Technical Capability,
Technical Performance Are Top Qualities
Employers Seek In Advanced-Degree Chemists
Corinne Marasco
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What is required today for
success in an industrial R&D environment?
This question was recently addressed by corporate
recruiters on a panel at the 223rd national meeting
of the American Chemical Society in Orlando. The
formula is pretty straightforward: technical capability
plus technical performance plus the ability to
collaborate and work well on teams all add up
to success for new advanced-degree industrial
scientists.
"The competition is fierce,"
acknowledges Dr. Ron Webb, Manager of Doctoral
Recruiting and University Relations at Procter
& Gamble. Webb receives anywhere from
4,000 to 6,000 applications a year and only one
percent of candidates are ultimately hired from
that pool.
Industry is a major employer
of doctoral chemists, according to Webb, and the
jobs are out there, but finding them takes work.
At Procter & Gamble, "technical mastery
of your field is an absolute must and is the key
entrée to a job offer. The first promotion
will come based on demonstrating technical mastery
of your field." Therefore, Webb advises that
it's imperative for new advanced-degree chemists
to demonstrate this mastery in their resumes,
and especially in their early years on the job.
Dr. Lawrence Friedman, Manager
of University Relations for the Bayer
Corp., agrees. "Companies are looking
for employees who own their performance within
the company, own the performance of the company,
and own their competitiveness in the marketplace."
Technical capability is at the top of the list
but the ability to deliver on that capability
is equally important.
Both Webb and Friedman note
that non-laboratory skills make the difference
in hiring new employees. Employers are looking
for employees who can:
- Think critically
- Collaborate across disciplines
- Learn in fields beyond their own specialty
- Adapt quickly and innovatively under changing
conditions
- Work well in teams with a diverse group of
colleagues
- Communicate effectively with people in your
field as well as outside your field
- Demonstrate leadership
"Universities, companies, and individuals
all have a role to play in career development,"
notes Friedman, "but the primary responsibility
belongs to the individual by focusing on career-long
learning and skill improvement, renewing professional
capabilities, and developing portable competencies
and skills."
Friedman cited the work of
Robert
E. Kelley, who has studied how average performers
differ from star performers in the workplace for
more than a decade. What Kelley found was that
where you got your degree, your GPA or SAT scores,
your IQ, didn't matter. How you go about your
work is what matters: demonstrating initiative,
networking, self-management, seeing the big picture,
and helping others succeed (what Kelley calls
"followership"). Being a star performer
is all in how you do your work.
Friedman also shared a Bayer Corporation study,
which found that the critical skills leading to
promotion to Director or Vice President included
problem-solving skills, strong practical judgment,
the ability to cope with stress, communication
skills, leadership skills, and social receptiveness.
Corinne Marasco is Content Manager of JobSpectrum.org
View Each Panelist's Presentations
Lawrence Friedman,
Manager of University Relations, Bayer Corp.
Ron Webb, Senior Manager
of Doctoral Recruiting, Procter & Gamble
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