The course provides a high-level overview of the many careers in the life sciences and then explores in detail the basic steps to find employment, so that trainees will be well prepared to find employment after the class.

Trainees have an opportunity to have a one-on-one consultation with Toby Freedman, where she will review the results of the personality test and discuss career options. Time will be spent reviewing and improving each trainee's resume, so that their chances of finding employment will be improved.

Overview

There are many careers in the life sciences industry--with so many options available, how do you identify the career that best matches your interests, skills, values and professional goals?

Join us to hear Toby Freedman discuss the findings of her book, Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development. Her book is a comprehensive overview of the many careers in the life sciences and it covers 20 vocational areas and over 100 different careers. Her book is based on interviews with over 200 industry executives.

Toby will describe the many career opportunities in industry, government and non-profit organizations. She will also discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of working in industry so that you can identify and embark on a fulfilling and meaningful career.

In addition to helping you identify vocational areas that interests you, Toby will provide her executive recruiting perspective to provide useful tools and resources to give you an advantage over other applicants applying for jobs--this includes networking, resume and interviewing tips to help you find the job that will best match your interests, skills and personality attributes.

Day 1 Presentations and Workshops

There is a vast array of career opportunities for scientists in biotechnology, pharma, medical devices, biofuels and healthcare industries, and also in government, non profits and in academia. Toby will speak about the many opportunities in the life sciences, from careers in venture capital, marketing to discovery research and will talk about how to make the transition to industry. The end of the class will discuss job search strategies and networking.

Day 1 Topics Include:

• High level overview of the many careers in the life sciences industry for biological and food science graduate trainees - careers in industry, academia, government and non-profits will be described.
• Is industry for you? What to expect in industry, how it is different from academia, what the corporate culture is like, and some of the common challenges academics face while working in industry
• Steps that you can take now to help you make the transition from academia to industry or government
• Finding the right career in academia, industry, government or non profits
• How to conduct informational interviews to learn more about jobs that interest you
• Mentorship - what to look for in a mentor
• Job search strategies and networking: tips for networking both on the Internet and at meetings to help you find your ideal job, and how to conduct a targeted job search

Day 2 Topics Include:

• Resume development: how to get your resume noticed among the many other applicants
• Interviewing tips: what are hiring managers looking for and what are the answers to common interview questions?
• Determining your relative salary so that you can negotiate a fair and reasonable compensation package
• What to look for in a company and indicators of company success, so that you can select the company most likely to succeed
• Tips for success in industry
• Guest speaker-- recently hired individual in industry and their experiences (optional)

• Proprietary self-assessment test to help trainees identify a career that matches their interests, skills, personality attributes and goals
• Career assistance, answer specific career and job strategy questions
• Resume review