Advice from Your Peers
Biomedical Postdoctoral Fellows

The following advice was offered by Biomedical Postdocs on their career plan surveys, shortly after the completion of their fellowship.

"I started by making as many contacts as I could in the medical writing field. This mostly involved cold e-mails to current medical writers whose names I found either on the Penn Career Services Networking site or that were friends of friends. (Letting as many people as I could know about my interest in the field brought a few names my way.) Throughout this process I was provided with names of a number of companies and some websites that list medical communications agencies. Many of these companies post job openings on their websites."

Once I gathered as much info as I could about the field, I changed my resume into a functional style (accentuating my writing experience and minimizing my research experience) and started sending it directly to companies as well as posting an anonymous version on the major job search web sites. Having a posted resume brought much interest from recruiters who had plenty of interview opportunities lined up for me if I had chosen to pursue that route. I went on one interview set up by a recruiter however the job I eventually took was one that had advertised via e-mail through the Penn Career Services dept.

The major advice I'd offer is the probably the same advice that's already being hammered into you, and that's to network as much as you can. Also, make a resume -- "dumb down" the research aspect and tie all your experience to some sort of clinical realm since most medical writing is for a clinical audience. Lastly, it seems that medical communications companies are highly dependent on recruiters for filling their openings, so definitely post your resume on job search sites on the web and you will start hearing from recruiters shortly."

"Since I had received a great deal of help from the career services, my advice is to take full advantage of the resources available."

"The two most important job search tools for me for finding an academic position included the Academic Employment Initiative (AEI) Poster Session at the American Chemical Society Conference in the Fall of 2004 and the facilities of the Career Services.

The Career Services sessions afforded me the opportunity to learn what employers are looking for and what questions to ask, etc.. so that I was ready for the AEI Poster Session. The AEI Poster Session was for graduate students or post-docs in chemistry who are looking for faculty positions. The schools looking for faculty have your C. V. and interests ahead of time and faculty come to the poster session to specifically talk to you and to see your research. This was invaluable to me as that I got 6 interviews, 4 of which were with faculty that I met at this poster session. The poster session allowed me to give a personal edge to my cover letter and application materials."

"My job search was unsuccessful until I contacted faculty PI's at other institutions directly and solicited the help of friends and colleagues with relationships at that institution. I didn't wait for an official ad--I prompted one."

"I made an appointment with career services to help me with my cv, cover letter, research and teaching statement. I found it very helpful and think it made my material more competitive. I knew I wanted to teach at a primarily undergraduate institution and started planning for that career track while still in graduate school. I volunteered to TA courses and stayed in my graduate lab as a post-doc for a short while after graduation while I taught a course at a local college. I think that teaching experience helped in formulating my teaching philosophy and enhanced my application. Even when I wasn't actively looking for a position, I checked the Chronicle of Higher Education job posting to get a feel for the different positions open at small colleges."

"Several pronged approach: 1. Three people I knew from professional meetings asked me if I was interested in working with them, and I sent them my CV which they forwarded to their dean or search committee (this route resulted in 3 interviews and 2 job offers). 2. I subscribed to job alert service of Chronicle of Higher Education, and sent CVs to 4 schools I was interested in (this strategy resulted in 3 interviews)."

"I would advise postdocs to follow the advice of faculty members, students and to work close with them."

"During my time as a Post-doc I was also in the American Board of Medical Genetics training program in Cytogenetics. This was a two year program. I am now board-certified in clinical cytogenetics. I am now in a one year program (finished Aug 06) to be board-eligible in clinical molecular genetics. My position at NYU is in the clinical cytogenetics and molecular labs."

"I attended many of the career seminars, workshops and training sessions organized by Penn Career Services and Biomedical Postdoctoral Programs. Their presence and tireless efforts on your behalf at Penn is a great value to your personal development and life-long job search. I must also mention that I participated in Biomedical Postdoctoral Council and Penn Biotech Group activities during my three years at Penn. All together, these opportunities have been a great treasure for me. I see many postdocs unaware of these excellent opportunities. Those who appreciate and use all offered services will excel and find great jobs while others remain in the ever growing postdoc pool. What makes Penn different is the opportunities offered to postdocs. Only those who accept and appreciate these opportunities will prosper..."

"Keep in touch with former colleagues, where ever you are. My CV/resume made it to the hiring manager via a friend of a friend. Networking is extremely important."

A job search does not start at the end of your graduate training. When you start, you must look ahead to what will be a rising field of research. Midway through graduate school, you should add on the skills that are needed for your next job. For example, apply for several fellowship grants or mentor a younger graduate or undergraduate student. Then, at the end, you will have a history or track-record that will help you land the job you want.