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My PhD Is Not A Liability – How I Got Hired Into A Management Level Position And How You Can Too

I had finally had enough.

I could no longer justify the pay I was receiving as a postdoc, and it became very clear to me that I would never become a professor.

The system had strung me along far enough.

It was time for a change.

So I started asking around for advice about applying for jobs, and I started trying to figure out what else I could do with the skills I had.

The very first piece of advice I got was that I should remove my PhD from my resume and LinkedIn profile.

What?

I spent YEARS of my life working toward getting that PhD, I was proud of it.

Now I was supposed to remove it, like my PhD was some kind of liability preventing me from getting a job?

That seemed ridiculous to me.

When I asked people why I should remove my PhD, they said people in a corporate environment will think you are not a good fit, they will think you are just an academic.

This I could work with.

If employers see me as just some academic PhD, and this is preventing them from hiring me, I would prove them wrong.

I would prove that as a PhD I could know as much, if not more, about business than someone with an MBA.

I started learning everything I could about the industry I wanted to work in.

I read and researched about the current industry trends and stocks, and about the market forecast.

When I integrated this new knowledge with my PhD background, the interviews started rolling in and I was offered a leadership position at a great company.

I had the skills they needed, and because I am a PhD, I just had to add in a little bit of business knowledge to prove that I was the best candidate out there.

Why Your PhD Is Not A Liability In Industry

The advice that you should remove your PhD from your resume is antiquated and just generally bad advice.

Your PhD gives you many advantages over other job candidates, and employers are hiring PhDs more than ever before.

Science reported that for the first time ever, the number of PhDs employed in industry is on par with the number of PhDs employed at academic institutions, where each sector employs 42% and 43% of PhDs respectively.

But if you dive into the data from the National Science Foundation that this Science article is based on, the numbers are even more compelling.

NSF found that the majority of PhDs are actually employed outside of the university setting, where 56% of PhDs reported having positions in private companies, non-profits, government organizations, or are self-employed.

Your PhD is in demand across all industry sectors.

Employers know that your PhD means you are an expert in your field, but it’s up to you to communicate to them that you have the other skills required to succeed in industry.

Are you communicating your transferable skills well?

Does your resume look like an academic CV?

And finally, do you sound like a naive academic PhD or do you have a solid understanding of business?

Gaining a keen business acumen will set you apart from the other candidates and allow you to move past entry level positions and get hired into leadership positions.

5 Business Topics PhDs Who Want To Get Hired Into Management Level Positions Should Understand

The amount of technical knowledge stored in your brain is incredible.

You know more about a specific topic than most people on the planet.

But you need to widen your sphere of knowledge to include some business topics.

This is how you will move beyond a technician role.

This is how you will get hired into leadership roles.

You have the ability to learn quickly and to comprehend what you learn almost immediately.

Put that skill to use and begin to develop your business acumen.

Here are 5 business topics to get you started on improving your business acumen…

1. Corporate strategy.

As a PhD you are used to thinking strategically.

You have planned and executed a multi-year project, and that requires strategic thinking and strategic vision.

You had to make choices and take actions that would ultimately get you to your goal.

A corporate strategy is similar to this, it is what guides the decision-making at an organization.

The corporate strategy defines the direction that an organization will take and what goals they will pursue.

As a job candidate, you should do some research to learn about the corporate strategy and to learn about the company’s overall mission.

You can look on the company’s website for their mission and ask insightful questions when you have informational interviews.

Once you have a good idea of the company’s corporate strategy, think about how this aligns with your own goals.

A common interview question, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” is a great place for you to show how your longer term goals align with the larger company goals.

You could even turn that question around and ask them about where they see the company going, making the question insightful by adding in some of the information you learned about the company during your research.

2. Corporate culture.

As a job candidate, you should be very interested in the culture of a company.

The corporate culture drives the way that things are done at a business and will influence your day-to-day as an employee.

Overall corporate culture can be defined as the ‘how’ for an organization.

How do they communicate? How do people act? How do goals get accomplished?

Every organization has a specific expectation for how its employees will conduct themselves, and this is set by the corporate culture.

Sometimes culture is deliberate – a culture of competition or one of incredible support.

When a culture is deliberate you can learn about it by reading the company’s mission and vision statements and by reading their public facing content.

But sometimes a culture is accidental.

In these cases, it’s important to set up informational interviews so that you can get a clear picture of what it’s like to work at an organization.

This will allow you to do two things; first, to decide if this company is a place you want to work, and second, to show an employer that you will fit into their corporate culture.

It’s important that you realize how important culture fit is for you and for the company.

3. Organizational behavior.

Every company has a specific way that different parts of the organization interact.

This can be formal and refer to the ‘chain of command’ or it can be more informal and refer to the way an office is structured.

The formal organizational behavior will be driven by the ‘org chart’ which shows which roles reside where in the business.

It shows how the flow of information and decisions will happen.

More informal organizational behavior can be seen in the way a lunch room is structured.

Or if there is a community cafe that all employees use.

Many large companies create these communal spaces on purpose to encourage natural conversation and exchange of ideas.

Additionally, when a company is facing a culture issue or they are looking to make improvements in the business, they will often look toward making changes in the organizational behavior.

4. Mergers & acquisitions.

As a job candidate, understanding what mergers and acquisitions are, as well as being aware of any that are happening at your target company is essential.

A very common question interviewers might ask you is, do you know why this position is open?

It seems like a trick question, but they are trying to figure out how much research you did on the company.

Often the reason for a job opening is that some type of M&A has occurred.

These M&As are especially common in the biopharma industry, so you need to do your homework.

Mergers refer to a situation where two similar sized companies join together and become one.

It’s usually an amicable situation.

An acquisition is when one company buys another.

This can be amicable but can also be hostile, meaning that the smaller company being purchased doesn’t really want to be bought out.

In both these cases, there will be lots of restructuring of positions, removal of departments, creation of departments, and just a lot of changes.

When you are asked the above question in an interview, don’t pretend to know exactly what’s going on, instead, use what you do know to ask about the M&A in an insightful way.

5. Recent trends and developments.

Being aware of the recent developments at a company is key to being successful in your interviews and as a future employee.

In an interview setting you can demonstrate that you are a PhD who knows about the world outside of your university.

Employers might have preconceived notions about you as a PhD – discussing with confidence recent business trends will quickly remove you from the ‘just an academic’ box you might have been placed in.

To find out about these trends you need to expand the types of media that you consume.

Start reading news articles from Bloomberg or MarketWatch.

Start following the major media outlets for the industry you are targeting.

As a PhD you are used to reading and understanding complex journal articles – this is just an extension of that skill.

By reading and researching these new business areas you will begin to develop and understanding of your industry.

You will begin to be able to confidently discuss the recent trends and developments as well as start to form your own ideas and opinions based on what you are learning.

This is business acumen.

And when you can have an insightful discussion about your industry and at an interview, you will blow your interviewers away.

Don’t let employers put you into an academic box. Don’t let them stereotype you. Go into your interviews with confidence and with the skills you need to be seen as an industry professional by learning a few key business concepts. You should understand concepts such as corporate strategy, corporate culture, organizational behavior, mergers and acquisitions, and current industry trends and developments. If you have a firm grasp of key business concepts, you become an incredible valuable asset for any company.

If you’re ready to start your transition into industry, you can apply to book a free Transition Call with our founder Isaiah Hankel, PhD or one of our Transition Specialists. Apply to book a Transition Call here.

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ABOUT ADITYA SHARMA, PHD

Aditya Sharma, PhD, earned his advanced degree at the University of Toronto, Canada. Now, he combines his passion for all things STEM with keen business acumen, and he works as a scientific consultant at a top Canadian consulting firm.

Aditya Sharma, PhD

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"Hi Isaiah - I have news to share! I applied for a position on Monday night. I had an interview Tuesday and was just offered the position! (Wednesday). I can't believe it! All the hard work. The LinkedIn Messages. The resume building All your keys. I countered 5k more than they offered and they accepted it! I am so over the moon right now and so excited!"

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Brittni Levasuar

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Michael Dioha

Michael Dioha

Senior Energy System Analyst

at Clean Air Task Force

"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 just accepted an offer to be a Clinical Researcher Coordinator for a pain clinic near me. I'll be helping them run their clinical trial that uses a device to stimulate nerves to relieve patients pain. I start next Wednesday. So excited! I wanted to say thanks to Isaiah and all the members of the Cheeky team for your help! I really appreciate it!"

Natasha Fowler

Natasha Fowler

Clinical Research Coordinator

at Columbia Pain Management, P.C

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Pratik Chhatbar

Pratik Chhatbar

Senior Clinical Research Scientist

at Nxyoah

"I landed a dream job as a revenue management analyst at british airways."

James Washak

James Washak

Revenue Management Analyst

at British Airways

"Hi Isaiah, I got hired yesterday!....Thanks for all of your encouragement provided by way of your presentations."

Beverly Brereton

Beverly Brereton

Compliance Manager

at Enel North America

"I signed with ASML for 117k! (asked for 120 and they came up from 110) plus a 10% target annual bonus."

Andrew Dawes, PhD

Andrew Dawes, PhD

Senior Applications Engineer

at ASML

"One thing I feel I did great was joining the association as a Diamond member. Modules and Classes helped me to prepare ahead of the search- to do and to go right. The other useful thing was the accountability forum....your classes and modules really helped me to believe in myself and have confidence in myself. I value myself as a PhD. I gave a shot for a senior scientist position, and got one!"

Nabina Paudyal

Nabina Paudyal

Senior Computational Scientist

at Colossal Biosciences

"I am delighted to announce that I have accepted the role of Research Scientist with a base salary of 90k. The cheeky scientist resources have helped me immensely and I am really grateful."

Amninder Singh Sekhon

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Research Scientist

"I would like to express my appreciation and assure that your school was eye-openning, thanks! I registered on your course 2 months ago and from total ghosting I ended up with a dream job in biotech."

Petro Starokadomskyy

Petro Starokadomskyy

Senior Scientist

at Kyverna Therapeutics

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Geeta Peverada

Geeta Peverada

Senior Manager, Project Management - Medical Affairs

at Horizon

"I'm happy to share that I'm starting a new position as Scientist in Pharma Division at NeoGenomics Laboratories! After all the trainings and advice I could get a 25% increase in my salary! So I’m very happy for that."

Maribel Donoso

Maribel Donoso

Scientist in Pharma Division

at NeoGenomics Laboratories

"I am happy to share I am starting a new position as Principal Fatigue Specialist at Qantas!"

Gemma Paech

Gemma Paech

Principal Fatigue specialist

at Qantas

"I am happy to share I am starting a new position!"

Kamrul Hansen

Kamrul Hansen

Principal Scientist - Analytical Technology

at Servier Pharmaceuticals

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