Archive for September, 2007

Scientists Ask the Right Questions

Thursday, September 27th, 2007

I often give talks about careers in chemistry, and sometimes to students in high or middle school. The best answer I’ve found for “What does a chemist do?” is that a chemist figures out the right questions to ask to solve a problem. Chemists are taught to understand a problem, break it down into pieces, then figure out what additional information is needed to reach a solution. By asking the right questions, scientists identify the crucial elements of the problem, and get the information that leads to solutions.

I was reminded of just how widely applicable this skill is yesterday at a business function. A new acquaintance mentioned that her parents had just had a special wedding anniversary, but she couldn’t remember if it was their 20th or 25th. I asked her how old her oldest sibling was, and she said “Oh yeah, I’m 23 so it much have been their 25th.”

If you’ve been trained as a scientist, you probably think like this without even realizing it. To what new field would you like to apply your analysis skills?

Posted in Career Fulfillment, Interviewing, Nontraditional Career Options | No Comments »

Accomplishments – Write them Down!

Tuesday, September 25th, 2007

When working with a client, i often ask them to start by writing down some of their major accomplishments – the things of which they are most proud. It often takes a long time for them to think of something, but over the course of days (or even weeks), they are able to come up with a long list of great things they’ve achieved.

A recent post on LifeHacker entitled “Keep a File of Your Accomplishments” reminds me that the better idea is to write them down as they happen. Either in a separate file on your computer, or perhaps in the library version of your resume, make quantitative notes of significant accomplishments as they occur.

This will come in handy not only when you have to update your resume, but also at annual review time. Who remembers that brilliant idea 10 months later? By writing it down, you ensure you’ll be able to

This list can also come in handy when you’re thinking about changing careers. If you’re not sure what you want to do, look over the list and see what sorts of things you’ve done. You may be surprised to find that the activities that bring you the most satisfaction are peripheral parts of your current position. Perhaps you want to see about making those major parts of your next job…..

Posted in Career Fulfillment, Nontraditional Career Options, Resumes/CVs | 1 Comment »

Education Is Only For the Young?

Thursday, September 20th, 2007

A recent incident got me thinking that maybe education is only for the young. As you get older, it’s your experiences that become more important in determining what opportunities are available to you.

Recently I was talking to a mid-career chemist who was being downsized from her position as a bench chemist. She was looking for another bench position, but also exploring non-traditional careers. She was interested in several avenues, including chemical information and patent searching, or regulatory affairs. As we talked about the various options, she kept asking me how much school she’d have to go back to get into each of these careers. I explained that in most cases she would not need to go back to school at all.

Instead, she should start talking to people who are currently in those types of jobs, especially those in her current company. By asking them about what they do on a daily basis, what they like and don’t like about it, and so on, she can get a better picture of what these types of jobs really involve. As she’s listening, she should think about what she has done in her own career that is similar to the job functions of these other careers. Maybe she’s had to search for prior patent art before starting her own project – that’s what a patent searcher would do. Maybe she’s assisted in the documentation for FDA approval of one of her own compounds – that’s regulatory affairs. By emphasizing what she’s already done, she can leverage her experience to move in a new direction without having to go back to school and start over. (Granted, continuing education and certificatiosns are often a good way to explore new fields, but actually doing something is always better than just learning about it.)

The older you are, the more things you have done, so the more likely it is you’ve done something similar to what you’d be doing in a new position. This is good news, because you can use that experience to convince a potential employer that you know what you are getting into, and you can handle it, because you’ve already done it. That’s what the company wants to know – what are you going to do for us? The best way to show you CAN DO it is to tell them how you HAVE DONE similar things already.

So think about it….what have you done? What do you like doing? And where might you be able to get paid for doing that?

Posted in Career Fulfillment, Education, Nontraditional Career Options, Resumes/CVs | 2 Comments »

The Scientist As Artist

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007

I’m always looking for unusual careers for scientists. Art conservation is usually a good one. Most people understand the science involved in dating historical art works, determining their composition, and developing new ways of preserving them for future generations. But what about the scientist who creates their own works of art?

Raven Hanna, a Ph.D. biophysicist, found it a challenge to explain her work to non-scientists, and especially to communicate to them the beauty and excitement of what she was doing. One day, she realized that molecular structures themselves were beautiful, and would make fascinating jewelery. She learned how to work with silver, and make a serotonine necklace for herself. When she wore it in public, people asked not only how to get one, but also about the science behind the structure.

Thus, Made with Molecules was born. Now outsoucing much of the implementation, but not the design, the line has expanded to include earrings, necklaces, bracelets, clothing, and ornaments. The structures used include serotonine, acetylcholine, dopamine, norepinephrine, glutamate, caffeine, theobromine, and more. What a unique way to combine science and art, and communicate a passion for molecules with the general public!

Now think about you. What are you passionate about? What do you love doing? How can you combine your different interests into something that will allow you to spend your time doing what you love? No matter how odd your passion there are people who share it (and they’re all on the Internet ;-) ). Others will share your interest, but no one will share your unique combination of interests, skills and knowledge. Think about what people you run into need and want, and then about what you could offer them.

Posted in Career Fulfillment, Nontraditional Career Options | 2 Comments »

Small Talk – Big Results

Tuesday, September 11th, 2007

Small talk is not a waste of time, but a way of connecting with other people. Often, it’s those connections with others that expose you to new career paths and opportunities, which your technical skills allow you to take advantage of. Today’s article is a guest post (the first!), by Don Gabor, Author of “How to Start a Conversation and Make Friends.”

Small Talk

If you are like many scientists, you probably love to talk about your own work when your at professional meetings. However, do you consider “small talk” — that is, informal conversation about light topics such as where people grew up, careers, hobbies, travels, and other personal interests –
boring and a waste of time? If so, you are making a big career mistake, especially if you seek new job opportunities.

Making small talk is an important career-boosting skill for the following reasons:

1. Making small talk shows that you are willing and capable of talking about more than just your work. This demonstrates flexibility, confidence and a desire to connect with others. In addition to professional competence, employers seek job candidates with conversation skills because they quickly
integrate into existing teams and become the best managers.

2. Making small talk is the answer to “What do you say after you say hello?” after meeting someone. It allows people to casually reveal and listen for mutual topics of interest, and know what to say next in the conversation. Once you pick up on the copious amounts of “free information” contained within most small talk, you’ll never be tongue-tied or embarrassed by silence.

3. Making small talk gives individuals an informal way to quickly get to know one another, find areas of commonality, and begin relationships, both professionally and personally. As a result, your career options and friendships will increase faster than simply sending HR departments your resume.

Any questions or comments about this post? What’s your view of small talk? If you could improve anything about your ability to make small talk and meet others who can help boost your career and social life, what would it be?

Posted by:

Don Gabor
Author of “How to Start a Conversation and Make Friends.” For conversation tips, “50 Ways to Improve Your Conversations, please visit www.dongabor.com.

Posted in Interviewing, Job Searching, Networking, Resources | 2 Comments »

Personal Mission Statement

Thursday, September 6th, 2007

I was in Boston a couple weeks ago for the American Chemical Society meeting, and had dinner with a long-time friend. She has changed her life significantly over the last few years – going back to school for a new degree at night while working full-time, selling her house, and now starting a new job that takes advantage of her extra education.

During the course of the conversation, she mentioned that she has written a personal mission statement, which she updates on a regular basis. I’ve heard of companies doing this, but never an individual. When I mentioned this to some collegues at the meeting, a few of them said they had done the same thing.

Accoding to Wikipedia, a mission statement is “a brief statement of the purpose of a company or religious or other organization”. They are used to resolve differences between various stakeholders, and keep the company on track. Upon reflection, I can see how this would be useful for an individual as well.

There are many things we say are important – career, spending time with family, making money, hobbies, friends, volunteer work, and so on. But if you had to write a single sentance that encapsuated what you want to do with your life, you would really have to pare the list down, and admit that some of those things are less important than others.

When a new opportunity or decision comes up, looking back at your mission statement might help you remember what you thought was really important, before you were tempted by a new offering. I will be giving this some thought, and may be writing one for myself. I’d love to see examples that others have written. Or maybe I’ll just borrow this one….

“Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”—Google

Posted in Career Fulfillment, Job Searching | 1 Comment »

Networking – Everything Old is New Again

Wednesday, September 5th, 2007

The Career Journal has a great article on Making a Good Impression When Networking Online. Their 5 rules are:

  1. Keep your profile updated.
  2. Maintain ties with people at all levels.
  3. Watch the number of connections.
  4. Stay in contact with old colleagues.
  5. Get (and give) endorsements.


I believe the reason these things are important in online networking is that they mirror what is important in real life networking. Make sure people know what you’re doing now, and what you’re looking for in the future. Talk to everyone, not just those at your level or higher (you never know who someoene else may know). Don’t lose touch with old friends and collegues, and make sure the connections you maintain are of high quality. It’s better to have a smaller number of good connections than a larger number of people who may have only heard your name once or twice. And finally, don’t hesitate to speak well of others, because at some point you’ll want them to speak well of you.

Posted in Networking, Resources | 1 Comment »

Secrets of Technical Writing 1

Tuesday, September 4th, 2007

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:

  • your boss
  • a fellow scientist
  • a non-technical friend
  • someone you just met at a cocktail party
  • a potential investor in your company
  • your mother

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.

Posted in Technical Writing | No Comments »