Posts by Gemma Paech, Ph.D.
5 Ways To Find The Name Of The Person To Address Your Cover Letter To
Written By: Gemma Paech, PhD I would spend hours trying to write the perfect cover letter. Making sure to highlight my transferable skills. Addressing all the criteria and using the exact wording, as outlined in the job posting. Writing and rewriting to make sure it included all the relevant information…
5 Steps To Earning A Job Referral When Searching For An Industry Position
Written By: Gemma Paech, PhD I knew that I needed to leave academia. The longer I stayed in academia, the more depressed and stressed I became. I hated what I was doing. When I spoke to other PhDs who had transitioned into industry, they all said the same thing... “I…
Top 3 Strategies For PhDs To Network Internationally
Written By: Gemma Paech Ph.D. I grew up outside a small, rural town. Going anywhere, even to the store, meant you had to take a long drive. This distance always made me feel like an outsider. The trouble with living far away from everyone else usually means that you can…
10 Lucrative Career Options For Social Science PhDs
Written by: Gemma Paech, Ph.D. I watched as the news reported cuts to research funding. It felt like watching animals around a drying watering hole. Less and less funding meant more and more intense competition to receive grants. It was literally a “survival of the fittest” situation. I was especially…
7 Professional Skills That PhDs Must Develop Before Scheduling Job Interviews
Written by: Gemma Paech, Ph.D. As a PhD student, I believed that there was only one job option for PhDs. I thought the only future available to PhDs was to stay in academia and become a professor. I saw some PhDs getting jobs outside of academia, but these non-academic jobs…
How To Dress For Success At A Job Interview
Written by: Gemma Paech, Ph.D. My first industry interview at a startup was a disaster. Looking back, I had so much confidence going into the interview. I had a job referral from a friend and my resume made it straight into the hands of the CEO. The job was perfect…
3 Ways To Avoid Disclosing Your Salary During A Job Interview
Written by: Gemma Paech, Ph.D. After two postdocs at two different universities, I realized that I didn’t enjoy what I was doing anymore. This wasn’t the academic career I had envisioned. All I did was sit at a desk, alone, and work on my research, alone. I had lost my…
5 Skills Employers Look For When Interviewing Humanities PhDs
Written by Gemma Paech, Ph.D. For the longest time, I thought my only career option was to be a professor. This was the only reason to do a PhD, in my mind. Although I attended alternative career workshops, the choices for non-STEM PhDs seemed limited — and the opportunities, few…
7 Reasons Why Your PhD Is Causing Stress And Depression
Written by: Gemma Paech, Ph.D. It was during the second year of my PhD when I started to realize that things weren’t quite right. I was working all the time and at all hours of the day. I was barely sleeping. I was crying nearly every day. Somehow, I managed…