This week on Papa PhD, I’m sharing my conversation with scientific writer and amazing human behind the Biomed Badass website – Vicky Sherwood.
During our conversation, Vicky shared great advice based on her own career transition experience from academia into industry, but also on her experience helping other people make the jump.
So, be sure to have pen and paper at hand for this one – there are a lot of gold nuggets in there you’ll want to remember!
VIDEO
Dr Victoria (Vicky) Sherwood is an Expert Scientific Writer at Novartis in Dublin, Ireland. Prior to transitioning to the pharmaceutical industry, Vicky was a Principle Investigator, running a skin cancer research lab at the University of Dundee, UK.
In her current role at Novartis, Vicky writes medical communications that disseminate the results of clinical trials, real-world evidence, and clinical opinions to the medical and scientific community. Her work supports Novartis Oncology to effectively communicate clinical research findings from their pipeline and across brands.
Vicky also supports STEM professionals secure meaningful work outside academia through her website: www.biomedbadass.com. She helps academic researchers understand the non-academic job market, identify careers that align with their values and skills, network productively, prepare applications that get noticed, and interview effectively for private sector jobs.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- The pharma project/product life-cycle and the different places scientists fit within it
- Never feel stuck in a pharma position – there are a lot of opportunities and directions to pivot your career once you’re in
- The importance of finding higher-ups that will champion you and your career development goals
- Why you should put yourself out there, socially and ask yourself “who should I be talking to next?”
- Defining 3 positive messages about your career goals and work-related interests and reinforcing them in your conversations
- How informational interviews can teach you the language that will make you shine in your next job interview
- “Job boards are just candidate magnets” – you need to follow a multi-channel approach to finding your job
- Don’t forget your alumni network!
Thank you, Vicky Sherwood!
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Send Vicky Sherwood a thank you message on Twitter!
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