{"id":323,"date":"2016-09-21T06:00:31","date_gmt":"2016-09-21T10:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/?p=323"},"modified":"2016-10-04T21:40:41","modified_gmt":"2016-10-05T01:40:41","slug":"avoid-using-the-words-student-and-school-outside-of-academia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/2016\/09\/21\/avoid-using-the-words-student-and-school-outside-of-academia\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoid using the words \u201cstudent\u201d and \u201cschool\u201d outside of academia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many, if not most, ecology PhD graduates will go on to jobs outside of academia. One particular area needing improvement in most (all?) graduate departments is on teaching trainees how to market themselves outside of academia. CVs are non-starters outside of academia and resumes are very<\/em> different beasts. In crafting a resume, you need to show what you\u2019re good for in the future much more so than a CV, which is focused on your past.<\/p>\n

Killers in resumes are the words \u201cstudent\u201d and \u201cschool,\u201d which are words people outside of academia use when they think of an 18-year-old undergrad.<\/p>\n

I came at academia all backwards, having worked multiple jobs outside of it first, and having crafted a handful of resumes for those jobs. My longest job \u2013 and the one I had right out of college \u2013 was actually very similar to graduate school: I took classes. I worked on various team and individual projects that spanned many months each. I even developed a class to teach, and co-taught it. All that was seen as professional experience by my employer, and that\u2019s how it appeared on my subsequent resumes.<\/p>\n

I mention this because often job ads will be looking for someone with, say, 5 or 10 years of professional experience. If you apply for such a position thinking that your experience as a graduate student should count towards that, you\u2019re right! But you\u2019ve got to frame it that way on your resume and in your cover letter. If you just mention that \u201cas a graduate student,\u201d you created conservation plans for local watersheds, it may not count<\/em>. As a \u201cstudent,\u201d you are not considered a professional by those outside of academia.<\/p>\n

A PhD friend recently failed to be even considered for a position for which he was well-qualified. The position attracted many resumes, and as a first step, an administrative person scanned resumes to winnow out those who did not have basic qualifications. These included \u2013 you guessed it \u2013 some number of years of professional experience. Unfortunately, my friend\u2019s resume failed to make it clear that he was doing professional work as part of his dissertation, and so his resume failed this first hurdle. His application wasn\u2019t even seen by the scientists doing the hiring.<\/p>\n

This administrative winnowing step is super common, and you don\u2019t want your application tossed out before it\u2019s even considered! So here\u2019s what you do on your resume:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. List your PhD in your education section. That\u2019s all the mention of \u201cschool\u201d you need.<\/li>\n
  2. Where you list your work experience, describe your research projects, and in particular describe your role, the skills you used, and how the experience relates to the job in question. Keep it all short. Do not<\/em> mention that this research was done as part of your dissertation and do not<\/em> describe yourself as a \u201cstudent\u201d anywhere.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As fodder for future blog posts, I\u2019ve been scanning the CVs of ESA Early Career Fellows<\/a>. The CV<\/a> of ecosystem ecologist Ariana Sutton-Grier<\/a> actually incorporates a resume style part-way through. (She\u2019s worked for NOAA, so she\u2019s probably needed a resume at various times.) Her resume-style section on her dissertation research is brilliant. It\u2019s listed under \u201cProfessional Experience\u201d and reads:<\/p>\n

    Wetland Ecology and Biogeochemistry Research Assistant, Instructor, and Mentor, Duke University<\/strong> (2002-2008)<\/p>\n

    Duties<\/strong>: I designed and conducted interdisciplinary research examining how wetland restoration techniques, including organic matter amendments and plant species diversity, affect the restoration of wetland ecosystem functions.<\/p>\n

    Major Accomplishments<\/strong>:<\/p>\n