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…
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?
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…
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—"…
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?
Career exploration should not feel mysterious, lonely, or squeezed into the margins of an already demanding research life.Yet for many PhD students and postdoctoral scholars, it does.
A master's student asks—I saw two different internships posted at the same company, and I'm interested in both. Is it appropriate to apply for two internships at the same company at the same time? Or will that make it look like I'm not serious?
