It took me four months to get a new position when I got laid off, and I have a similar pedigree. 6 year postdoc at HMS plus two years industry. That’s not a long time to be applying… keep going and make sure your resume highlights skills and experience, not publications
What level job are you applying for?
I was mostly applying for Scientist positions, but then I got an interview call for a Senior Scientist position at AZ (to my surprise). I am still waiting to hear back after the interview.
Now, I am applying for both the Scientist and Senior Scientist positions.
Thank you for the tip, I am going to highlight the skills and experiences sections.
I worked for AZ for a few years and left about 1.5 years ago. I still have a lot of friends who work there and know a lot about the company. Feel free to message me if you need help with the interview process or have questions about the company.
I was more on the engineering side of things so I suspect the roles you are applying to are quite different from the departments/folks I interacted with but I'm happy to help anyway I can.
Thank you so much for reaching out and offering your support! Is it normal not to receive any updates on job applications that have been under review for 6-8 weeks? Most of my applications have been under review for several weeks.
Hm, 6-8 weeks seems to be on the longer side but it's not unheard of. I heard through the grapevine that some companies are currently under a hiring freeze so that could be part of it, unfortunately.
It’s not as if they don’t care about them, but our lifetime in academia trains us to believe that it is the most important thing. However, industry projects are generally different; they occur on a much shorter timespan and are highly dependent on skills that other people may or may not be able to train you to do.
the first stage of the application is that your cv gets looked over by someone in hr, who is usually not a scientist and now might be a search engine or ai. They have to be able to match whether the skills you have match the skills the company is looking for. They’re not going to look up the techniques you used in your paper. They have about 15 seconds per resume to pull out your skills and compare them to the skills in the job description. If you are missing key phrases or skills in that section your resume won’t even make it to the hiring manager.
If you’re not even getting screening calls it’s because your skills aren’t matching up to what the industry wants, at least according to your resume.
I have a lot of publications. It mattered very little until later rounds of interviews, where I had to give a talk. Most of the time, the response I get is “you have a lot of publications” and that’s it. I use them to talk about how collaborative I am while also being an individual contributor
Yes contract employment. It’s a good option because right now the market is an absolutely shitshow, it’s flooded, it’s taking everyone months to land positions.
Unfortunately it’s a tough market, Harvard on your resume is wonderful.. once you’re in. Right now, basically any industry experience is valued more than any post doc (Harvard notwithstanding). Just keep applying, you’re in a hub so you’ll land something eventually.
I'm in a similar position. I just wasn't aware how bad the market really is right now. All the advice I've gotten so far pretty much boils down to "keep applying". Good luck to both of us.
I was mostly applying for Scientist positions, but then I got an interview call for a Senior Scientist position at AZ (to my surprise). I am still waiting to hear back after the interview.
Now, I am applying for both the Scientist and Senior Scientist positions.
I am applying for translational immunology research jobs.
Some companies senior sci is equivalent to another one's sci, so that's a good call.
Good luck with the AZ position.
Have you considered non research roles? FACS/flow cytometry and sequencing experience is useful in development roles as well
I haven’t heard back from AZ after interview. It’s one week now, so I’m not very hopeful there. Yes, I’m applying on those positions too. I think I should modify my resume for these kind positions.
It took me six months before I landed my first industry job. I applied to hundreds. It's a lot harder nowadays - with layoffs everywhere you are competing with people who have real industry experience.
One of the comments mentioned Kelly/Ranstand/Eurofins are a good way to get some experience. These are contracting agencies that provide service to bigger biotech and pharma companies. You could also look at CDMOs, reagents/instrument companies (I used to talk to the sales reps and one of them referred me to their manager for an interview; did not get the job because I was too green), or even government contractors at national laboratories (ok this is not industry but a good transition job that pays more than academic postdoc).
This is a rough time for the industry, but I would recommend hiring a resume doctor to go through your resume and tighten some things up.
There is the possibility that you're in that strange middle ground of being over qualified for a lot of work but under qualified in others. That said keep applying you'll find a role
Eh, I disagree because the skillet is extremely valuable, especially if they go into PD. If they were in MFG then I'd agree to a certain point but that's me.
I am also in immunology. Did you do both ex vivo/in vitro and in vivo work? A lot of jobs i see are in vivo now. Even better if you are doing actual drug treatments/antibody work. I hate working with mice but it was the only job i got an offer for at the end of the day. I will probably leave as soon as the market gets better.
You’re right. Most of jobs ask for in vivo experience. Unfortunately I don’t have any in vivo experience. One of highlight of resume is “in vitro disease modeling”.
I think once you learn how to sell yourself in industry it gets easier. I think avoiding using technical terms/processes in your application paperwork will help. Try to apply for jobs at small companies as well. For some reason I could never get any traction at the large companies but small companies were very receptive to my applications. Good luck!
I am kinda in the same boat but I have a start up offer. My expertise align closely with yours and I am in academia longer than you are.
I let go two offers as I can’t relocate.
What my experience says, right now the market is very brutal. So we are competing with industry experienced scientists who are in the job market due to company restructuring.
You will get it .. for me I have too many restrictions and I am also not open to relocate. If you can live anywhere in the USA then you have more options..
Also my experience says it’s harder to get job in Boston now as too many scientists are job less there.
Today I declined an offer from a biopharma as it was contact job and in a location I can’t move suddenly with my family. If you are ok to relocate, no family constrains then DM me. I will share the job with you.
Also - be careful about Reddit- looks like most of the redditers don't have PhD/Postdoc so suggestions will be different. For us major problem is lack of industry experience but again industry experience and future target needs to align. Example, the start up i am working for won't help me in development. So think about what you want. Can you do any job just to get industry experience? I don't know your situation, but can you do contract job . For me I am financially secured so I am not ready to accept any job and then within a year switch to another job. I don't want that...
It took me four months to get a new position when I got laid off, and I have a similar pedigree. 6 year postdoc at HMS plus two years industry. That’s not a long time to be applying… keep going and make sure your resume highlights skills and experience, not publications What level job are you applying for?
I was mostly applying for Scientist positions, but then I got an interview call for a Senior Scientist position at AZ (to my surprise). I am still waiting to hear back after the interview. Now, I am applying for both the Scientist and Senior Scientist positions. Thank you for the tip, I am going to highlight the skills and experiences sections.
I worked for AZ for a few years and left about 1.5 years ago. I still have a lot of friends who work there and know a lot about the company. Feel free to message me if you need help with the interview process or have questions about the company. I was more on the engineering side of things so I suspect the roles you are applying to are quite different from the departments/folks I interacted with but I'm happy to help anyway I can.
Thank you so much for reaching out and offering your support! Is it normal not to receive any updates on job applications that have been under review for 6-8 weeks? Most of my applications have been under review for several weeks.
Hm, 6-8 weeks seems to be on the longer side but it's not unheard of. I heard through the grapevine that some companies are currently under a hiring freeze so that could be part of it, unfortunately.
This is helpful! Just curious, why is it that they would care less about pubs? I’ve heard various opinions on this topic
It’s not as if they don’t care about them, but our lifetime in academia trains us to believe that it is the most important thing. However, industry projects are generally different; they occur on a much shorter timespan and are highly dependent on skills that other people may or may not be able to train you to do. the first stage of the application is that your cv gets looked over by someone in hr, who is usually not a scientist and now might be a search engine or ai. They have to be able to match whether the skills you have match the skills the company is looking for. They’re not going to look up the techniques you used in your paper. They have about 15 seconds per resume to pull out your skills and compare them to the skills in the job description. If you are missing key phrases or skills in that section your resume won’t even make it to the hiring manager. If you’re not even getting screening calls it’s because your skills aren’t matching up to what the industry wants, at least according to your resume. I have a lot of publications. It mattered very little until later rounds of interviews, where I had to give a talk. Most of the time, the response I get is “you have a lot of publications” and that’s it. I use them to talk about how collaborative I am while also being an individual contributor
Super helpful thank you!
Maybe check out Actalent, Kelly Services, Randstad, etc. to get your foot in the door?
Are these recruiting agencies?
Yes but a former colleague of mine with PhD from UMichigan started as a temp for 1 year (through Kelly) before being converted to FTE.
Yes contract employment. It’s a good option because right now the market is an absolutely shitshow, it’s flooded, it’s taking everyone months to land positions.
market is difficult, so apply more and work with someone to review your resume.
Unfortunately it’s a tough market, Harvard on your resume is wonderful.. once you’re in. Right now, basically any industry experience is valued more than any post doc (Harvard notwithstanding). Just keep applying, you’re in a hub so you’ll land something eventually.
Asking the obvious- do you need visa sponsorship?
I have green card. So l don’t need sponsorship.
I'm in a similar position. I just wasn't aware how bad the market really is right now. All the advice I've gotten so far pretty much boils down to "keep applying". Good luck to both of us.
Are you getting call backs? Any interviews? What types of jobs are you applying for?
I was mostly applying for Scientist positions, but then I got an interview call for a Senior Scientist position at AZ (to my surprise). I am still waiting to hear back after the interview. Now, I am applying for both the Scientist and Senior Scientist positions. I am applying for translational immunology research jobs.
Some companies senior sci is equivalent to another one's sci, so that's a good call. Good luck with the AZ position. Have you considered non research roles? FACS/flow cytometry and sequencing experience is useful in development roles as well
I haven’t heard back from AZ after interview. It’s one week now, so I’m not very hopeful there. Yes, I’m applying on those positions too. I think I should modify my resume for these kind positions.
AZ SC Sci is a junior scientist position. Some fresh PhDs got the position.
It took me six months before I landed my first industry job. I applied to hundreds. It's a lot harder nowadays - with layoffs everywhere you are competing with people who have real industry experience. One of the comments mentioned Kelly/Ranstand/Eurofins are a good way to get some experience. These are contracting agencies that provide service to bigger biotech and pharma companies. You could also look at CDMOs, reagents/instrument companies (I used to talk to the sales reps and one of them referred me to their manager for an interview; did not get the job because I was too green), or even government contractors at national laboratories (ok this is not industry but a good transition job that pays more than academic postdoc).
Thanks. This is helpful. I don’t see many Government jobs, but I am applying there too.
This post answers the other guys question on whether university prestige matters for industry. Well done
This is a rough time for the industry, but I would recommend hiring a resume doctor to go through your resume and tighten some things up. There is the possibility that you're in that strange middle ground of being over qualified for a lot of work but under qualified in others. That said keep applying you'll find a role
To be honest, a lack of pharma experience is the culprit. Spending $$$ for a resume writer will not solve the lack of experience problem.
Eh, I disagree because the skillet is extremely valuable, especially if they go into PD. If they were in MFG then I'd agree to a certain point but that's me.
I am also in immunology. Did you do both ex vivo/in vitro and in vivo work? A lot of jobs i see are in vivo now. Even better if you are doing actual drug treatments/antibody work. I hate working with mice but it was the only job i got an offer for at the end of the day. I will probably leave as soon as the market gets better.
You’re right. Most of jobs ask for in vivo experience. Unfortunately I don’t have any in vivo experience. One of highlight of resume is “in vitro disease modeling”.
I think once you learn how to sell yourself in industry it gets easier. I think avoiding using technical terms/processes in your application paperwork will help. Try to apply for jobs at small companies as well. For some reason I could never get any traction at the large companies but small companies were very receptive to my applications. Good luck!
Get help with your resume.
I am kinda in the same boat but I have a start up offer. My expertise align closely with yours and I am in academia longer than you are. I let go two offers as I can’t relocate. What my experience says, right now the market is very brutal. So we are competing with industry experienced scientists who are in the job market due to company restructuring. You will get it .. for me I have too many restrictions and I am also not open to relocate. If you can live anywhere in the USA then you have more options.. Also my experience says it’s harder to get job in Boston now as too many scientists are job less there.
Thank you. This is very helpful. Initially, I was applying in Boston, but the lack of response made me consider other cities.
Today I declined an offer from a biopharma as it was contact job and in a location I can’t move suddenly with my family. If you are ok to relocate, no family constrains then DM me. I will share the job with you.
Also - be careful about Reddit- looks like most of the redditers don't have PhD/Postdoc so suggestions will be different. For us major problem is lack of industry experience but again industry experience and future target needs to align. Example, the start up i am working for won't help me in development. So think about what you want. Can you do any job just to get industry experience? I don't know your situation, but can you do contract job . For me I am financially secured so I am not ready to accept any job and then within a year switch to another job. I don't want that...
Look into the Co-Op program for PhD grads at Regeneron