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. Core competencies include: COMMUNICATION We communicate with people everyday: writing papers, sending emails, giving presentations, or discussing ideas in meetings. In almost every job, the ability to share thoughts and ideas clearly with others is a…
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Assessing Your Skills, Values & Interests
Whether you are a postbac, graduate student, postdoc or clinical fellow, you probably have wondered how to blend your individual interests, values and skills into a satisfying career. Self-assessment is an integral part of an effective career planning process and involves asking yourself about your: Skills -How good am I at different lab techniques or giving talks? -How are my language, mentoring, training, writing and communication skills? Interests -What interests me? For example, do I prefer running the experiment or writing up the experiment? Values -What is important to me in a job? For example, do I need to have a lot of variety or do I prefer to have…
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How We Learn
Post written by Sharon Milgram, Director of The Office of Intramural Training & Education. Science careers, at or away from the bench, require us to be life-long learners. To be successful, we are always learning – and teaching – new skills. While many of us enjoy this, it also comes with frustrations and challenges. In considering how we learn, I was struck by the excellent and concise explanation of the stages we typically go through as we learn and develop new skills. I found this in a short book entitled “Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager” written by Ken Blanchard. Intramural trainees can find the book in the OITE…
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Tips on Conducting a Job Search Anywhere
Do you need to find a job in a geographically limited area far from your current location? Maybe your significant other just found a dream job, or maybe you just always wanted to live in Seattle, WA – whatever the reason, a remote and geographically limited job search poses a distinct set of challenges that require some strategizing to overcome. Here are a few thoughts that may help from a person who recently was searching for a job in Dallas, TX, while living in Bethesda, MD. These tips are useful in any job search, but particularly for conducting a remote search. Begin the search early. Job options tend to be…
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Finding Time for Career-Enhancing Activities
Research is your top priority as a graduate student or postdoc. That, coupled with your passion for science, may drive you to devote every waking moment to your research. You love discovery. You need to publish. However, regardless of your career aspirations, your regular routine may benefit from a slight change of pace. Maybe there is a certain career you’ve always wanted to explore or skill set you’ve wanted to develop. Participating in activities outside of lab can help you learn a lot about yourself, forge meaningful networks, and potentially guide your future career path. Earlier, we discussed serving on the career symposium committee and how to make the most…
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Becoming Skilled and Competent: The Essentials of Presentations
One of the most common forms of professional communication is the ‘Presentation.’ No matter what career you have – professor, researcher, science policy analyst, CEO of a company – chances are you will have to prepare and deliver professional presentations. In fact, you probably give presentations regularly already – for lab meeting, at professional conferences, for your thesis proposal, or for your job interview. However, no matter why you are giving your talk, the goal is the same: Communicating and sharing information with your audience. Because of this, there are some simple principles that any talk should have – and you can use these are the building blocks of any…
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You Got an Interview, Not a Job Offer: How to Impress Your Way into a Position
Its interview season! This time of year we seem to see an increase in the number of institutions hiring people. Before they hire someone, they are going to interview at least a few people for each position. This is why we set September on our Calendar for Career Success to be the month that you practice your interviewing skills. Here are a few key Do’s and Don’ts you should be focusing on when practicing or preparing for an interview. Do… Know and understand what you are applying to do. This does not mean just knowing what the job is called. You need to know the specific duties associated with the…
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Putting Together Your Job Package
If you have been following out Calendar for Career Success, you know that August is the time to put together your job packages. Whether it be for an academic positions, a postdoc or a transition to a new career field, you need to have a competitive application. We have provided some information below we feel will be helpful in this endeavor. What is a Job Package? – A job package almost always includes a CV OR resume and a cover letter. It is important to know whether you will want to include a CV versus a resume. However, regardless of which one the job calls for you will want to…
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Making Connections at A Scientific Meeting or Conference
If you have been following our career development calendar on the blog, you know April is the time to plan your 2012 meeting or conference attendance. If you are relatively new to this experience you should watch our web tutorial on attending a scientific meeting. Whether this is your first or fiftieth conference you probably are prepared for science, science and more science. And while the science is the main reason your boss is sending you, it should not be the ONLY reason you are going. Conferences and meetings are great places to build your network and expand your connections. However, it doesn’t just happen. Here are a few tips…
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Using Your Networking Map
If you have been following the blog calendar, you have been thinking about your career, and maybe have even met with a career counselor. That means (hopefully) that you have a few ideas about career options, and some questions that an informational interview might help you answer. Now that you have filled in your networking map, it is time to ask those you know if they know anyone you could talk with. Say you are pondering a career in industry. Your first two circles will be the easiest place to start and will most likely yield your best results. After you have worked through your first two circles, go through…