Alternative Science Careers

This article reveals several key secrets shared by various HR personnel (those that often make the hiring decisions) about resumes, interviews, and salary negotiations. Today’s post covers the first part of the article.

What you should know about resumes:

• “Once you’re unemployed more than six months, you’re considered pretty much unemployable. We assume that other people have already passed you over, so we don’t want anything to do with you.” –Cynthia Shapiro, former human resources executive and author of Corporate Confidential: 50 Secrets Your Company Doesn’t Want You to Know

• “When it comes to getting a job, who you know really does matter. No matter how nice your résumé is or how great your experience may be, it’s all about connections.” –HR director at a health-care facility

• “If you’re trying to get a job at a specific company, often the best thing to do is to avoid HR entirely. Find someone at the company you know, or go straight to the hiring manager.” –Shauna Moerke, an HR administrator in Alabama who blogs at hrminion.com

• “People assume someone’s reading their cover letter. I haven’t read one in 11 years.” –HR director at a financial services firm

• “We will judge you based on your e-mail address. Especially if it’s something inappropriate like kinkyboots101@hotmail.com or johnnylikestodrink@gmail.com.” –Rich DeMatteo, a recruiting consultant in Philadelphia

• “If you’re in your 50s or 60s, don’t put the year you graduated on your résumé.” –HR professional at a midsize firm in North Carolina

• “There’s a myth out there that a résumé has to be one page. So people send their résumé in a two-point font. Nobody is going to read that.” –HR director at a financial services firm

• “I always read résumés from the bottom up. And I have no problem with a two-page résumé, but three pages is pushing it.” –Sharlyn Lauby, HR consultant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

• “Most of us use applicant-tracking systems that scan résumés for key words. The secret to getting your résumé through the system is to pull key words directly from the job description and put them on. The more matches you have, the more likely your résumé will get picked and actually seen by a real person.” –Chris Ferdinandi, HR professional in the Boston area

• “Résumés don’t need color to stand out. When I see a little color, I smirk. And when I see a ton of color, I cringe. And walking in and dropping off your resume is no longer seen as a good thing. It’s actually a little creepy.” –Rich DeMatteo

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) offer paid summer internships devoted to biomedical research for students at all levels, including those who are currently enrolled in high school, college/universities, or graduate school. The internships offer a great opportunity to work side-by-side with leading scientists at the NIH. Additionally, interns have the opportunity to participate in summer activities sponsored by the NIH, including lectures featuring distinguished NIH investigators, career/professional development workshops, and Summer Poster Day.

The internships usually begin in May or June and are paid with awards covering a minimum of eight weeks. The pay is based on your level of education and how many years completed at each specific level. Pay for high school students starts at $1,700 per month and goes to $1,900 after graduation. Undergraduates earn $2,000 – $2,200 per month and graduate students earn $2,300 – $3,100 per month.

Internships are located on the main campus in Bethesda, MD and the surrounding area, as well as in Baltimore and Frederick, MD; Research Triangle Park, NC; Phoenix, AZ; Hamilton, MT; Framingham, MA; and Detroit, MI.

The NIH Summer Internship Program is highly competitive.  In 2010, more than 6700 applications were submitted, and about 1200 interns were selected. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis from November through April by scientists in the Institutes and Centers of the NIH.  Note that the NIH does not use a centralized selection process for inters, and as such, individual scientists select their own summer interns. 

Applications are to be filled out online and can be found at https://www2.training.nih.gov/apps/publicForms/sip/forms/sipApp.aspx. Applications are due by March 1, 2011. Candidates must be a US citizen or a permanent resident to apply.

For more tips on the elevator speech, I recently came upon an article at Forbes entitled “5 Tips for an Elevator Pitch that Gets Results” by Susan Gunelius. Susan is the President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, a marketing communications company. She also has authored multiple business books and has over 20 years experience in marketing.

Here are Susan’s five tips from the article:

1. It’s not about you.

Believe it or not, no one cares about you.  They want to know what you can do for them.  It’s the classic law of “What’s in it for me” that copywriters (myself included) follow to craft compelling and effective marketing messages that drive results.  Your elevator pitch should address your audience’s problems and offer solutions.  It should focus on the benefits that the audience will get from working with you, so they understand that they can’t live without you!

2. One size does not fit all.

It is essential that you modify your elevator pitch to match the person (or people) listening to it.  For example, you shouldn’t use the same elevator pitch with a hiring manager that you would with a prospective client or with a potential investor.  These are very different audiences who have very different needs from you.  Make sure your elevator pitch addresses those needs appropriately.

3. Leave out the fluff.

Keep it short and succinct.  Omit extraneous details that don’t directly affect your audience.  A cluttered elevator pitch is an ineffective elevator pitch.

4. Tell them what makes you better than the rest.

Don’t be afraid to tell your audience what makes you different from your competitors.  In other words, toot your own horn and explain exactly what you bring to the table that your competition does not.

5. Practice makes perfect.

No one will want to listen to your elevator pitch if it sounds like an elevator pitch.  In other words, practice your elevator pitch so you can deliver it in a conversational tone that does not sound like you’re reading a speech from cue cards.

According to a survey by management consulting firm Hay Group, the median raise in salary budgets is expected to be 2.8% in 2011, only modestly higher than the median of 2.4% for 2010. While rates increased slightly from 2010, they are still quite low compared to the 4% yearly raises that marked 2005 to 2007. Additionally, the survey results showed that 4% of companies currently have or are considering salary cuts, 18% have or are considering pay freezes, and 17% have or are considering reducing retirement benefits.

Alternative careers are available in the financial field for college graduates. Below are the offerings geared specifically for college graduates by a well-known financial services company, Edward Jones. The best part of the offerings is that they are geared for college graduates with any field of study, including science, and any level of sales/financial experience, including no experience.

Edward Jones offers two separate programs for recent graduates looking to start their career- the Rotational Development Program and the Financial Advisor Training Program.

The Rotational Development Program (RDP)

The RDP offers recent college graduates a twelve to eighteen-month cross-training experience that allows individuals to rotate through various divisions and departments of the firm. Divisions and departments that participate include branch development, client solutions group, human resources, information systems, operations, and service. Each RDP associate is tracked to a specific final placement (position) following the completion of the rotation program. This program is available in both St. Louis, Mo and Tempe, Arizona. To learn more about RDP, visit Edward Jones website by clicking here.

Financial Advisor Training Programs

College graduates can join Edward Jones as Financial Advisors, controlling their career and compensation. In this role, you will work independently from your own single-advisor, neighborhood office helping clients to achieve their long-term financial goals. All the training you need to become a successful Financial Advisor will be provided regardless of your area of study, although a financial background is a plus.

Based on your qualifications and background, there are three ways to become an Edward Jones Financial Advisor. The first way is through the “Traditional Training Program”, geared for college graduates with financial services or sales experience. The second option is the “Financial Advisor Apprentice Program”, a four month program geared for individuals who have graduated with the past 3 years who lack financial services or business development experience, but have a proven track record of success. Lastly, Edward Jones offers the “Practical Application of Service and Solutions (PASS) Program.” The PASS Program is for recent college graduates who have demonstrated top-level ambition, but need financial services industry and/or sales knowledge and experience.

To learn more about the Financial Advisor Training Programs, visit Edward Jones website by clicking here.

Stay posted to learn about other career opportunities!

The typical pathway for someone with a science or engineering degree interested in pursuing a job in industry is often to apply for a research position as a technician or scientist. Jobs in industry can be with various types of companies, including, but not limited to, biotech, pharma, chemical, medical device, and engineering firms. Many people hear of alternative careers and think that they need to pursue a job in a totally new arena. That is not the case. In fact, there is a diverse array of alternative careers for scientists for those interested in staying or pursuing a job in industry, but not particularly in research.

Some alternative careers for scientists in industry include finance, marketing, sales, investor relations, and business development.

With only a science degree, more training or further schooling may be required to land a job in one of these fields. Experience may also be necessary. One easy way to get experience is to do an internship throughout your time at school in the specific field of interest. It may also be an option to start with a job at a company as a research technician/scientist to get your foot in the door and then begin networking and making connections with those outside of research. This often is not an easy task as there may not be a lot of communication between the business and research side. Therefore, it will require intentionality on your part. Try to have an informal interview by saying that you would like to learn more about what the employees do in the rest of the company. Having the initiative to find out more and networking will aid in getting you into the area of interest. Do not be afraid to ask questions and meet new people.

Good luck.