Industry Transition Spotlight: Karineh Petrossian, PhD
Industry Transition: An interview with Karineh Petrossian, PhD, Director of Development in Philanthropy Communications
What is your name, your full job title, and the name of the company you work for?
Karineh Petrossian, Director of Development in Philanthropy Communications, City of Hope Medical Center.
What is your favorite part about working in industry?
It’s a great feeling to contribute to teams who seek scientific knowledge from an expert. Also, having the extra time to read books, enjoy the weekends, and plan vacations feels great.
What does a typical day at work look like for you?
I work in a team that interacts with all the teams in the office of philanthropy. I sit in team meetings, gather scientific breakthroughs from physicians/researchers, and write donor impact reports.
How is your current industry position different than your academic postdoc or experience as a graduate student?
In an academic laboratory, a scientific hypothesis that doesn’t work might destroy a week’s, month’s, or a year’s work. However, in my current position, I achieve goals in a timely manner and move projects forward with hard work, and yet with ease.
If you could go back in time (to before you received your job offer) and give yourself one piece of industry transition advice, what would it be?
Be patient – all will fall into place. The job search is filled with many different stressors, but all can be conquered with persistence and hope.
During your job search, what was the most important thing you did that made your industry transition a success?
I networked with my LinkedIn contacts and other professional associations, and I performed informational interviews.
What is the most memorable moment for you (so far) as a Cheeky Scientist Associate?
CSA’s meetups and the Facebook group have been a great source of encouragement.
What do you see as the next step in your career?
I see myself growing into a better scientific writer in a more senior role.
How can the Association and the Association’s members help you continue to achieve your career goals?
Sharing our experiences––both good and bad––in the Facebook group helps us grow personally and professionally.
Now that you’ve spent some time working in industry, what is the biggest piece of advice you’d like to share with those Associates who are still looking to make their own industry transition?
Having a strong resume, adding value, and building rapport with your connections are keys to a successful job search.
Ready to make your own industry transition? The Cheeky Scientist Association is the world’s premier PhD-only industry job search training platform and PhD-only industry job referral network. When you become an Associate, you get access to our proven job search blueprint, which includes 200+ training videos, interviews with industry PhDs working in the most popular 100+ careers for PhDs, lifetime access to a private job referral network of 8,000+ PhDs, and much more.
You get instant feedback from our trainers 24/7 on any job search-related question so you can be 100% confident in your decisions about your job search and your overall career. To learn more about how to make your own industry transition, including instant access to our exclusive training videos, case studies, industry insider documents, transition plan, and private online network, get on the waitlist for the Cheeky Scientist Association.
