statement because anybody could use that. Find an article on-line or a blogpost that shows you've gone the extra mile.

How do you stay positive and motivated when filling out job applications?

If you apply for a lot of different jobs, your enthusiasm for each application can start to drain. Learn to value yourself during your PhD, degree or job and when you value yourself you can see that it's worth the time and effort to find a job you will enjoy! Take time to remind yourself what you're good at. Remind other people you work with that they are good at certain things (if they are) and this positivity should come back to you. 

Employers of all kinds rarely tell their people how valuable they are - try to remember your personal value, rejection doesn't mean you're rubbish - The right job will be the one you actually get! 

Should you take things off your CV?

Whether you take your PhD off your CV for a temp job, or take temping work off your CV for an executive job, the general response from the experts was a resounding 'No!'

Think of your time at university as a 3-4 year job. Talk about running a research project to deliver x number of papers or a patent. Employers may not realise that the time spent in your PhD is much like a (long hours and poorly paid) job. Repackage it and include it in your employment history.

When it comes to temporary jobs or low-skilled work, these positions show that you are willing to do something that is not perfect in order to reach goals and targets. This can simply be working in a bar in order to pay the rent while you look for your perfect job. It is a rare employer that would prefer to someone who sat on the sofa eating biscuits to someone who took a temporary job.

Ultimately, don't EVER devalue yourself. 

Final thoughts on embarking on a new career

Don't think of yourself as inferior because your early in any career path. Just because you haven't reached a certain target, you could sell that you plan to reach this target whilst working for them. 

You shouldn't feel you are begging for something your not entitled to! 

A PhD is a wonderful asset and you managed it on your own - Communicate and understand the value of your PhD, or any experience, to yourself and then you'll be able to communicate it to others.

Use any resources you can, such as libraries, careers advisers or any other colleagues that could give you advice and suggestions. 

Have a story that explains why your entering this new field - You're not 'chopping and changing', you've fulfilled one challenge and now you're now ready for the next opportunity. 

When looking for a new job, remember that all jobseekers are in the same boat - try not to behave as competitors or enemies, use each other as a network.  

Start building quality relationships as soon as possible and the whole process should be much easier!

You can go to #jobsq on Twitter, as well as jobs.ac.uk, for any further discussion of these topics but  (CHEESE ALERT) don't give up, keep at it and value yourself!