by Andy » Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:07 am
Hi All,
I thought I would give an update of how my job search in the Bay Area over the last few months played out. I had posted several questions during my search here, and figured I'd tie things up. Here goes . . .
Several months of networking from the Midwest to San Francisco gave so-so results. During that time I took a few trips (self-financed) to the Bay Area and scheduled informal meetings with people at companies I really wanted to work with. These companies included many of the "famous" ones, so I was excited with the interest they showed in at least agreeing to meet with me. However, once I was back in the Midwest, their interest always seemed to fade. Frustrating.
Eventually I decided I had to take a risk. I had to move to the west coast jobless and make something happen. I did that late last summer. Some would say not a smart move, and I wouldn't argue most of the time. But I had my reasons.
When I got out here, I wrote to a research foundation working on a disease I know well through family connections. I told them I would love to help them out on a volunteer basis until I found a full-time position in the Bay Area. They took me up on it.
Meanwhile the informal meetings continued. Again, I got some interest but times were tight enough that I could not squeeze a full day interview out of many people. One interview I did have was at one of the "big three" biotechs, and I really wanted the job. They seemed interested in me, but they interviewed five people and I was not the one they offered.
I've thought a lot about my performance in that interview (which was my first real interview at an established company). Thinking back, I believe I focused too much on how much and why I wanted to work with them. I did not focus enough on why they should hire me. Plus I was not, on paper, the perfect candidate from a technical standpoint for that particular position (yet they did interview me, so . . . ). Anyway, it was my first interview and I learned a lot from it to be applied in the future.
Meanwhile, while the interview and its aftermath were playing out, the research foundation at which I was volunteering offered me a full time (and paid) position. I deferred until I got the "thanks but no thanks" from the company, and have been working at the foundation for about three months now. Overall, I was out of work for three months. Not to shabby and I got to do a lot of cycling around the Bay Area on my new bike.
Although the foundation job was not the one I dreamed to have when my wife and I decided to move west, in reality it will be a very good place for me. It's small. I care a lot personally about what we are doing. I have as much responsibility as I want, and we are working at developing therapeutics. Working with immune system cells, planning small molecule animal experiments, purifying proteins, and screening compounds in enzymatic assays. This is all great stuff; most of it new to me. And if I am here for a couple years, I will likely leapfrog where I would be from an experience standpoint in a biotech company. Not only that, but the people who founded the foundation are good and well-respected scientists with their own companies and connections elsewhere in the biotech world.
Overall, I am happy with the way things have played out. But I know the frustrations of not finding what you're looking for. I know the "why in the world did I go to grad school" feelings. The feelings of impending failure and shame can be real. It isn't fun, but you've just got to suck it up.
Oh I forgot, the craziest thing about the search. I literally NEVER got any response from posting my resume to adds posted on company websites or Biospace. Never, that is, until I posted one to the big company where I interviewed. I submitted my resume online (I'm not even sure why) one night, and the NEXT MORNING first thing I get a call, go to lunch, am interviewing 5 days later. Turns out the guy knew my grad school advisor from way back, but it was the rare connection that did not come through networking.
Sorry for the length. Hope some of you get something out of this.
Best wishes,
Andy