I can’t tell you how many times I have heard of troubles
a new Ph. D. employee have had in not “getting along”
with their supervisor. So, many times a supervisor will
either suggest something be done or ask can you do
[.whatever.]..when you get the chance. She might also
request a poorly defined assignment and give a
deadline, like, due by the end of the week.
The new employee did not think much of doing it and
did not do what was “asked.”
Sometimes the assignment is “given” to a team. What should
you do?
Employers seek employees who are proactive, get
things done and understand that they may not fully
understand the importance and implications of an
assignment, which may seem optional.
This is a common problem in teams and with what you
“need” to do,
“want” to do, or
might do because it is a challenge that you will learn
from by doing.
It is a situation where you and your team need to figure
out whether
it is in your team’s best interest to complete it.
Another thing that your note prompts me to add is that
THE BOSS, whoever that is, will likely not want to see any
question about you not knowing what to do. Some bosses
will expect you to do it. Some bosses will forget that they
asked you to do an assignment. Some bosses will ask you
to improve on
the assignment so that it produces something
valuable for the team and
the company.
You will be recognized by doing well on the things
you must do but those who exceed expectations and
help make the boss look good are the people who are
considered for promotion..
We began our class by soliciting what each student
wished to know and gain from the course. One
person with a concerned look on her face asked:
Should I change my first name to a name that
English speakers can say more easily, for my
resume, for speaking with people for jobs and
interviews and working? Some of the names
were:
Jagadeswara
Mai (Egyptian, spoken as “May” as in month of)
Ghanashyam
Jujie
Daqian
One suggested changing her name on her official
documents. One thought of change his name on
transcripts and university registration documents.
So, my “cabinet” of expert consultants were
consulted for their recommendations. At the end,
I will summarize:
First of all, changing your name will not increase
your chances of landing a job, all agreed.
From Joel Shulman:
This is obviously a very personal question.
(1) If the student is comfortable being called
something other than his/her given name, I
would suggest picking up a nickname that
is very close to his/her real name. For example,
Jagadeswara could be called Jag
Daqian could use Dak
Jujie is easly pronounces (I think) and
could remain unchanged, or it could be Gene
(male) and Jean (female).
(2) A shortened form of a person’s last name
could be used, as well.
I would not change the name on any official
documents__ only for use when introducing
themselves to others and in parentheses on
one’s resume. For example,
Jagadeswara (Jag) Rajam
For official occasions and on publications
the first name would remain one’s given name.
But for social and job search situations, an
Anglicized name would make things
easier.– Joel
From Rich Bretz:
Sometimes students will try to
(3) translate their name into English.
For example, we had a fellow from
Africa whose name translated as
“Mr. Chicken”- he soon figured out a
nickname.
From Louie Kirschenbaum:
Most of our Chinese students have already
picked an Englishname by the time they get
to graduate school. We seem to get a lot of
Amy’s and Wendy’s and they do list themselves
as in Joel’s example…
Indians [and other south Asians seem to] have
so many polysyllabic names that they need
to specify which one (or part of one) they
prefer in normal conversation.
(4) It is also common that they reverse their
names since the last name is given first in
some traditions. This is from a colleague’s
Email tag:
Murali Krishna Cherukuri
(Murali C. Krishna, in publications
In any case, I’d agree that changing a
name to get an interview won’t help get the
job. — Louie
Summary:
- Be comfortable and consistent with your
nickname
- shortened version of first or last name
- last name
List the name on documents, as indicated in
(2) and (4), above.
Other colleagues contributed to this, thank
you.
When a blogger encounters excellent contributions
we can’t help but want to share it. Chemjobber
did this in an interview of an assistant professor
at a principally undergraduate institution. A
couple of take-aways for me:
There are some sites we can go to that provide
job listings. There are some sites we can go to
that provide
- comments on where, how to and
- suggestions for finding positions, public relations
documents, interviewing and transitions.
Chemjobber seems to analyze and review the
continually changing employment situation.
See if it is a resource you need.
A common model for figuring out what it is
you want to do has been mentioned in a
blog where you identify what are the leading
characteristics that you seek in your next
position and in your career. It can be
phrased as your needs, your desires and
your personal wishes (preferences).
Daniel Pink in his book “Drive: The surprising
truth about what motivates us” ciphers it into
Motivational operating systems: Motivation
1.0 (survival needs); Motivation 2.0 (carrots
and sticks; rewards and punishments) and
Motivation 3.0 (mastery, purpose and
autonomy).
For short-term-achievement meeting Operating
Systems 1.0 and 2.0 are sufficient for a majority.
However, for longer term growth and satisfaction
Pink argues that purpose-driven employment
that progresses over time or Operating System
3.0, in addition to the the first two motivates
most people.
He, further, goes on to talk about the evolving
stages of human life, from educational phase,
to employment phase, to encore phase, and
to passive retirement observes different motivational
operating systems. It can be challenging when
a person wishes to move from one operating
system to another since he describes there
needs to be a “scaffolding” and “values
resetting” to get there.
Has your your perspective changed on what
you seek and what makes you work hard?
Many career mentors suggest that job seekers perform
Company research to determine the business stability,
the company direction and whether it competes
successfully in its industry.
Clearly, examine the company web-site to get
pertinent information about a company’s
leadership and public relations (what it wants you to
know about itself).
Positive side business news is commonly revealed in
C&EN.
Look also at how its stock price has fared paying
attention to trends and what may have triggered
them (in the company news).
Look at long term issues and how the company
has dealt with them in their local area and globally.
Let’s use Dow Chemical as an example since Dr.
Liveris has been cited in various newspaper and
magazine articles (interview):
- web-site ; notice sustainability goals, corporate
citizenship, and its values (integrity, respect)
- C&EN story about after both a tough year
and Rohm & Haas purchase coming out ahead
- WAPEDIA : outlines a corporate history
- yahoo : stock price charts and other
financial delineators
- information news sources can be consulted
but the information might be partial or premature
1 2 3 4 5
- LinkedIn.com - who you know and data,
like:
| HQ Region | Saginaw, Michigan Area |
|---|---|
| Industry | Chemicals |
| Type | Public Company |
| Status | Operating |
| Company Size | 46,000 employees |
| 2006 Revenue |
$49,124 mil (6%) |
| Founded | 1897 |
| Website | http://www.dow.com |
| Common Job Titles |
|
|---|
| Median Age | 37 years |
|---|
| Gender |
|
|---|
As we know several ACS publications on teaching
chemistry offer a page or two about writing teaching
philosophies. While I have written evolving teaching
philosophies, I continue to learn more on this deep
and intriguing subject.
Recently Robert Leamnson’s book Thinking about
teaching and learning was given to me. It is a clearly
stated scientist’s view on the challenging task of
changing students’ brain patterns. It requires less
the teacher’s total mastery of subject matter
and more
-understanding the students,
-using relate-able language (to the subject matter),
-repeating and reforming concepts, techniques
and key subject matter in the students’ minds and
in chemical sciences, experimental laboratories,
[called coached recitation, developing checklists
containing safe and hygienic practices, and paraphrasing]
-maintaining the individual student’s attention and
focus.
With this as a backdrop, he points out teaching
philosophies based solely on experience are
reactive, expressing our responses to our teachers.
There is much to be learned from experience and
deep thought of the ‘big picture,’ of the goals of
the participants, and methods that have proven to
be successful for masters in the field. If you aspire
to a teaching career, consider perusing Robert
Leamnson’s book.
When was the last time you attended an ACS Local
section meeting? My last one provided a rich
storehouse of information, some introductions to
new contacts and a great chance to reconnect, in
person.
The meeting was held at Emmanuel College
in Boston’s Fens district and had Dr. Christine
Bellon as the featured speaker offering her take
on what it is like move from chemical research
to her enjoyable career, now as vice president for
intellectual property and legal affairs for Hydra
Biosciences.
There are some wonderful ACS workshops
on Careers in this field AFTB (away from the
bench), but they do not provide the insights
Christine shared. Some highlights of Dr. Bellon’s
remarks about her career were:
- at a law firm, you work at the behest of the
partners for clients and their products and interests.
This means if you are there at 3 pm on Friday and
a call or emergency comes in you are likely to
be working late and through the weekend.
Time is not your own, and time is measured
in “billable hours”, in 6 minute increments, for
on average about 2000 hours per year. “There
is an app for this!”
- no matter where you are, there is a lot of reading
and writing in the legal arena. One has to learn to
choose what to read and not read thoroughly, what
and how to express things in precise formulaic
logic. In fact, one of the smart things to do for
chemical professionals is work with your legal
experts. Have them read and assess patent
information in existing patents.
A hidden nugget that the legal arena is imbedded
in PCs and PC software that may not be the most
recent.
- the 3 year patent law school process is intensive
for becoming an attorney (it is slightly longer, 4
years, for part-time students). One of the biggest
hurdles is working with the patent office.
Others who attended this wonderful talk
probably learned many other notions.
This weekend I enjoyed a pleasant conversation with
UH and he remarked that one of the new things he learned
is about the different people he should have in his
network.
He was familiar with people in his “direct” network. He
indicated that he had not identified people who (1) his
direct network knows nor (2) consequential strangers
(recent post).
In reply to my question: who represents his network?
He indicated that his advisor is more than willing to
offer and write a strong recommendation. I then
asked have you (UH) asked him (UH’s adviser) if he
knows people who you can call? No. This is how
we entered into the discussion about the three layers
of people’s networks.
A second new item related to a telephone interview
he was invited to participate. The conversation
elicited that it was being conducted with a former
graduate of his department. How fortunate!
Develop small talk topics by finding out when and
with whom he graduated and some of the common
people they both know. Find him in LinkedIn.com
and learn of his accomplishments.
[We also covered: Learn about details, recent
news and recent business results of the company.
Have good questions to ask as part of the
telephone interview. Job description? Be
prepared for the telephone interview 1 2 3 ]
The third new item involved UH needing to
formulate STARI stories for responses to
question noting key elements that pertained
to the key performance attributes he can bring
to the company.
STARI = situation, task, actions, results and
implications.
Last night I had a pleasant conversation with mid-
career and senior level scientists. They shared
their perspectives of the chemical industry they
have their careers in, saying there is diminished hope
for many. Some people, still employed, are
looking for new employers. Downsized have
been exasperated in not getting job leads. Sure
the economy is not robust. However, it is the
off-shoring of chemical industries to Asia, in their
view, that concerns them.
Wish I had many answers to questions I am hearing from
three groups of people who face different facets of
what is happening– already out of work, those
(currently employed) who feel their days might be
numbered, and those preparing for careers in fields
that are moving off-shore.
[Parenthetically, downsizings affect not only
employed workers, but also possible future workers
who are in university programs guiding them into
areas that are “roads under construction.” There
seems to be a disconnect between chemistry
departments and industrial reality.]
The main focus of this post is points out an
excellent summary about severance agreements
by A. Sklover. He points out how careful
reading of the agreement is essential and things
to be mindful of.
A strong, thoughtful discussion appears in Derek Lowe’s
blog In the pipeline about communication behavior
of chemists. 1
Two remarkable comments came from
- Rich Apadoca: a new problem solving tool
- Tierneylab: an outsider’s view of chemists
My take is that there is much more to gain from
the long-tail influence of the Internet and
thoughtful communication that is honest and
of high integrity.
It is interesting to read E. Grossman’s book on synthetic
chemicals that have unintended consequences of
- persistence in our environment and are either fliers,
swimmers or hoppers
- bioaccumulate
- endocrine disrupters
- have epigenetic effects on organisms
- are xenobiotic and toxic in specific organs.
Commenting on the subject, Joe Thornton, an associate
professor in the Center for Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology at the University of Oregon recommended three
changes that future chemists might pursue 1 :
My mailbox contained a notice that I was
delinquent in paying dues and I am out of
work. Since I have been a dues paying
member for over 30 years and I have
considerable interest in the people and the
profession, I have taken the option to continue
membership.
What should you do if this is a situation you face?
Look at the C&EN page offering services for
unemployed members.
When I was initially unemployed and later
under-employed, I applied for and received a
dues waiver. Most recently, the half-rate annual
dues is available to me.
Other societies (like the Electrochemical Society)
offer one year dues waiver. After this, one can
apply for “emeritus” membership.
Because the value of membership is so great,
don’t linger on applying for membership. It can
be a strong link to moving to your next position.
There seems to be many new features,
changes and things to know about IRAs
every day. Look at previous Watch-outs for
news on these tools that should be managed
for long term financial stability. Here are
three that came to my attention:
LOOKING FORWARD TO USING OUR IRAs
Source: K. Greene, Slow Roth IRA, WSJ
12-26-09, p. B2
Consider– convert your losing investments
(no or reduced taxes), “hold” on converting
big gainers, when you convert convert into
separate accounts to manage future gains
and losses and convert gradually over time
observing your tax bracket and consequences.
NEW 2010 ROTH IRA RULES
Source: K. Greene, WSJ Conversion
consideratons, 12-12-09 P. B1
Looking to have lower taxable income
after we reach 70 years may encourage
traditional and rollover IRA holders
to convert. A big push will come for
when higher income earners can own
and contribute to Roths in 2010.
CHARITABLE IRA ROLLOVERS
Source: church bulletin
Congress retroactively extended the
IRA provisions from 1-1-08 to
12-31-09; donation must be made
from traditional, Roth or rollover
IRA to a charity. No taxes paid, it is
not eligible for deduction. One day to
use it.
While there are signs of unemployment turn around
for jobs in chemical fields, searches are taking longer.
Experienced technical people have indicated
they have had to interview and accept positions
1) well outside their field, yet in areas of interest,
2) that is technically challenging, but involves
longer hours,
3) in an area of interest, however not full time,
and
4) in an area where they have mastered
the technology with no growth (in salary and
responsibility), yet it keeps them employed.
Part of the strategy of finding their positions
involved serious organization 1 2 3 . In addition,
they worked hard in a separate place (home office
set up for searching or in an outside office) in three
phases:
preparation and background research,
interactions via media (phone, networking events)
and meetings, and
follow-up (prompt, with added value) for results.
They did not sit at a computer all day looking at
job boards.
In addition, they were flexible in allotting nearly
equal time to each phase.
Some interesting observations they had:
- the strategy depends on the targets– field
and location (submit resumes to people in your
network for submission, prepare and hone your
30 second PR advertisement, ask for feedback)
- LinkedIn.com and recruiters continue to
grow in importance (improve your online profile
and develop rapport with recruiters)
- develop relationships at your target companies
(information interviews, learn their products,
business model, and where you might fit in)
- conduct regular searches on the best
job search engines (continually improve your
search terms, sites of interest and share with others)
- keep up with your network
As we all know, curriculum vitae can be
used to apply for academic positions.
They comprise a comprehensive listing
of all professional endeavors and can be
a useful first step for creating targeted
resumes to apply for industrial and other
positions.
[Generally, CVs do not have an objective
but include a detailed listing of relevant
accomplishments, intramural and
extramural interests and professional
activities. CVs include specifically lists
of references, publications, patents and
presentations and other documents
associated with the application. (teaching
philosophy, research proposals, and so forth.)]
Resumes are targeted public relations
documents showing relevant
accomplishments, experience and
interests matching the needs of firms’ open
positions.
This post examines resume formatting.
You may find many common features from
other career consultants. Generally,
1. FONTS AND PAGE SPACE
Font type and size should be easily
readable. Consider Arial, Verdana, and
Courier with size of 11 or greater. There
should be an inch boarder without lines on
each page.
2. PAGE ORGANIZATION
Your name needs to appear on each page.
It is helpful to include a page number and
systematic organization of section headings
(normally on left or center) and dates
(normally left or right hand column).
3. BULLETS, BOLDING AND CAPS
Freeman has cited eye tracking research
pointing to the use of bullet points, shorter
phrases, use of bold or caps. Yet, too
much highlighting is distracting and use
of italics is of limited value. Usually
underlining is not often used, if caps and
bolding is common.
4. HYPERLINKS TO WEB-PAGES
Digital versions of resumes can make use
of hyperlinks in the experience section to
web-pages of employers, in your heading
to your own personal web-page and blogs
that you author.
5. HYPERLINKS TO PAPERS
Digital versions of resume files can include
listing of peer reviewed papers, patents
and presentations. A hyperlink to a .pdf
file, if available, is helpful. These lists
are not common ingredients of resumes.
6. UPDATED CONTACT INFORMATION
While lists of references are not formally
part of resumes, they can be included in
your resume file as a separate page. It
is important to ask for and receive
permission to include a person as a
reference and list updated contact
information.
7. LENGTH
Not including references and papers,
patents and presentations, resumes will
not be longer than 2 pages.
Most industries and companies do not
readily share information about
mobility and practices around salary
administration and promotions. Second
hand information is inferred on hiring
practices based on the number of job
ads in magazines, positions listed on
web-sites and company campus visits.
(This stresses the need and importance
of ACS members participating in
ACS salary and employment surveys.)
BUSINESS CULTURE - Foreign born.
D. Mattioli authored a piece suggesting
recently better employment scenarios
outside the US. The US job scenario has
been visited with freezes in promotions
and salary increases (even reductions
and furloughs) and a return home for
employment appears attractive.
It is not possible for me to verify
increased employment opportunities for
foreign-born colleagues. It is interesting
to read about trends of better employment
for those who feel they have not been
motivated to excel in their careers by
management who can treat foreign born
employees less than equal. Some may
disagree, however, this feeling may
reveal cultural differences between
business in their native culture and
business in the US. (See Legal
issues blog in the blogroll- A. Sklover)
BUSINESS CULTURE - Temporary.
Another provocative trend, seen readily
in adjunct hiring in academia, is temporary
work in specialties at middle and senior
levels of organizations. It is seen in
many organizations that undergo
transitions. The Economist Schumpeter
(12-12-09 issue) column argues for this
not being short term but in fact reveal
a trend Peter Drucker proposed.
With the proposals before Congress,
it is possible that mobility might be
increased. Pension portability (without
penalty), health care coverage for employees
in small companies and entrepreneurs,
and some improvements in small business
unit capital markets (making investments
possible.) are all things that are part of
the decision process for employees.
Employee decision making for transitions, it seems,
will not get easier in the future. Business culture
seems to be evolving.
We all work with electronic communication
tools and depend on them extensively in
our business, personal and professional
lives… Emails, IMs, text-messages on
blackberries, tweets and more…
To say refrain from using them would be
a dis-service.
Manage their use, understanding their
advantages, disadvantages and the
inadvertent “tyrannies,” is offered
in this contribution and comments. 1 2 3
When we write or read an email it is like
we enter someone’s thinking process from
our own thinking process mid-stream. It is
easy to mis-associate, become interrupted,
and get/ give the wrong impressions.
Josh Freeman put much of this in perspective
in his recent book. I liked especially his
interpretive perspective of what happens
inside our thinking:
1. processing in shorter attention spans;
responding and expecting faster feedback
(See Torkel Klingberg ).
2. dis-inhibition - the habit of entering things
we might not say in person, or as soon or in
a hard-edged manner.
3. impulse gratification - need to catch
the latest input to excite “motor neurons.”
4. inpacts of burrowing into our own created
“virtual spaces” (George Trow).
The topics of the success of working
women and time management
have not come up before. A proper
input vehicle permits thoughtful comment.
With book review articles providing pros and
cons and a variety of perspectives, those
ideas are explored. In addition, the ‘long
tail’ reaches out to Roth IRAs and
entrepreneurs in this entry.
WORKING WOMEN
Source: L. Landro, On Women and
Working, 12-5-09
Three places for insight for women in
professional positions are books
reviewed in this article. The review
points out places for women to go
for information on specific advice on
leadership, networking-relationships,
family-authenticity, and advancement.
NEW 2010 ROTH IRA RULES
Source: J. Pessin, WSJ New Roth Angle,
12-5-09 P. C15
New rules go into effect in 2010 for
people of all income levels to move
into Roth IRAs. People understand
the no MRD (distribution limitations
in retirement) and the tax rate level
benefits. If this bears your attention,
visit a number of sites to explore how
it may work for you. Understand,
financial advisers will likely benefit
from this.
TIME-MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
S.Shellenbarger, WSJ 11-18-09, p. D1
Testing Time-Management Systems
Based on personal coaches the author
tested three systems for improving the
quality and quantity of your work. All
three have helpful devices that are
worth learning about and applying.
One approach pushes stopping busywork
when other things should be done.
The second system applies discipline
including planned rest times. The third
organizes action items with commonality.
ENTREPRENEURS SUCCESS DEPENDS ON
Q. Huy, WSJ, 11-30-09, p. R8
Trust Me, and other sites.
Details matter in convincing supporters
and customers to want to work with
someone new or new to an area. Four
ideas were vital– define key elements
to qualify you, professionalism, ability
to deliver and building new ties.
In most industrial, commercial and
entrepreneurial fields and ventures,
effective teamwork tells the
difference in success and bright idea
that never materialized.
Robert Ballard talks about this in
describing his many discoveries as being
the result of a terrific team working
together with common mission, priorities
and a willingness for individuals to
“leave their ego at the door”.
Thus, interviewers will seek evidence
of an interviewee’s teamworking
experience and skills. They will ask
about this in several ways. You need to
plan your responses to include clear
stories, in some cases, and inferred
references,in other cases, of how you
behave, organize and become part of
teams to achieve goals.
Several thoughtful links are: 1
2 (many behavioral based questions)
3 (some tougher business based
considerations).