Career paths in the Live Sciences

In this video you will be invited to think about which jobs would suit you well. The sweet spot is defined by the intersection of your skills, your interests, and your values. Based on the insights of Toby Freedman's book ""Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development"" you will learn about the three big possible career paths and 19 career paths in life science industry. Looking at an overview of the development process of drugs you will understand what a large variety of different positions you could possibly choose from. You will receive an overview of different available career paths, you will learn about their pros and cons as well as about recommended prerequisites. At the end you will reflect upon which career paths would suit you personally most.

myIDP – Create an account and start using this tool

MyIDP is a great, free online tool, created and maintained by Science Careers and AAAS. It helps you defining your sweet spot, the overlap of your skills, interests, and values. Based on your individual assessments in these three areas, it recommends you several career paths, each with a priority based on your entries. For each career path you will find additional reading suggestions and online resources. Additionally, you find a lot of valuable recommendations there, how to navigate and plan your career development process. So, if you did not yet, register now and start using this tool.

Toby Freedman's Book - chapter on project management

This is a quick walk-through through the chapter on project management in Toby Freedman's book. Looking at this can help you decide whether or not you want to get this book, you learn about project management, and you receive a recommendation how to use this book efficiently.

Do informational interviews - use the LinkedIn Alumni tool

Doing informational interviews is one of the most valuable ways to find out about possible career paths but also to expand your network. In this video you will learn why these interviews are valuable, that you need to leave your comfort zone to benefit from them, and how to conduct them. You also learn about the LinkedIn Alumni tool, which, if available for your university, can be a great tool to come up with possible interview partners.

Academia vs. industry

Are you already decided whether you want to stay in academia or move to industry? Even if you are, take a quick look at this video and reflect about your reasons for your decision.

Where to look for jobs – Life Sciences

Once you know about your desired direction, it is important to know where to look for jobs. Besides strategic networking, you should also be aware of great online tools. You will receive an overview here.

Start to build your network strategically

Networking is one of the most valuable ways to find promising open positions. Here we discuss how strategic networking could look like and what it requires from your side.

Have a great LinkedIn profile

When you present yourself on the job market, your online persona should be well suited for this purpose. Especially, tune your LinkedIn profile so that you are found and taken serious by possible employers.

What makes a CV great?

Here you learn about all the bells and whistles that make your CV stand out from the pile: How long, what sections, how to phrase single bullets, etc. After watching this video, sit down and rework your own CV to make it shine.

How to write a CL – your Cover Letter

Here you learn about the four sections of cover letter and we look at a real example. After watching this video, think about formulating or reformulating a cover letter of yourself.

Do's and Dont's for job interviews

How should you prepare for your job interview? What are the do's and don'ts while conducting it? Here you receive an overview of the most important recommendations. Before our second meeting, where you will have your own job interview, definitely consider these.

Dealing with difficult interview questions

Being prepared for difficult questions is highly recommended when going to a job interview. Think about in advance how you want to react and which examples you want to bring up. Here you find a broad variety of widespread questions and strategies and examples for answering them well. Below you find more in-depth examples attached as text and audio documents.

How to answer "Tell us something about yourself"

This is one of the most widespread questions right at the beginning of a job interview. Think about a long enough, suitable answer of yourself. Here you find a suggestion for a response pattern as well as a specific example.

Salary negotiations

Coming from academia, you might not be used to negotiating your salary. Better learn to do so before you secure your next position. Here you receive basic strategies and learn about likely ""stumbling blocks"" - and how to deal with them.