#118: Interview with Sara Andersson about the conflict between her PhD interests and her personality

In this episode, the founder of the podcast Dr. Tina Persson talks about two of the most important qualities you need to have during the job search. If weeks of unemployment have turned to months for you, if you feel that you do not have the required skills and there are no jobs, this podcast is for you. Tina, being the professional career coach and recruitment specialist in the present and the Assistant Professor in Molecular Biology in the past, provides a unique perspective on this issue and gives valuable advice. <p>For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the podcast, visit www.phdcareerstories.com. You can also find us on social media:</p> <ul> <li>www.facebook.com/PhDCareerStories</li> <li>www.twitter.com/PhDCareerPod</li> <li>www.instagram.com/phdcareerstories</li> <li>www.linkedin.com/company/phd-career-stories</li> </ul>

10 Touko 201910min

Anastasia Moiseeva is a life coach, mentor, teacher and a life-learner. In 2005 she moved from the cold far-away Siberia to the Netherlands to pursue a master's degree in Urbanism. In 2013, she defended her PhD in Urban Sciences and Systems at the University of Eindhoven. Her way after receiving the PhD degree was not straightforward: after working less than a year as a coordinator and analyst in the ABN ARMO bank and then refusing several high-profile positions in academia, she landed a challenging position as a tutor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in Rotterdam (EUC) in 2016. Today. she dedicates all her time and energy to work on her own project "Urban Life Coaching", which aims to help current and former PhD students to get control of their project, to get out of negative thought spirals and find balance by focusing on the right things in life. In this interview, she reflects upon her own journey from a master student to a life coach and tells how life coaching helps to overcome various difficulties like finishing a thesis, finding a dream job, or reconciling personal and professional lives. <p>For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the podcast, visit www.phdcareerstories.com. You can also find us on social media:</p> <ul> <li>www.facebook.com/PhDCareerStories</li> <li>www.twitter.com/PhDCareerPod</li> <li>www.instagram.com/phdcareerstories</li> <li>www.linkedin.com/company/phd-career-stories</li> </ul>

26 Huhti 201926min

Aoife O Dwyer was born and raised in Ireland where she did an undergraduate degree in Genetics and Cell Biology, followed by a PhD in Immunology. Two weeks after her PhD was awarded, Aoife moved to Melbourne, Australia in search of her first Medical Science Liaison job. Today, Aoife still works full time as a Senior Medical Science Liaison in Melbourne, Australia. In 2018, Aoife published "Medical Science Liaison - The Ultimate Step by Step Guide" and founded MSL Consultant to help PhD graduates transition from academia to a medical science liaison position in the pharmaceutical industry. In this podcast Aoife tells about why she almost quitted her PhD and where she found motivation to stay and finish it. She also shares with the listeners what challenges she encountered on her first MSL position. <p>For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the podcast, visit www.phdcareerstories.com. You can also find us on social media:</p> <ul> <li>www.facebook.com/PhDCareerStories</li> <li>www.twitter.com/PhDCareerPod</li> <li>www.instagram.com/phdcareerstories</li> <li>www.linkedin.com/company/phd-career-stories</li> </ul>

12 Huhti 201917min

Data Scientist is often called "the hottest job of the 21st century", but what makes it so attractive? And how can a PhD-graduate transition into this field? Chris Armbruster, a PhD graduate in Sociology from the Lancaster University, spent two years at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy studying the emerging R&D and innovation landscape in Europe. Later he has moved "from innovation research to doing innovation" and first worked on rolling out digital infrastructures for the Max Planck Society, and then dived into start-up life in a variety of roles encompassing digital technologies, customer-centric business models, and product development. Today he is a Director of Community Development at The Drivery - the mobility innovators' club in Berlin, which goal is to push for innovation in the mobility sector, e.g. autonomous driving, electric kickscooters. His key mission is to cover the shortage of talent for Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, more specifically for roles in Data Analytics, Data Science, and Machine Learning in Europe. He writes a blog on Medium about Data & AI field and professional opportunities and drives the "10,000 Data Scientists for Europe" initiative, which we can be found on Eventbrite, Meetup, and Facebook. <p>For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the podcast, visit www.phdcareerstories.com. You can also find us on social media:</p> <ul> <li>www.facebook.com/PhDCareerStories</li> <li>www.twitter.com/PhDCareerPod</li> <li>www.instagram.com/phdcareerstories</li> <li>www.linkedin.com/company/phd-career-stories</li> </ul>

29 Maalis 201919min

Elvira Ganic is back for another uplifting episode and this time she shares her best tips and tricks from her job hunt experience when transitioning from academia to industry. Amongst other things, she explains why a growth mindset will help you succeed and also make the journey more enjoyable. Elvira received her PhD from the Stem Cell Center of the Lund University. After her defense, through the career coaching sessions with Tina Persson and the long job searching process with 27 interviews, she landed on the position of the Regulatory Affairs Specialist at a pharmaceutical and medical device company in Malmö in Sweden. Want to know more about Elvira? Listen to her inspiring story on how coaching changed the way she sees herself and her skills: #068: Elvira Ganic Story. "The other thing that was also defining for me was getting over this feeling of failure. I remember getting my first rejection. I found it very difficult and of course you feel like you failed and you wonder what you could do better, you take it personally." - Dr. Elvira Ganic, Regulatory Affairs Specialist For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the podcast, visit www.phdcareerstories.com. You can also find us on social media: www.facebook.com/PhDCareerStories www.twitter.com/PhDCareerPod www.instagram.com/phdcareerstories www.linkedin.com/company/phd-career-stories

15 Maalis 201910min

We are joined by Chris Humphrey who is a project manager and careers consultant, and the founder of the popular careers website Jobs on Toast. Chris originally completed a PhD in Medieval Studies at the University of York, before leaving academia for a career in the private sector. Over the past 15 years Chris has worked in the areas of technology, transport, financial services and sustainability. Today he works as a project manager for a leading sustainable bank. Chris is passionate about helping people with their careers and personal development. He has given numerous careers talks at universities in the UK, Ireland and the US, and has taken part in live Q&A events on The Guardian's website, and for jobs.ac.uk. In 2012 Chris Humphrey founded Jobs on Toast in order to raise awareness amongst Masters students and doctoral graduates of the abundant career opportunities outside of higher education. His motto is 'If I can do it, you can do it'!' In this episode, Chris will introduce the range of careers that are available to PhDs in the financial services sector. He will also provide some tips and tricks for how to break into this line of work. 'You don't need to have a finance degree to get a job in the finance industry - certainly I didn't!' - Dr. Chris Humphrey, Project Office Team Leader and Careers Consultant For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the podcast, visit www.phdcareerstories.com. You can also find us on social media: www.facebook.com/PhDCareerStories www.twitter.com/PhDCareerPod www.instagram.com/phdcareerstories www.linkedin.com/company/phd-career-stories

1 Maalis 201910min

The job search period that comes after the PhD hardly can be called "fun", "exciting" and definitely not the one "to enjoy". It is the time when you question your achievements, re-assess your skills and talents, restlessly scout job-boards hoping to find a "fit" to your unique set of skills, attend exhausting interviews, and, inevitably, face numerous rejections before you get that one job. In our new podcast, Elvira Ganic argues that shifting your perspective can make this process bearable and even joyful. Elvira received her PhD from the Stem Cell Center of the University of Lund. After her defense, through the career coaching sessions with Tina Persson and the long job searching process with 27 interviews, she landed on the position of the Regulatory Affairs specialist at a pharmaceutical and medical device company in Malmö in Sweden. In this uplifting episode, she tells what she learned on that way - how coaching changed the way she sees herself and her skills, what the transferable skills actually are, how to stay open-minded when looking for a position and why the transition period is an important life phase that you should fully enjoy and learn from it. <p>For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the podcast, visit www.phdcareerstories.com. You can also find us on social media:</p> <ul> <li>www.facebook.com/PhDCareerStories</li> <li>www.twitter.com/PhDCareerPod</li> <li>www.instagram.com/phdcareerstories</li> <li>www.linkedin.com/company/phd-career-stories</li> </ul>

14 Helmi 201918min

Today you will have a chance to get to know Kajsa Hallberg Adu, who was born and raised in Sweden and nowadays lives and works in Ghana. Kajsa Hallberg Adu is a lecturer in Communications, Leadership, and Political Science at Ashesi University. She holds a PhD degree in African Studies (University of Ghana) and a Master degree in Political Science (Uppsala University, Sweden). Her research interests turn towards the future as she studies youth in Ghana and beyond, student migration, labor migration, knowledge societies, social media in the classroom, social media in elections, the intersection of internet freedoms and democratization, uses of augmented reality and decolonizing the academy. Outside of her academic career, Kajsa is a blogger and activist. In this episode, she tells what can help when you want to quit the PhD program, how activism and teaching are excellent companions to research, and what beckons after you have completed your dissertation and finally could sleep properly again. <p>For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the podcast, visit www.phdcareerstories.com. You can also find us on social media:</p> <ul> <li>www.facebook.com/PhDCareerStories</li> <li>www.twitter.com/PhDCareerPod</li> <li>www.instagram.com/phdcareerstories</li> <li>www.linkedin.com/company/phd-career-stories</li> </ul>

1 Helmi 201910min