Interviewing

“I can’t get hired because of my technical skills.” “I’m nervous about the technical questions.” This is what many PhDs obsess over before interviewing for a research role.  The problem is that interviewers are rarely going to ask highly specific technical questions, even for research-based roles.  I had a PhD who was up for an interview at Baxter and told me that they appreciated the advice, but because it’s Baxter they know the interview will be mostly technical.  “Like what?” I asked. “Do you think you’re going to have to create a buffer in front of them?” “Are they going…

My PhD story is a cautionary tale.  I got my PhD against the backdrop of today’s contracting skilled, or “white-collar” job market.  Armed with my doctorate and an unwavering passion for research and academia, I had set my sights on a future brimming with intellectual pursuits.  Little did I know that the unpredictable twists of fate would lead me down a path I detested—donning the uniform of an Amazon warehouse worker. This is not a slight against those I currently work with. It’s just not what I thought my years and years of PhD-level training would bring me.  Sadly, after…

“I’ve applied to hundreds of job postings.” “Using the same resume?” I asked. “No, I targeted every resume. I’ve heard nothing back. In some cases I was sent a rejection email within the hour. What’s happening?!”“Ghost job listings.” I replied.  “Like fake jobs? Scams? I had a friend who applied to a job online and entered their private info and got hacked after. Like this?” “No, though that happens. Ghost job listings are from real companies but these companies have no intention of actually filling these jobs anytime soon …or at all.” “Why would they do this? What’s the point?”…

I had a client named Sarah years ago who needed to get hired in less than 60 days.  She was very concerned, and rightly so, that this wasn’t possible. She had her own reasons why she had to get hired so quickly, as everyone does. There were family obligations she had to pay off. She had been unemployed for a few months at this point. And she was about to lose her visa. This was an urgent, uncomfortable situation to say the least.  When I first talked to Sarah, she was frantic. She couldn’t keep a thought in her head…

When I started my job search, I was obsessed with finding the right job title. I wanted to make sure that I got into a job that was a good fit for me. So I scoured the internet for jobs that sounded interesting. By that I mean I would read a job posting, play out scenarios in my head of working in the role, and then based on what I imagined, would apply to the job, or not.  This was a disastrous strategy.  First, job titles are so variable and numerous that I was lost in a sea of phrases…

There are hundreds of interview questions I’ve heard in the last 10 years. Thousands, actually. PhDs report back to me from the business end of their industry interviews a dozen, two dozen times a day. They ask for coaching on standard questions that you’ve probably been asked yourself in industry interviews: “Tell me what makes you the best fit for this job?”  “Where do you see yourself in five years?”  “What’s your biggest weakness?” I’ve also met with PhDs post-interview who tell me they were stumped by some really off-the-wall questions. Head-scratchers like: “How would your greatest enemy describe you?”…

I know many PhDs who moved from one lab to another or one adjunct ship to another and never really had to interview. Because academia is such an isolated environment most PhDs already know most of what they need to know about the culture, pay, and what’s expected of them. This familiarity gets them in the habit of not asking questions during industry interviews and blowing it spectacularly.  I kept bombing my early industry interviews and I couldn’t figure out why – I knew I was the most qualified candidate they’d interviewed. Many of the interviewers told me so. I…

I wish I could say that I didn’t know I should send a thank-you email after my industry interviews, but that’s not entirely true.  Thank you notes weren’t a totally foreign concept to me.  I’d read or overheard it said that I should “be sure to send a thank you message after you leave your interview.”  But every article or blog post I read about this topic was roughly 10 years old. How trustworthy is job search advice from a bygone decade? And some of the points these articles wanted me to include sounded desperate to me. Like reminding them…

On my first day of work at my new role in industry, I was so excited.  I hadn’t just walked away from academia – I sprinted away and never looked back.  And it was a long road that I had traveled to find this job. I had no industry experience at all (unless you count shoveling snow out of driveways or mowing lawns).  I didn’t know the first thing about resumes or networking or how, exactly, to find a job. And my job search journey reflected that.  But now I had arrived. A large company and an exciting job in…

My first industry interview still stands out so clearly in my mind. I was as prepared as any one person could possibly be. Resume copies pristinely printed? Check. A business casual outfit laid out and ready to go? Check. Following the company on LinkedIn and relevant connections added? Check.  This job was in the bag – I was 200% sure.  The interview went without a hitch.  I could tell by the rapport I had with my interviewer that I was the perfect blend of charismatic and enthusiastic. “And did you have any questions for me,” the interviewer asked as our…

I ran into an old colleague a few days ago – literally. We actually collided going into the same coffee shop.  As luck would have it, we both had some time to kill, so we took a seat and started visiting. I told him all about the work I do, connecting PhDs with the strategies to get hired in industry.  He’d since gone on to work in human resources as a manager at one of the Global 500. We talked about things we wish we’d known after graduation – the importance of things like networking and creating a powerful resume…

The first time I was asked to give a presentation as part of an onsite interview, I thought, ‘Well this should be a cake walk – I’ll just redo my defense presentation.’ I didn’t get the job. And I knew that mid-way through my presentation. To start, they had only scheduled 30 minutes for my presentation, yet the one I had prepared was an hour. I ended up speed talking my way through the entire thing. Mistake number one. Mistake number two was not appealing to my audience. My presentation was highly technical, but my audience included people from R&D,…