Tools & Tips | Outreach

On January 31, 2010, Science Careers held a workshop on networking at the MIT European Career Fair in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Following the workshop, participants practiced their newly learned skills at a networking reception.

Resources

• Networking slides (PDF)

Related Articles

• E-Persona Non Grata: Strategizing Your Online Persona
• Maximizing Productivity and Recognition, Part 2: Collaboration and Networking
• Tooling Up: The Informational Interview
• The One-Minute Talk

Event Summary

This talk helped participants to find ways to make networking work for them. Being strategic about meeting people can make networking easier. We discussed the myths and realities surrounding networking and different strategies for networking including: informational interviewing, attending conferences, participation in professional societies, and social networking websites. We also talked about some of the nuts and bolts of networking including: proper etiquette, business cards, elevator pitches, and following up with contacts.

Questions? E-mail outreach@sciencecareers.org

See all Outreach Events

Science Careers, the online employment, career development, and funding supplement to Science magazine offers a sample of its resources for students, postdocs, and faculty attending the European Career Fair 2010.

Below are links to details about the event, as well as articles and services on Science Careers to find the kind of job you can enjoy, build your career in the academic world or industry, and gain funding for your research or ongoing training.

Special for European Career Fair 2010 Goers

• About European Career Fair 2010
• Making the most of career fairs
• Job-hunting, networking, and CVs
• Job-search engine
• Interviewing and negotiating a job offer
• Career building tips
• European job market
• Funding your research and training
• Ensuring student success
• Keep in touch after ECF 2010

European Career Fair 2010 Details and Links

Schedule

Friday, January 29th: Satellite events organized by the European Commission and The MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives.
Ray and Maria Stata Center, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, Mass. [Map]

11:30am - 2:00pm: 2nd European Innovation and Entrepreneurship Workshop

3:30pm - 6:00pm: Science and Innovation Policy Roundtable with Isi Saragossi, Director, Directorate General for Research, European Commission

Saturday, January 30th: Career Fair Day (Johnson Athletics Center, MIT), 120 Vassar Street, Cambridge, Mass. [Map].

Sunday, January 31st: Interview day

9:00am - 12:30pm: "Research in Germany: New Initiatives - More Opportunities"
Two parallel information sessions on postgraduate opportunities and PhD programs in Germany"

1:30 - 5:00 pm: "Living and working in the Netherlands"

3:00pm - 6:00pm: "Making New Connections: Networking Strategically" presented by Brianna Blaser, Science Careers

Hyatt Regency Cambridge, 575 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Mass [Map]

Monday, February 1st: Interview day

• ECF 2010 home page and log-in
• For candidates
• For employers
• Career fair background and statistics
• Career fair news and press releases

Making the most of career fairs

Do you know what to do at a career fair? Theres more to it than just showing up.

Job-hunting, networking, and CVs/resum??s

• The Cold, Hard Truth About Finding a Job in 2009
• Network Your Way Into Work. A series of seven articles on the theory and practice of networking
• Enhance Your Job Search Online
• The Slightly Irreverent, Shake Em Up Job Search
• How to Write a Winning Resum??
• Tips for a Successful CV
• Writing a Winning Cover Letter

Find a great job on Science Careers

Heres a link to the powerful Science Careers job-search engine.

Interviewing and negotiating a job offer

• Beating the Interview Odds
• The Dreaded Phone Interview
• The One-Minute Talk
• Negotiating: Be Honorable and Strategic
• Salary Negotiations: Part 1 and Part 2

Career building tips

• Career Trends: The Informed Job Search. To help you polish the critical skills youll need for a successful job search, Science Careers is offering a booklet of career advice on topics including choosing a career path, effective networking, getting the most from a career fair, marketing yourself to potential employers and acing your job interview.
• Learning the Ropes of Peer Reviewing
• Tips for Publishing in Scientific Journals
• Culture Shock. Adjusting to scientific work and study abroad.
• Hidden Talents, Hungry Markets. Ph.D.s Have Many Skills to Offer Industry
• Academic Scientists Toolkit

European job market

• After the Fall of the Wall: Science Careers in Eastern Europe
• Coming to Europe
• To Have and Have Not. Salaries for European scientists vary greatly by country and region, despite efforts to bring them into balance.
• Reality Check. U.K. Report Reveals Variety of Career Paths for Ph.D.s
• New Research and Job Opportunities in Southern Europe
• Structuring Academic Careers in Europe
• European Programs Offer Translational Training
• FP7 Funding Opportunities at a Glance
• An Ambitious Effort to Plug Europes Research Gap
• Getting Women Scientists to the Top
• Internships Offer Ph.D.s Early Leap Into Job Market

Funding your research and training

• Back to Funding Basics
• Grant Writing for Tight Times
• Getting to the Top of a Big Pile. Science Careers talks to European Research Council jury members about what got some applications to the top.
• Business Financing for Your Research
• Search GrantsNet: research funding
• Search GrantsNet: student and institutional support
• Latest GrantsNet Funding News

Ensuring student success

• Mastering Your Ph.D.: Starting Off on the Right Foot
• Mastering Your PhD: Science Papers that Shine
• To Choose an Adviser, Be an "Armchair Anthropologist"
• Going Abroad for Your Ph.D.
• U.K. Visa Changes Mean Closer Scrutiny for Non-European Students
• Home Stretch to Graduation.
• The Postbac: One or Two Years That Make Careers
• Undergraduates Ask: Should I Do a Ph.D.?

Keep in touch after ECF 2010

• Get expert career advice on the Science Careers Forum
• Discuss career opportunities with friends on Facebook
• Keep up with new developments on the Science Careers Blog
• Subscribe to our RSS feeds

Images: Courtesy, MIT-European Career Fair