By: Deepshikha Mishra Junior Editor: Shekerah Primus Senior Editor: Helena Mello Fatu Badiane Markey graduated from Rutgers University in 2018 with a PhD in Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Genetics. The focus of her thesis was to study the molecular interactions of a fusion protein in pediatric Ewing’s sarcoma, a type of cancer affecting the bones and surrounding tissue. Additionally, she was a lead blogger for the iJOBS blog and actively participated in the program as well. Currently, she works as a communications specialist at the Rita Allen Foundation; a philanthropic organization investing in big ideas for the betterment of science and civil society. 
What have you been up to since graduating? I started working with the communications team at the Rita Allen Foundation immediately after defending my thesis. I got the job offer while I was preparing to defend my thesis, so it has been only six months since I joined this organization. Some of the projects that are funded through the foundation are from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), iBiology and many more (link to grants: http://ritaallen.org/all-grants/). I am enjoying working at the interface of science and society. I am learning a lot about working in a nonprofit setup as we also work with different agencies like The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Alan Alda Learning Center for Communicating Sciences. This job is very exciting! It’s challenging at the same time, however, as every year different projects are funded, and new collaborations are made. I also get to meet new and upcoming scientists since we also support early stage researchers. Can you tell us a bit about your job responsibilities and tasks in general? The Rita Allen Foundation started as a nonprofit organization that funds scientific research aimed towards the betterment of society, so very often I interview and write about investigators funded by our organization (learn about their stories here). Also, I write and create media related content for the focus areas of our organization. I write for more general audiences now. We are a small group of people, and it’s a very interactive kind of environment in which we get to meet people from a diverse variety of fields. There is always something to solve and improve in society; foundations and nonprofits such as Rita Allen are all trying to answer the bigger questions. Can you tell us what your job search experience was like? I started preparing for a new job before my last year of graduate school. I wanted to learn more about different career options available after graduate school, so I attended different iJOBS events. I never limited myself to follow only a certain career path, but I also looked for personal job satisfaction. My thesis advisor was very supportive and encouraged me to gain additional skill sets required for the job market. I interacted with people from different fields and built a network of friends and colleagues with diverse backgrounds. I got to know about my current position through my network, and that helped me in getting more informed about the organization. After two rounds of interviews, I got the job! What are some differences and similarities between your current work versus your research at Rutgers? This is my first job, so I was nervous at the beginning. It was tricky at first, but everybody at the Rita Allen Foundation is very supportive and made me feel comfortable all the time. For the rest of it, there are a lot of similarities between graduate school and what I am doing right now; I was trying to solve a problem then and I am trying to solve problems now also. Only the ways or methods have changed. What was your involvement with iJOBS, and is there anything specific that you were able to take away from the program and events that helped you secure a job? Apart from attending different events organized by iJOBS like SciPhD (read about SciPhD here and here), networking, and different career workshops, I learned a lot of essential skills like leadership and other soft skills that have become useful to me now. I was also actively involved with iJOBS as a blogger and senior editor. Writing for the iJOBS blog was a wonderful way to learn a non-formal style of writing and gave me good preparation for my current job. I wrote and edited multiple articles for the blog and enjoyed working with the other editors as part of a management team as well. This is very similar to what I do now on a regular basis. Do you have any general advice for current PhD students and postdocs preparing for the next step in their careers? Job hunting is a long process and finding a suitable position often takes time:
- Start preparing for your future job a year before the actual time you think you need to start.
- Take time to build your network.
- Perfect and tailor your resume according to each job posting.
- Update your LinkedIn profile and
- Be prepared to apply to a lot, a lot, a lot of places.
My current position came as a total surprise to me, so don’t be afraid to try something new! Thank you, Fatu, for sharing your experiences and giving us insights about the right strategy for job hunt. It’s really motivating to see you doing something that helps the society directly.