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When I first began my industry job search, I didn’t know where to begin. Most of the people I asked for advice had none to offer.  Instead, they were adamant I was making a mistake by leaving academia.  I’d spent the last six years siloed in academia – I didn’t really know that many people who weren’t doing a postdoc or staying on to TA.  But I had heard some encouraging things from a few PhDs that had transitioned to industry.  I was really motivated to try and make the same move, even though I wasn’t sure how to start.…

As a PhD who has spent many years in academia, it is possible to lose sight of your value. But, when you are transitioning from academia to industry, you must reconnect with your value in order to get the pay you deserve. The only way your future employer is going to see your value is if you communicate it to them. Once you know what your skills are worth, negotiate to get the salary to match. Sending the right type of email will help you secure a higher starting salary. Negotiation emails should be polite but direct. Here are 5 email templates, addressing various stages in the negotiation process, to help you reach your salary negotiation goal.

As a PhD, you have countless technical and transferable skills that make you an extremely valuable job candidate. The academic environment can make you feel like your PhD doesn’t hold the value in industry that it actually does. Do not give in to this mentality. Having a PhD is a rare and valuable trait. You are an expert innovator, a master of conflict resolution, and a master of learning. As a PhD, your concern should not be that you may lack value. Your concern should be that others may not understand your immense value, which is why it’s your job to communicate your value to others, including your future industry employers. Here are three ways your PhD makes you more valuable than other job candidates.

In the middle of your industry interview, you may be asked to disclose your current salary. Not only is it an uncomfortable question, it’s an inappropriate one — and if you answer, you may reduce your value and your salary offer before you even get a chance to negotiate for what you deserve. The bottom line is, you don’t have to, and shouldn’t, disclose your current salary. Doing so will only work against you. Managing the question should revolve around focusing on the value you can provide the company. This will increase your odds of a fair salary negotiation for your industry job. Here are three strategies to use to avoid discussing your current salary during your industry interview.

No one said your PhD would be easy. But no one said it could pose such a significant risk to your emotional and mental health, either. With growing rates of depression globally, PhDs are not immune to the impacts of academic stress. If academic stress has started a downward spiral into depression, you need to be able to recognize the symptoms early and ask for help. The right treatment plan can build the resilience you need for your successful PhD completion and industry transition.

Getting hired into a successful industry team means recognizing the importance of the systems that operate within the industry company you will be working for. You must develop your business acumen so that you have a strong understanding of teamwork and a keen awareness of how each industry department works together to bring products to market. Being able to highlight your business acumen during networking events, informational interviews, and site visits is crucial to getting hired. Here are 5 more key industry departments PhD job candidates must understand.

International PhDs do not have an easy ride to full-time employment if they want to stay in the U.S. You are competing with a growing number of foreign students for the same capped visas or hoping for a visa lottery win. To work in the U.S., you need to know your facts and be prepared so that when you leverage the value you bring to the company, the immigration piece seems less significant. In addition to networking and strategizing, give yourself ample time to learn about the visa options available to you and start the process before you graduate. Here are 5 visa options you need to know about.

When choosing the next step in your career, be sure to consider not only the title and salary you want to have, but the lifestyle you want to live. PhDs should gain a thorough understanding of their non-academic career options. Otherwise, they will be forced by circumstances to take positions that are not in alignment with their long-term career goals. To help you avoid this fate, we’ve collated a list of the 10 hottest non-academic jobs today. Understanding which industry positions are on the rise will help you see what’s available to you outside of a traditional postdoc or professorship. This will help you get off and stay off the dead end career track you're currently on. Here are 10 of the hottest industry jobs for science PhDs.

I thought about quitting graduate school in the beginning of my 6th year. I was almost certain that there was no way that I could graduate that year, or ever for that matter. I started several dead-end projects, and most of my data was inconsistent and did not support any of my hypotheses. I felt stuck and trapped in my own life. The irony was that I actually created this life for myself because I thought that getting a PhD degree was the road to a better life and a career that I would be passionate about. I finally summoned…

Most PhDs are taught that more is always better. Triplicates are better than duplicates. An N of 200 is better than an N of 2. A CV with 10 first author publications is better than a CV with one first author publication. On and on. But, when it comes to creating a strong industry résumé for a PhD job, less is more. Adding the wrong things or too many things to your résumé will keep you from getting the industry job you want. A better strategy is to simplify your industry résumé down to only the things that industry hiring managers and recruiters actually want to see. Here are 7 things smart PhDs like you should remove from your industry résumé.

Having a PhD is a significant advantage. PhDs get paid higher than non-PhDs and are in high demand. Trained professionals who know how to create information, not just repackage it, are desperately needed. Entrepreneurship and innovation are at an all time high. These trends will continue as the economy continues to favor innovation. If you have a PhD or are on your way to having one and you’re reading this, the future is yours. The only thing that can hold you back is yourself—by choosing to be one dimensional and choosing to ignore the less objective soft skills that will complement your PhD and make you a magnet for industry success. A PhD offers you great advantages over other job candidates and over the population in general.

The number of PhDs who will have a business job at or soon after graduation is below 40%. And the number of Life Sciences PhDs who will have a business job at graduation is below 20%. The truth is most PhDs will never get a job in business even though they’re doing all the right things. The problem is they’re doing the wrong things too. The key to starting a great career in business learning what not to do. Here are 5 things to avoid.

“Isaiah, I’ve got 15 years of experience, a PhD, and more publications than I can count, yet no one seems to want to hire me.  What am I doing wrong?”  I hear this from PhDs over the age of 40 who are struggling to get their foot in the door, and the truth is, your age and experience may be working against you in today’s job market.  Employers, especially younger hiring managers, may see you as overqualified, set in your ways, or not as easily trainable as a younger candidate.  The unfortunate reality is that ageism is rampant in today’s…

“Isaiah, I’m at my wit’s end.  I’ve applied to countless jobs, networked extensively, and still, nothing.  It feels like I’m just spinning my wheels.”  This is a sentiment I hear often from PhDs who are navigating the challenging waters of the job market.  The frustration and mental fatigue are real, especially when you’re used to achieving high levels of success in academia.  But let’s get one thing straight – you are not alone, and this is not the end.  It’s just a bump in the road.  Yes, the job search is grueling.  There’s no sugar-coating it.  But here’s the thing…

When I first began my industry job search, I didn’t know where to begin. Most of the people I asked for advice had none to offer.  Instead, they were adamant I was making a mistake by leaving academia.  I’d spent the last six years siloed in academia – I didn’t really know that many people who weren’t doing a postdoc or staying on to TA.  But I had heard some encouraging things from a few PhDs that had transitioned to industry.  I was really motivated to try and make the same move, even though I wasn’t sure how to start.…

“Thank you for your interest.” “We received a high volume of applications for this position.” “After careful review, we have decided to move forward with other candidates.” “Your qualifications are impressive. Unfortunately, we will be pursuing applicants whose skills do align more closely with our current needs.” “We encourage you to apply for future opportunities.” “We appreciate your time and wish you all the best in your job search.” “We’ll keep your resume on file for future consideration.” After six months of applying for industry roles, I had received every single variation of a rejection letter.  All these industry employers…

By the time I started my industry job search, I was desperate. I was nearing the end of my PhD and my proverbial plate had never felt so full. Between final experiments, last drafts, and defense presentations, I had dedicated virtually no time to my job search. The little effort and time I was able put into it felt very arbitrary and unfocused I wasn’t even sure what job I wanted. All I knew was that I needed a job – and fast. Needless to say, when I finally did find myself seated in front of a hiring manager, I…

Recently, I spoke with an absolutely brilliant physicist. She had a decade of groundbreaking research under her belt, was well-respected and well-known in academia, and she was ready to make the move to an industry career.  And she was stumped.  She couldn’t understand why her job applications had been hitting a brick wall for the last few months. Despite her impressive credentials and numerous publications, she hadn’t received a single interview invitation in months.  The worst part? She’d already stepped away from the research and teaching that had been sustaining her financially.  When she doubled back, thinking maybe it just…

“I was hearing back from employers, Isaiah, but now I’m not.” This is a confession I hear with alarming frequency from PhDs who are trying to navigate this contracting job market.  One highly qualified candidate after another tells me they were receiving responses early in their job search.  At first, they found themselves facing a wall of automated rejections with a few hopeful phone screens. But at least that was something. What followed after a few months of Thanks-but-no-thanks is the most anxiety-inducing sound, one that job seekers in this market are too familiar with: silence.  The question this PhD…

After careful consideration, we’ve decided to move forward with candidates whose qualifications and experience more closely align with the requirements of this particular role. We have carefully reviewed your application and interviewed other candidates, and have decided to proceed with those whose qualifications and experience are a closer match for this position. Thank you for your interest in the Data Scientist position. We were impressed with your skills and experience, but we felt other candidates demonstrated a stronger alignment with the specific requirements of this particular role. I can’t forget the sinking feeling in my stomach I’d get whenever I…

“I’ve had several first-round interviews, Isaiah, but no callbacks,” a frustrated PhD candidate recently confided in me.  “Do you have any idea why?” I asked.  Everyone’s job search is unique, of course, so there’s no one answer to this question. But there are two that I hear more than most.  One is: “Employers say they’re looking for someone with more experience.”  The other? “Employers keep asking me why I’m leaving academia.”  Put another way, these two reasons are a reflection of PhDs being seen as either underqualified or overqualified.  The transition from academia to industry can be a minefield, and…

The academic job market presents numerous challenges for PhDs, including oversaturation, funding instability, adjunctification, and the pressure to publish. These factors create a competitive and exclusionary environment, making it difficult for highly qualified candidates to secure tenure-track positions. The solution lies in transitioning into industry roles strategically.

“I did everything I could to negotiate, Isaiah, but they told me the salary wasn’t negotiable.”  A job seeker told me this recently.  Ohhh, they told you that?  Was it written into law by congress?  I didn’t say that of course, but I hear statements like it all the time after people get hired.  While I’m happy they’re hired, it always makes me both sad and frustrated because I know that they could have negotiated and been paid more–more for themselves but also for their families, their futures, their legacies, on and on.  The problem is of course–negotiation is hard. …

“We regret to inform you that we will not be moving forward with your application due to concerns that your qualifications exceed those required for the role.  We feel it would not be a good fit. Thank you for applying.”  Oof, that’s part of a rejection email a PhD sent me. An employer had sent it to them after the first interview.  Another PhD told me this recently… “I feel like I’m both overqualified and underqualified for the jobs I apply to Isaiah.”  Which do you feel is more of a problem for you? I asked.  “At first I thought…