Reinventing yourself: marketing the experienced chemist in today’s job market

Abstract

An increasing number of chemists over the age of 40 are finding themselves back in the job market. For many, this is after years of working for one employer. With mergers, acquisitions, and the constant financial pressures of costcutting that lead to downsizing, lifetime employment is now a rare occurrence and an anachronism into today’s business world. In the other two venues, tenure is not as rock solid a guarantee as it once was, since university budgets are being drastically cut, and in government service (at least in the USA) “reductions in force” are somewhat commonplace. The senior and experienced chemist faces many challenges in addition to those of the younger chemist just starting a career. These come from both the mindset of the person and of the potential employers. I will briefly cover some of these issues before addressing one specific and major hurdle that older chemists often place in front of themselves. Personal matters such as family and personal ties, children’s schools, and a home are issues that make relocating more difficult. A spouse’s career can make the job search result in finding two jobs consecutively if a move is in question for the chemist’s new one. Other issues such as the cost of living for the entire family’s needs must be assessed in order for potential areas to relocate to or the acceptance of a job offer. Potential employees often wrongly perceive older workers as inflexible and unable to adapt to new technologies and ways of working. This must be addressed in the resumes and covering letters sent out as part of job applications through the listing of skills and experience that highlight the ability to learn, adapt, and thrive in new types of work. Point out new areas that you worked in that were very different from prior work and how quickly you became useful at doing them. Specific examples might be starting a project that required statistical analysis of the data and that you were able to do that within two months or that you started using a new technique and were asked to write a review or give a presentation as an expert the following year. A company may perceive that the older candidate is near to retirement and thus not going to be of value for very long. This is in striking contrast to their ignoring that most younger scientists think of the first job or two as temporary stepping stones. Most graduate students in the job search look at potential employment as a five-year or briefer situation with no obligations of leaving in a rush if another, better position becomes available. The older worker has strong values of loyalty to an employer and of stability in a situation—which is accentuated if they were suddenly let go. The senior job candidate is more often likely to be a longer-term employee than the younger one. You may not be able to convey your views on this in your resume or covering letter, but you should try to in the interview. Everything is not negative for the older chemist. He or she has established both a network and a reputation. Since many positions are found through contacts, the established network can increase the chance of success. In contrast to the younger chemist, this network has often been built through many interactions, collaborations, and the giveand-take of a dynamic research career. The younger chemist has not established this personal rapport, so any networking is heavily tilted to taking—which is less likely to come from the many slight acquaintances in such a network. The scientific reputation can be, in itself, an opening into an interview. If you have published and have been active in Anal Bioanal Chem (2007) 387:727–728 DOI 10.1007/s00216-006-1011-3