Navigating the PhD Job Search

This week’s blog is written by Pinaki Ranadive, Scientist, Formulation Development at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and 2021 Ohio State Ph.D. Chemical Engineering Alum.

As an outsider in the first year of my PhD, my job-searching knowledge was limited to on-campus info sessions, a handful of OSU-visiting company names, and free pizza. By the last year, my experience in applying, interviewing, and dealing with failure had broadened widely. I have enjoyed the job search journey, even the lows that ended in rejections but helped me prepare for the next big opportunity. Overall, pursuing a PhD job search during the pandemic has been a challenging yet invaluable learning experience. Reflecting back, here are some key aspects that helped my job search:

It is never too early to start.

The earlier you start, the better. “Starting” doesn’t necessarily have to mean applying for jobs; it can even include learning about the company through info-sessions, networking with campus recruiters, or keeping your LinkedIn profile up to date. Some of the benefits this can give are: (1) you learn what aspects of your PhD research can apply to that company – this is useful for fine-tuning your resume; (2) networking can help you build a long-term relationship with the recruiters. For instance, a recruiter whom I met in my 2nd year mentored me in resume writing and job searching through my 5th year.

Getting your resume reviewed by multiple people is helpful.

In hindsight, I would pick one contact from every industry I wanted to apply to and ask them for advice on my resume. Tailoring your resume is very important when applying to different industries, e.g. materials science, consulting, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, etc. One tip is to prioritize technical skills that are relevant to that particular industry by including them in a highlight at the top of your resume.

Don’t limit yourself to companies that visit campus.

The PhD job search can be a grad student’s first exposure to industry (as was in my case). This often means we are unfamiliar with specific companies operating in our area of research. Also, job search-related conversations and advice in graduate school departments often revolve around companies that visit campus or post on Handshake, providing a limited overview of options. As I realized after a few unsuccessful on-campus interviews, there is a much wider world of companies outside those visiting OSU that I wasn’t familiar with. LinkedIn is a great way to come across such companies. Specifically, setting up job search alerts for keywords related to your technical skills (e.g. ‘nanoparticles’, ‘HPLC’, or ‘spectroscopy’) can help identify small companies, start-ups, etc. that usually have a short hiring timeline and limited candidates.

Set aside specific time for applying.

Grad school comes with multiple responsibilities to juggle. I found that blocking time in my calendar every week, e.g. a total of 3-4 hours on specific weekday evenings was helpful to ensure I made progress. These hours could be further divided into “light” hours for researching companies, skimming through openings, or saving relevant job descriptions on LinkedIn and “heavy” hours for fine-tuning your application to an extremely relevant opening or making major changes to your resume.

Be open to unconventional industries.

Before starting my job search, I assumed the only positions for PhDs in industry were as an engineer or a scientist. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an interview from BCG that introduced me the world of consulting. Similarly, I have heard of Ph.D. graduates who have decided to pursue a career in science communication or investment banking. There are several career options besides conventional research for PhDs that value non-traditional skills that we learn during graduate school (for instance problem-solving, hypothesis-forming, written or oral communication, attention to detail). Make sure to look out for and take advantage of these (ECS is a great resource). If a non-traditional opportunity comes up, do take a shot at it!

Focus on your transferable technical skills rather than your exact area of research.

Most companies I interviewed for looked for “soft” technical skills such as problem-solving, hypothesis-building, resilience, and presentation skills rather than matching the description to my exact research. Don’t hesitate to apply to companies that require technical skills that are only 20-30% related to your research, as these may work out as well. For instance, my graduate school training was in inorganic material synthesis, nanotechnology, and microfluidics. My current position in the pharmaceutical industry has very little in common with my PhD research but having to learn on my feet during PhD helped me grow in my new role.

Practice presenting your research frequently.

Two of the R&D roles I interviewed for involved a 45–60-minute presentation of my PhD research at some stage of the interview. Usually, these presentations are the first portion of a day/hours-long interview, hence they “set the tone” for the rest of the interview time. Being prepared and performing well in the presentation is controllable and helps create a great first impression that I have observed matters a lot. Practicing with my research group and at conferences multiple times during grad school and creating a standard slide deck that captured the highlights of each of my projects helped me perform well during these presentations. Also make sure to practice explaining your research to a non-technical audience.

Take care of yourself!

Probably the most important tip, yet easy to overlook. Job searching can be an extremely taxing process, especially when combined with finishing up your PhD and handling other responsibilities. Make sure to eat and sleep well and leave time for hobbies. Realize the difference between things you can control (applying for jobs, researching companies, preparing for interviews) and things you can’t control (an opening being filled, a contact not responding on LinkedIn, results of an interview). This exercise especially helped me relieve stress before interviews and when my job search plateaued during the pandemic.

Throughout my job search, ECS has been a great resource. I hope these tips are beneficial for your job search. While the journey to your first industry job can certainly be stressful, it is also a great lesson in resilience - remember to learn from and make the most of it!

“Above all, don't fear difficult moments. The best comes from them.” - Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini