Archive for December, 2007

Year End Exercise – Review Yourself

Thursday, December 27th, 2007

Career coach Michael Melcher has written a great step-by-step guide to how to do a Year-End Review, With Yourself. As you’re enjoying time with family and friends over the holidays, you’re probably already reminiscing about the past year. Take the time to jot down some of those memories, and see what stands out for you over the past year. Taking the time to think about where you’ve been, and what you like and don’t like the past, can help you figure out where you want to go next.

And if you decide it’s time for a change, there’s another article that talks about how you can do that – “New Year’s Resolutions for Your Career“. Even if you’re not ready to jump ship immediately, this article offers some tips on how you can passively job hunt (make it easier for the right job to find you).

Posted in Career Fulfillment, Resumes/CVs | No Comments »

Chemists Can Do Anything!

Tuesday, December 25th, 2007

In response to a question from a friend, I started collecting a list of people who majored in chemistry but went on to make an impact on the world in a another field. I was actually surprised that no one had collected such a list – or if they had, I couldn’t find it.

So, as my Christmas present to you, here’s a list of people who may inspire you to try something new!

Chemists who made Major Contributions in Other Fields

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

How Not to Network – or How to Not Network

Friday, December 21st, 2007

Attend a professional organization holiday party with a copy of your resume in your pocket. Pull it out and show it to everyone, asking for editing assistance and a job.

Show no interested in anyone else, don’t make small talk, and don’t find common interests with other professionals.

During the social hour, sit alone at a table and read the program, because you don’t know any of the people who are standing around talking.

Ask everyone to read your resume and find you a job, without telling them anything about what you want in a new position – even better if you don’t really know yourself.

============================

If you want to know how to do a good job networking, and take advantage of professional opportunities, check out articles posted on Career Solvers, entitled Networking Rules Part I and Part II.

If you’re unsure about striking up conversations with new people, check out How to Start a Conversation and Make Friends, a book by Don Gabor. It includes lots of tips and specific ideas to use in building new relationships. Even though it’s focused on making friends and personal relationships, much of what is included would work in professional situations as well.

Remember that all relationships are bi-directional, based on give and take, or trading favors. Even in the workplace, people trade favors as a way to get things done, and build relationships.

Posted in Networking | No Comments »

Resumes – Advice from the Experts

Thursday, December 20th, 2007

There’s an interesting discussion on LinkedIn.com now about “What makes a 5-star resume?” Some of the answers are from recruiters, who see lots of good, bad, and ugly resumes, and provide quite detailed preferences. While not specific for scientists, it’s worth reading. They remind you to customize, quantitate, and be concise – the golden rules of resume writing.

Another recent article on resumes talks about keyword spam – all those extra words that you hope will cause the search engine to pick your resume out of the pile. The final paragraph gives a very clever solution to the problem, a way to include keywords for search engines while not cluttering the visual appeal for human reviewers. I’d love to hear from anyone who uses this trick, to hear how it works.

Posted in Job Searching, Resumes/CVs | 2 Comments »

Contract Work – Is it for you?

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

ScienceCareers.org just published a great article that summarizes many of the issues around temporary work, or what they call Short-Term Science. Contract work was once virtually unheard of in the sciences, but is becoming more and more common. Companies like the flexibility it gives them in staffing, and many scientists enjoy being able to test out a company or field before committing to a permanent position. Given the way the job market is going, sometimes a 2-year contract for a “temporary” position offers more stability than a “permanent” position.

The article includes a sidebar list of 7 agencies that specialize in placing scientists in contract postions. Most of these companies I know and have worked with, but there were a couple that were new to me.

If you’re interested in trying out a new company, or learning a new skill, think about contract work and check out some of these companies.

Posted in Education, Job Searching, Resources | No Comments »

Negotiation

Monday, December 17th, 2007

I recently wrote a book review of “Women Don’t Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiation–and Positive Strategies for Change” by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever (Bantam Books, 2007) by for the ACS Careers blog. It was a very eye-opening book, and I have already improved my outcomes in some business dealings by applying the principles from this book.

And as long as we’re on the subject of negotiation, a pair of articles on Quintessential Careers point out how to Use Your Resume To Help Negotiate a Higher Salary , and 10 Salary Negotiation Mistakes that you might make, and how to avoid them. Yes, the negotiation starts before you even walk into the room, and your degree of preparation will make a huge difference in the outcome.

Posted in Book Reviews, Job Searching | No Comments »

Yes, that was me….

Thursday, December 13th, 2007

I was mentioned in the 2007 December 11 issue of the Wall Street Journal. The article was As Drug Industry Struggles, Chemists Face Layoff Wave by Avery Johnson, talking about the Pfizer layoffs and closings. In it, she mentions a workshop I did for chemists in Detroit. At the end, Ms. Johnson says “Her message: Start thinking about different career paths.”

This message will not come as a surprise to anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis – you should always be thinking about what alternatives you have, and where else you might go. Sometimes exploring them will lead you to something you like better, other times you’ll discover that what you have is not so bad after all. In any case, you will have learned something, and will be better prepared for your future.

This incident has reinforced to me that you have to be careful of what you say at all times. I gave a talk 9 months ago, part of it ended up getting published yesterday, and I’ve gotten emails and calls from distant relatives and colleagues I have not talked to in more than 10 years because they read the article and recognized my name. Your words can follow you forever, so choose them carefully!

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

Book Review: Danger in the Comfort Zone

Thursday, December 6th, 2007

I wrote a review of this book for the ACS Careers blog, and thought I’d point to it here. Briefly, it’s a psychological evaluation of corporate culture, and how it has changed in recent history. The author also talks about ways companies can change their culture to succeed in the new economy.

Posted in Book Reviews | No Comments »

Look Around in all Directions

Tuesday, December 4th, 2007

When looking to change their careers, most people only look at the next logical step forward. If you’re reading here, you’re probably exploring sideways options as well. But have you ever considered moving backwards to move forwards? A nice article entitled To Get Ahead in Your Field, Consider Stepping Backward By William J. White tells the stories of several people who did just that. At the end is a nice checklist, to help you determine if taking a step back might be the best step forward for your career.

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