Industry Transition Spotlight: Julie Dela Cruz, PhD
An interview with Julie Dela Cruz, Ph.D.
What is your name, your full job title, and the full name of the company you work for?
Julie Dela Cruz, Facial Aesthetics Publication Planning Specialist; Allergan, plc. Note: Julie was promoted to Publications Manager in September 2016.
What is your biggest or most satisfying career goal you’ve reached since transitioning into industry?
I have learned how to moderate a cross-functional team meeting, making sure that my voice is heard.
What’s been your biggest learning experience or Ah-Ha moment since transitioning into your new role?
My biggest learning experience is that even though my PhD is in Neuroscience, as a PhD student, I learned how to learn. I caught on to the field of dermatology and facial aesthetics pretty quickly.
How is your current industry position different from your academic postdoc or experience as a graduate student?
1) I get to work with a very collaborative, cross-functional team. If I don’t know the answer to something, I can always ask someone, instead of trying to figure it out myself. This helps for a more efficient publication process.
2) I do have evenings and weekends free, which is great. When I do have to work overtime, I actually get paid for working overtime!
If you could go back in time, to before you received your job offer, and give yourself one piece of advice or encouragement, what would it be?
There is light at the end of the tunnel! Don’t get discouraged! The hardest part was getting the PhD! Persevere and you can do it! Also, make sure you are open to opportunities. I knew I wanted to be in science communications, but I was aiming more towards an MSL role. It was a recruiter that contacted me and informed me about the publication specialist position. If I wasn’t as open, I would have never gotten this job.
What was the most memorable moment for you (so far) as a Cheeky Scientist Associate?
I learned how to network and I think the FB is still great to read things, even though I have already been working in my job. I’ve also made some great networking connections, that will be useful in the future, both for me and for the people I networked with.
What do you see as the next step in your career?
I’m still exploring what I want to do, but I am thinking of a clinical scientist position. I am still using the informational interview skills that I learned from Cheeky Scientist to learn from Allergan colleagues.
How has the Association and the Association’s members helped you continue to achieve your career goals?
I could probably do some informational interviews on the careers I want to explore with CS associates that are in the area that I wanted to explore.
Now that you’ve spent some time working in industry, what is the biggest takeaway(s) you’d like to share with those who are still executing their job search?
Network, network, network. And persevere!
To learn more about how you can transition into an industry career like Julie, including instant access to our exclusive training videos, case studies, industry insider documents, transition plan, and private online network, get on the wait list for the Cheeky Scientist Association.
