Overview of science5647 on PostgraduateForum.com

Overview of science5647

Signup date: 29 Jun 2020 at 9:29am

Last login: 29 Jun 2020 at 10:22am

Post count: 2

Recent Posts

Industrial postdoc interview

science5647 2 posts
4 years ago

Quote From pm133:
I would address the experimental "deficiencies" head on.
Specifically, I would tell them directly that I would very quickly pick up any new skills required and show some proof that I've done that in the past. They will be looking for someone they can confidently leave to get the job done, whatever it takes without them baby sitting you. You need to convey that without bullshitting.
You'll know if this is working because you'll see it in their responses.

My whole PhD was literally the situation: applied in with 0 knowledge about the main method, and still got hired!

Quote From pm133:

Being 20% short should not be a problem unless they have a 100% candidate and even then they may simply like you better so focus on building rapport in the interview. Ask lots of detailed technical questions about certain aspects of what they do which genuinely interest you. They'll pick up on that.

Indeed, from what I learnt during PhD courses and talking with people is that positive and confident attitude can go a long way, even with some flaws on the technical side.

Quote From eng77:

2nd Question. You can focus on the methodology and know precisely any shortcoming in using these methodologies. You can "criticise" your work in the presentation admitting the shortcomings because of limited time or lack of resources/data.Or you can expect their questions and criticism and prepare appropriate answers. You could admit that PhD and academic research are not perfect and to achieve better results, other things have to be taken care of (which might be the case somehow in industrial research).
The question why do you want to move to industry is more likely to be asked again in person. So state clearly your goals without exaggerating stating pros and cons for both academia and industry in a fair way.

I agree that being aware of the research flaws just shows that you're not just "doer" but also "analyst" which is what postdoc should be.

Industrial postdoc interview

science5647 2 posts
4 years ago

As per title, I'm trying to get a postdoc position in industrial setting (not academic). I had a first 30 min interview and am feeling quite positive about it. It was mainly about my motivation and some questions about techniques I used during my PhD. Next step would be on-site presentation and talking with different dept people. I have a few questions about the approach I should take during this process:

1. The position requires protein production, numerous in vitro biophysical characterization skills which I do have, but not all of them (I have only theoretical knowledge). So all in all, my profile matches 80% of the skills required. I have put this on my CV and the fact that I still got through it seems that it's not a deal breaker. However, any suggestions on how one would talk about missing skills during more in-depth interview? I'm certain that I can learn the missing techniques with time, but I guess I just need a "smooth" way to talk about it during the interview... Maybe putting emphasis on good theoretical knowledge of it would be enough to push through?

2. What do you think would be the best approach to make the scientific presentation about the previous research: focusing on results or rather skills and techniques I used? My PhD did not end up being very successful in a sense that not many positive, publication-enabling results were achieved. However, I had a lot of troubleshooting using multiple methods. I guess at the end of the day, showing skills and the way of thinking would matter more than publications if PhD topic was risky from the very beginning. Considering it's industry, their primary goals are never publications anyway.

Thanks for the tips!