By Samantha Avina
Photo courtesy of Maâli Mnasri “Conducting Scientific Research in Companies: A New Workflow Model.” Medium, Opla, 18 June 2019, medium.com/opla/conducting-scientific-research-in-companies-a-new-workflow-model-5ee6cb91b916.
As PhD graduates begin to transition from students to career professionals, they have to strategize preparing for the next big steppingstone in their careers. For most graduates, the first task is deciding whether to stay in academia or move into industry. Of course, there are pros and cons to both decisions, as I have detailed in a previous article. At this virtual iJOBS event Research Jobs in Industry, panelists congregated to discuss how their transitions into industry unfolded, and what key factors helped give them their X factor in the hiring process. Even more insightful, panelists also discussed how the hiring and interviewing process has changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
iJOBS panel host, Dr. Janet Alder, had all panelists do a quick introduction followed by a moderated panel discussion before students went into smaller breakout rooms to talk more directly with them. Panelists included senior research scientist Dr. Prasad Subramaniam from Bristol Myers-Squibb ( BMS ), Dr. Abla Tannous from BioAegis Therapeutics Inc. (BAT) , clinical genomics scientific leader Dr. Puneet Dhawan from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), analytical scientist Kumar Tiger from Catalent , and Dr. Snow Yong from Avery Pharma Consulting.
I was able to transition, but it required a lot of networking. You have to project yourself in the right way and need to be in the right place at right time. I did a project management certification to show I had knowledge applicable to the industry and more than just my academic skills alone.
-Dr. Prasad Subramaniam
The first topic was a focus on industry research positions and panelists discussed how they were able to transition to industry from academia and become comfortable in their current positions. Among panelists, answers to this question varied, with some saying managerial experience made for an easier transition, while others said it took some time to rewire and adjust. Dr. Snow Yang, who recently graduated from Rutgers in 2019 with her PhD in Chemistry, wasn’t sure if she wanted to stay in academia or go into industry. She decided to stay on as a post-doc for almost 10 months with her research advisor at the start of the pandemic but started looking for research positions in June/July using online platforms like Indeed or LinkedIn. “I was struggling with the differences between academia and industry. I knew I liked the academic way of research, but I am not good at writing, which was my biggest disadvantage in academia, so industry was a promising field,” she said. Others, however, knew right away that research in industry was the career path for them. For example, panelist Dr. Prasad Subramaniam was always interested in going into industry. From early in his PhD, he participated in activities that would later add the X factor on his CV. “I was able to transition, but it required a lot of networking. You have to project yourself in the right way and need to be in the right place at right time. I did a project management certification to show I had knowledge applicable to the industry and more than just my academic skills alone. By receiving the Project Manager Professional certification, I gained skills that may not apply to day-to-day experiences but served as a baseline to how things work in industry,” he said.
iJOBS itself is networking, and networking through iJOBS and other means, like LinkedIn, is essential.
Panelists next discussed job hunting strategies in industry and the importance of building a strong network. Interestingly, most of the panelists were relatively new to their current positions ranging from 4 months to 1.5 years on the job. This meant they had relevant experiences in dealing with the job market in the midst of the pandemic, similar to what most PhD candidates will probably experience once they graduate in the next few years. Panelists strongly emphasized the importance of networking in attaining their current positions. Some even attributed their current success to the iJOBS program networking. Dr. Abla Tannous said she wasn’t aggressively applying but divided her job search between networking and going through the online job application process. “I never got anything from online applications but got this position thanks to iJOBS. One position listed in the weekly emails seemed to be a good fit and she emailed me, and things went on from there,” she recalled. She emphasized that iJOBS itself is networking, and networking through iJOBS and other means, like LinkedIn, is essential. Other panelists, like Kumar Tiger, noted that in his experience the lack of in person interview interactions due to COVID-19 restrictions made it difficult at first to assess if he would fit well into the different companies for which he applied. “Because everything was virtual, I couldn’t get a good feel for the companies which was difficult at first. The job application run through was slowed down due to covid, but I kept going to company websites and worked through a recruiter during the time I was applying during the pandemic,” said Kumar. Kumar noted that the company he is currently with, Catalent, was focused on his energy and how he would fit into the work culture while working under pressure. Needless to say, it ended up being a perfect fit!
If it is not too late to get industry experience somehow through internship, that experience is relevant. For me it was hard because I didn’t have any experience, so any opportunity would be very helpful.
-Dr. Abla Tannous
After initial discussion moderated by Dr. Alder, attendees were able to interact more one-on-one with panelists about questions they had concerning industry and the career transition in break out rooms. Once back in the main zoom meeting room, panelists brought up some of the important questions that they were asked by students and shared their thoughts with everyone. In Dr. Abla Tannous’s group, she emphasized that any industrial experience gives you an edge when going into the field straight from your PhD completion. “If it is not too late to get industry experience somehow through internship, that experience is relevant. For me it was hard because I didn’t have any experience, so any opportunity would be very helpful,” she said. Dr. Alder did note that the iJOBS phase 2 is a shadowing externship that can lead to internship and networking opportunities. Dr. Puneet Dhawan’s group explored how CV and resume preparation is really important in the application process, especially with everything being virtual as opposed to in-person interviewing. “It is important to rewrite your CV for each individual job ad and tailor it to use the right kind of keywords in it, because recruitment looks for those key works. And don’t lie on your CV!” he said. You don’t have to completely match the job description listing but use of the key words will help get your CV recognized by recruiters who are screening your resume for phrases related to the job ad and job description.
It was exciting to see how Rutgers PhD graduate panelists were able to successfully transition into the industry job market even during the pandemic crisis when hiring freezes occurred almost everywhere. Furthermore, the emphasis on networking while commemorating the iJOBS program network was definitely a reminder for all graduate students to check that our LinkedIn accounts are spot on! You can find out more on how to enhance your LinkedIn profile from a previous iJOBS blog post here. For those interested in seeing if industry would be a good fit you can check out more of our posts on the iJOBS blog or listen to previous event podcasts!
This article was edited by Junior Editor Rukia Henry and Senior Editor Brianna Alexander.