During a recent OITE workshop on the topic of career planning, trainees from all levels described finding the job search process “scary” and had feelings of fear and stress regarding approaching the next steps. For post bacs, applying to graduate, medical and other professional schools can sometimes feel like an uncharted maze at Halloween. For post docs and visiting fellows, hearing the scary stories about pursuing academic careers, making the big step into industry, or searching for jobs in the US and abroad country is akin to walking in the dark in uncharted territory. To add to previous OITE Halloween posts, here are some suggestions to help you slay the…
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Academic Job Search: Telephone Interviews
This is the time of year to prepare for telephone interviews. For many of you, this will be the first step in the academic interviewing process. This is a cost-effective and time efficient method for many search committees and enables them to narrow down the list of applicants that are invited for campus interviews. In the OITE academic interview video cast, Sharon Milgram, Director of the Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE), for the NIH suggests that candidates prepare to practice the following suggestions for managing the process: Use a land-line Find a quiet place free of distractions Prepare for a 30-45-minute telephone interview. Expect up to three interviewers on…
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Navigating a career in science with disabilities and chronic illness
Blog is written by Shannon DeMaria Ph.D., Research Ethics Training Coordinator, Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE) As October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), this post is dedicated to exploring these topics as they relate to those who are planning careers in the biomedical enterprise. First a note: this post is going to make use of the broadest possible to definition of disability, keeping in mind that many people do not self-identify as having a disability or being disabled. [The language surrounding these topics is complex, but does not have to be a barrier to discussing them.] As scientists at the NIH, we can probably all rattle off…
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Writing the Research Statement
One of the documents that applicants are asked to submit as part of the complete academic job packet is the research statement. In general, this is a two to three-page document that describes your pathway into research in your discipline, pre-doctoral and postdoctoral research, and future directions for your research in the professorship. This is an opportunity for you to help the search committee envision you fitting nicely into their department and achieving tenure in their department. We encourage postdocs and graduate students in the sciences to visit the OITE website and watch the Academic Job Search: Applying and Interviewing video cast in which Sharon Milgram, PhD Director of the…