Quicklinks

Preparing for Private Sector Careers in Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries (PPSC)

OVERVIEW: As postdoctoral, clinical fellows and staff scientists at the NCI’s Center for Cancer Research (CCR), many of you will be exploring and choosing from various career options in the future. Faced with a range of opportunities in what may be unfamiliar settings outside of traditional academic tracks, we have created a workshop to help familiarize participants with opportunities available in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Given that these opportunities may include roles outside of the traditional bench sciences, we hope to provide resources for you to make informed decisions about your potential future endeavors. This workshop was held for the first time last fall on the NIH Bethesda campus. As a result of its tremendous success, we have decided to hold another workshop on the Frederick campus to provide the same opportunity to the resident CCR fellows. The workshop includes speakers invited to present important information needed to succeed at various jobs within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Many of the speakers are former NIH scientists who successfully transitioned to these career tracks. They will share their experiences and the individual journeys that brought them to choose and remain in industry while describing best practices for getting a job, setting work expectations, and imparting how to navigate unique business-oriented scientific cultures. The workshop aims to shed light on how to position yourself and improve your skills to succeed within industry if you choose that professional course.

A variety of companies are represented and speakers will include scientists, human resources experts, administrators, sales personnel, recruiters and industry consultants. The former NIH alumni in the workshop will anticipate many of the questions you have and relate what you need to know. The workshop will cover many topics, including:

*	Jobs available for scientists from smaller niche firms to larger multi-business corporations.
*	What companies look for in candidates for different advertised positions.
*	Cover letter and resume writing best practices for specific jobs and industries.
*	How to leverage experiences at CCR to develop skills and succeed in industry.
*	Developing leadership, financial, behavioral and scientific skills and conveying these skills to employers.
*	Interview preparation best practices, negotiation tips (when, when not to and how).
*	Industry culture.
*	Transitioning from academic research to industry—new and different roles.
*	Expectations for collaboration across divisions within companies.
*	Metrics for success.

Major takeaways from the first workshop held in Bethesda include:

*	Differences exist in the application and interview processes for non-academic versus academic positions.
*	It is far better to begin your future job preparation earlier rather than later (as early as your first year).
*	Many potential positions exist within industry that are different from those in the bench sciences and require unique processes and preparation.
*	This workshop helps participants identify things to do while at NIH which will better position them for the future.

Location and Time : The workshop will be held every Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. for 8 weeks on the Frederick campus, starting March 6th through April 24, 2013 in Building 426, Conference Room 103.

For more information contact:
Dr. Ravi Dhar
301-496-0990
dharr@od.nih.gov

Schedule and Speakers This workshop will be held at 3:00 p.m. every Wednesday in Bldg.426/Conf. Rm.103 from March 6 – April 24, 2013. Click on each speaker to view their biosketch and the topics to be discussed.
Date	Speaker	Affiliation
March 6	Anjan Thakurtha, PhD	Senior Director, Translational Development, Celgene Corporation

March 13, 20	Randall K. Ribaudo, PhD	President, CEO, Human Workflows

March 27	Raed Samara, PhD	Scientist, R&D Project Management at QIAGEN, Washington, D.C.

April 3	Michele Gunsior, PhD	Scientist, Translational Sciences, MedImmune

April 10	David Heimbrook, PhD	CEO, SAIC-Frederick, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research

April 17	Maggie Dias	Sales/Safety Manager, Fischer Scientific

April 24	John Wallerstedt	Recruiter, Aerotek Scientific

A service of the National Cancer Institute