Welcome to Propelling Careers podcast episode 35. In this episode, Jim and Lauren provide insight on how to decipher job descriptions. We know this is challenging and we know it is often confusing to know what an organization is actually looking for in a candidate. We cover topics like these below.  We hope you enjoy listening!    

- Most job desc’s cover at least four big picture things – company desc, technical skills, soft (transferrable) skills, and description of role.  Some also include preferred skills/experiences

- A candidate should do additional research outside of just looking at the job desc

- Sometimes a character limit is advised on the job desc which is why some are shorter

- Sometimes technical skills are listed as a list, sometimes these are given with more context so you can understand more what the org is looking for

- Sometimes orgs are vague on what they are looking for since  they want to be discrete on what they are doing (to keep things confidential)

- Many orgs try to make job descriptions more approachable – i.e. less gender focused.

- Examples of different types of descriptions of organizations and what this means

- Translating your technical skills into “industry speak”

- Pay attention to words on job desc’s like exploratory biology, preclinical, manufacturing, etc  - in many job descriptions, lingo’s are used and sometimes these lingo’s are important to describe the setting of the role, org, or opportunity

- Transferrable skills are often mentioned in the job description and these are important to pay attention to. We provide a few tips to highlight your transferrable skills in your application materials.

- Education required in the job desc depends upon role – many orgs want to be inclusive so many list minimum requirements to be inclusive

Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and Jim Gould, the Director for Postdoctoral Affairs at Harvard Medical School, launched this podcast as a way for us to share our advice, insights, and reflections to help others navigate their careers.

As we develop new episodes, this podcast will provide insights regarding career advice to help listeners navigate career choices and become more confident in their decisions. We look forward to busting myths and providing real life, timely, and accurate advice. Jim and Lauren work heavily with Ph.D. trained scientists, but the advice we provide can be applicable to other audiences. We hope you enjoy listening!