GoKawiilTo succeed in getting a job in industry, explain the skills you acquired in the laboratory in terms that industry recruiters will understand.Credit: Portra/Getty
I loved the intellectual challenge of my PhD and the idea that my research into immune cells in human skin could one day contribute to better patient care.
But solitary hours at the laboratory bench, early-morning starts and late-night finishes were not for me. And I wanted to work with people, not pipettes. I asked myself: what else can I even do with my PhD?
After talking to various people, I learnt that my doctorate could open many more doors than I had ever imagined, but I had no idea how to get through them. The skills I’d acquired (data analysis, managing multiple projects, collaboration, presentation, critical thinking, persistence and handling ambiguity among them) weren’t the problem.
The problem was knowing how to communicate them in my CV (or résumé) to try for roles in industry, a sector that often measures success in a different way.
Academia rewards scholarly achievement: publications, awards, conference presentations. By contrast, industry rewards impact. So an academic CV might not get you anywhere when it comes to winning industry roles.
I now conduct workshops across Europe and the United States on CVs for industry, after founding Alma.Me, a company that helps PhD holders transition to industry. Co-founder Angela Priest, who has two decades of experience of industry hiring, and I have helped hundreds of early-career researchers, some of whom have landed roles at companies such as pharmaceutical firm Sanofi, the US mortgage association Fannie Mae and online-payment processor PayPal.
We’re constantly asked about academic CVs and their suitability for industry roles. I respond by saying that academia cares more about where you studied, what you published and which conferences accepted your work, whereas industry cares more about outcomes: can you deliver results and contribute to team success? Understanding that difference is important because it affects how you present yourself in each environment.
One workshop attendee had spent months unsuccessfully applying for industry jobs. She was exhausted, frustrated and starting to doubt herself. She restructured her CV, adjusted the language and reframed her PhD work so that it spoke to an industry audience. Within weeks she was getting interviews, followed by a job offer soon after.
Here’s a list of top tips to follow.
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