For the past month or so, I've been hunting for jobs/summer research programs so that I'll have something (else) to do this summer. And yeah, I'm very new to the whole job-hunting game because most of my focus has been on research- Dirt and Liquid have had their shit together for two years and seem to know the process inside out (but I'm a biology major. I don't actually have to INTERACT with people, come on. Just kidding. Sort of.) I'm pretty sure Dirt already covered this topic around the same time last year, and I promise I'll write about something else very soon, but while I'm trying to dredge up life fodder for this blog and for my grandparents (who have gotten so used to me saying that there's nothing new going on that they don't even ask anymore), this has to be done.
1) "Where do you see yourself in five years?" The answer to that question, for me, is actually not "I have no fucking idea." I know exactly where I WANT to be, but why does that matter? The fact of the matter is, no matter where I see myself, it will probably make it much, MUCH harder on me if you don't take me.
2) Professors who ask you to write your own recommendation letter when you ask them for an evaluation. One of the hardest but most necessary skills to acquire is the ability to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses honestly and without bias. It was so hard for me to figure out where to draw the line between self-deprecating modesty and shameless self-flattery. I felt like anything I wrote ended up sounded like, "Heat is a goddess and the most fantastic biology student in the world. Take her. Now." For anyone who watches Scrubs, I totally pulled a J.D and followed my parents around asking what they thought. And sure, while my professor is nowhere near as inspirational or soul-crushing as Dr. Cox, I guess writing my own rec letter helped me evaluate myself honestly and will probably come in really handy when I'm writing my personal statement for med school.
Whatever. I still chalk it up to him being lazy.
3) Students on pre-professional forums who sit there bitching about one tiny thing they don't have on their Old Testament of accomplishments ("I'm president of AMSA, I have three years of research experience, I got a 40 on my MCAT and I'm Vice President of Recruitment of blahblah Fraternity, but I have a 3.9 GPA. What are my chances of getting into med school?" Sound familiar?)
4) Chalk it up to my neophyte job-searching status, but I am STILL slightly confused as to what business casual is (and how to make it look good. I get sick of button-downs.)
5) Hunting for acceptable shoes. It may be due to the fact that I have mad stupid feet- they're short and wide- and because I have still not developed the skill of walking in heels (I can ride roller coasters and rock climb without a hiccup, but walking in heels still seems to give me vertigo). It took me years to find black pumps that were reasonably priced, comfortable and looked good (and even longer to convince myself that comfortable heels actually do exist).
6) While we're on that subject, hunting for clothes that you can wear in lab and look good in without violating safety code, while actually being taken seriously. Obviously I'm not saying that I want to cavort into lab wearing Daisy Dukes and stilettos or an outfit that's otherwise not practical for lab, but I mean clothes that aren't jeans or hoodies. Don't get me wrong- it varies from lab to lab, and I would like to think that it changes after college, but especially in my previous lab, I felt like women were less likely to be taken seriously (in lab, not when we were presenting) if we'd actually taken some time to put on makeup and put on a shirt we didn't get at a free college event. And I know for a fact that this mentality exists in other labs too. I've said it before and I'll say it again- one of the most important things I've learned in college is that the mark of a hard worker is not necessarily droopy eyes and baggy clothes. If anything, it's easier for people to take you seriously when they see that you actually take pride in the image you're presenting to the people you interact with.
7) Talking to employers who set up a time for a phone interview, but then magically forget to call or reschedule or even tell you that you didn't get the job. I had an experience like this with Kimberly-Clark. Did they find someone better? Did they decide to take a little field trip into the Bermuda Triangle? I guess we'll never know...
8) The paradox of approachability. I'm applying for a student employment program at the CDC, and I emailed the HR department (which they encouraged applicants to do if we had any questions) to find out what the time commitment for the job is. They emailed me back with this:
Thank you for a) not actually answering my question and b) copy/pasting an answer directly from your website, which I already READ. You're very competent.
9) Online application systems that ask the same questions over and over again. Newsflash: "Expected graduation date" and "When are you expecting to receive your degree?" ask for the same damn piece of information.
10) Conflicting advice. "Keep the research experience." "Don't prioritize it." "Put an objective statement on your resume so your employers know what you want." "Actually don't do that, objective statements are always vague and unclear." And in the end, all my research has reduced me to a trembling, nervy blob of confusion.
But for real though, after all of this, if Genentech does end up hiring me, I will do this...
...and die.
~*Heat*~
1) "Where do you see yourself in five years?" The answer to that question, for me, is actually not "I have no fucking idea." I know exactly where I WANT to be, but why does that matter? The fact of the matter is, no matter where I see myself, it will probably make it much, MUCH harder on me if you don't take me.
2) Professors who ask you to write your own recommendation letter when you ask them for an evaluation. One of the hardest but most necessary skills to acquire is the ability to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses honestly and without bias. It was so hard for me to figure out where to draw the line between self-deprecating modesty and shameless self-flattery. I felt like anything I wrote ended up sounded like, "Heat is a goddess and the most fantastic biology student in the world. Take her. Now." For anyone who watches Scrubs, I totally pulled a J.D and followed my parents around asking what they thought. And sure, while my professor is nowhere near as inspirational or soul-crushing as Dr. Cox, I guess writing my own rec letter helped me evaluate myself honestly and will probably come in really handy when I'm writing my personal statement for med school.
Whatever. I still chalk it up to him being lazy.
3) Students on pre-professional forums who sit there bitching about one tiny thing they don't have on their Old Testament of accomplishments ("I'm president of AMSA, I have three years of research experience, I got a 40 on my MCAT and I'm Vice President of Recruitment of blahblah Fraternity, but I have a 3.9 GPA. What are my chances of getting into med school?" Sound familiar?)
4) Chalk it up to my neophyte job-searching status, but I am STILL slightly confused as to what business casual is (and how to make it look good. I get sick of button-downs.)
5) Hunting for acceptable shoes. It may be due to the fact that I have mad stupid feet- they're short and wide- and because I have still not developed the skill of walking in heels (I can ride roller coasters and rock climb without a hiccup, but walking in heels still seems to give me vertigo). It took me years to find black pumps that were reasonably priced, comfortable and looked good (and even longer to convince myself that comfortable heels actually do exist).
6) While we're on that subject, hunting for clothes that you can wear in lab and look good in without violating safety code, while actually being taken seriously. Obviously I'm not saying that I want to cavort into lab wearing Daisy Dukes and stilettos or an outfit that's otherwise not practical for lab, but I mean clothes that aren't jeans or hoodies. Don't get me wrong- it varies from lab to lab, and I would like to think that it changes after college, but especially in my previous lab, I felt like women were less likely to be taken seriously (in lab, not when we were presenting) if we'd actually taken some time to put on makeup and put on a shirt we didn't get at a free college event. And I know for a fact that this mentality exists in other labs too. I've said it before and I'll say it again- one of the most important things I've learned in college is that the mark of a hard worker is not necessarily droopy eyes and baggy clothes. If anything, it's easier for people to take you seriously when they see that you actually take pride in the image you're presenting to the people you interact with.
7) Talking to employers who set up a time for a phone interview, but then magically forget to call or reschedule or even tell you that you didn't get the job. I had an experience like this with Kimberly-Clark. Did they find someone better? Did they decide to take a little field trip into the Bermuda Triangle? I guess we'll never know...
8) The paradox of approachability. I'm applying for a student employment program at the CDC, and I emailed the HR department (which they encouraged applicants to do if we had any questions) to find out what the time commitment for the job is. They emailed me back with this:
"The Program is designed to attract students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions (high school, home-school programs, vocational and technical, undergraduate and graduate) with paid opportunities to work in agencies and explore Federal careers while still in school. This program exposes students to jobs in the Federal civil service by providing meaningful development work at the beginning of their career, before their careers paths are fully established."
Thank you for a) not actually answering my question and b) copy/pasting an answer directly from your website, which I already READ. You're very competent.
9) Online application systems that ask the same questions over and over again. Newsflash: "Expected graduation date" and "When are you expecting to receive your degree?" ask for the same damn piece of information.
10) Conflicting advice. "Keep the research experience." "Don't prioritize it." "Put an objective statement on your resume so your employers know what you want." "Actually don't do that, objective statements are always vague and unclear." And in the end, all my research has reduced me to a trembling, nervy blob of confusion.
But for real though, after all of this, if Genentech does end up hiring me, I will do this...
...and die.
~*Heat*~
