Academic versus Industrial Similarities and Differences

Similarities 1.A job is a job 2.A job means money to support you and what you will do 3.In both instances quality will prevail 4.The process is a multistep process 5.They know what they want, you can only guess 6.Be prepared. Know the people that will conduct the interview, know the Company, the University or the Institute 7. It is competitive

Differences 1.A company will support the whole financial burden of hiring you 2.Universities will provide nothing or as little as they can. They will hire you but NIH will be the institution that put the final stamp on your position 3. Companies are more interested by techniques than by area of expertise (at the starting level) 4. Universities have the opposite interest. They recruit by field of interest 5.The seminar part is a determining factor for completely different reasons. Science versus ability to convey clear ideas.

Academic recruitment Initiative are from Departments (most of the time) Initiatives are motivated by the perception of weaknesses in a given field of expertise (not by space!…) Recruitment will be targeted by a recruitment committee of 3 or 4 members. Know the committee members. You will not get the job if one of them is against you The committee decides how many candidates will be interviewed. The selection process will be based on 3 tiers: Your C.V./Scientific Interests Your presentations at scientific meetings Your mentor

If you get interviewed it means that ….. you are one out or four or five candidates…. Good start but long way to go The first interview will determine the finalists The second interview will decide who wins

To go to the second round you will need 1- To win over the interest and attention of the committee members, all of them 2- To seduce and spark the interest of as many faculty members as you can within the department 3- To be efficacious in your interactions, and professional

The DAY Be fit and ready physically and mentally The Day will be gruesome. You will meet people, give a seminar and go for dinner. At no time can you let your guard down. Be positive on any subject that you discuss (even on non- scientific issues)

The one on one meetings Be courteous, polite and diligent You will not know the details of 90%of what those people do, but you must know what they do and show interest Do not feel obligated to ask questions if you do not understand some aspects of what the person talks about. A stupid question at the wrong time will leave a bad impression for a long time. Have your schedule at least a week in advance to prepare well

The Seminar Know your audience well. Remember that you have been selected because of your unique area of expertise. You are the expert, nobody will know that field as much as you do. Therefore: Be more general than usual and accessible Give a comprehensive introduction Do not overwhelmed the audience with data Do not discard stupid questions, answer politely

The Dinner The Committee members are back in play They will try to evaluate your outside interests (non-scientific) They will evaluate your ability to raise money They will evaluate your ability to negotiate Remember it is not dinner with your folks Be honest, be vigilant, be proper (do not drink to excess, do not eat more than usual because you are not paying for it)

The follow-up Contact the chairman of the search committee to confirm your interest in the position and tell him why you feel even more so after your visit (phone better than ). Ask what the delay for the answer is going to be Do not pester that good chair of the committee with daily angry mail and phone messages. Know that the process is slow If you are rejected, learn from your experience and the mistakes that you may have made. Move on.

If you are a finalist…… Details will matter more than ever Bargaining becomes a real issue, be ready Your best bargaining chip: NIH money Your second best bargaining chip: other offers And remember, do not try to get the job for vanity reasons. Yes, it is Harvard but you really did not like the place and the people when your interviewed there. Never be cornered.