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One of the most popular questions that I get when I am out on the road giving a seminar or workshop is about industry postdocs. How do I find one? What are the differences between that postdoc and one in academia? Does an industry postdoc REALLY offer me any advantages if I wanted to pursue a career in the biotechnology industry? Each and every one of my trips over the years has seen this question come up, and that's why we all thought that it would be the ideal topic to start our new "Guest Host" program.

As you saw in my announcement of the program yesterday, Pam Maynard from Genentech has generously given us her time and experience for a one-week stint as our first Guest Host. This should be fun, and very informative for all of us, because Pam is one of those people who work right at the "front door" of this major employer. She sees both the great CV's and the not-so-great, and has for a number of years been the person who manages the flow of CV's for most of the research function. Most importantly, Pam receives the CV's for the company's industry postdoc program, which is why she is the perfect person to manage the question posed this morning.

For the next week, we'll have Pam to answer our questions on this topic area. The thread will be a "sticky" type, so it will always be on top. Get your questions ready for Pam Maynard, and fire away!

Thanks for telling your friends and lab mates about this unique opportunity,

Dave Jensen, Moderator

Hi Pam,

I'm trying to decide between an industry postdoc and an academic postdoc. I haven't applied to Genentech because I am in New Jersey. However, I'd love to hear about why an industry postdoc can be just as advantageous to my career as a good academic postdoc.

What should I be looking for if I selected a postdoc at a company instead of somewhere like Rutgers?

Becky

Pamela,

Thanks for guest-hosting this forum. My question is how much does previous postdoc experience help or hurt my chances of finding a postdoc in industry.

My situation is this: I am 8 months into my first academic postdoc. It has been a good experience, but I decided recently that I want a career in industry research. I have not had a good chance to build many industry contacts, but I'm working on that. I am considering looking for an industry postdoc to get industry experience. I don't know if it is best to 1)spend another year or two in my present position, build industry contacts, then look for a permanent research position in industry or 2)Look for an industry postdoc now/soon to maximize my chances of finding a permanent industry position. Thanks again.

What is typical of industry is that they will bring in postdocs to work on projects that are useful and beneficial for the company first. What makes Genentech's postdoc program unique is that we are more like academia in that the goal is to enable people to stay at the cutting edge of basic academic style research. Like academia, you would have the opportunity to develop a solid project rather than having to stop a project to develop an assay in support of their project.

In researching or interviewing for industry postdocs you might ask about what their success rates are with creating publications and what kinds of resources would be available to you with consideration to your project. This will help to understand the objectives of their program.

What is most attractive to Genentech is that you have made the most out of your academic postdoc and that you have something to show for it. If you are applying into industry (regardless of the contacts that you have) without any manuscripts, that can be a disadvantage to you.

Something else to consider is that we will accept applications for a second postdoc and have hired individuals into a second postdoc but there would have to be mitigating circumstances for switching from one postdoc to another. If one is leaving because it wasn't what he/she thought it would be then we wouldn't look to hire them. If an individual switches fields or to a new technology then we would consider that.

Hi Pam,

I'm curious, do you have any idea how many formal ?postdoc? positions exist in the biotech/pharma universe?

I am an Assoc. Director at an ~140 person biotech in the Boston area, and have worked for 3 companies in my career, none of whom have had formal postdoc programs. My experience as a hiring manager has been that I rarely receive CV's from scientist candidates coming out of industrial postdoc positions.

In general, I think most hiring managers are unfamiliar with what an industry postdoc is like (the well-known Genentech program being an exception). So it can be a bit hard to know what to make of such candidates, particularly if their CV is in an academic style that doesn't focus on specific accomplishments.

Personally, I am biased towards looking for candidates who have done a traditional 2-4 year academic postdoc. In part, this due to my familiarity with that career track, having gone that way myself. I know what to expect from such candidates.

I also think the scientific rigor of an academic postdoc is a very valuable experience that can?t be exactly replicated in industry (although, again, Genentech may be an exception). The question is whether the increased familiarity with the industry way of doing things, which is certainly obtained through an industry postdoc, makes up for the loss of a more hard-core basic research experience in an academic postdoc?

I?m sure it depends on the postdoc program. But as I said, that is the hard thing to judge, both for candidates and hiring managers.

Cheers,
Kevin

Hi Kevin,

I would also love to know the "universe" of industry postdocs, and while Pam may not have those specifics, she'll be able to help us by possibly providing numbers for the Bay area, or even for Genentech.

My client hiring managers have always appreciated a good industry postdoc as they seem to help scientists break that culture barrier between the ivory tower and industry. But, as you say Kevin, it doesn't mean that it is the same quality training experience that a person can get in a top academic lab. I guess that it really depends upon the company.

If there is anyone reading our forum who has an industry postdoc underway, please join us and comment in this thread,

Dave Jensen, Moderator

I don't know how many industry postdocs are out there (that's a question I am looking into further), however, I do know that out of 15 to 20 postdocs that will finish their postdoc tenure at Genentech this year, there might be two that get hired full time. Those who will stay and get hired as a Scientist will have evidence of a good track record, have a consistency of excellence (with publications) and, looking more broadly, have displayed some creativity as a independent researcher. It doesn't necessarily matter if a candidate is familiar with Genentech's way of doing things or not, what matters most are the things mentioned above.

Pam, Could you provide some specifics for evaluating a candidate for advancement for the items you stated? How does one demonstrate independence in an industry environment?

From your post:

-A good track record,
-have a consistency of excellence (with publications)
-displayed some creativity as a independent researcher

Following on Phil's post (not me!) I have a similar question, Pam. I am always wondering how a non-technical person (which most Human Resources people are) can evaluate a technical document like a CV? Do they train you on certain things to watch for? Or, is it just a keyword search?

My reason for asking is that I think this forum could use some clarity with regards to what companies are looking for, and the role of human resources.

Thank you so much for your time here on the site, and for your expertise. It will help many people I am sure,

Philip

Hi Phil,

Absolutely.

A good track record can consist of a combination of different factors. A PhD and/or MD from reputable schools or programs, postdoc experience from a top-tier lab of that field (ie. immunology or oncology), first-authored publications, no gaps in employment history and a complete reference list.

By consistency of excellence (with publications), he/she must have published consistently within their field with top journals. The top journals vary from field to field but Genentech is always attracted to Nature, Cell and Science publications.

He/she will have displayed some creativity as an independent researcher by staying abreast of the science and the latest technologies in their field and putting that knowledge to work in their lab as cutting edge science.

I hope this helps to clarify.
-~Pam

Hi Philip,

Great question. Most of Genentech's hiring managers review all of their postdoc applicants' CVs for consideration. We have some hiring managers who prefer to only review those postdoc applicants who meet the requirements for the position (ie. at least one first-author publication). It is my responsibility as a sourcing consultant to assist the client with this process of screening out those who are not qualified. It is also my role to run key word searches when we are looking for a particular technique or skill set, but this is more relevant at the Research Associate level-type position.

At Genentech, it is our role in Staffing to oversee and manage the staffing strategy for a specific client group (ie. Research). We have very close ties to the corporate staffing strategies as well as research-specific staffing plans. We are a diverse team of professionals who have a variety of experience, education and training, and some of which have biology degrees.

That said, we also take every opportunity to utilize training and educational resources (such as uc extention classes, etc.) in order to familiarize ourselves on the more technical aspects of the positions we are recruiting for.

~Pam

Pam,

A good answer to a potentially tough question. Philip has become known here on the forum for asking tough questions, and sometimes asking them in a way that makes me flinch a bit (sorry Philip!).

I agree with him that the whole topic of H/R is something that most scientists don't know much about. Perhaps later in your dialog with us you might explain more about the structure of your H/R department, so that scientists can understand how the company receives and reviews resumes/CVs. Many scientists from academia, I would think that Philip is in a University lab, express a frustration that they don't understand or appreciate what it is that human resources does. The goal always seems to short circuit the HR department.

So. when you are back with us on Monday, can you tell us more about the "structure" of H/R at Genentech, and more about what the role of H/R is for your clients. Thanks Pam for a productive day!

Dave Jensen, Moderator

I guess Dave was at least partially calling for me to chime in a bit. I'm an industry postdoc, so I guess I can answer some of the questions on the other side from HR, though I've only been in my position for about six months.

I guess I can start by saying be careful. I was offered one industry postdoc with a tiny company that I was pretty certain was the proverbial "cheap pair of hands" position. Postdocs are often paid less than research associates, and some places may use that to hire a postdoc for a research associate position in order to save money. The position at the small company had only had one postdoc prior, and they would not give me his/her contact information, or agree to have him/her contact me. So, I was a little concerned about that position, and turned it down.

Other than that, I'd also like to thank Pam for coming on here, and it's interesting for me to see what my CV went through!

Hi Ken

Small companies COULD put together a quality postdoc program, but it would be costly for them. Everything they need to do has to be focused on one objective . . . advancing their development of real products that can go into the clinic. So, it is very tempting for those small companies to use their postdocs to advance their own interests instead of setting them free the way that Pam describes the process at Genentech.

I know that other quality employers such as Merck and Amgen have postdoc programs as well. If there are scientists reading this site who have gone through a good industry postdoc in a location other than Genentech, please jump in,

Dave Jensen, Moderator

What are the career plans for the 13 to 18 postdocs that finish their postdoc tenure this year, but do not get hired full time at Genentech?

You seem to imply that it is more unusual to do a second postdoc in industry, so I assume that the more average postdoc will take full-time scientist positions at other biotech companies?

If so, what has been the success rate of these postdocs obtaining full-time positions?

I didn't mean to imply that one can't get a good postdoc at a small company, merely that one has to be a little more cautious about accepting such positions.

The question always arises about how to obtain the elusive "industry experience" and I remember being very tempted by an industry postdoc position that I knew to be subpar merely because I would be able to put industry experience on my CV.

I think that in the long run a good academic postdoc is going to be better than a terrible industry postdoc whether you want to eventually go into industry or not.

I joined a top ranking lab to pursue my graduate studies. It has now been five years and I have come to realization that my project has failed despite working 70-80 hr weeks. I have enjoyed my education immensely and feel I have received good training but now after 5 years I am left with only a second author Cell paper. I know I want a career in industry so do I stand a chance at landing a good industrial postdoc (like Genentech) or should I try to extend my Ph.D. longer and try to get a first author paper?

Dear Dave and Philip,

The role of Genentech's staffing organization is primarily focused on being (and surveyed as being) "world class" in the areas of customer-focused and client-focused. Our customers include all of you in this forum, as well as applicants, candidates, career fair attendees, and our Genentech colleagues. Our clients are considered to be our ?client group? (ie. Research, Quality, etc.). Genentech's staffing organization hired approximately 1,500 people in 2004 and plans to hire the same amount in 2005. More than 80 percent of Genentech employees have college degrees, and more than 20 percent hold advanced degrees, including PhD's and MD's. Here is a snapshot of how we work to accomplish being a world class staffing organization and still hire the best and the brightest:

As mentioned earlier in the forum, Genentech's staffing department is broken out into teams that support a specific client group. Each staffing team consists of a Staffing Manager, Staffing Consultants, Sourcing Consultants and a Staffing Associate. Each of us have specific roles and responsibilities which range from developing corporate staffing strategies and training hiring managers and interview teams on interviewing techniques, to building a pipeline of qualified candidates and generating offer letters.

Similar to other organizations in academia and industry, Genentech has an applicant tracking system (ATS) which is shared and utilized by Staffing and our client group throughout the application/hiring process. The Hiring Manager (HM) initiates the process by opening up a new position and the ATS automatically assigns a particular 10-digit position number. Now that the position is open, the Staffing Consultant and Sourcing Consultant will sit down with the HM and have a "strategy session". Staffing will offer advice on hiring/interview strategies on topics such as; developing job descriptions, advertising opportunities, interview structure and timelines. The HM will inform Staffing of the specifics of the profile and talent that they are looking for. Once the position responsibilities and requirements are decided upon and the strategy session has been completed, Staffing will post the position on our website which is immediately available (after a quick click of a button) for both internal and external applicants to apply.

Once an applicant (internal or external) applies for a specific position or positions, they will receive an automatic notification thanking them for exploring employment opportunities at Genentech and ensuring them that their resume has been received. Staffing can view all of the new applicants who applied for that particular position under a category of ?New? in the ATS. As the Sourcing Consultant, it is my job to screen all new applicants? resumes on a daily basis and track those who meet the minimum requirements to the hiring manager's open position for their review. (This screening process is necessary as we receive quite a few resumes from applicants who do not meet the requirements for the described position). The HM then has the ability to identify their feedback on the candidate as "Interested", "Undecided" or "No interest" along with any additional comments in the ATS system for Staffing?s review. It is through this ongoing and often daily feedback from the HM that we are able to assist our client with building and maintaining a robust pipeline of qualified candidates.

A few other details that you may want to know about our ATS system is that it allows Staffing to see and share the candidate's application history, review and share candidates cover letters, run key word searches and allows Staffing to manage "hot? or ?future interest? candidates within our own ?sourcing? ad hoc requisitions.

Finally, as soon as an offer has been accepted, you?ll be happy to know that that posting is automatically removed from our website therefore providing our customers with an up-to-date listing of all of our current openings.

This is just the core of what happens in Genentech?s Staffing organization in regards to receiving and reviewing resumes. I hope this answers your question and that this information gives you some insight on how to best utilize HR/Staffing as a resource industry-wide.

Hi Pam,

I am a postdoc on stem cell research. I feel that Genentech is very famous for genetic or molecular biology. Do you also have a stem cell program for postdoc? Do you know which firms are the best in that area?

Thanks,

Jan

Hi Brendan,
The majority of Genentech's postdocs take independent investigator/group leader "full-time" positions in industry, and a couple or so per year may still go into academia. Since our program's start in the early 90's, there has been an upward trend towards moving into industry since there are more biotechnology companies.
~Pam

Hi Brandon,

While publications are important (and a 2nd author is Cell is commendable) certainly what we consider to be a "good track record", which I described in more detail earlier, can hold a lot more weight than you might think. The reputation of the lab you are in and the quality of work that your advisor is known for can be equally important in our opinion. If you are considering extending your postdoc so that you'll have more to show for it, please also keep in mind your ability to give a good coherent seminar and to be able to concisely explain your motivation and readiness for seeking a full-time independent research position at the company. Some candidates present and interview very well and are able to convince us to hire them.

~Pam

Pam,

Thanks for the advice! I have one other quick question - What is the average length of a postdoc at Genentech? Is this consistent with industrial postdocs in general?

thanks,
brandon

In reponse to Kevin Foley's question about how many postdocs exist out there in industry, I can confirm for you that out of Genentech's approx. 8,000 employees, we have about 75 postdocs in Research, 2-3 in Development Sciences, and about 4-5 more in Process Sciences. Of course, due to turnover, not all of these positions are filled at one time.
~Pam

DJ: "I know that other quality employers such as Merck and Amgen have postdoc programs as well. If there are scientists reading this site who have gone through a good industry postdoc in a location other than Genentech, please jump in."

At the most recent career fair here at Duke for Ph.D.'s and postdocs, the keynote speaker who was Senior VP at Regeneron mentioned that they created two tracks for postdoctoral appointments: one which is geared more towards bench science and another geared more towards clinical trials/pharmaceutical research skills. The former would be more reminiscient of academic postdocs while the other would be more focused on developing skills for industry positions.

How important are the following factors in getting a postdoc/ job in industry:
- Networking (knowing someone in industry) or being referred by an employee already working in the industry.
- Location (a candidate who lives in the same general area as opposed to a candidate who lives far away).
- The exact needs of the company at that exact moment (for example, would a candidate who had done only one research project ever in the focus area of that industry be chosen over someone who had worked on three different research projects but none on the exact project that industry is working on right now).
Thanks in advance.

Brandon,

Postdoctoral fellowships at Genentech typically last 3 years - the maximum tenure is 4 years. I am not sure if this timeframe is consistent with other industry postdocs.

~Pam

Hi Reena,

Thank you for your question. I'd first like to address the third part of your question about "the needs of the company" as I think it will also address the important question that Jan raised yesterday. The candidate's background is considered as well as his or her demonstrated accomplishments, but we don't look for exact "fits" for the project. A good postdoc should be able to move where the project goes. In other words, be as good as you can be in your field of interest with hopes that this will be anagolous or complimentary to the research/focus of the company and/or independent postdoc project.

In-house referrals are always helpful, however, we are still looking for a quality postdoc candidate who has demonstrated accomplishments. It is more important for a postdoc candidate to research the company, attend seminars and meetings where our scientists are presenting, and to understand the projects and pipelines. With this knowledge, one might be able to decipher who the mentors might be behind the postdoc project and can speak in your cover letter as to why he or she is interested in applying for that position and what he or she has to offer to the science.

Location is not a factor for Genentech. Our postdoc program is formally structured where postdocs are eligible for a cash stipend to assist with relocating the best and the brightest candidate whether they are from anywhere in the US to overseas.

~Pam

Hi Pam,
Thank you for your helpful advice! Can you give forum members a better sense of what the interview process is like? For some, it's the first time they've applied for an industry position, and I find there are always a lot of questions about what a typical interview would be like.

You briefly mentioned in a previous post that strong applicants are able to, "give a good coherent seminar and concisely explain your motivation and readiness for seeking a full-time independent research position at the company. Some candidates present and interview very well and are able to convince us to hire them".

Can you give us some insight about how you contact attractive applicants and what their interview might be like?

Thanks!

Naledi S. & Bill L.

Hi Bill and Naledi,

Yes, I am be happy to share this information with the forum members.

Another very important criteria for appointment into Genentech (postdoc or Scientist/Group Leader) is the ability of the candidate to give a good seminar and for them to interact and collaborate productively with colleagues, including those from other disciplines and this criteria is evaluated in the interview process. Here is what you should be prepared for;

First, a phone interview is conducted with the most promising candidates (most often by the hiring manager but sometimes by a staffing consultant - depending on the hiring manager's preference) and letters of recommendation are requested (at least three outside letters of evaluation, if possible, from at least two different institutions). In a phone interview you'll want to be prepared to answer questions about your background (ie. interest level, scientific objectives, availability to begin a new position, salary/compensation requirements, etc.) Next, you will be contacted by whomever conducted the phone interview and informed
as to whether or not you have been chosen for a formal face-to-face interview. Each interviewee shall present a seminar on their research accomplishments. And, finally, after presenting his/her research, you will have a full day of interviews meeting individually with peer scientists, postdocs, the Dept Director and the Dept VP. Going into this final part of the process, you'll want to be prepared to give
specific examples of how you performed certain tasks or skills in the past.

~Pam

Hi Jan,

Please write me directly about the stem cell question, and if I can help you, I will,

Dave Jensen

Hi Pam,

How nice of you to do this for us. Thank you for passing along your expertise.

I'm curious . . . when interviewing at an open-minded company like Genentech, is it OK to suggest that the company may be interested in carrying on the work that a person may have been doing previously? Or, even in a postdoc there, do you have to do work that is only of interest to the company? You see, I would like a place in industry (my ultimate goal) to continue the work I am doing now in a postdoc. At this point, there is a lot of steam left in what I can do with the niche I've chosen. I wonder if I'd have to drop that and take up a new field of interest if I went to a company like yours.

Stacey

Pam
My area of interest is Immunology. I know Genentech is doing cutting edge research in immunology. But the Genentech website does not provide details of the research profiles of Scientists and their projects working in the field of Immunology (except for two). Since you mentioned earlier that connecting our research interests to the Scientist who is an expert in a particular field is good when applying, i am just curious to know. Thanks.

Hi Stacey,

You're welcome - this has been a fun experience.

If your field of interest is relevant or gives reference to a therapeutic area that Genentech is focusing on, then yes, there is a good chance that you can continue to carry out the research that you have chosen in a postdoc or in a Scientist/independent researcher position. If this is not the case, then you might consider researching other companies that could use your expertise and the value of your research.

~Pam

Pam,

I was just sent a correction to one of my earlier comments, from a friend of mine who works for Amgen. He said that the company has terminated its postdoc program, and that many company scientists are not very happy about this. It seems that the firm had a fairly good program going there, as did Immunex, but when the two companies merged they decided to drop postdoctoral programs. There are a few people finishing up Amgen postdocs, but no new ones coming in (I didn't confirm this with Amgen management, but it sounded legitimate).

I don't expect you to know anything about this scenario, but I would like to ask you, in general, if you can comment on why industry postdoc programs don't seem to be catching on. In fact, they are retracting. Can you give us any hints as to how employers view these programs? Is it seen as a high-cost item, one that has no pay back for the corporation? It seems to me that it is a wonderful way to "give back" to the community of PhD's out there, plus I am sure that on occasion this research work has a corporate benefit as well.

Just how DO company managers view the postdoc program at Genentech, and why do you think this isn't "catching on" with other companies?

Dave Jensen, Moderator

Hi Murali,

Genentech has more than 600 scientists who are publishing at a rate of 200+ papers a year. You might try searching for current immunology or general research publications to understand the projects and to get the PI's names. Our Scientists are also participating in important scientific conferences and this is also something you can research.

~Pam

Hi Dave,

We see the payback in that the program helps the postdoc mentors stay at the cutting edge of their field and also follow creative and/or speculative basic scientific ideas that otherwise wouldn't get tried. It also helps recruit some of the smartest scientists to Genentech, who might not come if all they could do was translational work.

It is possible that the Genentech postdoc program hasn't been copied much because (1) it's "expensive" to have a significant size program like ours, with protected headcount set aside for basic science; and (2) the payback isn't immediate in that postdoc science doesn't usually translate directly or immediately in products/product ideas. The program is an investment, but one that everyone benefits from ? most importantly our patients.

~Pam

I?d like to offer a counterpoint to some of the opinions I?ve heard expressed in this thread. It sounds like the Genentech program is wonderful and the way to go for companies that can afford to do it (and I've heard very nice things about it outside of this forum). However, I?m not so sure that the advice to avoid postdoc positions at smaller companies makes sense for everyone. I took a postdoc position at a very small company where I was certainly a very cheap source of labor. The likelihood of publishing was slim, but I wasn?t interested in going back to academia, so I didn?t consider that as too strong of a negative. I reasoned that the biotech experience I would pick up would be worth it even if the company or position flamed out. In the end, it worked out quite well for me. After a few months my position was converted to a permanent scientist position (at least as ?permanent? as any position is these days ;-)

The point is, taking the postdoc position provided me a tremendous amount of experience in a completely new area for me (both the research and the industrial setting) and it allowed me to get in on the ground floor of a growing company.

Shawn

Shawn,

Those were great comments, thanks. I don't think that anyone here said to never take a postdoc at a small company, however! I think the advice, frequently stated on this forum, is that you need to watch carefully to see that it is a REAL postdoc program, and that in some cases it is just an employer looking for a "cheap pair of hands."

If you feel that you were hired as a cheap pair of hands for the lab, but it worked out, that is great. It sounds like you knew what you were doing in advance, and you weren't hired under false pretenses. I think that is the key element here. In any job that is "underpaid," even doing volunteer work or some internship, you are getting your "ticket punched" and that has a huge value in itself! Thanks for pointing this out.

Dave

I have a question for Pam.

I was interviewed at Genentech very recently over the phone. It was my first job interview. And I did not know what to expect. I did not do well. There were questions that I could not answer, like "Why do you want to work in Genentech?" I did not prepare for the interview. But the conversation was friendly and cordial. So, it was no surprise that Genentech did not pursue me any further.

My question is: Would this disaster "burn my bridge" with Genentech? Would the hiring manager leave any negative feedback on my record in HR, like "Person X did not prepare and did poorly in interview on date Y".

How can I recover from this? I have learned my lesson. I now know how to prepare for interview.

Dear JJ,

This is an excellent question - thank you for sharing this scenario for us all to learn by. First of all, it's wonderful that you have taken ownership of the situation and have learned the importance of being prepared for an interview at a moment's notice. I can not predict how the hiring manager assessed the phone interview and commented in the applicant tracking system. Depending on the circumstances, one hiring manager may feel as if this bridge has been burned because he/she felt that you were not prepared for the interview but another hiring manager may have thought that were nervous or distracted. The good news is that as interviewers, we try to gain a balanced picture of the candidate and it's up to the next hiring manager or staffing consultant to also seek out a balanced picture. So, as far as moving past this and recovering, I would recommend that you, (1) continue to apply for positions that you are interested in and qualified for (do not apply for multiple positions that you are not qualified for as this leaves a trail which often makes a candidate look un-focused and/or unrealistic), (2) draft a cover-letter which describes your interest for that particular position and highlight your strengths as a potential candidate for that position and (3) Keep in mind that we want to make the interviewee feel as comfortable as possible so that he/she is able to feel comfortable about sharing information. Knowing this, give yourself some time to think about and articulate your answers while in an interview.

~Pam

JJ,

Telephone interviews are extremely difficult, because they often come at odd times when you least expect them. One of the key things to remember about them is that you are NOT obligated to speak at the moment the phone rings. As in any professional business conversation, you may ask the caller if you can get organized and call him or her back in 30 minutes, etc. They understand that you may have been in the shower, feeding the baby, etc. and there are MANY people who will take a few minutes to recover from the shock of the call and find a quiet place with pen and paper before conducting the interview. It also gives the procrastinator a few extra minutes to read up prior to interview time,

Dave Jensen, Moderator

You may also find, as I did once, that the person calling has forgotten to check what time zone the area code he's calling is in. I once had someone from Virginia list me as one of the first items on his agenda for the day, so he called at about 8:30 his time. The problem was, I was living in Oregon at the time.

Once I figured out who he was and why he was calling, I asked him to call back in about three hours if he could. I told him we'd both get more out of the call that way.

All the telephone interviews that I have had have been after corresponding by email and setting up a day and time for the telephone interview. Do interviewers just call on the telephone without setting up a time by email? I am in the postdoc search phase right now and that seems kind of scary.

Hi Tara,

Yes, this does happen and therefore, to Dave's and Rich's point, it's a good idea to be prepared for this and to certainly request a better time to talk if this is your preference.

~Pam

Hi Pam,

Firstly, thank you very much for all this helpful information and many thanks also to Dave Jensen for establishing this!
In general, what would be the timeline for hiring postdoc from initial application to first day?
Also, do the postdocs in the Genentech programme tend to come directly from grad school or with some postdoc experience under their belts already?

Many thanks,
Denise

Hi Denise,

Since there isn't a hard deadline to fill a postdoc position, the mentor can look for the best candidate and can be open and flexible in negotiating a start date due to the postdoc candidate's personal goals and situations (relocation, current projects, manuscripts, etc.). Therefore, generally, it can take from 2 weeks to 6 months.

Most of our postdocs come directly from grad school. If the candidate is applying for a second postdoc, we want to understand their motivation for applying and I would recommend putting this in a cover letter or objective statement in your CV. As mentioned earlier in response to Matthew's question, we have hired individuals into a second postdoc but there would have to be mitigating circumstances. If one is leaving because it wasn't what he/she thought it would be then we wouldn't look to hire them. If an individual switches fields or to a new technology then we would consider that.

~Pam

Hello Science Careers Forum readers:

Thank you for a successful week of our new Guest Host program. It is obvious that this is a working concept, and that many people got a lot out of the experience. Thank you to Pam Maynard for the exceptional job she did with her commitment. We'd love to have her back at any time.

Future "Guest Host" programs will be announced here in the near future. For any additional followup questions/comments about the topic of industry postdocs, I'll start a separate thread.

Thank you all!

Dave Jensen, Moderator

Dear W,

I wanted to comment on your separate thread entitled "what about average people?". You bring up some very good points and I just wanted to clarify a few things so that the expectation is one of high standards but is not intimidating. In reality, pedigree can matter, but more important is the track record of productivity and demonstrated publication record. That does not mean that these papers must be Nature or Science papers, but the papers have to be high quality and focusing on interesting science in respected journals. There should also be more than just a single one.

~Pam

Dear Dave and all,

I've enjoyed this opportunity and will refer our candidates to this helpful forum. I hope that the information has been useful and relevant and I thank you all for your time, your thoughtful questions and your interest in this week's postings.

~Pam