Help PhDs to kick-start careers in industry | Co-Founder and CEO @Alma.me | Building a bridge between academia and industry | Speaker | Scientist

Welcome to my profile!

I'm Elena, passionate about helping PhDs kickstart fulfilling careers outside of academia, and connect them with industry relevant positions. 

During my PhD journey, I realized that many PhDs face challenges transitioning from academia to industry. This difficulty often arises due to a lack of knowledge about potential positions, how to craft a resume for the industry, and prepare effectively for a job in that sector.

I've experienced this struggle firsthand. While pursuing my PhD, I felt lost. I knew that I no longer wanted to work in the lab; instead, I wanted to work with people, as that's where my passion lies. I went on my own discovery journey on "what is next".  I focused on the things I loved doing and thought of possible career options- after I identified what is next- I started working toward it by building a network in that area. 

Who am I, and how did I get here?

I recently graduated with a PhD in Medical Sciences from the Karolinska Institutet in beautiful Stockholm. 
As a Co-Founder and CEO of Alma.me my vision is to bridge the gap between academia and industry by providing information to help PhDs understand the array of opportunities after completing their studies and recognise the value of their skills beyond academia. 

If you are a PhD-student, Postdoc or tenure and you want to make the transition into industry follow me for more career advice.


Elena Hoffer, PhD

"If you care too much about money, you're not truly committed." 

This sentence from Dritjon Gruda in the latest Career Nature Magazine captures a mindset that’s deeply embedded in academia - and a big reason why scientists rarely talk openly about money. 

Many academics believe that asking for fair pay makes them look less committed to science. As if caring about your livelihood somehow cancels out your passion. 

Over the years, I’ve met senior academics who never negotiated their salary in their life. 

I’ve also met researchers who couldn’t afford to live near their lab because it would eat up half their salary. 

And often, this is accepted. 

Because science is framed not as a job - but as a calling. Something you do out of passion, not for stability or comfort. Talking about wanting to make enough money to live a comfortable life should be normalised in academia!

During my PhD, when I said I wanted to move into industry, the first response I got was: 
“Oh… so you’re going for the money?” 

That question made me feel terrible. 
But why? 

What is wrong with wanting a comfortable life and meaningful work? 

The article helped spark this reflection - and I hope that for the next generation of scientists, this mindset starts to shift. 

If we want scientists to worry less and focus on what they are good at - doing science - we need to make them feel financially secure.

I’ll link the article in the comments 👇

♻️  Repost to help a friend

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Help PhDs to kick-start careers outside of academia | CEO @Alma.me | Complementing universities services for PhDs & Postdocs to secure jobs outside academia | Speaker I Podcast Host @PostPhDirections

I didn’t leave academia because I don’t love science.
I love science deeply.

I would say most people don’t leave because they stop being curious or scientifically driven. They leave because the way the system is designed doesn’t serve them anymore.

Being a “successful” scientist often comes with enormous sacrifices: long working hours, weekends in the lab, nights that blur into mornings. Life is frequently put on hold. And after all that, you still find yourself wondering whether you can afford a nice dinner with friends.

The hardest part? 
After years of sacrifice, there is no guarantee of a career in academia. It’s a high-risk investment. Only a small fraction will make it - often not just the best scientists, but those with the right timing, networks, or luck. 
Everyone else eventually has to leave.

Leaving academia is not a failure. But for many, it feels like finally allowing themselves to pursue a life they’ve been postponing for years.

- Kids can wait until after my postdoc.
- Getting married doesn’t fit right now.
- Buying a home feels impossible while moving countries every few years.

While others move forward with their lives, an academic career often asks you to keep waiting. And even when you “succeed,” it can come at a very high personal cost.

I left because the system no longer aligned with my values. 
And I think this is true for many academics.

Wanting to have more stability is a valid reason to leave - even if you love what you do 💙

Your PhD ≠ one career path.

One of the biggest misconceptions I had during my PhD was that my options were academia — or R&D in industry.

After all, I had spent years at the bench.

What I didn’t realise at the time was that my PhD had given me far more than lab techniques - and that many industry roles value those skills far beyond bench work.

Here’s a simple way to think about industry roles for PhDs ⬇️

If you enjoy coding & working with numbers
 → Data Scientist · Data Analyst · Decision Scientist

If you enjoy discovering or building new knowledge
 → Research Scientist · Applied Scientist · R&D

If you enjoy explaining complex ideas clearly
 → Medical Writer · Medical Science Liaison (MSL) · Technical Writer

If you enjoy big-picture thinking & decision-making
 → Product Manager · Strategy Analyst · Consultant

If you enjoy working with customers & real-world problems
 → Technical Sales · Field Application Specialist

What all of these roles have in common?
They value PhD skills: research, analysis, problem-solving, writing, learning fast.

♻️  Share to help a friend 

And if you want to listen to some real transitions stories of PhDs check out my Podcast: PostPhDirections - link in the comments 👇

Many PhDs (and the world) underestimate the skills they’ve developed along the way. 

If you pause and look back to when you started your PhD, think about everything you can do now that you couldn’t do then - from establishing collaborations and managing projects, to writing, problem-solving, ordering reagents, and keeping complex work moving forward. 

A PhD doesn’t just give you technical expertise. 
It builds powerful transferable skills: critical thinking, communication, resilience, and persistence. 

We’ve worked with PhDs who moved from psychology into fintech, from computational neuroscience into medical writing, and from toxicology into project management - all by focusing on these skills rather than their subject area. 

You are more than your PhD topic. 

And your skills can take you further than you think!

♻️  Repost to raise awareness and help another PhD 

Happy Tuesday 🙌

Your PhD is work experience

Is it? 

This is one of the most common questions I get from PhDs who want to transition into industry. 

And I get why it’s confusing. 

We’re trained to think of a PhD as “education.” 

So it feels strange to suddenly call it work experience. 

But here’s the thing: 
Industry doesn’t define work experience as “having a job outside academia.” 

Work experience means: 
• Applying skills 
• Solving real problems 
• Dealing with uncertainty 
• Communicating results 
• Collaborating with others 

For example:
Designing a study, managing timelines, dealing with failed experiments, aligning with collaborators, and presenting outcomes to different audiences - that’s professional experience.

That’s exactly what happens during a PhD. 
You agree?

You don’t just learn about things. 
You do things. 

So yes - your PhD is work experience. 
And it belongs under professional experience in your resume.
 
If you’ve been unsure about this, you’re not doing it wrong. 
You just needed a better definition. 

You’ve got this. 

And if you feel stuck in your transition we can help. Check if our Job Accelerator Program aligns with your needs. Link in the comments 👇 

♻️  Repost to help demystifying what a PhD actually is and does!

There is no single path after a PhD.

Becoming a professor is just one of many possible options. In fact, around 90–95% of PhD graduates move on to roles outside the traditional professorship track — including positions within academia such as administration, staff scientist roles, or facility management.

Outside academia, PhDs transition into industry, government, or NGOs, where they contribute as data scientists, project managers, analysts, scientists, and much more.

The idea that a PhD automatically leads to a career as a professor is outdated. Yet many PhDs are still unaware of the wide range of alternatives, as these paths are rarely discussed within universities.

There is no one “right” path after a PhD — whatever you decide to do is valid

♻️ Repost to help a friend

Happy Saturday 💪

Most interviews ask the same questions:

• Tell me about yourself
• Walk me through your CV
• Why this role / company?
• Salary expectations
• Behavioral + technical questions

Some look simple. But in most cases they aren’t. Many PhDs get lost in academic jargon and detail for 10+ minutes, and this is a recipe for losing your listener.

Interviews rarely test the question itself.
They test what sits underneath it.

Once you understand this, interviews get easier. You’ll realize they’re not interested in every detail of your academic history.

So let's talk about it!

“Tell me about yourself”
→ Can you structure and prioritize information?

“Walk me through your background”
→ Can you translate experience into relevance?

“Why this role / company?”
→ Are you intentional - and do you understand their problems?

“Salary expectations”
→ Do you know your market value?

Behavioral questions test:
→ self-awareness, judgment, communication

Technical questions test:
→ how you think, apply knowledge, handle uncertainty

Here’s what many PhDs miss:
👉 Interviews are not exams.

You’re there to show how you think, communicate, and learn.

If interviews feel stiff or unnatural, it’s often not a skills problem. 

Most often, PhDs feel they have to put on a mask and perform. Once you allow yourself to be yourself, things get easier and more authentic.

And yes - this can be learned. We teach it everyday in our job accelerator program.

You got this 🙌 

♻️ Share to help a friend

Happy Tuesday 🙌

When I was doing my PhD, I thought networking was really awkward.
I didn’t like it, and honestly, I didn’t really know how to do it.

Looking back, most of that resistance came from the fact that I completely misunderstood what networking actually is.

Once I reframed it, everything changed.

I stopped thinking about networking as asking people for favors or jobs and started seeing it for what it really is: relationship building.

That shift alone helped me build both a global online network and a local, in-person one.

So how did I actually get started on LinkedIn?

Very simply. But still very uncomfortable
 
I looked for people who shared similar interests to mine - in my case, other founders and PhDs.

I commented on their posts. I engaged with their ideas.
And by showing up consistently, relationships started to form.

Some of those people I later met for an online coffee chat.
Some I’ve collaborated and partnered with.
Some I’ll probably meet in the future.

And with others, we might simply stay “LinkedIn friends” — and that’s perfectly fine too.

The key is this: find a point of connection and engage around it regularly.
The basis of any real relationship is trust - and trust is built by showing up, again and again.

My biggest tip?
Go into every conversation with curiosity, not expectation.

Does that mean you shouldn’t have a strategy? 
Absolutely not.

But what I’ve learned is that when you follow your genuine interests, you naturally connect with people who care about the same things.

For example, I’ve built a strong network with many PhDs here on LinkedIn.

Some create content on similar topics, others on completely different ones - but what connects us is that we all want to support PhDs: some during their PhD journey, others in their careers beyond academia.

That shared mission makes conversations easy and meaningful.

If you’re not sure where to start, ask yourself:
What topics am I genuinely excited about professionally?

Then start connecting. 
Start commenting.

And if you’re stuck wondering what to comment, here are a few easy options:
- Share your perspective
- Add your own experience
- Contribute an additional insight or resource

Whatever it is - just get started.
That’s how relationships (and networks) are built.

What began as me figuring this out for myself is now what I do every day with PhDs who want to move into industry.

If networking, positioning yourself, or breaking into industry feels unclear -
 you’re not alone.

Curious how we support PhDs at Alma.Me? You can learn more on our website.

Happy Tuesday 🌻

One of the biggest mistakes we see PhDs make in interviews is treating them like an exam.

They focus on saying the right thing.
They memorize answers.
They try to sound impressive.

And in the process, they lose the most important part: the human connection.

An interview is not an exam.
It’s a conversation.

The people interviewing you are human.
And humans hire humans.

What we see again and again in the Alma.Me Job Accelerator Program is this:
PhDs prepare answers by heart.

They sound polished - but also robotic.
There’s no rapport, no flow, no real connection.

And then something interesting happens.
Some candidates come to an interview exhausted.
They’ve had too many interview  so much that they can’t “perform” anymore.

Others walk in thinking:
 “I don’t stand a chance anyway.”

So they stop trying to impress.
They let their guard down.

 They speak naturally.
 They listen.
 They connect.

And that’s often the moment they get hired.
Not because they suddenly became more qualified - but because they finally showed up as themselves and build real connection with the hiring team.

You don’t need to pretend to be an expert.
You already are one.

♻️  Repost to help a friend 

This is exactly what we train PhDs on inside our program: how to stop performing and start connecting in interviews.

👉 If you want to learn this step by step and get coached on it, apply to the Alma.me Job Accelerator Program here: link in the comments

Why reading job descriptions felt impossible as a PhD 

Because as a PhD, I was trained to: 
– Meet every requirement 
– Avoid overclaiming 
– Only apply when fully qualified 

But industry works differently. 
What I learned the hard way: 
Job ads describe an ideal, not a checklist 

- Transferable skills matter more than exact tools 
- You’re evaluated on patterns, not perfection 
- Potential counts - even if no one says it out loud 
- Confidence is read as competence 
- Applying is part of learning, not the final exam 

Through the work I do with Alma.Me I see many PhDs get stuck- just like I did. Thinking you need to match 100% of the description and then get discouraged.

Don't self-reject. I could tell you so many stories of PhDs who thought something was out of reach - they dared and succeeded! 

The perfect candidate does not exist if you meet 70% of the requirements – APPLY  

This shift alone will change the way you approach applications.

♻️  Repost to help a friend 

Happy Wednesday 💙

Academic merits ≠ industry jobs

When PhDs move from academia into industry, they often highlight the same things that opened doors in academia: publications, subject-matter expertise, academic achievements.

That makes sense - it worked in academia.

But in industry, different things are valued.
Hiring managers care less about what you studied and much more about how you work and what were the results and outcomes of your work.

What actually matters:
- How you solve messy, real-world problems
- How you communicate with non-experts
- How you manage projects with unclear outcomes
- How you collaborate, adapt, and keep going when things don’t work

The good news?
You already built these skills during your PhD.

The challenge is this:
 👉 You were trained to talk about knowledge, not outcomes and results. 

If you’re moving into industry, stop asking:
 “Is my research relevant?”

Start asking:
 “Which skills did I use - and how do I show them that I can do the job?”

That shift changes everything.

You got this!!!

♻️  Share to help a friend 

Happy Wednesday 🙌  

---------------
If you want help moving from academic framing to industry-ready positioning, you can check out my website to see how we support PhDs in that process.

I read this article published in The Wall Street Journal and immediately recognized many of the PhDs we work with in it.

Jeremy did everything “right.”
PhD from a strong institution.
In the right city.
In the right industry.

And still: hundreds of applications, no traction, financial pressure, and the growing sense that the path he planned for simply isn’t there anymore.

This is often the moment when PhDs come to us.

Not because they suddenly lost their skills - but because the environment around them changed. 
Funding slows. Hiring freezes spread. Entire ecosystems that once felt stable become unpredictable. And people who were told they were “on a safe path” find themselves questioning everything.

What strikes me about this article is how clearly it shows that this isn’t an individual failure. 
The talent is still there. 
The training is still there. 
What’s missing are the opportunities PhDs were implicitly promised would exist.

Many of the PhDs we work with are in a similar position: they’ve done what they were told would lead to a smooth transition into industry, and yet they’re stuck. 

They read job ads and feel strangely disconnected from them - as if the roles are asking for something they have, but in a language they were never taught to speak.

So they apply more. 
And then more. 
And when that doesn’t work, the self-doubt starts creeping in.

But the problem is rarely a lack of ability. It’s a lack of translation.

Academic training teaches depth, rigor, and independence. 
Industry hiring - especially in a downturn - prioritizes clarity, applicability, and proof of impact. 

When those two worlds don’t align, even very strong PhDs can end up invisible.

Articles like this one are unsettling - but they’re also clarifying. 
They show that relying on a single, linear narrative (“PhD → biotech job → stability”) is risky, not because the PhD is a bad choice, but because markets shift faster than training models do.

For the PhDs who read this and feel anxious or discouraged: that reaction makes sense. You’re responding to real structural changes, not personal shortcomings.

And for many, this is the point where they stop asking “What’s wrong with me?” and start asking “How do I position my skills so they actually make sense outside academia - and across different contexts?”

That shift is often where things begin to move again.

♻️  Share to help a friend 

Want to learn how to align your skills, interests, and values beyond the obvious job choices?

We’re at Alma.Me hosting a free live session where we match PhD skills to industry roles - in real time, with real examples.

Link in the comments 👇

Dear PhDs, rejection is part of the application process....


It’s normal - and yet it stings. It does something to you.
But it says nothing about your personal worth or the value of your skills.

You are not going to be a fit for every position you apply for.
My best recommendation is to expect rejection - because it will come.

But also remember: every no brings you closer to a yes.
And this isn’t theory - it’s what we see over and over again in our job accelerator program where we work with PhDs from various fields.

We had PhDs who went through 17+ interview processes before the yes came.

We had PhDs who made it to the final round - and lost to candidates with more industry experience.

We had PhDs who were promised an offer - and had the position cancelled last minute.

We had PhDs who passed the recruiter screen - but never made it to the hiring manager interview.

And here’s the good news: they all eventually made it.

They turned many no’s into one yes.
Ultimately, you only need one yes - for a position you actually love.

And for most PhDs, the hardest part isn’t competence.
It’s endurance.

If you’re in the middle of this right now and feel like giving up, know this:
your story is not a single one. It’s the story of many PhDs - and it can and will end positive.

👉 If you want structured support to navigate rejections, interviews, and the hiring process as a PhD, apply for our job accelerator program here: 

Happy Monday 🙌

Is doing a PhD worth it?

There are probably as many opinions on this as there are PhDs.

So here’s my take.

Whenever we ask whether a PhD is “worth it”, we first need to ask:
worth it by which criteria?

Are we talking about:
- learning and training?
- financial compensation?
- career optionality?
- status and recognition?

Because depending on what you evaluate, the answer will be very different.

Another important point:
👉 The value of a PhD differs massively by country and industry.

Especially in STEM, PhDs tend to be highly valued in places like the US and Germany - both in perceived status and compensation. 
Over the years, through many conversations, I’ve learned that the same degree can open doors in one country and be almost irrelevant in another.


So let’s break it down.

1. If your goal is an academic career:
Be very clear-eyed about what that means. It’s highly competitive, structurally uncertain, and only a small fraction make it long term.

2. If your goal is growth and learning:
Honestly? I absolutely recommend doing a PhD.
It challenges you in ways few things do. I often describe it as running a small startup: you wear all the hats, constantly problem-solve, deal with failure, and keep going anyway.

If you move countries for your PhD, the growth is even bigger - intellectually and personally.

3. Financial payoff (jobs in industry):
This one depends heavily on field, country, and industry.
We’ve seen PhDs walk into roles paying 150–175k. Others start closer to 100k.
Could you have made more by choosing a different path? Maybe.
But it’s not a simple yes or no.

4. Being a door opener:
Coming from Germany, where education still carries a lot of weight (yes, “Dr.” is literally on your passport), I do think a PhD can still open doors - especially in Pharma and biotech. In some environments, you will hit a glass ceiling without it.

5. Subject-matter expertise:
If you want to deeply immerse yourself in one topic for 4–5 years and truly become an expert - there’s no better way.

6. Mobility:
One of the most underrated perks.
PhDs and postdocs allow you to move internationally, attend global conferences, and work in incredibly international environments.

So is a PhD worth it?
👉 There is no universal answer.

For me personally:
Yes. I would do it again.

I did a PhD in Immunology. I don’t use the subject-matter expertise today - but I do use the skills every single day: grit, creative problem-solving, dealing with failure, trying again.

I still think like a scientist. I approach problems like a scientist.

Is shifting that mindset into industry always easy?

Probably better to ask Angela Priest, my co-founder at Alma.Me - she has 20+ years in business and has been working with me for the past three years 😉

Curious how others see this - was your PhD worth it, and by which criteria?

♻️ Reshare to raise awareness and help a friend

🎙️ New PostPhDirections episode is out!

In this episode, I’m joined by Benjamin Weber Weber,  the Vice President of Translational Research at Novo Nordisk, to unpack what it really takes for PhDs to stand out in today’s competitive pharma job market.

Ben hired PhDs in Pharma in the US, and across different countries in Europe.

This episode is packed with a lot of practical advice on how you can prepare for the transition into Pharma R&D

We talk about:
- How Pharma  hiring has changed - and what skills matter most now
- Why understanding the Pharma R&D value chain is a key differentiator
- Common CV/resume and application mistakes PhDs make (and how to fix them)
- What hiring managers actually look for beyond publications and technical skills

If you’re a PhD or postdoc thinking about (or struggling with) the transition from academia to industry, this episode is packed with practical, honest insights from someone who hires globally.

🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify or my new YouTube channel - links in the comments  ⬇️

Happy Friday 🙌

“What should I do after my PhD?” feels often impossible to answer.
There are so many roles out there.

For many PhDs, it’s genuinely overwhelming.

Should I keep doing bench work?
If not — what else can I do?

Over the years, we’ve helped PhDs move into:
- Data Science roles at fintech companies
- Quantitative Modelers at insurance companies
- Project Management roles in healthcare
- Medical writers in Pharma 
…and many more.

The truth is:
You can do a lot after a PhD.
What you can do depends on:
- Your skills
- Your interests
- Your values
- And the kind of life and work situation you want to create

But for most PhDs, the hardest part isn’t having options.
It’s mapping their skills to real industry roles - and understanding what those roles actually look like inside companies.

That’s why we at Alma.Me decided to host a live mapping session where we show you exactly how to approach this in practice.

The session is led by my co-founder Angela Priest. 
She brings over 25 years of industry experience, having hired across all levels and a wide range of roles. Most importantly, she’s seen first-hand how many different roles truly exist inside companies - far beyond what job ads suggest.

📅 Join us for a FREE session on January 15, 6PM CET I 10 AM MST

We’ll map a PhD’s skills and interests to concrete roles in industry.
👉 Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/dVuaRrr4

I finally started something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.

I didn’t start earlier because the perfectionist in me kept holding me back - something I’m actively trying to unlearn from academia (still two years later 😅).

But I finally created my first YouTube video.
It’s not perfect, and that’s okay.

One thing business has taught me: do first, improve later.

So here it is - my first video of many:  Is my PhD work experience?

Each week, I’ll be answering common (and often stressful) questions PhDs and postdocs have about transitioning into industry.

This week’s question:
Does the first job after academia need to be the perfect one?

👉  If this resonates, please hit the subscribe button to the channel. 
I already have a few other videos on the transition from academia to industry - and while it’s not perfect yet, it is authentic.

See you on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dJbpkcXa

This PhD tried to move to industry since March 2025.
She did what so many PhDs do: applied without any strategy

- 300 applications
- A few interviews
- One final-round interview where she was almost certain she’d get the job

And then the rejection came.

That was the moment she realized something had to change.

Not her skills.
Not her PhD.
But how she was approaching the transition.

She found our Alma.Me Job Accelerator Program through ChatGPT (still one of my favorite stories).

She joined us in September.

In October, she started applying with the resume we built together - one that finally translated her experience into industry language.

What happened next?
Some weeks she had up to 4 interviews.
In November, she accepted a job offer as a Project Manager.

This wasn’t luck.
It was the result of strategy, clarity, and consistent follow-through - exactly what we focus on inside the program.

If you’re applying, interviewing, and still getting stuck at “almost” - you don’t need more applications.

You need clear positioning, honest feedback, and a system that works.

👉 If you’re struggling and want structured support at every step, apply to the Alma.Me Job Accelerator Program. 
Apply here: https://www.alma.me/

Happy Wednesday ✨

Many PhDs primarily consider bench roles when moving into industry.

However, there are alternative career paths for PhDs -  one example is scientific business development.

Yasmine Penn is currently hiring for roles across the US. If this sounds like you, reach out to her 👇

🧬 From the bench to the boardroom - ever considered this path?

For many PhD scientists, moving away from the lab doesn’t mean moving away from science.

Scientific Business Development offers a powerful route into industry for researchers who enjoy big-picture thinking, collaboration, and translating complex science into real-world impact.

We’re currently supporting Scientific Business Development opportunities across the USA, ideal for PhD-level scientists looking to make their first commercial move.

Who this suits:

🔬PhD scientists (Immunology, Pharmacology, Cancer Biology, Genetics or related fields)
🔬Strong hands-on in vivo experience (mouse models)
🔬Curious, commercially minded researchers - no prior BD experience required

Over time, this path builds commercial awareness, client-facing confidence, and cross-functional influence - with a front-row seat to how science becomes products.

📍 Now hiring across multiple US locations
📩 Interested in learning more or applying?
Contact Yasmine Penn
📧 yasmine@greenlsr.com

www.greenlsr.com

#ScientificBusinessDevelopment #PhDJobs #LifeScienceCareers #FromBenchToBusiness #BiotechJobs #CRO #IndustryCareers #GreenLifeScience

It took 6 days. 
 
That's how long it took one of the PhDs I'm working with to land his first interview after he started applying. 
 
What changed? 
-We taught him how to identify and reach out directly to hiring managers 
- We overhauled his resume to focus on impact 
 
He went from: 
 
"Optimized targeted therapies through comprehensive in-vitro testing and data analysis, driving drug viability insights through molecular biology, pharmacokinetics, and chemical analysis." 
 
To: 
 
"Conducted a rapid screening of 50 peptide compounds over a 6-week period for glioblastoma drug discovery, partnering with chemistry, prioritizing and identifying 6 viable compounds for preclinical in vivo testing." 
 
The same person, the same work, but one version shows the impact, the other describes the process. 
 
Hiring teams don't have time to translate your resume. 
 
Do it for them. Make it easy for them to say yes!
 
___________________________ 
 
Are you a PhD struggling to get a job in industry? Check out our job search program here: https://www.alma.me/

Happy Friday 🙌

Every kid has a superpower: ASKING WHY. It might annoy their parents, but if they manage to keep it, they'll likely end up in science asking the big WHYs. Luckily I kept my superpower.

Asking why may have gotten me in trouble, like when I was thrown out of kindergarten for "asking hard questions". I just wanted to know why we must sleep if we're not sleepy...anyway. 

Fast forward a few years, and I had my eyes set on studying nutrition science. It was a weird road that led me abroad, as everyone questioned my sanity given the field was unheard of in my country. 

That was back in 2015 when I moved to Vienna. 

If I had known that the worst five years of my life (so far) were just around the corner I would've been too scared to start the journey. Bureaucratic hell, struggling to find my path and just being confused, but those too passed and I flipped a page with a single email in 2020.

From there on out I would fall in love with research and science communication, work at two universities across three different labs on liver cancer, healthy aging, and mucosal inflammation, publish papers, talk science, get frustrated, develop methods, and realize that nutrition science was probably not the way to go...ups.

As I transition to mucosal immunology and try to be the person my younger self needed, I share my entire story. The good, the bad, and the ugly with the hopes that others can learn from my mistakes, and who knows they might even be inspired.

 ASK WHY & TRY!

Kajs Hadžić

How I scored 70/70 points in my PhD interview without knowing the format


What I did know:
- the length will be 25min
- I get to pick one out of 4 papers to prepare

What I didn't know:
- who will exactly interview me
- if I need a presentation or not
- will I need to give a "about me"
- if so, how much time I get
- do I get to have the paper in front of me
- are there any visual aids
- what the specific evaluation criteria is
and lots more.

Long story short I knew the paper + when and more or less where I need to be.

What I did:
- looked at the entire committee of around 30 people, their backgrounds, recognized a pattern, narrowed down who might be the lead in my interview, and prepared accordingly
- prepared presentations for my introductions and some slides on the paper, mainly consisting of the figures
- made mental notes on the top 3 things I want to highlight when introducing myself, and thought of a nice closer, this gave me the flexibility to tell the "same" story in 3 or 10minutes
- remembered every figure and table by heart so that even if I have them in front of me, I can more directly address the committee when discussing it without relying on looking at it
- fully prepared myself to do everything "blind"
- put myself in the shoes of the committee and combined that with people I talked to on many occasions to guesstimate what will be expected and what they look out for

Also:
- dissected the paper fully, pintpointing it's highlights, strengths, weaknesses, practical applications, how it ties into similar work, the lab's history and their collaborators
- look into the department of the lab that published it and looked through their publication network
- analysed all the authors, identifying that the first author is a former PhD of the lab
- came up with ideas of my own on how the research could be continued and/or done differently
- looked into interesting facts like the difference between the submission and acceptance dates
- searched the "market" for alternative models that could've been used for the study, identifying a relevant knockout mouse
- contacted and had a chat with the first author, discussing in vivo models and why they weren't used

And a couple more things..probably a lot more.

By the time I was done, I was confident I knew the paper better than most, which also helped.

So yeah, that's how I did it.

1066

PhD Researcher @ De Giovanni Lab | Mucosal immunology | BHFF Research Chair

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