Job Search Strategies for the Unemployed
Many people lost their jobs during the recession for reasons that were unrelated to personal skills and performance. Nevertheless, many hiring managers cling to the wrong-headed notion that long term unemployed persons are unemployed or layed off because they were less than adequate or under performers in their previous positions. Therefore, it is important for unemployed persons to pursue strategies that ensure that they remain strong job candidates for prospective new employers.
An article by Eilene Zimmerman entitled “Out of Work but Staying a Strong Candidate” offers some good advice for the unemployed. First, unemployed persons may have to reconsider the way in which they network to look for new job opportunities. To that point, people in your old network may feel guilty that they are employed and you don’t have a job. Because of this, they may feel sorry for your or see you as injured or defeated and possibly avoid interacting with you or including you at industry events. To obviate this, it is a good idea when networking with them to offer an article or blog post that may be temporal and relevant to your industry or mentioning a professional opportunity that they may not know about. Also, it is a good idea to stay abreast of important and current things happening in your industry (or an industry that you are interested in breaking into). This shows people that you are still engaged and interested in other professional opportunities that may exist. Finally, maintain your membership in professional societies (even though you may not be flush with cash) and consider volunteering on committees in these organizations. This shows other industry professionals that you are active and engaged. Also, professional association members frequently hear about or learn of unadvertised jobs or career opportunities within an industry.
There is no question that losing your job can be devastating and emotionally distressing. However, just because you are unemployed, it doesn’t mean that your standing or stature in your industry needs to be negatively impacted. To that end, keep your certifications, professional credentials and licenses up to date and participate in other activities that make use of your professional skills. Finding part-time or contract work in your industry is also a plus as is volunteering or doing unpaid work for charitable organizations.
Another popular strategy is to start your own consulting firm. While your previous employer may have layed you off to cut costs, it does not mean that they will not considering hiring you as a consultant (they don’t have to pay benefits, bonuses or contribute to a 401K and can write off your services as 1099 work). Landing one or two small gigs may be able to tide you over until you find a new fulltime position.
Most unemployed people are rightly-concerned about the employment gap that will appear on their CV or resume. Unfortunately, there is no real way to hide it! One way to manage an employment gap is to add a Summary of Qualifications or Profile section to your resume. This section can be placed at the beginning of the resume (underneath your name and contact information) and should be crafted to extol your skills and qualifications for individual jobs. This means that every time you apply for a new position, the Summary of Qualifications section must be tailored and optimized to show prospective employers why you and not the other 1,000 applicants ought to be considered for the job. Also, as suggested in Ms Zimmerman’s article, you can change the title of the section “work experience” to “experience” and describe any contract, part-time or volunteer work (which was unpaid) using the same language; which focused on your results, strategies used to get there and your contributions to the organization during your tenure.
Finally, and perhaps most important, unemployed persons must learn to deal with and come to terms about unemployment history during job interviews. Nobody likes admitting that they were fired or layed off but, as a rule of thumb, it is best to be as honest (as possible) because most industries and networks are small and job candidates who are less than truthful almost always get caught! For example, if you were part of a large layoff at your previous employer, then it is a good idea to explain the circumstances to the interviewer and also indicate that you were not layed off for performance reasons. Further, it is not a good idea to apply for or interview for any job that may be available at a particular company or organization. If you are overqualified or not the right fit for a job, many employers will not even consider you for the job because they fear that you will leave as soon as something more appropriate comes along. That said, it is important to only apply for jobs within your industry that represent a good fit with your skill sets and experience. If that fails to yield positive results, then you may want to consider a different industry; but recognize that you may need additional training to acquire the skills or experience even to be considered for entry level positions in that industry!
Until next time...
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!
Last week, BioJobBlog in association with 
It had to happen sooner or later and it did. There are now apps that jobseekers can download to their Apple and Android smartphones to prepare for job interviews. Gadget-savvy, Bob Tedeschi wrote a 
I first heard about informational interviews two years ago at the Annual Biomedical Research for Minority Students (ABRCMS) at which I was reviewing resumes and offering career advice. I asked the student who mentioned the interviews exactly what they are. And, much to my surprise, I learned that the process involved approaching a “professional” to set up a meeting to discuss possible career paths at a company that a jobseeker was interested in. 
Sometimes job candidates do the stupidest things during job interviews. Several years ago I begged a hiring manager to give an MD a second shot at a face-to-face job interview after he botched the first one. The hiring manager reluctantly agreed to give my candidate a second chance to redeem his poor performance during the first interview. After the interview, the hiring manager told me that he wasn’t going to extend a job offer to my candidate because he was “on call” the day of the interview and he kept on excusing himself to answer his pager. This happened almost 12 years ago before the cell phone–texting explosion became annoying pervasive. .jpg)
I frequently tell persons who attend my career development seminars that looking for a job ought to be a fulltime job in itself. Unfortunately, while this may be accurate, it generally is not feasible for many scientists who are working toward an advanced degree working towards an advanced degree (they are suppose to spend all waking hours in the lab). Increasingly, the life sciences job market is becoming extremely competitive and fierce and gainful employment is much harder to come by than any time in the past. And, regrettably, most life scientists—unlike a majority of their non-scientist counterparts—have little or no training to prepare them to conduct even a basic job search. .jpg)
Jena Ellis who works over at 
There is no question that interviewing is an art and that experienced job candidates may have a leg up on more junior candidates seekers when it comes to face-to-face (F2F) job interviews. That said, there is a commonly held belief among job seekers that hiring managers frequently ask silly, “bonehead” and irrelevant questions during F2F interviews. Examples of these frequently asked questions include “What are your strengths and weaknesses” and “Tell me how you overcame adversity or a difficult situation at work.” 
In this week’s New York Times “Corner Office”, Aaron Levie, the 25 year old CEO of Box.net a Silicon Valley online file storage company had provided these valuable insights and tips about interviewing and hiring new employees. 
I came across this excellent article written by 
Congratulations! The resume that you spent many hours carefully crafting has resulted in a face-to-face interview at a Company that you are extremely interested in. After the adrenalin rush has worn off, you think “OMG, I have to put together a seminar, make travel arrangements and buy new clothes and shoes (well only if you are a woman)”. Although you may think that the hard part of your job search is over; think again….the fun is just beginning. 
Under ideal circumstances, job interviews can be very stressful and emotionally draining. After all, how you perform on a job interview will likely determine whether or not you get an offer for a position. Unfortunately, unless you are an experienced jobseeker, who has has participated in many job interviews, you will likely be taken by surprise at your next one. To that end, the following tips, when adhered to, will likely help to reduce your stress level at your next job interview and possibly increase your chances of getting a job offer.
In this past Sunday’s New York Time Business section there was an .jpg)
Summer has finally arrived and everyone I know is kicking back, looking forward to their previously planned vacations and enjoying their four day (summer hours) work week. While many folks still have jobs, the unemployment rates are not dropping as quickly as anticipated and large numbers of layed-off and right-sized former life sciences employees are still without jobs. 
As a career development professional, I frequently offer job seekers tips on how to conduct a successful job search. However, my views on the topic are mainly derived from a five year stint as a professional recruiter and over 20 years as a job seeker. With this in mind, it may helpful for job candidates to hear the other side of the story; that is, what hiring managers expect from job seekers.
In previous 
It goes without saying that the competition for jobs in the life sciences industry is extremely fierce. This means that job candidates must use whatever means possible to differentiate themselves from the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of others applying for the same job!
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Under ideal circumstances, job interviews can be very stressful and emotionally draining. After all, how you perform on a job interview will likely determine whether or not you get an offer for a position. Unfortunately, unless you are an experienced jobseeker, who has has participated in many job interviews, you will likely be taken by surprise at your next one. To that end, the following tips, when adhered to, will likely help to reduce your stress level at your next job interview and possibly increase your chances of getting a job offer.
Last month, while I was presenting my seminar “Interviewing Insights and Tips: Winning That Next Job” at the Experimental Biology Meeting in New Orleans, LA, I realized that I hadn’t covered what to wear to a job interview. Until the meeting, I didn’t think I had to mention— that while interviewing men—must wear suits (and appropriately-colored, professional-looking shoes) and women should wear suits with pants (or a skirt with an appropriate length) and shoes with reasonable heels (usually less than 3 inches). I saw more cleavage, bare thighs and high heels, not to mention men with atrocious footwear choices at the meeting than I care to admit. Not that I am a prude or complaining about the cleavage, thighs or high heels that I observed—what red-blooded American male would? That said, it is vitally important to remember that there are professional dress codes that everyone is expected to adhere to while on the job or at national, regional or local professional meetings..jpg)
As we all know (or should by now) the face-to-face interview is the most important part of any job search. I and others have lectured and written exhaustively on appropriate interviewing behaviors and the requisite skills that must be developed to become a successful interviewee. However, it is important to point out that you are not the only person in the room during an interview—let’s not forget about the interviewer! To that end, little has been written about the types of interviewers that a job candidate may encounter during the face-to-face. As somebody once advised me, knowing your “enemy” can go a long way to insure success. 
ing ideas and tips that I presented in 
During the course of my 25 years or so of participating in job interviews, I have come across a variety of questions that interviewers seem to routinely ask interviewees. While some of the questions may seem silly or ridiculous, according to interviewing etiquette and protocol (and how much you want the job) you are required to answer them. The intent of many of these questions is not to be flippant or intrusive but to determine whether a candidate can think quickly on his/her feet or field difficult questions that they may encounter as an employee. 
I am sitting in Newark Airport waiting for my flight to San Diego which, not surprisingly, has been delayed for about 2 hours. As you might have guessed from the title of this post, I am on my way to the 2008 FASEB Career Development Symposium which is run every year at the annual FASEB meeting. 
The hard work you that invested in your resume has finally paid off–you just received a call from the ACME Biotech’s Human Resources Department inquiring about your availability for a face-to-face interview with the company. After about 30 seconds of elation and joy, fear and anxiety begin to creep into your psyche-“OMG, an interview, this is my first one, what am I going to do?” 