Opportunities Outside Academia
If you're looking for opportunities outside of academia, I can help you.
A first step in the process is to ask me for the recording of my tutorial on how to prepare an effective résumé. Here are also two templates:
- Resume template (2 pages)
- Cover letter template (One page!)
When you're done with the first draft of your résumé, send it to me for review. We can then brainstorm together about your network and where to look for opportunities. See Networking in Academia.
In addition, you should:
- Take a look at Propel Careers Transferable Skills Seminar and Propel Careers Informational Interviewing Seminar
- Make sure you have a professional-looking headshot for your LinkedIn profile.
- Please read this article before signing anything.
Keep me posted on your progress. It's not whether you'll land a job, it's when.
Resources
- Science Careers contains an impressive database of articles describing a variety of scientific careers.
- There are two free career exploration sites that all postdocs at Harvard can access.
- VersatilePh.D. Nonacademic career discussions and information for humanities, social science, and science and technology PhDs and ABDs.
- ImaginePh.D. Focused on Ph.Ds in the humanities and Social Sciences.
- Read through: “So What Are You Going to Do With That?,” Finding Careers Outside Academia by Susan Basalla and Maggie Debelius; Alternative Careers in Science, edited by Cynthia Robbins-Roth; The Guide to Nontraditional Careers in Science by Karen Young Kreeger, and more.
- Review our past events, including Overview of the Biotech/Pharma Landscape in Greater Boston, Breaking Into Biotech in Boston, Jobs at the NIH, Careers in Science Education and Outreach, Tips for Breaking into Science Education and Outreach.
Careers Away from the Bench: Advice and Options for Scientists by Science Careers.
Additionally, a whole bunch of free, great video panels are available here: https://hope.vyten.com/replays/
Additional Resources available to postdocs at the Mignone Center for Career Success (which serves only students)
Transferable Skills
As a postdoc, the world is your oyster, since you will have developed the following skills :
Teamwork. The ability to collaborate effectively with people from other disciplines.
Communication. The ability to sell your ideas and to convince others in writing and speaking.
Flexibility. Better be a generalist than a specialist.
Analytical and problem-solving skills. Essentially, this is the ability to identify challenges and devise solutions that will move projects forward.
Willingness to take risks, to think outside the box. Get out of your shell. Think innovation.
Ability to build professional friendships (quality) rather than network superficially (quantity). Keep in touch with your contacts. Relationships are key.
Basic business skills (using email effectively, running effective meetings, etc.). If needed, audit business-related courses (for example at the Extension School)
Mentoring skills. The ability to support people below you, so they can perform at their highest level.
Please review the 6 core competencies identified by the NPA (National Postdoc Association).
Constructive Strategies
Be open to, and grab, opportunities to broaden your skills. Be proactive in your search.
Use alumni connections (especially lab alumni networks).
Pursue informational interviews.
During interviews, ask lots of questions (demonstrating that you're an inquisitive person).
Temporary jobs are a great way to get a foot in the door.
Seek jobs that are exciting to you. You're a Harvard postdoc: The world is your oyster.
A couple more resources:
If you don't really know yourself, you can take this personality test.
Your job search in industry should follow two parallel routes: identifying interesting positions in good companies and networking (into them, if needed).
Unlike undergraduate students, postdocs don't get jobs by scanning job listings and sending their materials. The only reason to use some of the job search engines mentioned below is to get ideas of the kinds of positions out there, based on your expertise, and to get ideas about which companies might be attractive (mission, field, location, etc.).
The next step is to begin networking (see below).
Once you have some ideas, shoot me an email and we can brainstrom together.
Harvard-Enabled Resources
GSAS clubs (open to postdocs). See Engage, a centralized platform that allows members of the GSAS community to find and join graduate student groups, events, and news. All you need is Harvard Key access.
Getting a Job in Industry
In his talk, Tom Hamilton discusses how to get a job in industry, based on his 20+ years of experience as a hiring manager, most recently at the Gates Foundation Medical Research Institute.
99% of the jobs that postdocs get outside of academia are obtained through networking, i.e., talking to people you know, reaching out to people you (should try to) meet everywhere, notably at conferences, social events, and even on LinkedIn. That's because all companies would much rather hire someone they know, or someone one their employees knows, than take a chance on someone who is unknown.
Advice on using LinkedIn can be found in several places, notably on some of the handouts prepared by Sabrina Woods.
You should also check out Joanne Kamen's great video on networking, which includes the critical advice that you don't need to network with jerks! More about this in her blog.
Additional tips from Joanne include:
Getting jobs is about the people you know (those with whom you have an ongoing professional relationship).
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. “I was wondering if we could have coffee, or chat for a few minutes, as I’d love to pick you brain about …”
Talk with people to identify common interests (which connect you).
Think about how you can help the other person (send them a paper, connect them with someone, good tips for finding a certain kind of food, etc.). Keep in mind the Ben Franklin effect, according to which a person who has done someone a favor is more likely to do that person another favor than they would be, had they received a favor.
No dumb stuff on social media. Use LinkedIn or Research Gate.
Volunteering is a good way to meet people. You never know!
General
Science Jobs
ScienceCareers
NatureJobs
BioSpace Jobs
Fierce Pharma Jobs
MassBio Jobs
The Scientist|Careers
NewScientist Jobs
Propel Careers
For clinical laboratory jobs, check out: Lighthouse recruiting.
Employment opportunities listed on the websites of companies in industries you are targeting.
Also use word-of-mouth, connecting to the head of HR of a firm in which you're interested, etc.
Other Postdoctoral Opportunities
Many postdoctoral jobs and postdoc fellowships are listed on Postdoctorals.com
Opportunities in Germany
The German Academic International Network (GAIN) is a useful resource for meeting other German scholars in the Boston area (no German necessary).
Additional Resources
Columbia University's Center for Career Education also provides a terrific list of resources for non-Academic Career Options for Ph.Ds in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Postdoctoral positions in the Boston Area
Below you can find some information and job listings for prospective postdocs. However, this may not be the best vehicle for finding a postdoc position. Often it is more efficient to identify a PI conducting work in your specific area of interest, and to email that PI directly with your CV and cover letter. In addition to literature searches, faculty members often have web pages that will provide you with information regarding their research.
Some of Harvard's hospitals may have some postdoctoral fellow job postings listed on their HR websites:
Beth Israel Deaconess MC
Brightam & Women's
Children's
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Joslin
Mass General Hospital
A 3-part webinar series focusing on Pathways to the Life Science Industry offered by the Keck Graduate Institute. You can listen to recordings of each session via the links below.
Part 1: A View from Industry with Ross Grossman, VP of Human Resources at Regeneron
Part 2: Careers in Industry with Steve Casper, Dean of the School of Applied Life Sciences at KGI
Part 3: Key Industry Knowledge with Jim Sterling, PPM Program Director at KGI
In addition, all Harvard postdocs are members of Bio Careers, which provides an in-depth look at various career paths in the sciences, as well as job opportunities for Life Scientists. Registering is easy.
Finally, you could listen to this panel discussion with former MCB students/postdocs, who have moved to industry.
Generalities about interviewing in industry: Interviewing in Industry
You'll often hear about 2 kinds of interviews:
1. Informational (informal) interviews.
These are essentially a meeting to learn about the real-life experience of someone working in a field or company that interests you. So they're not connected to any specific job opportunity. The objective of the conversation is for you to ask about what it's like working in the company or the field, and where there might be opportunities for someone with your skillset. In a way, you're the interviewer. At the same time, this will provide you an opportunity to talk about the skills you bring to the table and hopefully may lead to further conversations with other leaders in the organization. Always make sure to ask your interlocuter whether they might be able to suggest oher people for you to meet.
2. Behavioral Interviews.
By definition, these are a technique that focus on a candidate's past experiences to assess how they navigated specific situations and utilized skills relevant to the position. Behavioral interviewing questions often sound something like, "Think of a time when your encountered a problem and tell me how you handled it." In these cases, the interviewer is far less interested in the problem than the steps you took to remedy it. See basic advice about informational interviews, including basic interview questions and basic informational interview script. A presentation by the Harvard Office of Career Services is also available here. One way to prepare for these is to construct an excel spreadsheet using skills (from the job description) in the left column, and examples demonstrating these skills in the right column.
Finally, possibly the most important piece of advice. When preparing for a real (not informational) interview, feed the job description into a GAI (such as ChatGPT) tool and ask it to generate a list of interview questions, based on this description. There also exists AI-powered interview tools, notably Interview Warmup from Google, that can help you to practice and prepare. In particular, these tools simulate an actual interview and give you personalized feedback, based on your responses. So you can use this feedback to identify possible areas for improvement, including body language, tone of voice, or interview questions you struggled with.
Special Note: Meeting with a Human Resources Generalist and Recruiter
Meetings with the Human Resources Generalist and Recruiter during an on-campus interview are usually more focused on logistical and organizational topics, as well as behavioral interview questions that assess soft skills, rather than detailed technical or research questions. You might expect discussion around:
• Behavioral interview questions related to communication and organizational skills, teamwork, motivation, problem-solving skills, and applied learning. MIT has some good, easy-to-digest information on behavioral interviewing.
• Employment policies and benefits: health insurance, time off, retirement plans, etc.
• Employment eligibility: questions about work authorization.
• Culture and workplace environment: sometimes they'll provide information about mentoring and organizational values.
• Compensation: they may give a general sense of the salary range or inquire about the candidate’s salary expectations.
• The onboarding process: what happens once an offer is made and accepted (though if this is a first-round interview, this may come later).
You should be prepared to ask questions too—for example, about what it’s like to work there, resources available to new hires, what makes an individual successful in the role, and, if they haven’t shared it already, what you can expect next in the process. You should also be ready to talk about your key achievements and how your experience matches the role.
Unlike on the academic side, there aren't many items to negotiate. It's mostly salary and start date.
On the salary front, any inquiry about higher salary should be justified by research (for example, you're found on glassddor that similar positions have higher starting salary), personal circumstances (supporting a family, for example, especially if you're spouse can't work), or a competing offer. In general, however, most companies will want to make you a fair offer, not lowball you.
About salaries: Companies sometimes inquire about your expectations. Remember, in Massachusetts, it is illegal for them to ask you what you currently make (see Massachusetts bans employers from asking for salary histories)
There are a couple of ways to answer:
- "Tell me the range for this position, and I'll tell you whether it works for me (better than "whether you're in the ballpark").
- "I am not comfortable sharing that information. I am hoping that [COMPANY ] will pay me based on my qualifications and expected responsibilities I will undertake, rather than based on what I currently make.