A natural outcome of the Ph.D. process is to pursue a career in academia, such as a teaching faculty position or a research faculty position. However, there is an increasing number of full-time opportunities in the industry, whether in a product-development startup/establishment, a consulting firm, or even the Government. Considering we spend most of our time/energy in the Ph.D. process preparing for an academic position, it requires an extra push to pursue job opportunities in the industry. This blog post will cover industry job search aspects, particularly for roles in a product-development company. I have shared my thoughts on working in the industry in another post.
Networking
Networking with peers working in the industry is the primary way to find jobs, especially for folks with advanced degrees such as a Ph.D. Unfortunately, many folks limit their networking skills to have just enough conversation with someone to unashamedly add their name to the online job application’s referral box. To find your “dream” job, you need to go way beyond that. You need to understand your contact’s role, nature of work, company’s business, and technical depth/breadth involved in their role. Also, seek feedback on your profile and ways to address the gaps for roles in their team. If you find the opportunities in their team relevant, you need to demonstrate how you can contribute to their team, so they are excited and motivated to refer you to their recruiter/hiring manager. With an advanced qualification like a Ph.D., remember that you are not just trying to “fit-in,” rather you are “creating” a role for yourself.
For your job search, I recommend starting with your graduates from your research lab and university/department. Very likely, they are working in roles in companies close to your area of interest. Understand how their role is connected with their research area, what they enjoy about their role and the future opportunities they are excited about.
Another great place to meet folks is the technical conferences/research meetings where you present your research. You will run into many folks working in your research areas and connect with them via your advisor and other research collaborators. Be prepared to step outside your comfort zone and connect with folks working in competitive research labs, even if they use different tools/techniques/approaches.
Another place is social media platforms such as LinkedIn, which has made it super easy to look up your contact’s profile, such as education, current/past work profile, etc. It helps cast a wide net in your job search, spanning across metropolitan areas and even countries. If you use it well, it can be highly effective in finding your next role. Just make sure you don’t use it as a substitute for having an in-person contact. Before you start contacting folks, I recommend having an up-to-date profile with a photo, headline, and relevant details.
Every contact is unique and comes with unique circumstances to initiate the conversation. My approach is to start with an email conversation (or LinkedIn direct message). As the conversation is building up, and depending on their interest, try to have a phone conversation to communicate more freely. In my years working in the US industry/academia, I find folks to be quite open to having such conversations. In this day and age of covid-19 pandemic, the conferences and networking events have also moved virtual, leaving email/phone/video chats as the only way to connect with folks. For the first conversation, keep the email short and to-the-point.
Online job applications
As you mature in your job hunt, you will start seeing job opportunities in companies where you don’t have any contacts. Don’t worry; the online job application is your friend. The job application interface can vary from a recruiter’s email address to sophisticated online application platforms. Irrespective of the interface, two key elements to an online job application are the resume and cover letter.
Resume – Think of it as an advertisement pamphlet that grabs the recruiter’s attention, so they review your application in detail. This means that you should highlight only the relevant skills, experience, and education for the position you are applying for. Any extra details can also go on your personal webpage, and a detailed C.V. Do pepper enough keywords in the resume so that the online recruitment tools catch it, but don’t overdo it. Have a nice career goal or mission statement, so the recruiter knows what you are looking for. Add links to the GitHub/LinkedIn/Personal webpage and so on.
Cover letter – Think of it as a 30 sec. elevator pitch to your recruiter. Have a crisp 2-3 paragraph letter highlighting your profile’s key elements relevant for the position. Present a personal take on the opportunity, and avoid repeating details from the resume.
When talking to a recruiter, let them know that you applied online, so they can pull the application from their system and take the necessary steps. Be patient; recruiters are busy people, and recruitment is a tiring process for everyone involved. But feel free to follow up every few weeks if you don’t hear back.
I shared some thoughts earlier. One effective way to reach out to companies is to reach out to a recruiter/HR working there. Such folks are usually open to receiving requests over LinkedIn and are quite responsive. You can chat with them about your job application and other details. Try to stay formal and to-the-point. You can also come across folks working in technical roles in the companies of your interest. However, folks are usually unresponsive (unless they are actively looking for jobs themselves!), so don’t be disappointed.
LinkedIn is also useful for finding companies in your discipline. Use the search tool, and filter by geography, etc. You will be surprised by the number of companies working in your discipline. You can also check if you have any contacts (1st or 2nd level) working there and reach out to them for opportunities. I also see companies increasingly advertise positions directly on LinkedIn, which makes it convenient to apply directly.
Timeline
So when should I start looking for a job? Ideally, 6 months to a year before your expected graduation date. It takes a while to figure out the job market, apply for positions and interview for them, and finally get the offer letter. By the time you get the offer, you will also have a better idea about your graduation timeline and start working with your advisor/university towards the graduation formalities, such as thesis submission, scheduling the defense exam, and wrapping up the on-going research commitments. In some cases, having a job offer letter enables you to have a graduation conversation with your advisor. In my case, I had a couple of years of job experience before graduating, so I started looking for jobs only after graduation, which works fine too (assuming you can handle any student/work visa issues).
If you are in the early stages of your grad-school, I highly recommend pursuing a summer internship at some point before graduation. Unless you have prior work experience, it adds a significant weightage to your application. It is also a great conversation starter since folks working in the industry can relate to your experience in another company much better than the nitty-gritty of your academic research. The experience will also give you a much better picture of what to look for during your full-time job search and increases your confidence in your job search.
Very nice!