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Industry Transition Spotlight: Rachel Reichman, PhD

Industry Transition: An interview with Rachel Reichman, PhD, Business Analyst

What is your name, your full job title, and the name of the company you work for?   

Rachel Reichman, Business Analyst, Lifescience Dynamics

What is your favorite part about working in industry? 

I really like interacting with a wide variety of people and clients and having multiple projects that span completely different disease areas. I like learning and becoming an expert on multiple diseases and therapy areas. I like watching how treatment options for patients change over time.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?   

I come into the office around 8:30am (or work from home), check emails, start working on project deliverables for clients, have a couple of hours’ worth of meetings throughout the day, and spend the rest working on project-related materials. We also go to 3-5 conferences a year.

How is your current industry position different than your academic postdoc or experience as a graduate student?   

I’m no longer working at the bench actually producing data, and my work now focuses on drug development and commercialization from the pharma industry standpoint. This is completely different than my time as a postdoc or grad student, but I really like the change. I work at the computer all day, I write reports, make ppts, interact with colleagues, plan for conferences, etc.

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?   

You will find a job,  and it won’t be one you have to settle for. Do NOT settle.

During your job search, what was the most important thing you did that made your industry transition a success?   

I really worked on changing my resume. I changed it from a scientific skills/education-centered resume to a soft-skill/communications-centered resume. My job has no need for someone who can do a western blot, but they do care if I can talk to people I’ve never met with ease or work well on a team. Depending on the job position you want, you have to completely change how you present your skill sets.

I also really LOVED the transferable skills module from CSA. It helped me come up with three eye-catching bullet points to lead with on my resume. I also really spent a lot of time developing a good cover letter. I had a few variations based on the exact position I was applying for (i.e. med affairs vs consulting vs equity research analyst) which helped focus my message.

What has been the most memorable moment for you (so far) as a Cheeky Scientist Associate?

The community and support are really wonderful in CSA. I like that people always respond to questions and requests for help on resumes/CL/career advice. It’s very inclusive.

What do you see as the next step in your career?   

I am hoping to move up within my company and to gain experience working directly with clients as a project manager/consultant. We have a growing company, and I see a lot of opportunities to grow and gain experience in training, recruiting, and business development.

How can the Association and the Association’s members help you continue to achieve your career goals?   

The FB group for transitioned members is a great tool and network. I think I will be using that as I move forward in my career to reach out for advice.

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?

It really does take months to find a job  – it’s not a short-term process. Make sure you like the company and people before you commit, and make sure that you understand the expectations of your job (i.e. amount of travel, perks included, work/life balance, etc). 

Really work on your resume and cover letter to communicate your strengths CLEARLY, and if you are interviewing for jobs that aren’t directly science-related, realize that the interview process may be different than what you’re used to. I had a case-study interview for my current job, and I had to complete a financial modeling task for another job interview for an equity analyst position (turns out I really don’t want to work on financial modeling). I didn’t know how to do either of these, and I had to quickly learn the basics. I recommend that you start practicing/learning how to succeed in these tasks if you want to pursue a job in these areas.

Ready to make your own industry transition? The Cheeky Scientist Association is the world’s largest 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.

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ABOUT ISAIAH HANKEL, PHD

CEO, CHEEKY SCIENTIST & SUCCESS MENTOR TO PHDS

Dr. Isaiah Hankel is the Founder and CEO of Cheeky Scientist. His articles, podcasts and trainings are consumed annually by millions of PhDs and other professionals in hundreds of different countries. He has helped PhDs transition into top companies like Amazon, Google, Apple, Intel, Dow Chemical, BASF, Merck, Genentech, Home Depot, Nestle, Hilton, SpaceX, Tesla, Syngenta, the CDC, UN and Ford Foundation.

Dr. Hankel has published 3X bestselling books and his latest book, The Power of a PhD, debuted on the Barnes & Noble bestseller list. His methods for getting PhDs hired have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Nature, Forbes, The Guardian, Fast Company, Entrepreneur Magazine and Success Magazine.

Isaiah Hankel, PhD

Here's What Others Are Saying

"I finally signed my contract and will be starting soon! I am very happy with the compensation package they have offered me and it meets my expectations."

Indrani Mukrajee

Indrani Mukrajee

Product Manager

at Miltenyi

"I accepted my job offer today. I was able to get 5k more + the exact PTO package I wanted. I am very happy and very thankful for everything that I learned through the event. I plan to stay involved with Cheeky Scientist as I love what y'all are doing and I'm still learning."

Tracy Gardner, PhD

Tracy Gardner, PhD

Senior Measurement Advisor

at Pearson

"Hi Isaiah, I hope you are good....I did receive and accept a job offer!"

Debadrita Pal

Debadrita Pal

Scientist

at Sanofi

"I'm excited to share that I am starting a new position as Senior Research and Development Engineer at CORMETECH!"

Carlos Garcia

Carlos Garcia

Senior Research And Development Enginee

at CORMETECH

"I'm happy to share that I'm starting a new position as R&D Scientist II at Chemring Sensors and Electronic Systems, Inc.!"

Karim Dawkins

Karim Dawkins

R&D Scientist II

at Chemring Sensors and Electronic Systems, Inc

"I just accepted an offer for a position at one of the top pharma companies...I can't tell you how relieved I feel, I'm very excited for what's to come!"

Nahed Jalloul

Nahed Jalloul

Computational Biologist

"I started my new job as an MSL on the 13th. I never would have got an interview without your company's help on CV and interview prep. I am on a much better salary and have a much better quality of life than I did as a postdoc. So thank you."

Edward Law

Edward Law

MSL

at AbbVie

"I am BEYOND ECSTATIC to finally say I am starting a new position as Patent Examiner in Biomedical Engineering at USPTO!"

Jo Ramos

Jo Ramos

Patent Examiner in Biomedical Engineering

at USPTO

"I'm happy to share that I'm starting a new position!"

Norhaziland Mohamed Zaid

Norhaziland Mohamed Zaid

Senior Development Scientist

at Haleon

"I started working with you all back in October 2022 and it took me about four months to secure my new role. I actually had two six figure salary offers in the learning and development arena! One was from a prestigious HBCU and the other one was with a scientific research organization. I signed my six figure offer letter for a Head of Talent Development role with the scientific research organization on March 1st. I negotiated and received a $7,500 increase in salary and I also received an increase in my relocation package. I cannot thank you all enough!"

Dr. Rhonda Anderson

Dr. Rhonda Anderson

Head of Talent Development

at Southern Research

"I signed the offer today! I am will be working as a technical support manager - it is what you call a field scientist within Cheeky. I am super excited and already feel welcomed!"

Maria Terra Terra

Maria Terra Terra

Technical Support Manager

"I want to notify you I have gotten an industry position...Thank you and Cheeky Scientist for the lessons which made my job search strategy and CV more competitive."

Michael Dioha

Michael Dioha

Senior Energy System Analyst

at Clean Air Task Force

"I got a job offer from a pharma company, which I am going to accept..thank you for your amazing support!"

Gonzalo Rosso

Gonzalo Rosso

Formulation Scientist

at Coriolis Scientist

"Thank you for the assistance from the CSA these last couple of months. I was offered the position with a life science investment firm this week and I happily accepted the offer. Growth with the company is guaranteed and I hope that this will be the last time I have to interview in NYC (lol)."

Ilke Roelofse

Ilke Roelofse

"I am happy to share that I'm starting a new position as a European Portfolio Manager at Scientific Instruments!"

 Shikha Acharya

Shikha Acharya

European Portfolio Manager

at Scientific Instruments

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