Just applied to a job in Ottawa that is well-suited for me (although it's a temporary one). Wish me luck guys and girls!

Got a job interview working in an opticians. If I do get this job, would it be easy to get back into science or not?

Hard to say. I don't see it would be any more disadvantageous than a lot of other jobs. If they offer it to you I'd take it.

yes me too Janine, I'd take it :-)
love satchi

It wouldn't cause me problems in getting back into science?

hi janine
I honestly think so (no problems getting back to science in future) because in your next application then, you would be explaining what you did at the opticians, and those are still highly applicable and transferable skills :-)

best of luck for the interview
love satchi

Found a couple of PhDs to apply to. One at QUB doing antimalarials :D and the other is at Hull Univeristy and that is in TRP1 receptors with an older supervisor of the project down there when I did my Dip HE, my failed BSc first time!

In the pre - interview screening thing on Saturday, she did notice the chemistry with the royal society of chemistry thing and I told her about the jobcentre telling you to strip your qualifications in applying for the lower down jobs.

Received another rejection letter today! I had attended interview for this :-(
Just too bad. I'm putting on a brave front but inside I feel sad.
I know I'll feel better tomorrow. I'm usually optimistic and positive.

love satchi

Unsurprisingly, this is a loooonnnnnnng thread. But it is also difficult in a sense, as there are clearly a lot of people in this position, in different disciplines and different places. I guess we're all united in one thing, but of course, there are variables with regard to speciality and location.

Skimming through this thread, there are two specific points I'd like to make:-
1. Most job recruitment agencies are self-serving. I have approached several on-line, and only one has bothered to get in contact with anything other than an automated reply. You have to bear in mind that any agency ultimately does what is best for itself. As it is clearly an employers market and the employers pay them, they are not going to bust a gut for individual applicants when they probably have two-dozen on their books suitable for every given job; and
2. it never ceases to amaze me the number of threads, blogs, forums, newspaper articles, etc on this subject, that are packed with people saying how many hundreds of job applications they are knocking out every week. Firstly, where are they finding all these jobs advertised? And secondly, given that the dogma - most especially at post-PhD level - is that every application has to be researched and tailored to individual employers, how do you have the time? I certainly do not wish to cause anyone here any offence, but if you are sacrificing quality on the altar of quantity, can you be too surprised that you're getting lots of rejection letters or nothing in reply?

On point #2, I'd be grateful of enlightenment.

PS: Biological science, post-successful viva, England.

As there are 168 hours in a week - and even the best of us have to sleep for some of them - anything close to approaching 100 applications in that time is not possible... at least applications of anything like the requisite quality. Also more to the point, in terms of postdoctoral positions, as we are all pretty specific in what we've done, I'm still not entirely sure where people are finding these posts... unless they're just firing off CVs and covering letters to any post that would fit under the same general academic umbrella and not being unduly concerned with the "Essential Requirements" bit of the job description.

I think the anecdotal nature of threads such as this can be supportive - it's nice to know one is not alone - but some claims and statements can be somewhat exaggerated and counter-productive and demoralising for everyone else.

The academic job market is a peculiar one. The application process seems to move very slowly. I had an interview not long before Christmas, for a job I'd applied for nearly two months earlier and given up on. Also, I have a few jobs that I applied for on-line via recruitment portals some time ago, where my application is still "open" - i.e. I haven't been told I'm not being considered further. This doesn't really help, because people looking for jobs always want (and should reasonably be able to expect) answers fairly quickly, for obvious reasons. Two months+ isn't reasonably quickly.

You do raise some good points though, UpandAtom (surely a particle physicist?!). The major thing I took home from what you wrote actually, is "always be nice to PIs after initial rejection - you might be remembered and be offered something else". I'm glad you've found something and wish you luck in your new position.

I've had 3 job rejections in a day last week! I am getting nowhere and science companies don't want to look at me either! *sigh* How to work in a supermarket with a learning disorder? If I can get one