sample life sciences postdoc cover letter upenn career services

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Career Management - Career Services

University of pennsylvania career services.

Biomedical Postdoctoral Programs partners with Penn's Career Services office so that most of their services can be provided to our biomedical postdocs. The first step to your job search should be to look at their website https://careerservices.upenn.edu  and become familiar with their services and resources. Then you might want to meet with a career counselor at Career Services for an appointment.

Career Services counselors can help with CV editing, converting a CV into a resume, review of cover letters, interview preparation, and salary negotiation tips. Along with their one-on-one services, they also offer a plethora of workshops throughout the year that cover every aspect of looking for a job, plus speakers on a vast array of fields that you can work in with a scientific degree. They organize a biomedical career fair every fall, have numerous job openings posted by employers interested in Penn students and postdocs on the Career Services website (on Handshake ), and send job postings and other career/job related information through their distribution list.

Career Services-University of Pennsylvania Suite 20, McNeil Building-3718 Locust Walk Philadelphia, PA 19104-6209 Phone:   215-898-7530

It is never too early during your postdoctoral appointment to begin thinking about your next career move. In order to assist you with this process, BPP offers several valuable career management tools. On average the postdoc period is for five years. To maximize this time so you can attain your ideal job we suggest the following timeline.

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Handshake This is Career Services’ powerful platform for University of Pennsylvania students, postdocs and alumni served by our office. Handshake uses cutting-edge technology to help you more easily connect with employers and source jobs and internships, event information, and schedule appointments with Career Advisors. All career fairs, workshops, employer information sessions, and on-campus interviewing is coordinated through this platform. Select your career interests to get more tailored communications from Career Services with resources and opportunities more aligned with your career goals.

  Aurora :  Your complete resource for PhD professional and career development including interactive workbooks, interviews with PhDs in diverse career roles, and a comprehensive series of workshops covering all aspects of career exploration, networking, applying for faculty, and expanded career roles, and more! Get started by watching this overview from Aurora’s founder: https://careerservices.upenn.edu/videos/how-phds-postdocs-can-use-aurora-at-penn/

  Versatile PhD   Career Services subscribes to this web-based community so that you can explore the broad diversity of careers that value a PhD and gain job-search relevant skills. Take advantage of the Ph.D. Career Finder Tool to investigate common career paths taken by PhDs across disciplines. Additionally, the VPhD Options 4 Success program is designed to help PhDs identify viable career paths, understand the link between their degrees and the professional world, and confidently manage the transition from university to high-quality professional careers

myIDP   Developed specifically for STEM PhDs, this free resource provides self-assessment tools to help you evaluate your skills, interests, and values, and compare these against a wide diversity of careers that value a STEM Ph.D. You can use the individual development plan tool to identify key next steps as part of your academic and professional development.

  Vault Career Insider   Vault provides in-depth intelligence on what it’s really like to work within a range of industries, companies, or professions—and how to position yourself to launch and build the career you want. Many of the vault guides are featured on the Engineering industry community page of the Career Services website: https://careerservices.upenn.edu/channels/engineering/

Big Interview   complete engaging courses on resumes, interviewing, and negotiating, learn how to build effective STAR stories for your interviews, and practice and record mock interviews.

National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity   An independent professional development, training, and mentoring community for faculty members, postdocs, and graduate students.

CareerShift   An excellent tool to identify contacts at different organizations, build lists of organizations in different fields, and search for jobs at companies of interest.

Management Consulted  A comprehensive resource on consulting and case interview prep, featuring cases, math drills, online video courses, and everything you need to know to ace your consulting interviews.

GoinGlobal This resource includes a searchable database of thousands of international jobs and internship listings, country and international city-specific resources, a database of companies that have provided H1b visas in the past, resume & cover letter samples, and cultural advice.

Penn Engineering postdocs can contact Alicia Pickul , Executive Assistant to the Senior Associate Dean, with any questions, concerns, or suggestions.

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Contact, Sabrina Kendrick , with any questions, concerns, or suggestions.

Subscribe to the Penn Engineering Postdoc Listserv .

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Effective Resumes

A good resume succinctly conveys specific aspects of your education, experience, and skills to the reader as it relates to the particular opportunity or field in which you’re applying.

Employers have limited time to evaluate candidates and so it’s important for the key pieces of information to jump off of the page. What are the main ideas you want to communicate and is the currently layout & content conveying that message effectively?

Resume Templates, Samples, and Variations

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• For Nursing undergraduate & masters students, review sample BSN or MSN resumes.
• For Weitzman graduate students in design, use this Effective Resumes for Design Students guide.
• For GSE students, review sample resumes for Teaching, Higher Ed, Counseling and Policy, Research, Program Administration .
• For SP2 students, review sample resumes for Clinical Social Work and Macro Careers .
• Once you have created a resume, you can speak with a Peer Career Advisor , make an appointment, or request a Resume & Cover Letter Review .
• For tailoring your resume to match specific skills/qualifications, use Targeted Resume to emulate an Applicant Tracking System & compare your resume to a specific job description.

• Use a standard size font (10 to 12 point)
• Use standard margins (1 to .65)
• Keep the design simple & consistent. Use white space. Use line breaks or spacing in between sections.
• Note: Not all applicant tracking systems can read decorative formatting like tables, shapes, graphics, images, etc.
• Note: In some employer’s job systems you may need to copy & paste your resume into an online application form.

Undergraduates & recent graduates should use a one-page resume.

PhD/postdocs can consider expanding onto two+ pages. If you do, put the most important information on the first page and add your name & page number to the second page (in a header or footer).

Header : Include your name, email address, and phone number. You don’t need to list your full street address, but can include City, State/Country. If you have a LinkedIn, consider adding the URL. For some industries you may want to add your GitHub or personal website to show relevant projects or a portfolio.

Education : List your most recent degree first and move backwards in reverse chronological order. Include your degree, program, and expected grad date (e.g. June 20xx). Can also include relevant courses, awards, thesis project, dissertation, GPA, etc. in this section. Once you’ve graduated from your current program it’s standard to move this below your Experience section.

Work Experience & Leadership : Using either general sections like “Experience” or “Leadership & Extracurriculars”, or tailor your sections depending on what you’re applying for (e.g. “Research Experience”, “Marketing Experience”, etc.) Emphasize experiences where you can show relevant or transferable skills. Include everything that’s relevant, whether you were an employee, intern, volunteer, researcher, or member of a team.

Skills & Interests : Only include objective, measurable skills like languages, computer programs, laboratory procedures, programming languages, etc. Softer skills like communication, teamwork, etc. should be illustrated, rather than stated, through your experience descriptions. Adding interests is optional, but can be a place to add other details or show some of your personality.

Writing Impactful Descriptions

Describe each experience to give an overview of what you did, with an emphasis on what you were able to accomplish in the position. Use verb phrases and make every word count.

Avoid helping verbs (assisted, worked with, helped, responsible for, etc.). Instead, use a strong action verb that reflects the part of the project that you worked on.

Questions to ask yourself:

• What skills did I use?
• Are there any quantifiable details that could provide context, scope, or demonstrate impact?
• What was I proud of or what were my accomplishments?
• Did I use specific programs/software?
• What positive things would my coworker say?
• What were the outcomes related to what I did?
• Did I improve something? Create something new? Present information? Lead or manage a team? Take initiative? Problem solve? Analyze data?

Actions + Accomplishments

Try to place your experiences in the context of what you did, with what results. Ideally when possible you want to show not only that you did XX, but that you did XX well or with YY results.

Include how your actions or work ties into the larger results, projects, or accomplishments.

Example Bullet Points:

– Helped with book research vs – Completed review of 35 journal papers on inflammatory disease mechanisms and communicated summary of findings to professor within 2 weeks

– Assisted in program planning vs – Planned and implemented 4 neighborhood public outreach projects with a total attendance of 150 people, supporting program manager in all aspects of project development

– Waited tables/served food. Handled customer complaints. vs – Managed the largest serving section, received positive feedback for remaining calm and friendly while finding fast resolutions to challenging customer issues

Other Potential Sections

Qualifications, Professional Summary, or Profile: Sometimes used by PhD/postdocs and those who are further along in their careers, who may need a short summary to tie together their experience across multiple pages. Be specific to your strengths and focus carefully on exactly what you have to offer.

Projects : Usually for software engineering and computer science resumes, as a way to show technical skills in use. Consider also including your Github link in your header.

Publications & Presentations: Usually only for research related positions. Use standard bibliographic format. Don’t cite publications in full for non-research settings. Summarize instead (e.g. “Five publications in professional journals”) to show that you completed research projects and successfully communicated your accomplishments to a broader audience.

Honors & Awards: Can be combined with “Education” or given separate sections, depending upon how major a qualification they are for a specific role. For unfamiliar awards, you can stress the degree to which it was competitive. (e.g. “One of three selected from among 2,000 graduating chemists nationally”) Edit down what you include as necessary.

A resume is a concise summary of your skills and qualifications, tailored for a specific position or field. Length tends to be shorter and dictated by years of experience (generally 1 page for undergrads/recent grads and 1-2 pages for professionals with more experience).

A curriculum vitae (CV) is commonly used in academia, and is a full history of your academic credentials. (In some countries CVs are more universal for job applications.) The length of the document is variable but tends to be longer than a resume.

A good resume is specific to the qualifications of what you’re applying for. If you’re applying for opportunities in different fields, you probably need to adjust your resume accordingly to highlight the related skills or qualifications. You may also want to have 1 long-form, multi-page resume that includes everything you’ve done – you can then edit down what you include depending on what’s relevant.

Focus on transferable or soft skills in the job/internship description – even if they were used in a different context, what similar skills have you used? For internships, there is an expectation that you may not have real-world experience and that they will teach and train you.

This is also an instance where talking with people in the field you’re applying to can give you better insight into what skills are most important, where others look for opportunities in the field, etc. Check out our Make Connections & Network community for more resources.

No – for most internships, employers know you won’t have direct, professional experience and expect that they will teach & train you. Depending on the field, some may expect some level of technical knowledge or proficiency. But you can still pay attention to the kinds of soft skills & broader qualifications they’re looking for and highlight transferable skills from academics, extracurriculars, etc. that can translate into a different context.

Unless you’re applying for a job with the federal government, a job description is always more of an employer’s wishlist than a ‘you must check every box’. If you meet most of the qualifications for a role, don’t self-select out of applying for an opportunity you’re interested in!

Applicant Tracking Systems are software that some companies use to filter applications automatically based on specific criteria such as keywords, skills, or years of experience.

Tools like Targeted Resume and JobScan can help you emulate the process by comparing your resume to a job description you load in (though be aware you may have to adjust its keyword and skill selection).

Include the details in your education section – make sure it is formatted consistently with school name, location, and dates. Instead of including an expected grad date, include a date range (formatted the same way the rest of your dates & date ranges are formatted). For some experiences, you may want to include a brief descriptive bullet point (e.g. “Immersive language program in…”)

Resumes aren’t legal documents, so you can always use your preferred name on your resume. ( e.g. Jane “Sam” Doe; J. Sam Doe; or Sam Doe depending on what’s right for you.) The places you need to use your legal name is for background checks, social security documents, insurance forms, and legal documents.

Only when applying to jobs in financial services or consulting (or if otherwise requested by the employer).

Nope! Save your references for when they’re requested, usually after the interview stage.

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Check out this post from the Carpe Careers blog published on the Inside Higher Ed website – written by graduate student/postdoc career advisors specifically for the graduate students and postdoc population:

How Long Should Your Resume Be?

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Your resume is the most important tool you have in your job-seeking arsenal. It gives potential employers a detailed look at your education, work history, skills, and achievements. In certain cases, your resume might also include additional information about any …

How Grad Students/Postdocs can Optimize their Career Preparation

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Check out this post from the Carpe Careers blog published on the Inside Higher Ed website – written by PhD/postdoc career advisors for PhD students and postdocs:

The Perfect Resume Guide From Expert Recruiters

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As job-hunting experts, we’ve heard every kind of resume advice you can imagine. We’ve partnered with companies in various industries looking to find candidates for thousands of roles and through this work, we’ve identified the golden standard for resume writing.

Career Resources

Phd career training platform.

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Aurora is now the “PhD Career Training Platform” and provides you with an eLearning Platform with on-demand, self-paced learning modules …

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Resume Guide for LGTBQ+ Candidates

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This guide is a comprehensive resource tailored to empower LGBTQ+ job seekers on their professional journey.

Beyond Graduate School

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GSE Sample Resumes: Policy, Research, Program Administration

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GSE Sample Resumes: Teaching, Higher Ed, Counseling

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Vault Guides

The vault guide to resumes and job-hunting skills, second edition.

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Tag: cover letter

How to write a cover letter recruiters will read.

Tiffany J. Franklin M.S.Ed, Associate Director

Cover letters are one piece of the job search many job seekers would rather skip. In fact, some will only apply to positions that don’t require them. Omitting the cover letter is a mistake. After all, a cover letter is really a marketing piece that allows you to make a strong case (backed up by examples) for why this company should hire you. Why would you miss out on an opportunity to show a recruiter why you are qualified for a position?

As a former recruiter, I would sometimes receive well over 100 resumes for one job posting. When evaluating which ones to interview, the applications with cover letters stood out because it demonstrated that the candidate took extra time and went a step further than other applicants. Cover letters provided insights into how well the candidate could communicate, their attention to detail, and made a case for why I should hire them. The best cover letters were customized. I gained a clear sense of why the candidate wanted that particular job and company. It was apparent the applicant took the time to think about why they wanted that company and role. Conversely, it’s easy to tell when a candidate uses the same generic letter and applies to 50 jobs.

When writing cover letters, you want to show that everything you have done so far has lead you to this job. It’s up to you to craft a story and pull out all your transferrable skills you gained during your academic and internship journey. Your goal is to inspire confidence in the recruiter that you have the skills and motivation to do this job and you have researched the company culture.

Some writers feel the need to list everything they have ever done and hope the recruiter will find something relevant. That strategy backfires because recruiters don’t have that kind of time to sift through extraneous information. Like the opening arguments in a court case, you need to provide the hiring manager the lens through which to view your experience in the first paragraph of your letter. Explain how your unique combination of education, experience, and skills has qualified you to make contributions to their team. Then, use the middle paragraphs to provide evidentiary support through relevant examples. Be sure that the cover letter is not simply restating your resume. Instead, it’s an opportunity to bring your resume to life and tell your story in a compelling way.

Here are a few tips for how to tackle that first cover letter.

1) At the top, include your address and the date

2) Address the letter to an actual person, not a generic “Dear Hiring Manager.” If you can’t find the contact name, Google “LinkedIn Company Name Recruiter” for ideas. Include contact name, title, company name, and address.

3) Opening Paragraph (I LOVE YOU) – Mention position title, requisition number if listed, why you want the company (see mission statement, About Us page), and a sentence stating why you are qualified to contribute to their team.

4) Middle Paragraphs (YOU LOVE ME) – This is the part where you pick 3-4 examples from your experience and bring your resume to life. Through success stories, you demonstrate your ability to do this job and highlight your transferrable skills. These examples should speak to the key skills mentioned in the job description. That job description may list 50 different qualifiers, but usually these can be grouped into a few primary categories.

5) Closing Paragraph (LET’S TALK) – Restate your interest and summarize key qualifiers, how to reach you (contact info), that you’ll be available for an interview, and thank them for the consideration.

The first letter may take a little longer to complete, but it’s worth the time investment. Writing subsequent letters should be easier as you get used to the format. Be sure to have different letters for each industry and job type to which you apply. From there, customize each one to each company and specific position.

There are great samples at www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/writtenmaterials/coverletters.php . The samples are a helpful guide, but be sure to make the letters your own and that they are not too close to the samples. This is your chance to shine and you need to make it unique to your skills. Proofread your cover letter and have someone else read it before applying to any positions. One grammatical or spelling error will reflect poorly upon you, so editing is a must.

Career Services is here to help! We have walk-ins throughout the week and you can schedule an appointment to have an advisor review your resume and cover letter. www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/appointments

Gifts for You!

Thinking about being a scientist? Teacher? Marketer? Filmmaker? Consultant? Programmer? Professor? Unsure? We have information to help you learn about different career fields , whether you are exploring a wide range or are ready to dig into a specific area.

Want to talk to other students or alumni to learn about their career paths? Use our resources or meet with us to explore the many connections available to you. Or read our surveys to see what other students have found in their internship and job searches.

Continue reading “Gifts for You!”

Getting in the Loop: Crafting a Letter of Interest

By Sharon Fleshman

This semester, I’ve talked to a few students who are interested in particular jobs that they’ve seen posted, but wonder whether it’s too soon to apply since they’re not graduating until May. Maybe that’s your dilemma. Or perhaps you know that you have your heart set on working at a particular organization, but at the moment, there is no position posted that matches your skills and interests. What to do? You may assume that correspondence with a potential employer has to be in response to a given opportunity. Not so! In both cases, you can send a “letter of interest,” a type of cover letter that will allow you to express your enthusiasm about a given organization or position.

Let’s start with the first scenario I mentioned. You see the posting for an ideal job, but suspect that the position would need to be filled sooner than your graduation date. Of course, your letter would highlight your interest and qualifications, but it can also include something like “I was excited to see that you had an opening for Position X. I will be graduating in May 2011 and I hope that you will consider my application for this position. However, I realize that you may need to hire someone sooner. If that is the case, please consider me for any future similar opportunities that arise.”

In the second scenario, let’s say that you simply want to pursue an opportunity with a given organization but there are no current job openings relevant to your background or career interests. You should include much in your letter that focuses on what attracts you to the organization itself. After you bring attention to how you resonate with the organization’s mission and core values, be sure to identify your skills and qualifications as it relates to particular areas and functions of the organization which interest you. As I already noted, you can request that the recruiter consider you for any future opportunities. In addition, you may want to inquire about the possibility of an informational interview .

To get started, check out the resources on the Career Services website on how to write cover letters. Once you develop a draft, feel free to make an appointment with a Career Services advisor who can help you tweak your letter and networking strategy.

Seniors: Five Job Search Tips for Winter Break

by Kelly Cleary

Once the semester stress is behind you and you’ve had some time to rest up and celebrate, I imagine many seniors will start to focus on your post-grad plans. Even through, for many industries, the application timeline won’t begin until later in the spring semester, there are some things you can do now to better position yourself when you do start applying for jobs. Below are a few tips and resources to help you get started.

FIVE JOB SEARCH TIPS FOR WINTER BREAK

1. EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS : Spend some time exploring career possibilities by looking at some of the websites below. This can be an overwhelming project but it’s an important first step.

• First Jobs and Graduate Schools for Penn Grads, listed by major –  these are long lists of what Penn students have done with their major in past years.
• Career Plans Surveys for the Class of 2009 and earlier years – you might be surprised by the wide variety of paths your predecessors have chosen. And hopefully you’ll be encouraged to see that while only about 30% of the College Class of 2009 had accepted job offers by the end of December, almost 75% of them had accepted job offers by the end of May.  (The 2009 report is preliminary. It will include more detailed employer information soon.)
• What Can I Do with this Major? —These PDF’s provide a helpful overview of career paths related to specific majors including suggestions for types of employers and advice on preparing for those jobs.
• Watch our Career Exploration video:

Career Exploration from Penn Career Services on Vimeo .

2. RESEARCH EMPLOYERS: Once you’ve narrowed down your preferences for types of work, industries of interest, and where you hope to live, it’s time to start developing your wish list of prospective employers and build your list of favorite job search websites.

• Vault & Wetfeet Guides – Yes, these two companies make great books to help students land i-banking and consulting jobs, but they also publish career and company guides for other industries like entertainment, fashion, retail, green, healthcare, pharma, marketing, PR, and many others. You can download the career guide books for free from our Online Subscriptions page.
• PennLink – This is where employers who specifically want to hire Penn students post jobs. Under the “Advanced Search” tab, you can set up a Search Agent to schedule weekly emails of new jobs that match your interests so you don’ t have to log into PennLink every day.
• Career Resources by Field – From Anthropology and Arts to Sciences and Sports, you’ll find job search websites and transcripts from alumni speakers. There are similar websites for Wharton, Engineering, Nursing, and Graduate programs.
• Online Subscriptions – this page includes log in and password information for over 25 job search websites including Art Search, Ecojobs, JournalistJobs, Policy Jobs and many others.
• GoinGlobal – From GoinGlobal you can access international country and U.S. city guides that include lists of job search websites and links to local chambers of commerce which all have extensive employer directories for their regions.

3. TALK TO PEOPLE WHO DO WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO : Yes, I’m talking about networking. Outside of trying out a job through volunteering, interning or actually getting the job, talking with people who do or have done the job is one of the best ways to figure out if a career is right for you and to gather advice for landing a job in a particular field or within a specific company.

• PACNet – Penn’s alumni career networking database is an easy way to connect with Penn alumni who have volunteered to be career mentors. They are a great resource for information and advice.
• PEOPLE Search –  If you don’t find what you’re looking for in PACNet, you can search for alums (or even people with whom you don’t have a common affiliation) who work in the fields and/or organizations that interest you. You can view their profiles to see sample career paths and you can send direct messages to ask for advice. While this is more like cold calling, if it’s done respectfully and professionally, it can be worthwhile.
• GROUPS – There are thousands of groups (i.e. alumni, specific industries, etc.) in LinkedIn where people share job postings and other career-related information, and they also serve as a forum for asking questions and gathering answers from more experienced professionals. Joining the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Group is a great first step.
• Want to learn more about LinkedIn? Check the LinkedIn Guide for Recent Graduates. Tutorial from LinkedIn.com.
• Watch our Networking Tips video.

4. UPDATE YOUR RESUME AND COVER LETTER DRAFTS:

• Check our Online Resume & Cover Letter Guide for tips and samples.

5. RELAX AND ENJOY:

• Unless you’re heading straight to graduate school, it’s likely that it will be a while before you have such a long mid-winter break again, so  sleep in, eat well, and enjoy good times with your loved ones.

Good luck with your remaining finals and papers. I hope you all have a safe and fun break. We look forward to seeing you in 2010!

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Spring 2024: Critical Writing Program Seminar in HIST: Care and The Politics of Interdependence: Cover Letter Resources

• Getting started
• News and Opinion Sites
• Academic Sources
• Grey Literature
• Substantive News Sources
• What to Do When You Are Stuck
• Understanding a citation
• Examples of Quotation
• Examples of Paraphrase
• Chicago Manual of Style: Citing Images
• Researching the Op-Ed
• Researching Prospective Employers
• Resume Resources
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Cover Letter resources

• Cover Letter Writing Guide - Penn Career Services  - A writing guide on cover letters prepared by Penn Career Services that covers the purpose of cover letters, cover letter etiquette,  
• Job Search Letters - Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)  - These OWL resources will help you write job application letters, thank you and follow up letters, as well as effective acceptance and rejection letters. Also included are links to other OWL resources geared for entry-level and skilled labor positions.
• Microsoft Office Templates - Access a wide selection of MS Word templates with formatting for various styles of resumes and cover letters. 

• Skill Sumo Future Proof: How to Craft a Cover letter This video, from Academic Video, will teach you how to craft a cover letter.
• What to Include in the Resume and Cover Letter. From Sage Video, this online tutorial provides tips for developing your resume and for writing cover letters.
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Career Services

Penn’s Career Services supports postdocs career development and exploration by offering a suite of services, programs, and workshops for postdocs interested in either academic or non-academic career paths.

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EMBL Careers

A life science careers blog for early career researchers

This blog aims to inspire early career researchers exploring different career options. We provide interview-based profiles of life scientists working in diverse science-related careers and articles on a broad range of career-related topics, with new content added on a regular basis.

Rachel Coulthard-Graf

15 March 2019

Category: Articles Job applications

Tags: CVs , job applications

Crafting impactful statements for your CV and cover letter

When you are writing a job application, it is essential to describe your experience in a way that highlights the skills relevant for the position you are applying for. We’ve previously posted on some general tips on preparing job applications for industry . In this post, we provide details of some techniques that can help you demonstrate your skills in your CV & cover letter.

1. Action verbs

Action verbs can help demonstrate your skills by clarifying your role in projects. This can be particularly helpful for short statements on your CV.

For example, rather than simply stating:

“Project: role of gene xyz in process abc , collaboration with Bloggs & Mustermann labs”

to emphasize your role in assay development, you could write:

“Developed biochemical assays to investigate the role of gene xyz in process abc.” .

or emphasis leadership you could write:

“Led project coordination and biochemical research in an international collaboration that revealed the role of gene xyz in process abc.”

Be precise so that you demonstrate your skills without overstating your role.  If you are unsure how your statements could be interpreted, ask others for feedback.

See: 185 action verbs (external) or (within EMBL) handouts on job applications , which also includes a list of action verbs relevant for scientists’ applications.

2. Quantification, achievements and evidence

The easiest way of demonstrating a skill is to provide evidence of a positive outcome. For example, if you have great feedback for courses you have taught on, you can use this feedback in the cover letter to evidence your communication skills.

I have taught a number of courses at EMBL, where my ability to communicate complex topics has resulted in excellent evaluations (average  rating 4.9 / 5, where 5 is excellent teaching).

Quantification can more generally provide context for the scale of projects, helping to show the impact of your work.

If there is a key skill you have, but you don’t have hard evidence for, you could instead simply give examples of when you have used the skill. Additionally, if you want to really highlight this skill – show you know what makes someone good in this area:

During my postdoc, I have communicated my results in a wide-variety of settings, for example by writing a news and views article on a paper in my field. I have learnt the importance of tailoring the message to the audience and of using clear but precise language.

3. Re-framing experiences to highlight key skills

As this article outlines, framing examples in different ways can change the skills you are highlighting.  See below for some examples that would be suitable for a cover letter, and note the use of different action verbs. Reframing your examples can also be used for shorter CV bullet points.

To highlight impact / ability to deliver results – highlight the outcomes and your actions

I introduced a new high-throughput assay in the lab, which enabled analysis of x samples per day (increase of x compared to previous method). In addition to my project, the assay has now been used for 6 other projects and contributed to research in 4 papers to date.

To highlight teamwork – define who you worked wit h

I introduced a new high-throughput assay in the lab,  collaborating closely with the light microscopy facility to ensure compatibility with existing technology. I also worked with 5 others in the lab so that the technique could be applied to their projects in addition to my own.

To highlight communication skills – define the different ways you communicated

I introduced a new high-throughput assay in the lab, successfully persuading my PI to fund the adaptations to our microscopy set-up, and liaising with the company providing the technology and with the light microscopy laboratory. Additionally, I wrote detailed documentation and carried out informal training sessions, enabling others to use the technique for their own research.

Ability to Work Independently – define your contribution

I initiated and implemented introduction of a new assay in the lab. This involved independently researching high-throughput techniques, gaining PI and budget approval, and liaising between the company providing the technology and relevant stakeholders at the institute.

Project management – define the complexities & process

I led the introduction of a new high-throughput assay into the lab. This involved carrying out an analysis of the potential solutions, helping prepare documentation for budget approval, and finally coordinating delivery and installation, including liaising with the company providing the technology and relevant stakeholders at the institute.

Bringing it together

The annotation below shows how these techniques could be used in the research experience section. The level of detail, focus and exact points included should depend on the role you are applying for.

Relevant sources:

• Other articles on job applications from this blog
• (within EMBL) EMBL Fellows’ Career Service : handouts e.g. on Academic Applications | Non-Academic Applications
• University of Columbia career service post on impactful bullet points
• Boehringer Ingelheim guide to creating a compelling job application
• NatureCareers academic and nonacademic toolkits
• UCSF and UPenn sample CVs
• Blog post from @akrook on describing your skills in a cover letter
• Jobs.ac.uk article on identifying your unique selling points
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CLONE Viest Institute

Sustainability and conservation science postdoctoral fellowship.

Sustainability and Conservation Science Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in partnership with The Nature Conservancy

The application deadline was Friday, February 16, 2024 and applications are not currently being accepted.

PROGRAM GOALS This postdoctoral fellowship program aims to bridge the excellence in academic research at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and in conservation practice at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to confront climate change, while creating a new generation of sustainability and conservation leaders who combine the rigor of academic science with real-world application.

Penn and TNC join in recognizing climate change as the single greatest environmental threat to humanity. Climate change is an issue that tightly integrates the health of the planet with the economy, access to clean and reliable energy, water, and food production, and equity. To tackle these challenges, our world needs science that blends climatology, physics, economics, business, chemistry, engineering, technology and communications with conservation and ecology. As well, it must marry the best academic research with opportunities for rapid testing and deployment in the real world to address human well-being.

The specific program goals are to:

• Invest in the talent potential of a new generation of climate change leaders
• Recruit scientists who bring a diversity of culture, experience, and ideas to Penn and TNC
• Support innovative and impact-oriented research that helps deliver TNC outcomes
• Provide the fellows and Penn research community as a whole with access to real-world conservation professionals and issues.

Postdoctoral Fellows will be supported annually with a $65,000 stipend and benefits, a $10,000 research fund, and up-to $2,000 for professional travel. A one-time relocation reimbursement of up-to $2,000 is also available. Fellows will be eligible for support for up-to two consecutive years.

For this round of applications, the project areas and Penn faculty/TNC Scientist mentor teams participating are:

• Prof. Samantha McBride ([email protected])
• Dr. Stephen Wood ([email protected])
• Prof. Shu Yang ([email protected])
• Dr. Elizabeth Shaver ([email protected])
• Prof. Deep Jariwala ([email protected])
• Dr. Elizabeth Kalies ([email protected])
• Prof. Alain Plante ([email protected])
• Prof. Michael Mann ([email protected])
• Dr. Nicholas Wolff ([email protected])

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE Ideal candidates for this fellowship are outstanding, early-career scientists or engineers who seek to improve and expand their research skills, while directing their efforts toward problems at the interface of climate, conservation, research, technology, and people. Recognizing that science is best advanced through contributions by individuals of diverse backgrounds, we seek to attract promising researchers from varying backgrounds, races, ethnic groups, and other diverse populations whose life experiences, research experiences, and employment backgrounds will contribute significantly to their research. Applicants must have completed all requirements for their doctorate by the fellowship start date, and their PhD should have been awarded no longer than three years before the application deadline. Fellows are expected to begin their appointment by September 1, 2024.

HOW TO APPLY Complete applications are due by Friday, February 16, 2024, and must include:

• Cover letter (limited to 1 page). Applicants should describe their research experience, interests in research and conservation, long-term career goals, and illustrate how their previous experience strengthens their ability to develop and implement the proposed research.
• highlight the research question of interest,
• clearly articulate the research approach and methods,
• outline the project’s scientific significance, and
• demonstrate a clear potential for delivering results for The Nature Conservancy’s global priorities.
• Curriculum Vitae
• The cover letter and research proposal must be standard letter-size page, 1-inch margins, and at least 11 pt font.
• The CV, proposal, and personal statement must be combined into one pdf file and emailed to [email protected] by no later than 5 pm ET on February 16, 2024. Please use the subject “Postdoctoral Fellow Application [Your Name]” and name the pdf attachment “YourNameApplication.pdf”.
• Three letters of recommendation. One letter must be from the applicant’s thesis advisor and comment specifically on the applicant’s ability to learn from and contribute to a multi-disciplinary and collaborative research environment. The other two letters should be from individuals well acquainted with the applicant’s PhD research.
• A joint letter of support with mentoring plan from your proposed Penn and TNC mentors. Mentors should speak to the importance of the applicant’s proposed project to Penn and TNC, the role they will play in jointly mentoring the applicant through the project, and the leadership taken by the applicant in developing the research proposal.
• The recommendation and support letters must be on letterhead and emailed directly to [email protected] by no later than 5 pm ET on February 16, 2024.

For general questions, contact Dr. Nadine Gruhn, [email protected].