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Peggy
McKee

Behavioral Interviews: Beyond the Basics

Behavioral interviews are a very common job interview technique.  Hiring managers love them because they get a better sense of who you are and what working with you might actually be like.   In the video below, I’m going to talk to you about the types of questions that are usually asked...


Kate
Sleeth

WIST 2011 – Exploding Bras; and Hard Hats!

On Saturday the 14th of May, I had the pleasure of attending the Women in Science and Technology conference held at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla.  The title of the conference was, Embrace Change: Opportunities in the New Decade.  I have never been to a more inspiri...


Ray
Wang

How Many Miles Do You Have on Your Airline Account?

Do you remember the character played by George Clooney who has 10 million flight miles in the movie “Up In the Air?” That might be a little extreme for normal people. Check out your account. How many do you have? 20,000? Well, last week I had a meeting with a guy from Texas. He has over 4 millio...


Kate
Sleeth

WIST 2011 – The Art of negotiation

At the Women in Science and Technology conference, the final workshop I attended was given by Linda Baracs, a professor of law, ethics and negotiation at the University of San Diego.  Her workshop was entitled, He Said, She Said: The Art of Negotiation.  Linda gave an exceptional workshop,...


Sarah
Pick

The Fine Art of Being Mentored (Part 1)

No doubt about it, there’s an art to building an effective mentor-mentee relationship.  Seeking out a good mentor for your career growth and actively engaging as a “mentee” are integral to initiating a connection.Since this process is so important to the development of life scientists’ ...


Ping
Xiao

Capitalism

This article is written relating to a question on my blog - what did I find out after I coming out of the school that surprised me the most. I found out what Capitalism is in the real world. 20 years ago, when I moved from China, the highest salary in China was about $10 per month. Regular workers i...


Clement
Weinberger

Flying By The Seat of Your Pants

What’s that? It means deciding on a course of action as you go along, using your own initiative and perceptions rather than a pre-determined plan. From what I’ve been told, the description “fly by the seat of your pants” fell into popular use after Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan flew from ...


Marielena
Mata

Teamwork: Lessons from Baseball

After 28 years, in 2008 the Phillies finally clinched the World Series and with it, my attention for the sport.  Mind you, I have been watching baseball since I can remember.  Having grown up in Venezuela (the second highest source of players for Major League Baseball, thank you very much!...


Wenny
Lin

Salary expectations in the federal government

I was recently contacted by a recruiter about a job opening.  He caught me off-guard (mistake on my part) with the question, “What are your salary expectations?”Like any excellent scientist would do, rather than giving him an answer, I turned his question into another question, “Well, wha...


Kate
Sleeth

Mentoring

Each and every one of us has been mentored.  We have probably experienced both good and bad mentoring and may have even had the opportunity to attempt it ourselves.  Most academics do not receive formal training on how to teach or mentor effectively, and yet they are expected to do just th...