Crafting your

Non-Academic Resume

Allison Keller, UCI Career Center

Agenda

Resume format

What do employers want

How to read a job advertisement

Determining your content

Writing strong content

Cover letters

The average employer looks at a resume for

only 6 seconds!

Source: The Ladders

Resume Format

Contact

Profile/Objective

Optional on resume

Example:

Molecular biologist skilled at experimental design and implementation. Works well individually and as part of a discovery team. Strong written communication skills as evidenced by publication record and successful grant writing.

Objective/Profile/Summary

Resume Format

Contact

Profile/Objective

Education

Experience

Skills

Languages

Activities/Interest

Professional

Affiliations

Research/Publications Volunteer Activities

What is Experience?

Alternatives to Experience: Research Management Leadership

List Organization/Company name; Location, Job Title, Dates employed

Reverse chronological order

Bullets vs. Paragraphs

Verb tense (present or past)

Experience

What do Employers Want

Make sure technical knowledge is clear as well as your project work- this is the best way for us to determine if you will be a fit for the position or not.

Connect the experience to the job description dont just put everything you could possibly think of

Projects where experience can translate to industry help tell that story shouldnt be too academic focused unless its for a research position

Skills Employers Want

1. Written communication skills 2. Leadership3. Analytical/quantitative skills4. Strong work ethic5. Ability to work in a team6. Problem-solving skills7. Verbal communication skills 8. Initiative9. Detail-oriented10. Computer skills

NACE Job Outlook, 2014

Transferable Skills

Competency Area

Create vision

Develop people

Execution

Achieving results

Communication

Financial acumen

MS/PhD Behavior

Develop hypotheses

Training students

Plan/perform experiments

Quality check

Present/defend work

Managing project costs

Dissecting a Job Advertisement

Research Scientist-Biochemist

Qualification:

PhD in Biochemistry/molecular biology/chemical engineering. Some postgraduate work preferred.

Highly-motivated and qualified individual with active research experience in biochemistry or chemical engineering with biological expertise is required. Practical expertise in developing biomarker samples to be used in traditional bioassays as well as spectroscopic methods.

Interest and experience in performing analysis of the developed biomarkers using spectroscopic methods including FTIR, Raman, NIR, and white light spectroscopy would be a benefit. Statistical analysis and/or image analysis is also desirable.

Familiarity with the latest tools and methods in biomolecular analysis is required.

Excellent written and oral communications and the ability for meticulous record keeping are required.

The position also entails considerable interactions with other investigators and contract research organizations.

The candidate must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident

Dissecting a Job Advertisement

Research Scientist-Biochemist

Qualification:

PhD in Biochemistry/molecular biology/chemical engineering. Some postgraduate work preferred.

Highly-motivated and qualified individual with active research experience in biochemistry or chemical engineering with biological expertise is required. Practical expertise in developing biomarker samples to be used in traditional bioassays as well as spectroscopic methods.

Interest and experience in performing analysis of the developed biomarkers using spectroscopic methods including FTIR, Raman, NIR, and white light spectroscopy would be a benefit. Statistical analysis and/or image analysis is also desirable.

Familiarity with the latest tools and methods in biomolecular analysis is required.

Excellent written and oral communications and the ability for meticulous record keeping are required.

The position also entails considerable interactions with other investigators and contract research organizations.

The candidate must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident

Reading a Job Ad: Hard & Soft Skills

Description:

Department: Biomedical Report to: Director, Biologics

We are a world class research and product development team located in Pasadena, CA with an IMMEDIATE opening for a Senior Experimental Scientist with a background in Biochemistry

Summary: ChromoLogic LLC is actively engaged in multiple cutting edge applied research and development programs. We bring a unique, multi-disciplinary approach to compelling scientific challenges. Our core capabilities stem from the diverse talents of our staff. We provide a highly creative, collaborative and challenging work environment. Our open culture of collaborative research extends beyond our facilities to that of our extensive academic and industrial collaborators providing our staff with unparalleled research and product development perspective. A position in our biologics division is immediately available to join our efforts in the development and application of biomarker measuring technology.

Job Duties (Research Scientist)

Technically contribute toward the companys on-going Research programs

Initiate original ideas (product and research)

Prepare Technical Proposals for outside funding and lead programs as Principal Investigator

Collaborate with internal and external teams to advance research and product development goals

Prepare technical documents and peer-reviewed publications

Reading a Job Ad: Hard & Soft Skills

Mechanical Research & Development Engineers

Qualification:

BS & MS or PHD in Mechanical Engineering with a minimum GPA of 3.3 in all earned degrees

US Citizenship or US person status required per US government ITAR regulations

Hands on laboratory/testing experience preferred

Solid understanding of heat transfer/thermodynamics

Mechanical orientation with problem solving mentality

Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing experience preferred

As a Mechanical Research Engineer you will lead research programs in thermal control or energy conversion fields, i.e. microfluids device for cooling power converters in military vehicles, high heat flux cooling system for radar jamming applications and directed energy weapons, turbine and compressor development.

Specific skills include:

Experimental research experience

Solid understanding of heat transfer, thermodynamics and fluid dynamics

Experience with sensors, i.e. pressure transducers, thermocouples, flow meters, load cells etc.

Problem solving mentality with the ability to come up with innovative solutions

Determining Your Content

Look at the job description

Placement of skills in the ad

Frequency of mentions

Look at company website

Know their mission/core values

How/where do you fit

Look at yourself

How are you unique

What are your achievements

Writing Strong Content

Describe experience using Action Verbs and Key Words

Quantify #, $, % when possible

Describe any results and accomplishments

Ask yourself these questions to develop content Who?

What?

When?

Where?

Why?

How?

Writing Strong Content

Graded exams and papers

Evaluated performance and provided feedback for up to 30 students per quarter

Held office hours with students

Coached students individually resulting in increased comprehension of materials and improved performance

Led lab courses

Designed skills training activities and supervised students to ensure they learned proper laboratory protocols

Resume Tips

Length?

Font size/margins

Consistency

Tailor each resume

Keywords

Cover Letters

Introduces you to prospective employer

Highlights key information and accomplishments

Appeals to employers needs

Keep cover letters short usually 1 page

May be the body of an email sent in response to job with resume attached make it professional

Include with every resume unless otherwise stated

Questions???

Resume and Cover Letter Reviews at the UCI Career Center

Monday-Friday 11:00-3:00 drop in sessions

Schedule an appointment 949-824-6881