BGS Career Development

Making It Count!

Rebecca Lopez

LOCATION UPDATE: Walk-In Wednesdays with Career Services

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Beginning on Wednesday, January 23, 2019 Penn Career Services will hold Walk-In Wednesdays in a new location – Stemmler Hall Room 105. The last session will take place May 8, 2019.

These 15-minute sessions are great for reviews of your application materials (for academic jobs or industry career options), quick questions about networking, job searching, career exploration, or any other career-related question.

If you cannot make it to these walk-ins, then take advantage of daily walk-ins at Career Services in the McNeil Building from 2-3pm, or schedule a 30-minute appointment with a career advisor through Handshake or by calling 215-898-7530.

The particular advisor holding walk-ins rotates regularly.

AAAS Social Policy Fellowship Info Session

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If you are passionate about social policy, want to learn more about the field, or are looking to explore career options after graduation this seminar workshop is for you!

Three alumni and a recruiter from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will be coming to Penn to talk to us about the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow (STPF).  This is a yearlong fellowship that provides the opportunity for scientists to learn first-hand about policymaking and contribute their knowledge and analytical skills in the policy realm. Fellows serve yearlong assignments in the federal government (any of the three branches). This workshop will touch on: application process, transition into the fellowship, how to become a competitive applicant, and testimonials from alumni regarding what their day-to-day looked like during the fellowship as well as how the fellowship influenced their career paths.   

Name Branch Placement Current Work
Sutyajeet I. Soneja “Sut” Executive Branch 2016-18 US Agency for International Development (USAID) Consultant, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization
Judith Weis Legislative Branch 1983-84 Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Professor of Biological Sciences at Rutgers University, Newark
Peter DeCarlo “Pete” Executive Branch 2010-11 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, as well as the Department of Chemistry, Drexel

“Acing the Reverse Interview”

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Dr. Joseph Barber, Senior Associate Director at Penn Career Services, published a helpful article on a job search challenge that is increasing in frequency – the reverse interview. Joseph explains that in a typical interview, most hiring managers tend to end the conversation with, “Do you have any questions for me?” In a reverse interview, this is the first and only question asked. Though Joseph has heard of this happening in all types of career fields and industries, it seems to be a trend with small start-ups with a less structured HR department, as well as during campus interviews for faculty jobs.

Preparing for this possibility with an extensive list of questions will lead to a one-sided conversation with you listening to the interviewer’s response. As Joseph describes, it is better to prepare a few strategic questions that will allow you to follow the interviewer’s answers with examples of your own. For instance, you might ask about cross-disciplinary work at their organization so that you can share stories about your own cross-disciplinary successes. Joseph provides dialogue examples and other suggestions to make a great impression.

Read more here.

SfN: How to Prepare for a Science Policy Career

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The Society for Neuroscience has published a number of insights for students interested in a career in science policy. These include:

  • Learn about different science policy careers.
  • Track the issues.
  • Participate or plan advocacy activities.

The author provides fuller detail on these and other recommendations. For even more information, they recommend reading the government program management and policy and advocacy career path guides.

Read more here.

Let’s Experiment: A Guide for Scientists Working at the Bench

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iBiology is offering a new online course: “Let’s Experiment: A Guide for Scientists Working at the Bench.”

“This free 6-week course features scientists from a variety of backgrounds, who provide concrete advice on how to design and carry out experiments in biological research. We use case studies to make the abstract more tangible. In science, there is often no simple right answer. However, with this course, you can develop a general approach to experimental design and understand what you are getting into before you begin.

By the end of this course, you will have:

  • A detailed plan for your experiment(s) that you can discuss with a mentor.
  • A flowchart for how to prioritize experiments.
  • Tips and best practices for how to get started with an experiment.
  • A lab notebook template that is so impressively organized, it will make your colleagues envious.

The course is designed for students and practitioners of experimental biology with busy schedules. If you are interested in learning more, please watch the trailer, visit the course page, or take a peek at the syllabus. The course starts February 19th, 2019.” (Via iBiology)