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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…

Growing up, my parents had an adage for everything. And there was one I heard more than any other by far: Nothing worth having ever came easy. These words of wisdom were a lousy rebuttal for the injustices of childhood, but they became the mantra that got me through graduate school.  Maybe that’s why I regarded anything “easy” as weak, lazy, and average – all dirty words in my book. And, without knowing what LinkedIn was really about, I wrote it off as just that: an easy way for lazy people to try and find a job. It was, I…

LinkedIn is unlike any other social networking platform.  The similarities are hard to ignore: you post updates – sometimes pictures –  share your opinions and comment on posts others make. But at its core, LinkedIn is very different than Facebook or any other friend-finding, video-sharing, community-connecting network.  LinkedIn is designed specifically to introduce professionals to other professionals. The site’s primary mission is to remove the barriers that make it difficult to connect with peers, your target companies, and the right opportunities.  What kind of opportunities, you might ask? What’s so great about having connections? As a PhD transitioning into industry,…

LinkedIn is not for academics. This is what I heard over and over again in the latter stages of my PhD program.  If anything, you should have a personal website to share your published papers and research.  And it made sense to me. If I was going to go into academia, shouldn’t I be creating content for other academics? So that’s what I did. And then I dusted off my hands and kept working toward my PhD. I was so committed to the idea of succeeding in academia and becoming a professor. In my mind, there wasn’t really any other…

When I began my job search, I was optimistic. I’d even go so far as to say I felt pretty confident.  Right off the bat, I found a job posting that seemed almost like it was written specifically for me. I met all the requirements for the role, and the work sounded genuinely interesting.  I’d heard that you should update your LinkedIn profile before applying to jobs, but I didn’t think that applied to me. Not without any job experience to add. I had worked on that right after graduation and felt like it was professional looking – pretty complete,…

If you want to get a PhD-level industry position, you need to set up a networking strategy and invest in your professional relationships. You can build rapport with someone else by networking in person, either at networking events, or over a cup of coffee. However, online networking is another powerful tool you can use to reach out to industry professionals and start a conversation. Do you know how to turn a LinkedIn connection into a job referral? If you don’t, you’re in trouble and are probably missing out on some great opportunities. Take for example the following story a member…

You probably know that you should always target your resume when you apply for an open position and that you should add keywords related to your desired position throughout the sections of your LinkedIn profile. But do you actually know what targeting a resume or LinkedIn profile involves? Most PhDs think that they just need to look at the skills mentioned in a job posting and sprinkle a couple of them throughout their professional profile. This is the bare minimum.  If you want to ensure your LinkedIn profile always comes at the top of searches and your resume always makes…

You probably know that a LinkedIn profile is important if you want to transition out of academia and find your dream industry position. But did you know that your LinkedIn profile is actually more important than your resume? Everyday, I see PhDs lose great opportunities because they don’t understand the importance of their LinkedIn profile. You can use LinkedIn to find jobs, connect with people, and get job referrals.  If you find a job opportunity through means different from LinkedIn, chances are that the hiring manager will take a look at your profile. Never underestimate the importance of taking the…

There is no way to deny that LinkedIn is a must-have tool for every PhD who wants to transition into industry. Positioning yourself on LinkedIn is one of the most powerful ways to get noticed by and start growing your network of industry professionals. LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to reach out to people working in your target companies or locations, connect with recruiters and hiring managers, and participate from groups of like-minded professionals. I have seen many PhDs get hired by leveraging the power of LinkedIn. Take for example the following story of a member I was recently talking…

The components of your professional job search profile are important. If you want to transition into industry, you need to talk the language of industry and show that to potential referrals and employers. You probably already heard me say this, but do you know what it actually means? It means you need to know how you are portraying yourself from the very first moment you start planning your transition. Even before you start applying for jobs. If you are looking to transition into industry, but are applying to positions using an academic CV instead of an industry resume, you are…

Feeling discouraged with your job search strategy? Have you uploaded hundreds of resumes without hearing back from employers? Are you starting to think you are not cut out for an industry position? This happens to many PhDs at some point in their transition journey.  They don’t know how to execute a correct job search strategy. So they waste lots of time doing things that don’t yield any result. Then get discouraged. An industry job search is maddening. As PhDs we are never trained rigorously on how to do it in academia. Most PhDs are never trained on how to execute…

Did you create your LinkedIn profile a couple of months ago, but are not seeing any results? Don’t get discouraged. You might just need to do a couple of small changes to increase your visibility. LinkedIn is a very powerful tool for PhDs who want to transition into industry, but the only way to ensure that you take full advantage of this tool is to make sure that you pay attention to the right things when creating or updating your profile. This is what one of our members had to say after transitioning into industry. I am pleased to share with…