Archive for November, 2006

Learn the Culture in a New Job

Thursday, November 30th, 2006

There are a lot of things to learn when starting a new job – how to use the copier, where supplies are, let alone learning how to do the job you were hired to do. But as a recent article in the Wall Street Journal points out, it’s important to also learn the corporate culture. This includes simple things like should you book your own travel, or have assistants do it for you? Are you expected to check your email on weekends? Is questioning the boss encouraged?

Giving Great Presentations

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006

After technical skills, oral and written communication skills are most often cited by employers as what they look for in potential employees. A recent article on Giving a Great Presentation can help you polish this most important skill.

Has your resume been stolen?

Friday, November 17th, 2006

Your resume should present your professional experience in the best possbile light, but completely honestly. Apparently, there are some people out there who are presenting OTHER PEOPLE’S experiences. It had never occured to me that some people would plagiarize someone else’s employment history and present it as their own.

Science for Love or Money?

Thursday, November 16th, 2006

Dave Jensen wrote an interesting article called “Love or Money?”, discussion the question of whether scientists should seek careers that we love, or the ones that bring in the most money. What do you think?

Wondering what to do in your “retirement”?

Thursday, November 16th, 2006

Your Encore specializes in connecting companies that need technology and product development help with experts who have years of experience and talent. This sort of connection is going to become more and more important as scientists reach retirement age, but want to continue keeping professionally active.

Purdue University Online Writing Lab

Thursday, November 16th, 2006

Purdue University has a great set of Online Writing Labs that are open to everyone. They cover many aspects of technical writing, as well as resumes and cover letters. Check it out!

Vocation Vacations

Monday, November 13th, 2006

I often tell people to find a way to try out a new career, to enable them to make a more informed decision before moving in a new direction. Now someone has turned that idea into a business for themselves – see vocationvacations.com. There are no science careers to try, but purusing the available opportunities might spark some ideas for what you might like to do. Then find a way to try it!

Patents – Protecting your Inventions

Friday, November 10th, 2006

Peter Fiske just published the first in a series of articles on Intellectual Property. This is a good introduction for scientists, who often have a rude awakening when they start their first industrial position, and find out how important these topics are.

What type of library is right for you?

Friday, November 10th, 2006

Phil Barnett pointed out a new article in Livewire by Casey Duevel that talks about the differences between a corporate and an academic library.

Phil discussed some of these same issues at his presentation at the 2000 Careers Symposium:
Making the Transition from Special to Academic Librarianship.

Tips for a Successful CV

Monday, November 6th, 2006

ScienceCareers.org, a great resource, just posted a new article entitled
Tips for a Successful CV. Lots of useful tips for CVs, which are NOT resumes. If you’re applying for academic positions, check it out.