Earlier this week, an individual pitched an interview episode for The Bold PhD podcast where we would discuss the health/scientific benefits of kratom.
Two tiny problems.
- The Bold PhD podcast is not a health or science podcast. It is a career development podcast.
- Kratom is a plant. A controversial one. The US FDA has never validated its safety or use for any specific health condition. Users of kratom, on the other hand, claim there are many great health benefits (I’m not here to start an argument! Just stating what’s out there.)
This individual probably just saw I was a podcast host and that I had “science communications” in my LinkedIn profile and immediately assumed my podcast was focused on science.
…and then proceeded to waste a sliver of time sending me a long message on why this episode would be great for The Bold PhD Podcast.
Sadly, I’ve received many emails and DMs from PhDs who make a similar mistake as they look for opportunities outside academia.
Last week, another PhD sent a desperate message complaining about job searching for over a year and hitting block after block.
I asked a few more clarifying questions and it turned out this person hadn’t even researched the roles they wanted! They’d honestly just assumed their shiny PhD and very academic CV would do the talking.
Like the Gen Zers in my life would say, “The job market is not giving what it should be giving.”
Nonetheless, don’t make it 10x harder by assuming what a role entails, or assuming that flashing your PhD will be enough to impress decision makers. Sorry to sound like a broken record but I keep seeing this misstep and it breaks my heart.
Investing even 30 minutes to researching the problems you’ll solve in a role you want, and positioning yourself as the best person to solve those problems, will save you a lot of headaches.
Fuzzy on how to do that kind of research? I cover it in Chapters 5 and 6 of Navigating the P.I.V.O.T.
For your eyes and/or ears:
Dr. Jen Harrison stopped chasing the tenure carrot after her university laid her off, and chose to bet on herself. Watch/listen to that episode here.
Quote I highlighted this week:
Many limiting beliefs have a kernel of truth in them. That’s what makes them so convincing.
Michael Hyatt
Until next time.
Gertrude Nonterah, Ph.D.