GoKawiilThe problem Dear Nature, I am currently in my second postdoctoral position, and I am looking for a new job, preferably in the health-science, data-analytics or health-care-analytics industries. I have been applying for positions for eight months and I am worried that I am doing something wrong. I have responded to more than 500 job advertisements and have had more than 20 interviews, but none of them has led to a job offer. Often, I don’t progress past the first round of interviews. Most of my colleagues are in academia and no one knows much about how multistage interviews for industry positions work. It’s a bit of mystery as to why there are so many interviews for one job. Each stage involves different interviewers, and I don’t know how they fit into the process. I talk about my previous research and my skills, but I get the sense that those topics are not what they are interested in — or that I’m approaching the interviews incorrectly. I know that job hunting is a marathon, not a sprint, but I feel like I’m not moving at all. I would like some guidance on how to approach multistage interviews. How do I prepare for these interviews and present my skills appropriately at each stage? — A struggling job hunter
The advice
Multistage interviews are common at scientific companies. Even if you have all of the necessary qualifications, it is easy to be unsuccessful during the interview process if you do not know how to prepare properly for each stage and showcase your abilities.
How can I break into industry if my CV keeps disappearing into a black hole?
In a 2024 global survey, Nature asked more than 1,100 hiring managers from academia, industry and other sectors across 77 nations what they were looking for in candidates. The survey found that ‘soft skills’, such as communication and interpersonal skills, collaboration and how well people fit in with the team, were high up on the list of priorities for people looking to hire. But listing these skills on a CV or job application is not the same as convincing interviewers that you have them.
Nature’s Careers team spoke to recruiters, career coaches and hiring managers, as well as people who have experienced multistage interviews in the past year, to find out what to expect and how to shine throughout the hiring process.
What to expect
A recruiter or talent-acquisition specialist is usually the first point of contact in the hiring process. They have selected you on the basis of your CV and will decide whether you get through to the next round of interviews.
They are the gatekeeper, but they are also your friend, says Alona Bärtschi, head of the career centre at the Paul Scherrer Institute, a natural and engineering sciences research organization in Villigen, Switzerland. “You need to try to get as much information from them as you can.” Companies have diverse hiring processes; some might have four rounds of interviews, and some might hold more or fewer. These details are sometimes posted on their websites. If not, recruiters are the best person to ask about the organization’s selection process and who you will be speaking to at each stage. These screening interviews generally last around 30 minutes.
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