Many are familiar with FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). This acronym was coined by Patrick McGinnis, an entrepreneur and investor, during his time at Harvard Business School. As a small-town boy from Maine he describes the overwhelming nature of being “transplanted from a calm place with a simple lifestyle to a hub of 1,800 highly ambitious, connected young people.” His mania to try to fit it all in led to his FOMO discovery and his book FOMO Sapiens is now available.

What is the antidote to FOMO and the accompanying feeling that you are never doing quite enough?

If you are introverted or reserved, you may sometimes feel pressure in an extraverted world to express your thoughts and ideas even though you don’t really feel the need to share them. Each individual has their own preferences for when to engage and communicate with other people professionally and personally. You may wonder: “Why do I need to do this?” The answer is – you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. However, sometimes at work or at home, it will be in your best interest to share your thoughts and ideas verbally (aloud) with others.

There are four groups of skills that all trainees need to have to help ensure success in their careers. These skills are not only beneficial for success if your current role, but are vital skills to continue to develop in order to excel in future career paths. Below are descriptions of these skills sets and a listing of blog posts on each topic. Check out the posts to delve a bit further into each subject area.

Happy 2019! According to this article, fewer people are making new year’s resolutions to exercise or lose weight. More people (37%, up from 6% in 2018) are focusing on saving money. Others seem to be resolving to make new friends (11%), get a new job (12%), and find love (7%). If you are among the 12% looking for a new job this new year, here are some career resolutions that can help you stay on track.

Just over a month ago, we set our clocks back for Daylight Savings Time. This combined with fewer daylight hours means that most of us are leaving work in the dark. This is just one of the many groan-inducing moments which wintertime brings. Others include frigid mornings making it harder to get out of a warm bed, commuting through snow/ice and gloomy grey days all the while navigating sick colleagues in the lab.

Do you need help identifying your signature strengths? According to the VIA Institute on Character, knowing your character strengths isn’t just interesting information to have; it can have a positive impact on your life overall. It is believed that understanding your strengths can help you: 1. Manage and overcome problems; 2. Improve your personal and professional relationships; 3. Enhance your overall sense of well-being.

Many of us struggle when it comes to making big life decisions, in part because of a black and white framework that permeates our decision-making mentality.  Have you ever wondered how one decision can lead you down an entirely different life path? Whether it is choosing a city, a job, or even a college major, your decisions add up to help determine your overall trajectory.  Accepting one job offer could lead to satisfaction and success; the other could lead to dissatisfaction and failure.  It’s anyone’s guess as to which is which.

People tend to have a lot of varying opinions -- on every topic possible. Just imagine how many different responses you could get when asking what flavor of ice cream you should order or what type of car you should buy. Everyone has their own unique preferences and often their distinct experiences have helped shape their opinions on these topics.

The same is true for advice about career and life choices.

If a job search scares you more than ghosts and goblins this Halloween, we invite you to visit our graveyard. Tombstones in this cemetery are full of antiquated career practices, myths, and other negative emotions one might have around a job search. Past trainees have successfully buried these demons and threats and we hope you will too! RIP – Objective Statement Statements like “Seeking a responsible position in an industry lab doing cancer research” used to be common on resumes. Now it is seen as unnecessary filler.

Some people really enjoy networking; after all, at its essence, it is just talking to others. According to Merriam-Webster, it is simply “the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions.” It sounds pretty innocuous, so why then do so many dread and even fear this activity? At OITE, we hear a lot of reasons why individuals avoid networking. Here are the most common: