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**PhD Transition Report On-Demand**

Podcast by Cheeky Scientist

Latest Episodes:

9 Interview Questions Industry Employers Just Started Asking PhDs Aug 17, 2020

Show notes

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

First, Isaiah shares with you the 9 interview questions that PhDs transitioning today are being asked.
Next, Isaiah discusses Jeff Haden’s article ‘6 Interview Questions to Start Asking Every Remote Work Job Candidate (Covid Edition)’
Finally, Isaiah offers some inspiration and hope to those struggling in the job market right now.

From This Week’s Show…

The 9 Interview Questions PhDs are being asked

We’re talking about interview questions that PhDs are hearing right now. These questions have changed quite dramatically since six months ago.

Employers want to know that you’re open to either working remotely or onsite or in any fashion that might come up in the future. They want to know that no matter how the working environment changes, no matter what new regulations occur, that you are willing to do that.

They want to know how you manage your productivity.

Tell me about a time you’ve been lonely on the job? I think as PhDs, certainly we can handle working alone autonomously, but there are those times when you need some sort of interaction.

Is there some work life balance that you could discuss to show them that you aren’t going to get burnt out or lonely?

Tell me about a time you felt misunderstood on the job. What they’re asking is how did you reconcile that misunderstanding? How did you communicate with your superiors, with people working cross-functionally with you to become understood?

How are you recording your work to know if these changes are having a negative impact on performance, on productivity, on other business data, profits, and beyond.

What’s more important people or data? Data objectively is very, very important. But to get big things done, there’s a team in place for a reason. And if you have a weak link on that team, for whatever reason that person’s having a bad day, they’re tracking the wrong data and they don’t realize it, people make irrational decisions often without knowing it. If we just follow the data and know every decision was rational, this would be easy, but it’s not. People can be irrational. Yes, tracking KPIs are important, but checking with people, communication matters. People are more important.

They’re looking for that certainty, give them that certainty.

I really wouldn’t apply to a job right now if you’re not certain that you can be adaptable and flexible.

6 Additional Interview Questions For Remote Work

There is a great article, written by Jeff Hayden, that has six additional questions.

Number two, how do you keep your team engaged and connected? They’re looking for you to answer in terms of your leadership. So not just how you keep yourself on task, how you manage yourself, but how you would manage others.

What are the five things you always have in your workspace? And why? That’s focused on finding out how you keep yourself productive.

They want to know that you can work autonomously and also with a team.

When you bring work home with you, it is more difficult to define a style. Is it more difficult to define a stopping point?

Are you able to communicate when you need some balance or will you just wait and wait and wait until you explode?

So, look back throughout your professional career. So far, what helped you get to where you’re at good or bad? What new skills do you need to leverage? What new ways of communicating your current skills?

You can get hired right now. You can get into the right job and you shouldn’t let anything hold you back as PhD’s, we know how to adapt to change.

** for the full podcast, check out the audio player above.

To get advanced access to the full length versions of these podcasts, as well as access to our live training webinars, exclusive training videos, case studies, industry insider documents, transition plan, and private online network, get on the waitlist for the Cheeky Scientist Association now.

The post 9 Interview Questions Industry Employers Just Started Asking PhDs appeared first on Cheeky Scientist.

Why PhDs Are Paid So Much To Work At Home As Medical Writers Aug 10, 2020

Show notes

If you’re a PhD who loves writing, working from home, and earning a high salary, maybe you should consider medical writer as a career path.

Still not convinced this is the career for you? Join Isaiah as he interviews Alejandra Viviescas, PhD about her journey to Medical Writing.

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

First, Alejandra shares her story and how she transitioned into medical writing.
Next, Alejandra and Isaiah discuss a day in the life of a medical writer.
Finally, Isaiah and Alejandra consider why PhDs are paid so much to work at home as medical writers.

From This Week’s Show…

What is Medical Writing?

Today, we’re focused on how to get into a medical writing career, which is an umbrella term for many different job types. And I’m very excited to have with us Alejandra Viviescas, PhD, who is a medical writer.

So I would say anything that has some relationship with communication and science as is going to fall into this medical writing term. It’s a position that can serve as a safety net for almost every PhD.

I started to search for other opportunities. I had to contribute some way to the world and just find happiness in what I did. And so, I started looking at what aspects of my PhD, I enjoyed the most and bench work, wasn’t it.

And that’s when it clicked, I had these good communication skills and that was something I actually enjoyed, writing reports or papers or poster presentations, even my thesis.

I started networking and I found other people who have transitioned. When you’re trying to put the pieces together in your transition and you see somebody who already transitioned, it’s like, what kind of God is this person who got out of academia? I started talking to them and listening to their stories. And I realized that these were just people like me.

I started picturing not the position I wanted, but the lifestyle.

While I was finishing my PhD, I spent all my free time creating this strategy and a spreadsheet of clients. I defended on a Thursday and on Monday I started reaching out to clients and I got my first client less than a month after defending my PhD.

What Skills Make Medical Writing So Valuable?

If you have the ability to communicate with stakeholders, to be client facing, that in combination with your technical skills, your writing skills, your other higher level skills as a PhD, is what makes you so valuable in any industry.

If you want to go into medical writing, it’s an understanding of the audience. Who is it for? Is it for other academics? Is it for patients or doctors or healthcare professionals? Is it for the general public?

And you have to take feedback as something that they’re not trying to tell you, you’re not good enough. They’re just trying to make you better. And not only a better writer, but a better writer for them.

Whereas if you go to marketing, you’re thinking how you want to translate, how do you want to sell that and help the public understand what your company is doing.

When you’re writing for a regulatory body, there’s a set list of documents for everything. Every step you have to take, whether it’s developing a product, launching a product, or keeping a product in the market.

The project management aspect is also super important. It’s very rare that you’re going to have one project finished and start a new one one; you’ll have to juggle different projects, just like you did during your PhD.

You can work full time for a company on site, but you can work full time for a company remote.

You can work completely freelance on a client basis. You can work full time with your clients or part time,

And I also want to highlight because of my experience as a freelancer, if you decide to do freelancing or consulting, just keep in mind, you’re going to learn so much because you are going to be your own small business.

** for the full podcast, check out the audio player above.

The post Why PhDs Are Paid So Much To Work At Home As Medical Writers appeared first on Cheeky Scientist.

Best Industry Transition Advice On The Web (August 2nd, 2020 Edition) Aug 03, 2020

Show notes

There is an overwhelming amount of information on the internet, and sometimes you just don’t have the time to read our weekly Best of Transition article.

Not to worry, this week Isaiah brings to you the best industry transition advice on the web; a digest of Best Of Transition: PhD Jobs & Job Search Strategies, August 1, 2020.

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

First, Isaiah introduces this special podcast
Next, Isaiah reveals last weeks top industry transition advice from the web as picked by team Cheeky
Finally, Isaiah discusses some of last week’s best transition articles from the web

From This Week’s Show…

The Top Overall Industry Article

In today’s show, we’re doing something special. We are doing a digest of the best information that’s out on the web about how to transition into industry. This is specific information that’s relevant to PhDs.

If this is all brand new to you, if you go to our website, cheeky scientist.com, and you look under the resources page, this is where you can find our best of transition articles, which include these categories: networking, CVs and resumes, interviews, transferable skills, academic blues, industry positions, and business acumen.

The top article overall for this past week was “4 skills you can add to your resume that you’ve learned from working remotely during the pandemic.“

Employers know you can be hyper-technical. How are you letting them know that you can communicate in various forms of media online, especially during the pandemic. Are you going to be able to be mentored virtually which could mean by email, by phone, by zoom, whatever medium they need you to be able to learn on, or are you going to be able to mentor others? Are you gonna be able to onboard? Are you gonna be able to get things done?

The fourth one is the one that I just thought was brilliant to put into this article. Conscientiousness.

I think it should say conscientiousness was unrelated to starting salary, but significantly so to salary growth.

Key Points From Other Top Industry Articles

[Alternatives to Networking] So number one, traveling leisure surveys, number two, online events, number three, introductory videos, number four, virtual client round tables, number five, enhanced social media presence. You have to increase your social media presence.

A lot of our associates have had success with this. By making that small change, making all or multiple social media accounts unified to point towards the same direction, towards the job that you want.

This is not about being raw and it’s going to be there’s a different touch to this. So to speak for every country, for every individual, for every company. And that company is culture. But believe me, they want to see that you’re engaged and that you want to work.

You have to show employers that you want to work. You want to be safe during the pandemic, of course, but you still want to show them that you’re dying to work. You need to find a way to work virtually from home, whatever it takes, you’ll figure it out.

PhDs in particular, draw a blank and they forget to connect what they can bring to the table to the actual goals, the quantifiable results that that company wants you to achieve, which is why it’s so important for you to learn to speak in terms of results, not job duties or technical skills.

A great way to differentiate yourself is to talk about experiences outside of academia. Outside of STEM. Experiences that are relatable, like a summer job.

What are the hiring managers’ reservations about you is a great way to end the interview. “What reservations do you have about me or about hiring me for this role?” It’s a great way to address a concern before that person meets with the hiring committee and get them to tell you what their concern is, address it, and overcome it.

** for the full podcast, check out the audio player above.

The post Best Industry Transition Advice On The Web (August 2nd, 2020 Edition) appeared first on Cheeky Scientist.

42-Step Job Search Overview In Under 30 Minutes Jul 27, 2020

Show notes

Job searching is an infuriating full time job and can be very stressful.

However, following Isaiah’s 42 job searching steps can streamline this process making it more enjoyable.

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

First, Isaiah discusses how to choose the right career track for you
Next, Isaiah reveals key concepts in the intricacy of applying for jobs
Finally, Isaiah walks you through universal techniques to master for a successful job hire – from phone screen to closing the deal.

From This Week’s Show…

Prioritizing Your Job Search

We have a very special show for you today, understanding your job search from A to Z.

The United Nations had just put out a new article or a new release with the numbers of job losses that occurred in the second quarter of 2020; 400 million is the amount.

If you’re a PhD, like most PhDs, you have not been surrounded by people that are working in industry careers or in nonacademic careers in general.

You’re in the academic bubble, or you spent a large part of your life there. And no matter what you’ve read online, you are more influenced by the people that you’ve been around.

It’s about the sequence in which you apply those strategies, the sequence in which you spend your time, how you allocate your resources. And in which order you allocate those resources as a PhD.

The 42-Steps To A Successful Job Search

Write down the qualities that are the most important to you, and then rank those qualities. So you have a guide, a key with which to look at these different job titles and to see if this job allows you to do these characteristics or allows you to spend your time this way as judged by these qualities.

When they see a PhD, they see somebody who is very good at learning technical or specialty skills. The reason they won’t hire you is because they don’t know if you have transferable skills, realize that first, that’s the key.

Number eight, what employers are really looking at is whether or not they can sit next to you for eight hours a day without going insane.

Number 13, there are five sections on every resume format: your professional summary section, your work experience section, your education, your technical skills, and then finally honors, awards, and hobbies.

Your professional brand. In this case for LinkedIn, your SSI score really matters. And a lot of it comes down to how active you are on LinkedIn.

You have to go from saying happy holidays to congratulations on the new position to how did you get into that position? What was the transition process to, what interview questions did they ask?

Don’t think the phone screen is just some small event or it should be taken lightly or because you can hide behind a phone and it’s just by audio that you don’t have to take it very seriously. You do. You have to have a strong phone presence. You need to practice

There are only four types of interview questions that you’ll ever be asked. Is it a competency question? Is it an opinion question? Is it a behavioral question? What kind of question is it for the fourth one? You can go to cheekyscientist.com to find out.

Step 39, make sure you have questions to ask the employer. They’re going to say, do you have any questions for me? Take that seriously. Turn the tables, make them sell the position in the company to you.

Step 42 to close the deal. It’s called selling into the close. Always be selling what you’re going to be doing for that company. The value you’re going to be adding all the way through the negotiation and make it win, win.

** for the full podcast, check out the audio player above.

The post 42-Step Job Search Overview In Under 30 Minutes appeared first on Cheeky Scientist.

What To Expect In An Industry R&D Role From Former Genentech Scientist, Elliott Brecht, PhD Jul 20, 2020

Show notes

What is the difference between an academic scientist and an industry scientist?

Find out in this week’s podcast where Isaiah interviews former senior scientist at Genentech, Elliott Brecht, Ph.D.

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

Join Isaiah as he conducts an informational interview with a fellow Cheeky: Elliott Brecht, PhD.
Elliot discusses the role of a scientist in industry research and how it differs from academia.
Elliot shares his challenges in transitioning into industry and how to overcome them.

From This Week’s Show…

Research In Academia Vs. Research In Industry

I’m very excited for today’s show because we have a former senior scientist at Genentech. So for those of you who are considering being a research scientist or a researcher in industry, and you’re wondering what the differences are between doing research in academia and in industry, he is the perfect person to talk to.

When I started applying and started interviewing and started actually touring different industry sites and going to them, I realized that they were conducting way more research in industry than I was in academia.

You’re basically starting to take on more of that PI role and you are then in charge of usually multiple different projects.

When you move into a more senior scientist sort of position you’re going to have one main project that you are sort of the advocate for. You have people underneath you who are collecting all of the data, running different analytics, getting the compound, and filtering it down. You have one major project that you’re on while doing several others.

Depending on the company, they’re going to have people who are over in the other areas of development who are working through and doing a lot more of the process, sort of engineering of things going through and making sure whether or not we can develop these compounds.

You might not necessarily be writing as many articles. You might be writing books, you might be writing more NDA filings and FDA grants, or MTA regulations and, writing more medical descriptions.

Industry Transition Challenges And How To Overcome Them

I guess one of the biggest challenges for me when I initially transitioned was imposter syndrome; feeling, am I good enough to be here? Like, should I be here?

You have to realize that you know more about this data than anybody else. And you just have to own it.

I’m personally on the spectrum of being a little more introverted and in industry, you can’t really hide behind the filing cabinet, like you can within academia. That was one of the things that was a little more difficult for me; having a lot more personal interaction with people.

So one thing that we always recommend is not to silo yourself onboarding, don’t stay by yourself, meet as many people as you can. Really get involved in the onboarding activities.

A strength that we have as PhDs is that we love a challenge and we thrive in challenges. So we have a very high threshold for psychological pain. In fact, we enjoy it. It’s a weakness for us because things have to get really, really bad for us to finally change. We are sharing this with you so that you at least know what that pain will be like, and you’ll make plans to transition or to take your career into your own hands sooner.

That rejection really helped me to switch over and really understand a lot more of the differences between the academic and industry because, within academia, you’re always taking ownership. I switched over and was able to start talking about how I could impact the company and I could push their research forward and how I could bring value to the company.

If you are interested in getting specifically into an R and D role, we do have an advanced program that Elliot is a part of as a program leader, the R and D society was our first advanced program.

** for the full podcast, check out the audio player above.

The post What To Expect In An Industry R&D Role From Former Genentech Scientist, Elliott Brecht, PhD appeared first on Cheeky Scientist.

Understanding Application Scientist & Application Specialist Roles In Industry W Alex Woychek, PhD, MPH Jul 13, 2020

Show notes

Do you love communicating, networking, traveling, and what to stay on the technical side of research but out of the lab?

Then Join Isaiah as he interviews fellow Cheeky Scientist: Alex Woychek, PhD, MPH. You might just discover the perfect role for you!

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

Join Isaiah as he conducts an informational interview with a fellow Cheeky: Alex Woychek, PhD, MPH..
Together they will discuss what an application scientist is and what they do.
Finally, Isaiah and Alex will dive into what personalities are perfect for this role, and the ideal qualifications needed to secure a job as an application scientist.

From This Week’s Show…

The Day In the Life Of An Application Scientist

Today we are going to be learning about the application scientist position sometimes called a field application scientist or field application specialist. We are very lucky to have Alex Woychek, PhD, MPH. She is an application scientist currently at Chemo Medic.

Very broadly you as an FAS or even as an application scientist, you are the interface between your customers and the company.

There are so many different facets, you’re working closely with the sales team, but you also are going to work with marketing team business development because all of these other parts of the company are interested in your scientific input. They need to know how to market to scientists.

This is really a liaison type role.

I would say four out of the five days on average, I’m actually going to customer sites and I’ll do anything from installing an instrument to doing a demo before they purchase the instrument. And then I try to take one day a week or make sure I’m at home to answer emails.

I think the important part here is, is that you get to stay close to, or you can, if you want to the technical side of your work

What Qualities Make A Good Application Scientist?

We were surrounded by other PhDs. So we don’t think that we are good at processing information. But we are. We can synthesize it, we can put it together. We can look at different fields and different data points and different trends at a scale that most people just cannot do.

You have to remember that you’re talking to nonscientists and you don’t want to make your team feel like they’re not as smart as you are because they don’t know the science, but they know this whole other business aspect of the company that you have no idea about.

So I think my biggest worry was I had never been in this type of environment. I didn’t know how to interact in the business environment. I know how we interact in science. But when it comes to business, there are these small things that make a big difference.

It just shows how culture is in everything. Culture is how you get things done. There’s an industry culture, and there are different layers of it. There’s a culture of your company, culture of your department, culture of your position.

One of the big things that I learned was networking is so important. You just have to put a lot more upfront time into cold contacting people to just set up those informational interviews.

And you’re actually good at a lot of things, even though you don’t have that support right now from your mentor, the person who’s supposed to be mentoring you, telling you, ‘I think you can do it’.

If you’re listening and you’ve transitioned into your first career, you can be a mentor. You can give another PhD permission to believe in themselves again.

One of the very common things that I have seen is people moving from FAS to a sales role.

It takes a special type of person to be able to be just yelled at for a few minutes when you walk in the door and you just kind of have to absorb that and say, okay, they’re not actually mad at me, something is going wrong in their process.

I’ve had this question in an interview, how would you communicate this knowledge to a non-scientist versus a highly technical person?

** for the full podcast, check out the audio player above.

The post Understanding Application Scientist & Application Specialist Roles In Industry W Alex Woychek, PhD, MPH appeared first on Cheeky Scientist.

7 Things You Can’t Control In A Job Search (& 9 You Can) Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

Wouldn’t it be great to control every aspect of the job search, to have complete certainty in your career path? The truth is we can’t control everything no matter how hard we try.

Join Isaiah as he shares with you 7 things you can’t control in your job search and gives you 9 aspects you can to focus your job search efforts.

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

First, Isaiah shares two stories on how mindset can drastically change the outcome of your career.
Next, Isaiah discusses 7 things you don’t have power over in your job search and you need to stop obsessing over.
Finally, Isaiah gives you 9 areas you can control and should focus your energies on for a better job search.

From This Week’s Show…

Why Are You Obsessing Over Something You Can’t Control?

Today, we’re talking about what you can and can’t control in your job search.

What you’ve learned to do is research, no matter your domain, whether you’re STEM or non STEM, whatever your background is. This is what analysis is all about. And those are those two key transferable skills you have as a PhD that make you so valuable in industry right now.

Our goal is to help all individuals get hired into the jobs that they want to get hired into, all PhDs, no matter what your PhD background is, no matter what country you are from.

When it comes to your job search, it can be a complete waste of time trying to control the things that are outside of your control. There are a lot of employers that you do not want to work for, and if they have certain biases against you, you do not want to work for them.

We have people on our platform from 150 different countries, and there are challenges and biases and difficulties in all of these countries. And I wish that I could just level the playing field across the board, but I can’t do that.

So just like everything else in life, you have to figure out quickly what you can control and what you can’t control if you want to progress in your job search.

Very often it’s easier to focus on what’s not working. It’s easier to blame the things that you can’t control when it comes to your job search than to turn your attention on what you can control. Because once you admit that you can control it, you’re taking responsibility for your job search.

7 Things You Have No Power Over In Your Job Search and 9 You Do

We know that questions determine our focus as PhD’s. Questions, hypotheses are powerful. Focus on what you can control, not on what you can’t control.

Despite your lack of experience, you are a PhD after all, a doctor of philosophy, philosophy is knowledge and the ability to ascertain knowledge. You’re a doctor of learning.

This is why we said every bullet point on your resume has to start with a transferable skill.

You have complete control over your priorities. You actually do. You can say, no, you can’t, or you can find out where that line is. You can push back.

Number three, your networking efforts and the volume of your networking efforts. We call this the power of next. If somebody doesn’t respond to you or rejects you go to somebody else, get another introduction.

Number five, which positions you’re excited about, or just enthusiasm in general, enthusiasm is important. You should have enthusiasm come through in your job search.

Sure, you may not be the best fit for this job now, but you can learn it. So are you talking about your ability to learn quickly? Are you talking about the value of a PhD about being a doctor of learning about research and analysis, innovation, these transferable skills that I’ve been mentioning over and over again.

You can control your sense of certainty and communicating your sense of certainty as well as your self efficacy. You can believe in yourself. That you can get things done or learn how to get things done the way they need you to.

** for the full podcast, check out the audio player above.

The post 7 Things You Can’t Control In A Job Search (& 9 You Can) appeared first on Cheeky Scientist.

WARNING – The Hard Truth About Job Search Rejection (13 Reasons You’re Being Excluded By Employers) Jun 29, 2020

Show notes

Rejection is one of the hardest things to face in your job search. But every rejection comes with a hard truth and a lesson to get hired into your dream job!

Join Isaiah as he shares with you 13 reasons why you are being excluded from employers and how to overcome them.

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

First, Isaiah explains why NOW is the best time for your job search.
Next, Isaiah shares 13 reasons why you and your mindset are holding you back from getting that job.
Throughout, Isaiah offers advice on what you can do to avoid these setbacks.

From This Week’s Show…

The Crucial Period To Get Hired

Today, I’m talking to you about 13 reasons that you’re not being hired.

We are entering a crucial period. We’re already in it. This crucial period of hiring, there is a “hiring boom” occurring right now.

There’s going to be a massive hiring freeze. They’re trying to hire everybody they can right now. We’ve got about a six week period of hiring. Only five of these weeks are left. Are you going to be hired?

13 Reasons You’re Being Excluded By Employers

You hear me talking about the transferable skills that give rise to the specific technical skills, but you’re still evading reality thinking that your impressive sounding technical skill is what’s going to get you hired.

People blame everybody but themselves. They rather blame others than changing their behavior and their attitude. People even blame that fact that cold contacting people or networking exists. You can hate the idea of networking from scratch, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to be above it.

The idea of rejection, the idea of putting in a lot of effort and not getting hired, the idea of companies not wanting you, of you having to get off your mountaintop of academia and start at the bottom of another mountain of industry makes you hedge your bets. Look, you’re going to get rejected in a job search. It’s normal.

The number one way you can reduce risk is by showing them [employers] certainty that this is the one job you want. This is your top choice company and top choice position and everything you’ve done has prepared you to work in that position and you will not let them down.

You need to use recession based language. Talk about risk management, risk mitigation, change management, flexibility, regulatory acumen, things that have to do with reducing risk because you’re in a recession.

Don’t be afraid to show commitment. In academia, we almost have a commitment mentally purged from our psyche. It’s good to have that when it comes to being critical of the data and making sure you’re doing things correctly in a reproducible way. It’s not good when it comes to getting a job, you want to show certainty.

You have to pay attention to every detail in the entire sequence and sequence matters. Think of a protocol or a lesson plan. You can’t do the last thing first and the first thing last and think that your experiments are going to work or the lesson plan is going to be executed the same for every class.

Finally, you’re emotional. We like to think we’re very logical. We’re going into a new domain. It’s okay to be scared of your job search. It’s a black box for many of us.

If you do this, if you avoid these 13 things that I just talked about, these 13 reasons why you’re really stuck in your job search or being excluded, you will get hired.

** for the full podcast, check out the audio player above.

The post WARNING – The Hard Truth About Job Search Rejection (13 Reasons You’re Being Excluded By Employers) appeared first on Cheeky Scientist.

The Upcoming 2nd Wave Pandemic Job Market & 17 PhD Careers That Will Survive Jun 22, 2020

Show notes

Don’t let the warm weather fool you. Securing a job in the next 6 weeks is crucial to being prepared for the “second wave” of the pandemic.

Join Isaiah as he discusses 17 indestructible career paths that will survive any wave of the pandemic.

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

First, Isaiah explains why the next 6 weeks are so crucial to your job search.
Next, Isaiah shares 17 careers paths to focus on in a pandemic.
Finally, Isaiah offers guidance on how cheekyscientist.com can help protect your career through the “second wave” of the pandemic.

From This Week’s Show…

Why These Next 6 Weeks Are Crucial For You To Find A Job

I’m going to give you 17 career tracks to focus on and to get into ideally in the next six weeks. Why six weeks? Many countries had a large financial stimulus program. A lot of this relief is ending.

On top of the increased numbers of people piling into this job market, you’re also going to have employers stop hiring. They’re going to freeze again, just like they did previously. It means you need to take your job search very seriously over these next six weeks.

If you look at the data of the 2008 financial crises, about four years later, that’s when the peak of unemployment was present, some of you experienced that. Some of you have no idea what I’m talking about.

You have a six-week window right now to take your job search seriously, to get hired and to get that agreement signed before there is a massive response.

17 Indestructible Career Paths for PhDs During the “Second Wave”

If you get into our flagship program, the largest platform for PhDs available in terms of getting a job, we have a methodology. We have a framework that divides the career paths available into five key career paths, five key career tracks. There’s 43 overall. However, we’re seeing 17 career paths that are essentially indestructible in the face of the pandemic.

We’re talking about writing-intensive positions, such as patent examiner and patent agent, but also medical writing and data scientists are under this umbrella.

Almost half of the people hired into medical writing roles in English speaking countries, don’t speak English as their first language.

The application scientist is the medical science liaison of the biotech industry.

A very popular career track right now is user experience researcher. This is the new career track that I think is going to explode the same way that data scientist did in 2008.

Don’t just focus on researcher. You have to look at analyzing all of the data that is out there.

Those two skills – research and analysis – separate you from every other job candidate and every other degree type.

If a position ends in “researcher” or “analyst”, you can get into it.

We didn’t see a dip in hiring at all for the medical science liaison field or for medical affairs, because all of this activity of trying to find new drugs for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases came to the forefront of industry.

You have six weeks. Most of the job market is going to be tuned out for six weeks because they’re enjoying the financial stimulus.

You can get hired because employers are rebounding. Now they’re hiring. The economy has opened back up in many places. It’s going to be a short window one way or another. Are you going to be prepared for it?

** for the full podcast, check out the audio player above.

The post The Upcoming 2nd Wave Pandemic Job Market & 17 PhD Careers That Will Survive appeared first on Cheeky Scientist.

Overcoming Your Darkest Hour In Academia (3 Ways To Get Unstuck) Jun 15, 2020

Show notes

Have you found yourself in your darkest hour of academia? Feeling stuck or lost in your career path?

Join Isaiah as he shares his darkest hour experience and gives you three strategies to turn your own despair in academia into an opportunity for industry success!

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

First, Isaiah shares his story, which is probably not far from your own. It’s not a matter if you get stuck but when. Understand you’re not alone and how small shifts can trigger big change.
Then, Isaiah shares the three simple strategies you can implement now to get unstuck in your career path.
Finally, Isaiah discusses how your skills and passions can help you find your target, keep you motivated, and find success in industry.

From This Week’s Show…

How Academia Drives You To Your Darkest Hour

I want to talk to you about your darkest hour in a job search. A lot of PhDs who have not yet reached severe pain in terms of their job search or in terms of academia are unprepared for their own darkest hour.

Sooner or later, we reach a point in academia where we realize there is no reward anymore.

“Should I be treated like this is, am I just worthless? Can I only be successful by doing what other people have done? Following that standard path of a postdoc to whatever else?”

The fact that you would feel like it’s your obligation to work for free out of some sense of duty or guilt or whatever, just shows you how completely absurd academia is.

It’s not until we go through that darkest hour that we look for something that brings us out of it. Something triggers us, just like there’s a trigger to put us into that darkest hour. Usually, the pain gets so bad that we finally say “enough is enough.”

The Three Strategies To Get Unstuck

It’s not too late for you, no matter what you’re facing, when you become stuck, if you’re not stuck yet, or if you are stuck now, or if you are in that area of despair, there are three things that will get you out of it.

Get out of this negative pessimistic mindset that academia teaches you to have. That’s a great mindset to have to avoid confirmation bias when you’re doing experiments or you’re writing your thesis or you’re gathering or evaluating information, but it is a horrible attitude to have when you’re dealing with other people, be nice, be kind, be engaged.

Why do you want to get out of academia? You need to know, and you need to put a name to it. You reached that moment of despair for a reason. Maybe it’s because you finally had enough of low pay. You finally had enough of being disrespected. You finally had enough of being yelled at.

Find your target. It doesn’t matter how driven you are or how intelligent you are. It doesn’t matter what qualities you have behind you if you can’t hit a target.

You deserve this, but you’re going to have to work for it. You’re invisible to employers. All you have to do is learn how to be visible.

Get more exposure to these different industries, again, to increase visibility and keep yourself motivated and driven so that if you face a rejection , you’ll keep moving forward. Learn the power of next.

** for the full podcast, check out the audio player above.

The post Overcoming Your Darkest Hour In Academia (3 Ways To Get Unstuck) appeared first on Cheeky Scientist.

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PhD Transition Report On-Demand

From This Week’s Show…

The 9 Interview Questions PhDs are being asked

6 Additional Interview Questions For Remote Work

If you’re a PhD who loves writing, working from home, and earning a high salary, maybe you should consider medical writer as a career path.

Still not convinced this is the career for you? Join Isaiah as he interviews Alejandra Viviescas, PhD about her journey to Medical Writing.

From This Week’s Show…

What is Medical Writing?

What Skills Make Medical Writing So Valuable?

There is an overwhelming amount of information on the internet, and sometimes you just don’t have the time to read our weekly Best of Transition article.

Not to worry, this week Isaiah brings to you the best industry transition advice on the web; a digest of Best Of Transition: PhD Jobs & Job Search Strategies, August 1, 2020.

From This Week’s Show…

The Top Overall Industry Article

Key Points From Other Top Industry Articles

Job searching is an infuriating full time job and can be very stressful.

However, following Isaiah’s 42 job searching steps can streamline this process making it more enjoyable.

From This Week’s Show…

Prioritizing Your Job Search

The 42-Steps To A Successful Job Search

What is the difference between an academic scientist and an industry scientist?

Find out in this week’s podcast where Isaiah interviews former senior scientist at Genentech, Elliott Brecht, Ph.D.

From This Week’s Show…

Research In Academia Vs. Research In Industry

Industry Transition Challenges And How To Overcome Them

Do you love communicating, networking, traveling, and what to stay on the technical side of research but out of the lab?

Then Join Isaiah as he interviews fellow Cheeky Scientist: Alex Woychek, PhD, MPH. You might just discover the perfect role for you!

From This Week’s Show…

The Day In the Life Of An Application Scientist

What Qualities Make A Good Application Scientist?

Wouldn’t it be great to control every aspect of the job search, to have complete certainty in your career path? The truth is we can’t control everything no matter how hard we try.

Join Isaiah as he shares with you 7 things you can’t control in your job search and gives you 9 aspects you can to focus your job search efforts.

From This Week’s Show…

Why Are You Obsessing Over Something You Can’t Control?

7 Things You Have No Power Over In Your Job Search and 9 You Do

Rejection is one of the hardest things to face in your job search. But every rejection comes with a hard truth and a lesson to get hired into your dream job!

Join Isaiah as he shares with you 13 reasons why you are being excluded from employers and how to overcome them.

From This Week’s Show…

The Crucial Period To Get Hired

13 Reasons You’re Being Excluded By Employers

Don’t let the warm weather fool you. Securing a job in the next 6 weeks is crucial to being prepared for the “second wave” of the pandemic.

Join Isaiah as he discusses 17 indestructible career paths that will survive any wave of the pandemic.

From This Week’s Show…

Why These Next 6 Weeks Are Crucial For You To Find A Job

17 Indestructible Career Paths for PhDs During the “Second Wave”

Have you found yourself in your darkest hour of academia? Feeling stuck or lost in your career path?

Join Isaiah as he shares his darkest hour experience and gives you three strategies to turn your own despair in academia into an opportunity for industry success!

From This Week’s Show…

How Academia Drives You To Your Darkest Hour

The Three Strategies To Get Unstuck

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