A recent post on the Alternative Scientist blog deals with how to track your own accomplishments.
Everyone needs to track their own accomplishments – for annual review time, to put on your resume, to talk about in interviews, and to monitor your own career progress. CATH@VWXYNOT offers many practical examples of ways she not only tracks her own accomplishments, but subtly ensures that her supervisors and co-workers know what she has done. Read her story, then start applying some of these ideas to your own accomplishments. Once you get started, it will become habit, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised to look back and see how much you’ve accomplished!
It’s amazing how one little word can make a huge difference.
I’m listening to coverage of the presidential candidates, and the reporter just said people are getting to a level of “comfortability” with Obama. I thought I must have heard wrong, but then a minute later he said it again. That one word destroyed any credibility the reporter had with me, and I stopped listening to anything else he had to say.
While this is an extreme example, it is probably not that unusual. Your choice of words reveals a great deal about how you really feel about things. The level of care you take with your words, especially with written communications, is often a direct reflection of how important you believe a talk to be.
What subtle messages are you sending with your words?
At the recent ACS meeting in New Orleans, a speaker mentioned internships as a great way to break into a new field. And as luck would have it, I found this advertisement in the pile of virtual mail waiting when I got back…..If you’re interested in a career in writing/editing/publishing, take a look.
Subject: 2008 Nature Corporate Internship Program
Are you a science graduate, interested in communication and the publishing business?
Nature Publishing Group, the publisher of Nature and other high impact journals, is pleased to announce further details of the NPG Internship Programme covering all areas within the publishing field for 2008.
About our Internships:
Science publishing is much more than the work of its editors. Graduate or post-graduate scientists understand the needs and aspirations of scientists and as a result can flourish in many areas of science publishing be it editing, marketing, advertising sales or implementing new technologies.
We are looking for scientists who wish to apply their knowledge and experience of science, and the scientific community, to the publishing business. Successful applicants will be based in our editorial, marketing, advertising sales or new technology departments for six months, in London or New York (depending on applicant’s residency and right to work) beginning 1 September and ending 28 February 2009.
Interns will learn the basics of publishing in their chosen department and be given responsibility for a challenging, creative project of direct relevance to department objectives or participate in a variety of editorial tasks for one of our journals. They will receive a stipend to help cover living costs for the duration of the internship. At the end of their stay, have gained valuable work experience in science publishing,
About you:
Candidates will be recent science graduates, possibly still working in research towards a higher qualification. You will be interested in communicating scientific concepts to a broad audience and recognize that those concepts could equally be new research findings, new publications, or other developments in science publishing. Your audience could reach beyond scientists to librarians, others with an interest in science, or companies who provide important equipment, reagents, and new technologies to researchers and need avenues in which to advertise. You will show awareness of commercial issues, and an interest in the challenge of publishers to provide real value and to grow their business. You will show initiative, creativity, energy, enthusiasm and have excellent interpersonal skills to work well with a range of colleagues across international departments.
To apply:
First, make sure you are familiar with our web site, www.nature.com, and be sure you have a contribution to make to our business. Then e-mail a CV or resume, with a brief covering letter to npgintern@macmillan.co.uk for the attention of Geetika Juneja. Be sure to include a paragraph explaining your suitability for the program and clearly identify your eligibility to work in either the United Kingdom or United States.
Closing Date: 15 May 2008
Don’t forget to mention naturejobs when replying to this advert.
Every job requires communication skills. In fact, after technical skills, written and oral communication are the next things most employers look for.
A great way to improve your writing skills, and help yourself at the same time, is to keep notes at work. A recent blog suggests you should Cover Your Butt At Work with Thorough Notes. If your memory is like mine, you have to write things down or you won’t remember them. Writing things down also solidifies your understanding of events, and can help you discover gaps. And if questions arise later on, your written notes are going to trump someone else’s memory.
One reason some people don’t like to write is that they’re afraid of making mistakes. There are many English words that have subtle, confusing distinctions. The more you practice, the better and more confident you’ll get, and you won’t be tripped up by confusing words.
And who knows, you may discover that writing about things is your true calling, and move into a documentation career as a professional technical writer, editor, or science journalist. 
Do you have a job you love, but none of your friends understand why? Or do you hate your job, and your friends tell you it’s great, and you should be happy to have it?
What makes a job “good” or “bad” is highly personal. It’s mostly a matter of fit – do the content, actions, and responsibiliites of the position match your own personal goals and values?
A recent Wall Street Journal report talks about the 10 worst jobs – they define a bad job as one that pays less than the median wage, and has neither employer-sponsored health insurance nor a retirement plan.
Career columnist Penelope Trunk believes that a bad job is one that does not allow both engaging work and flexible hours.
My career as a freelance technical writer has no health insurance or retirement plan, but highly engaging work and flexible hours. Does that mean it’s good or bad? For me, it’s ideal. I love what I do, and have the flexibility to work around family obligations. While some jobs (clients and/or projects) may be less flexible than others, overall it has worked wonderfully for more than 15 years. How well does your career fit you?
In over 15 years of helping scientists (and others) manage their careers, the single most important skill has been communication – both oral and written. I’ve seen many people with wonderful technical skills, who could not get that information across to potential employers. I’ve also seen many people whose technical skills were average, but they were such good communicators that they had no trouble persuading an employer that they could do/learn the job, and thus get hired.
As a professional technical writer and presenter, I’ve decided to share some of my favorite tips and tricks, to help you become a better communicator. Hopefully they will prove interesting those of you looking to expand your career options. Even if you don’t want a career in technical writing, you will learn to articulate exactly what kind of job you do want.
So here’s your first tip: Before you start writing anything, take a minute (or more) to think about who your audience is. What background do they have, what are their interests in this topic, why do they need to spend their time reading what you have to say? For example, think about how you would describe what you did at work this week to the following people:
Each one has a different level of background knowledge, technical knowledge, familiarity with the issues involved, area interest, and so on. By taking the time to think about exactly who you are writing for, you can start to put yourself in their place. Try to get a picture of who they are, and why they should be interested in what you have to say. Why should they read this document – what’s in it for them? By doing this, you will better prepare yourself to write something that meets the needs of your intended audience. And by meeting their needs, you increase the chances that they’ll read it – which is what you need.