Resumes

Resume writing really is an art form, and just because you have a PhD doesn’t mean you automatically know how to sell yourself in two pages. Most PhDs fall into the same bad habits and lazy resume blunders as other job candidates because they don’t know how to market themselves like a business person. You need to translate your academic experience into results that have value to the specific job you’re applying for. Doing anything less is a mistake that should be avoided. Here are the 10 biggest industry resume mistakes PhDs make and how to avoid them.

Emails are an effective tool to use in your industry job search and networking agenda. The problem is that many of them end up disregarded and ignored. The ones you send never get answered. If you want to get through to an industry professional, you need to show them respect and use proper email etiquette. This means keeping your email succinct and being complimentary. Showing value and building rapport. Personalizing and tailoring your emails to industry professionals in a way that will guarantee you get a reply. Here are 5 ways to make sure your email doesn’t end up in…

Your technical skills will not be the deciding factor when it comes to getting an industry job. Hiring managers will look for candidates with not only the scientific acumen, but also the business skills and motivation that is needed for industry. Build this credibility by breaking free from the lab bench and honing these transferable skills. Get to know what employers want. Work on effectively communicating your work in various mediums, start collaborations with scientists outside of your lab and build a network of industry professionals. Diversify your resume and show that you are more than your degree. Here are…

With thousands of other PhDs competing for the same industry job openings, the days of uploading a generic resume online for multiple positions are over. An industry resume needs to be tailored for each position you apply for and formatted to be approved by both electronic and human screening practices. Applicant Tracking Systems Software filters out the majority of resumes it finds for simple and correctable formatting and content errors. Adjusting your resume with these simple corrections will ensure your resume has the best chance of being seen directly by the hiring manager or recruiter.

Transitioning from academia to industry requires transitioning your resume along with you. You will need to trade in your academic CV for a focused industry resume. What may have been relevant in an academic setting may make you invisible when it comes to competing for an industry job. Tailoring your resume with these five specific sections will transform it into an effective working document that will ensure that hiring managers and recruiters get the information they want.

Job searching requires strategy, self-control and self-motivation in the face of discouragement, setbacks and self-criticism. It’s not an easy process. A recent After College Career Insight Survey found that only 13% of graduate students have a job lined up before graduation while 74% do not have a job lined up at graduation. A study conducted by the University of Minnesota followed and analyzed over 70 job seekers who had high levels of expertise in their fields and found that 51% of them couldn’t face repetitive rejection. Here’s how to manage frustration during your career search and stay motivated long enough…

According to Quint Careers, only 5% of job seekers obtain jobs through online advertisements. Only 15-20% of all available jobs are ever publicly advertised in any medium. Do you now understand how much time you’re wasting by only uploading resumes to jobs you see online? Do you now see how much you’re embarrassing yourself by continuing to do this? Your time is too precious to waste on 5% odds. Why not direct your attention to the other 95%? Here are 3 ways to redesign your job search strategy for a smooth transition into industry.

PhDs face an incredible challenge when it comes to securing jobs. Academia cannot absorb all the graduates that are passing through. On top of this, many PhDs are either unable or unwilling to transition into an industry position. On the other hand, there is an inaccurate image of PhDs from industry. Many companies in industry believe that a PhD’s knowledge base is too specialized. They believe that PhDs have little ability to be multidisciplinary and are trained only for research-type positions. There is a mutual ignorance and mistrust. As a result, if you want a job in industry, you must…

Segment every part of your job search. Each person you interact with--whether it be a reference, hiring manager, or recruiter--should be treated as a separate audience. Your goal is to engage with these people in whichever way benefits them the best. If you want to get a job over other candidates, you must start tailoring your approach, messages, and resumes to make things as easy as possible for them, now you. Here's how.

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…

The only way to get industry employers to notice you is to do things differently. Instead of trying to be the best needle in a haystack, try to get as far away from the haystack as possible. Stop trying to force your way through the crowd to get noticed. This strategy will never work. A better strategy is to completely differentiate you from your peers. Here are 7 things you can do to differentiate yourself from other PhDs and industry employers will hand pick you for open positions.