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Industry Transition Spotlight: Karineh Petrossian, PhD

Industry Transition: An interview with Karineh Petrossian, PhD, Director of Development in Philanthropy Communications

What is your name, your full job title, and the name of the company you work for?   

Karineh Petrossian, Director of Development in Philanthropy Communications, City of Hope Medical Center.

What is your favorite part about working in industry? 

It’s a great feeling to contribute to teams who seek scientific knowledge from an expert. Also, having the extra time to read books, enjoy the weekends, and plan vacations feels great.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?   

I work in a team that interacts with all the teams in the office of philanthropy. I sit in team meetings, gather scientific breakthroughs from physicians/researchers, and write donor impact reports.

How is your current industry position different than your academic postdoc or experience as a graduate student?   

In an academic laboratory, a scientific hypothesis that doesn’t work might destroy a week’s, month’s, or a year’s work. However, in my current position, I achieve goals in a timely manner and move projects forward with hard work, and yet with ease.

If you could go back in time (to before you received your job offer) and give yourself one piece of industry transition advice, what would it be?   

Be patient – all will fall into place. The job search is filled with many different stressors, but all can be conquered with persistence and hope.

During your job search, what was the most important thing you did that made your industry transition a success?   

I networked with my LinkedIn contacts and other professional associations, and I performed informational interviews.

What is the most memorable moment for you (so far) as a Cheeky Scientist Associate?

CSA’s meetups and the Facebook group have been a great source of encouragement.

What do you see as the next step in your career?   

I see myself growing into a better scientific writer in a more senior role.

How can the Association and the Association’s members help you continue to achieve your career goals?   

Sharing our experiences––both good and bad––in the Facebook group helps us grow personally and professionally.

Now that you’ve spent some time working in industry, what is the biggest piece of advice you’d like to share with those Associates who are still looking to make their own industry transition?

Having a strong resume, adding value, and building rapport with your connections are keys to a successful job search.  

Ready to make your own industry transition? The Cheeky Scientist Association is the world’s premier PhD-only industry job search training platform and PhD-only industry job referral network. When you become an Associate, you get access to our proven job search blueprint, which includes 200+ training videos, interviews with industry PhDs working in the most popular 100+ careers for PhDs, lifetime access to a private job referral network of 8,000+ PhDs, and much more.

You get instant feedback from our trainers 24/7 on any job search-related question so you can be 100% confident in your decisions about your job search and your overall career. To learn more about how to make your own industry transition, including instant access to our exclusive training videos, case studies, industry insider documents, transition plan, and private online network, get on the waitlist for the Cheeky Scientist Association.

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ABOUT ISAIAH HANKEL, PHD

CEO, CHEEKY SCIENTIST & SUCCESS MENTOR TO PHDS

Dr. Isaiah Hankel is the Founder and CEO of Cheeky Scientist. His articles, podcasts and trainings are consumed annually by millions of PhDs and other professionals in hundreds of different countries. He has helped PhDs transition into top companies like Amazon, Google, Apple, Intel, Dow Chemical, BASF, Merck, Genentech, Home Depot, Nestle, Hilton, SpaceX, Tesla, Syngenta, the CDC, UN and Ford Foundation.

Dr. Hankel has published 3X bestselling books and his latest book, The Power of a PhD, debuted on the Barnes & Noble bestseller list. His methods for getting PhDs hired have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Nature, Forbes, The Guardian, Fast Company, Entrepreneur Magazine and Success Magazine.

Isaiah Hankel, PhD

Here's What Others Are Saying

"New offer - went ahead and signed contract today - - excited and thank you for the confidence booster - grateful for investing in Cheeky Scientist."

Wael Bahnan

Wael Bahnan

Senior Scientist

at Minervx ApS

"Just wanted to say thank you for all your help and motivation.You were great in guiding me in the right direction."

Rittik Ghosh

Rittik Ghosh

Senior Scientist

at Boehringer ingelheim

"I'm happy to share that I'm stating a new position as Medical Science Liaison at Celltrion Healthcare Co, Ltd.!"

Tammy Virdi

Tammy Virdi

MSL

at Celltrion Healthcare Co, Ltd

"Hi Isaiah - I just want to inform you that I've accepted a job offer from Sandoz, Inc. I want to say a special thank you to you and your dedicated staff for all your help and support throughout the job search stage."

Odeniel Sertil

Odeniel Sertil

Manager, Regulatory Affairs Biosimilars

at Sandoz, Inc.

"I just wanted to say that I officially accepted a job! I want to thank everyone at Cheeky Scientist for all the help and support. Overall, my job search went pretty smoothly and I have CS to thank for that. I am now convinced that making connections and networking is how you find jobs, and once I began implementing what CS teaches, I started to see more results. I hope this helps others who are in the job search process!"

Jack Schultz

Jack Schultz

Research Computer Scientist

at Southwest Research Institute

"I am happy to share I am starting a new position! Excited to start this position with excellent colleagues!"

Tanumoy Mondul

Tanumoy Mondul

Senior Scientist

at Sanofi

"I am thrilled to be starting my position as a Scientist at bioMeriuex! I will be joining the device validation team to bring #invitrodiagnostics to the market!"

Alec Vallota-Eastman

Alec Vallota-Eastman

Scientist

at bioMeriuex

"I am THRILLED to share that I am starting a new position... my sincerest thanks and gratitude to all the inspirational people who've I met along the way in my journey as an aspiring MSL, who helped make this happen."

Leandra Mangieri

Leandra Mangieri

Medical Science Liaison

at Allergan Aesthetics

"Hi Isaiah - I have news to share! I applied for a position on Monday night. I had an interview Tuesday and was just offered the position! (Wednesday). I can't believe it! All the hard work. The LinkedIn Messages. The resume building All your keys. I countered 5k more than they offered and they accepted it! I am so over the moon right now and so excited!"

Brittni Levasuar

Brittni Levasuar

"I'm happy to share that I will be starting a new position as MSL at Sanofi! I want to thank everyone that took the time to speak with me about their MSL experience and to help me land this position!"

John Crawford

John Crawford

MSL-Vaccines

at Sanofi

"I am delighted to announce that I have accepted the role of Research Scientist with a base salary of 90k. The cheeky scientist resources have helped me immensely and I am really grateful."

Amninder Singh Sekhon

Amninder Singh Sekhon

Research Scientist

"I am grateful to Isaiah, Meera, Abha and all the CSA for their constant help and support. This was my transition from academia to the healthcare industry...I accepted this offer as I am in urgent need of a job as my current lab is closing soon. Thank you!"

Divya Amin

Divya Amin

Program Coordinator

at University of Missouri Healthcare

"I signed with ASML for 117k! (asked for 120 and they came up from 110) plus a 10% target annual bonus."

Andrew Dawes, PhD

Andrew Dawes, PhD

Senior Applications Engineer

at ASML

"It feels incredible when you are able to check in with yourself and figure out what is it that you really want. After a long and exciting journey....I am elated to start a new chapter."

Nadzeya Kukhta

Nadzeya Kukhta

Technical Specialist

at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP

"I'm happy to share that I'm starting a new position as Device and Date Scientist at Intel Corporation!"

Darpan Verma

Darpan Verma

Device & Data Scientist

at Intel Corporation

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