BGS Career Development

Making It Count!

Competency: Communication

Nature: “How to give a great scientific talk”

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Nature research journal has provided an online career guide on how to give a great scientific talk. As the author notes, “The gut-punch feeling of dread that the prospect of being on stage can trigger will be familiar to many early-career scientists.” Still, the ability to present one’s research with clarity not only helps to cement one’s own understanding of their subject matter, it can also help attract collaborators at conferences.

The article provides tips and suggestions on how to develop public speaking skills and keep calm in front of an audience.

Read more here.

Open Labs at Penn Presents: Sips of Science 2019

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Interested in working on your science communication skills? Visit Open Labs at Penn on February 6th or 7th! Come prepared with your idea for a TED-style talk and get a chance to present your science to high school students in April. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided. See our flier for detail. For more information, email pennopenlabs@gmail.com.

When: Feb. 6th or 7th, 5:30 PM

Where: IRG7, Irvine Auditorium

PSPDG Workshop: How to Write a Policy Memo

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“Policy memos are the currency of the advocacy world. Used by political staffers, activists, community organizers, corporate lobbyists, and NGOs, they can be distributed to policymakers, the press, and even the general public. They summarize an entire complicated, controversial topic into a few pages, giving the reader the lay of the land and an overview of how you feel about it in just a few minutes.

Anyone wanting a career in science policy will want experience writing policy memos, and we’re hosting a workshop to teach you all about them! The workshop will include tips and tricks from major political advocacy groups, as well as hands-on learning to give you a head start in preparing for your submission to the National Science Policy Network’s Memo-Writing Competition. The winning science policy organization gets up to $1,000 for programming!

Lunch will be provided!” (Via PSPDG)

When: Tuesday, February 5, 2019. 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Where: BRB Room 253

Career Services: Preparing for Academic On-Campus Interviews

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“This program is open to doctoral students and postdocs as part of the Academic Job Search Series.

If you are applying for faculty jobs, and want to be able to communicate effectively during interviews, then plan on attending this workshop to learn about effective strategies you can use during on-campus interviews. We will discuss how to prepare, what questions you might get asked, and share tips and strategies to help shape your answers.” (Via Penn Career Services)

When: Tuesday, Jan 29, 2019, 12-1:30 PM

Where: McNeil Building Conference Room 97 (3718 Locust Walk)

Register via Handshake.

OITE: “Core Competencies & Blog Resources”

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The NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE) Careers blog emphasizes four core competencies for trainees:

  1. Communication
  2. Career Readiness & Exploration
  3. Leadership & Management
  4. Teaching & Mentoring

They include useful descriptions of these skills sets, as well as a listing of blog posts relevant to each. These include topics such as difficult work conversations (communication), overcoming a fear of informational interviews (career readiness), good mentoring guidelines (leadership), and more.

See the full list of resources here.

“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.