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Resumes

Find out what top industry employers want to see from PhDs and how to create a resume that exceeds their expectations.

7 Video Resume Failures That Make Employers Press “Pause”

By: Sarah Smith, PhD

My very first video resume was embarrassing. At the time, I thought it was pretty good. I had some music going in the background because it seemed like a way to add personality. Bad idea. After reviewing my recording, I noticed there was also a dog barking somewhere in the background. On top of that, the lighting wasn’t very good in the room where I filmed myself. I had shadows on my face, and it made my eyes look a little sunken… However, this seemed fine to me – after all, I was applying for a PhD-level position not a…

511 Rejections Later ...The Resume That Finally Got Me Hired

By: Dwight Lane, PhD

Before Cheeky Scientist, 6-to-12-month contracts were the best I could get.  Ultimately, my industry transition process took about 2 years and 1000 applications. After joining the Cheeky Scientist Association, it took only 3 months to land my dream job. Talk about a difference. The resume template was, I am quite sure,  a major factor in this process.  There was this thing called a “functional resume” where I could highlight all the relevant skills I learned as a graduate student – instead of showing that my only experience had been as a graduate student. This made a huge difference. Most of…

My 3-Step Job-Search Plan For PhDs In A Bad Economy

By: Sarah Smith, PhD

Finding the right position with the right job search strategy was one of my biggest challenges once I decided to move into industry.  I had plenty of academic experience, but I didn’t know if that was valuable in industry. A lot of people told me that it would be difficult to apply for industry roles without relevant experience. At first, I made some major mistakes. My advisor told me to list my technical skills at the top of my resume. He told me to emphasize my education section – surely, this would impress employers, right? It didn’t, and now I…

3 Urgent Resume Updates PhDs Must Make For The Recession

By: Isaiah Hankel, PhD

I want to help you avoid one of the biggest mistakes that I see right now from PhDs, especially while we are in a recession. A lot of them are trying to either get a job in industry or just protect their current job. They had a job search strategy that was working for them back in January, and now the same job search methodologies are not working.  That’s because things have changed, and you have to adapt. If you have not updated your resume and LinkedIn profile since the pandemic began, you need to do it now. PhDs need…

3 Cover Letter Hacks That Get PhDs Hired

By: Sarah Smith, PhD

There is no denying the fact that cover letters are becoming less and less popular. According to a survey in Jobvite, 55% of hiring managers say that while cover letters are not important in their job search process, they still recommend that you learn how to nail them. With the advent of social media, recruiters and hiring managers can easily vet a candidate on LinkedIn without even looking at their resume. But here’s the thing… You never know exactly what the hiring manager wants to see, and it can be a huge misstep if you forget this. In a recent…

5 Crucial Resume Facts That Will Boost Your Job Search

By: Karthik Pandalaneni, PhD

Many PhDs spend countless hours on their resume, listing endless accomplishments, responsibilities, publications, presentations, and other information that practically bore industry employers to death. They mass-upload this ridiculous document to online job postings and wait for the job offers to roll in like red carpet on their way to industry success. These PhDs--otherwise sharp and creative people--are shocked when they never hear anything back. The reality is that your resume is probably never even seen by another human being, let alone rejected. Your resume is being rejected by a computer program. JobScan reports that more than 90% of Fortune 500…

7 Top Job Skills That PhDs Can Leverage To Get Hired Fast

By: Surayya Taranum

The key to making a successful transition to industry is through developing and highlighting your transferable skills. And yes, as a PhD you already have the transferable skills you need for your future career. Now you must learn to leverage these skills to build a career in industry. Your potential employer knows that you have deep technical skills in your field, what they need to see is that you have the ‘soft-skills’ they are looking for in their next hire. You need to show to potential employers that you are a well-rounded individual with the transferable skills needed to be…

Follow These 5 Resume Rules For A Successful Job Search

By: Aditya Sharma, PhD

Are you submitting your resume to online job postings? You might be surprised to learn that your resume is never even seen by a human being. 98% of Fortune 500 companies use applicant tracking software, according to Jobscan. Large-size firms (those that employ more than 500 individuals) receive many thousands of resumes every week. The only way their hiring departments can be functional is by using tracking software to weed out unqualified candidates. This puts applicants in kind of a tough spot - optimize your resume to get through the tracking software or get used to rejection. Even highly qualified…

7 Powerful Tips For PhDs To Wow Hiring Managers With Their Resume

By: Erica Yi, PhD

A perfect resume is not enough to get you a job, but a bad resume will prevent you from getting one. As a PhD you might think, if I just get this resume perfect, if I show that I have all the skills, I will get hired. You’re wrong.

This Resume Format Gets PhDs Hired - 5 Steps To Writing A Functional Resume

By: Jeanette McConnell, PhD

According to LinkedIn there are 25 hard and 5 soft skills that employers are really looking for in candidates this year. These in demand skills are what hiring managers will be looking for on your resume. It doesn’t matter if you gained that skill as a postdoc or as a graduate student, that is not the important part. The important part is your skill - and that’s why a functional resume is a great option for PhDs transitioning out of academia. Additionally, the functional resume is great for getting past Applicant Tracking Software (ATS). Jobscan reported that 98% of Fortune…

Use This 5-Part Job Search Strategy To Get Multiple Industry Job Interviews And Job Offers As A PhD

By: Aditya Sharma, PhD

No one is coming to knock on the door of your lab and offer you a job. Getting a job requires strategy. Large companies, like Google, Microsoft, Pfizer, etc get 1,000s of applications per job opening. If you are relying on luck to make you the 1:1,000 that gets hired, you are going to be waiting a long time. Instead, you should be strategic. Realize that, according to JobScan, 98% of Fortune 500 companies use applicant tracking software to screen resumes. And understand that employers care more about your soft skills than they do about your specific technical skills. Inside…

These Are The 5 Parts Of A Gold Standard PhD Level Industry Resume (Does Your Resume Have #3?)

By: Catherine Sorbara, PhD

If you are submitting your resume to online job postings or to job portals then is very likely that your resume is never seen by a person. Jobscan reported that 98% of Fortune 500 companies use applicant tracking software. Many large to medium sized companies use ATS systems as well. When companies get thousands (or tens of thousands for companies like Microsoft or Google) of resumes every week they rely on these systems to weed out unqualified candidates. But if your resume is not optimized then you could get rejected, even if you are a qualified candidate. Baruch College reported…