How do I say, "I don't want to join your lab"?
A first-year PhD student asks—
I'm finishing my last lab rotation and have decided which lab I want to join. How do I tell the other PIs I rotated with that I won’t be joining their labs? I don’t want to burn any bridges.
It's great that you’ve found a lab that you want to join! The order of operations does matter a little bit here—first, get confirmation that there’s still a spot for you in the lab you do want to join, even if you’ve had conversations about it in the past. After that, you can tackle notifying the others of your decision.
Networking feels gross...
A late-stage PhD student asks—
In theory, I feel like the quality of my work should get me where I want to go. Networking has always felt gross, but I recognize that it is just valuable for people to know what I am capable of and to know I exist. How did you get over the gross feeling?
How do I know what level of job to apply to?
A postdoc asks—
I'm looking for an industry job and realize that my skills fall in between a lot of the job descriptions. How do I decide when to apply to the higher-level position, when I fit most of the higher-level requirements, but not all of them, but I feel overqualified for the lower-level role?
Where should I look for jobs other than LinkedIn?
A second-year master’s student asks—
I'm looking for jobs and, so far, have just been searching on LinkedIn. Where else should I be looking?
Do you still do informational interviews when you are currently applying for jobs?
A postdoc asks—
I've heard that informational interviews are helpful, but also that it is a bad idea to reach out to people after you applied to a job to ask them to recommend you. Should you still do informational interviews while you are actively job searching and applying? How does that fit in?
How do I get an employer to speed up their interview process?
A sixth-year PhD student asks—
I'm expecting a job offer from [company A] later this week, but I have an interview coming up at [company B] at the end of March. From looking around online, I assume that [company A] will want a response before I have a chance to interview with [company B]. How do I ask [company B] to speed up the process? Can I ask for an earlier interview?
How do you interview for industry jobs?
A postdoc asks—
What do you recommend in interviews for people who are moving from academia to industry?
What exactly do I say?
A master's student asks—
I saw your advice about salary negotiation, and I have a pretty small question. What exactly do you say when you ask for a higher salary? It feels awkward, and everything I come up with just sounds like “please give me more money.”
Here's a simple template I’d recommend—
"Thank you for the offer. Given that [reasons why you are asking for a higher salary], would you consider a salary of [new number you are proposing]?”
What do I ask for?
A postdoc asks—
I just received an offer for an industry job, and the salary is actually a bit higher than I was expecting. I'm happy just accepting the offer as it is, but I've heard you should always negotiate. How much more should I be asking for?
Should I apply with a resume or a CV?
A third-year PhD student asks—
When an internship posting does not explicitly request a resume or CV, which one should I submit?