Reinventing yourself: marketing the experienced ...

1 downloads 0 Views 69KB Size Report
Jan 5, 2007 - in today's job market ... finding themselves back in the job market. For many, this is ... learn, adapt, and thrive in new types of work. Point out ...
Anal Bioanal Chem (2007) 387:727–728 DOI 10.1007/s00216-006-1011-3

BUILDING A PROFESSIONAL CAREER

Reinventing yourself: marketing the experienced chemist in today’s job market John Fetzer

Published online: 5 January 2007 # Springer-Verlag 2007

An increasing number of chemists over the age of 40 are finding themselves back in the job market. For many, this is after years of working for one employer. With mergers, acquisitions, and the constant financial pressures of costcutting that lead to downsizing, lifetime employment is now a rare occurrence and an anachronism into today’s business world. In the other two venues, tenure is not as rock solid a guarantee as it once was, since university budgets are being drastically cut, and in government service (at least in the USA) “reductions in force” are somewhat commonplace. The senior and experienced chemist faces many challenges in addition to those of the younger chemist just starting a career. These come from both the mindset of the person and of the potential employers. I will briefly cover some of these issues before addressing one specific and major hurdle that older chemists often place in front of themselves. Personal matters such as family and personal ties, children’s schools, and a home are issues that make relocating more difficult. A spouse’s career can make the job search result in finding two jobs consecutively if a move is in question for the chemist’s new one. Other issues such as the cost of living for the entire family’s needs must be assessed in order for potential areas to relocate to or the acceptance of a job offer. Potential employees often wrongly perceive older workers as inflexible and unable to adapt to new technologies and ways of working. This must be addressed in the résumés and covering letters sent out as part of job applications through J. Fetzer (*) Fetzpahs Consulting, P.O. Box 942, Pinole, CA 94564, USA e-mail: [email protected]

the listing of skills and experience that highlight the ability to learn, adapt, and thrive in new types of work. Point out new areas that you worked in that were very different from prior work and how quickly you became useful at doing them. Specific examples might be starting a project that required statistical analysis of the data and that you were able to do that within two months or that you started using a new technique and were asked to write a review or give a presentation as an expert the following year. A company may perceive that the older candidate is near to retirement and thus not going to be of value for very long. This is in striking contrast to their ignoring that most younger scientists think of the first job or two as temporary stepping stones. Most graduate students in the job search look at potential employment as a five-year or briefer situation with no obligations of leaving in a rush if another, better position becomes available. The older worker has strong values of loyalty to an employer and of stability in a situation—which is accentuated if they were suddenly let go. The senior job candidate is more often likely to be a longer-term employee than the younger one. You may not be able to convey your views on this in your résumé or covering letter, but you should try to in the interview. Everything is not negative for the older chemist. He or she has established both a network and a reputation. Since many positions are found through contacts, the established network can increase the chance of success. In contrast to the younger chemist, this network has often been built through many interactions, collaborations, and the giveand-take of a dynamic research career. The younger chemist has not established this personal rapport, so any networking is heavily tilted to taking—which is less likely to come from the many slight acquaintances in such a network. The scientific reputation can be, in itself, an opening into an interview. If you have published and have been active in

728

conferences and professional societies, people in a company that is hiring might recognize your name and place you at the top of their candidate list. Even without that the titles of publications and presentations can pique interest. For the individual, one of the biggest pitfalls is in what is marketed. Through years of work, promotions, and evaluations, the chemist often thinks of herself or himself in terms of that position. The major tasks in the position dominate that image. This is very unlikely to be a match for what a potential employer is looking for. The potential employer is looking for skills and experience directly applicable to its work. Thus there is this essay’s title. You must reinvent yourself before you start marketing. You are not selling yourself; you are matching yourself to a future employer’s needs. The first steps are assessing what you can do for an employer. This also helps you define the target market, the types of companies you will aim at. Are your skills applicable to other companies in the industry you worked in? Sometimes the answer is a mixed one, as some knowledge gained in the former job might be proprietary and unusable. Are these skills transferable to other industries? Mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography, for example, are widely used in many companies from biotechnology firms to petrochemical manufacturers. The sample handling, matrix problems, and other specifics might differ, but the overall expertise is similar. The first rule, from a hiring company’s view, is relevance to their needs. Structure your résumés, covering letter, networking, and any other communication with this in mind. You must sell the idea that you are the one to meet their needs. Relevance, relevance, relevance! Tasks that were only minor parts of the former job may be much more attractive to a potential employer. Were you ever involved in supervision? Have you led a project team or managed a project? Do you have experience in putting together research proposals, budgets, schedules, and timelines? Have you ever interacted with others in or from foreign nations? Have you ever worked in a foreign nation? The candidate must look through all experience, large and small, to find sets that are marketable. This may result in a variety of résumés that are aimed at different positions in different industries. This is also an advantage over the younger chemist who has fewer experiences and can aim at fewer positions. You should be selective, however, in choosing experience from much earlier in your career. A rule of thumb is that for generic talents not to go more than ten years back. If a talent or skill is highly valued by certain employers, however, you can highlight it even if it is earlier, but you must refamiliarize yourself in depth with that work or technique before any intense interactions with an employer such as an interview. They want current expertise and saying you used it years ago does not sell your talents well.

Anal Bioanal Chem (2007) 387:727–728

As with the younger chemist, it is permissible to list nonscientific experience if it shows skills that are useful. The same is true of some experiences such as organizing and chairing a symposium, working on a society committee, and so on. If the possible position involves interpersonal and communications skills, the former job may not show that you have them, but your other experience will. Experience in interpersonal skills, supervision, and good communication are more expected of senior chemist positions and so these should be highlighted. Sometimes the assessment of skills and experience may point to entirely new paths. If you enjoyed certain tasks, such as writing, helping develop a product, getting a patent application together and approved, training, or many other non-research tasks, you may be perfectly suited in a career change. Technical writing, sales and marketing, patent law, teaching, and other new professions can be ideal and the science background will still be valuable. There are many books on job searching that touch on this specific topic, including recent works by Gail Geary [1] and Bradley Richardson [2] that focus on it.

References 1. Geary G (2004) Over-40 job search guide: 10 strategies for making your age an advantage in your career. JIST Works, Indianapolis, ISBN 1593570902 2. Richardson B (2004) Career comeback: eight steps to getting back on your feet when you’re fired, laid off, or your business venture has failed—and finding more job satisfaction than ever before, 1st edn. Broadway, ISBN 0767915577

John Fetzer is the author or co-author of over 130 research articles, reviews, and book chapters. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. Dr. Fetzer worked for over 20 years as an analytical chemist for the Chevron Corporation and now runs his own consulting company, Fetzpahs Consulting, in Hercules, CA, USA. His book Career Management for Chemists—A Guide to Success in a Chemistry Career was published by Springer.