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 Making
the match
Naturejobs
Published online: 27 October 2004; |
doi:10.1038/nj7012-1125a
Making the match
Paul Smaglik
Naturejobs editor
Communication. It's one of those vague yet lofty skills that scientific
recruiters say are important, but few define, and fewer still can present
concrete examples. In a survey of 77 scientists in academia, biotech and
pharma, all emphasized the importance of communication skills and provided
examples of putting them into practice, both to get a foot in the door
(see Naturejobs Recruiters & Industry, page 1128) and to manage an
interview (see next month's Nature Biotechnology).
Whatever the setting, the all scientists surveyed by Grace Wong, founder
and chief scientific officer of Massachusetts biotech company ActoKine
Therapeutics, and founder and president of the biotech education organization
Student Vision, emphasized the importance of matching their skills with
an employer's needs. Juerg Meier, executive director of Novartis in Basel,
Switzerland, says the big mistake in an interview is overemphasizing your
own objectives. To counter that, advises Thomas Kindt, director of the
Division of Intramural Research at the US National Institutes of Health,
you should show willingness to work towards an institution's mission.
Of course, knowing what an institution's mission is requires another key
step — preparation. David Baltimore, president of the California
Institute of Technology, says interviewees should be ready to discuss
the full range of implications of both their own and the interviewer's
work. Paul Kassner, an Amgen research scientist, advises giving a practice
seminar to peers inside and outside your area of expertise. Answering
potential questions from friends and colleagues helps you prepare for
the real thing — but in order to anticipate those questions, you
must research the company's history and the contributions of its scientific
staff.
Following these steps will turn communication from a soft, abstract concept
into a reality that can help you land the next job.
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