C&EN Washington

Looking for a job is tough. Some might say that looking for a job could be considered a full-time job. Fortunately, help--lots of help--is available. A quick search on the Internet, a brief visit to your local bookstore, or a phone call to a professional organization such as the American Chemical Society can produce an abundance of tools. Professionals in the chemical sciences will find this sampling of resources to be useful for career planning.

The Internet has made a fundamental impact on the way people look for employment. Nearly gone are the days of "pounding the pavement"--walking into a prospective employer's office armed with only a résumé and a dog-eared copy of the local newspaper's classified ads. Today, the legwork for a job search can be conducted from the comfort of one's living room--literally hundreds of web sites exist to make a job search easier. Don't give up on old standbys such as the newspaper and the Yellow Pages just yet, but give the following Internet sites a try.

http://www.acs.org/careers.html --The American Chemical Society's Office of Career Services site offers ChemCenter visitors links to job postings, career development programs, and job search advice. Some services, however, are available only to ACS members. ChemJobs, for example, has two parts: the Professional Data Bank and the ACS Job Bank. In the Professional Data Bank, ACS members may enter a résumé online, and employers can search the database to find candidates for their job openings. The ACS Job Bank is a searchable index of jobs listed in the classified section of the past two issues of Chemical & Engineering News. ChemJobs is free to ACS members and student and national affiliates. The service can be found athttp://www.acs.org:80/chemjobs. Members also may access the ACS Job Bank from the C&EN Online home page, http://pubs.acs.org/cen.

http://www.academploy.com --The Academic Employment Network web page lists academic job openings for colleges and primary and secondary schools. Listings are for all levels--administrative through faculty. Visitors can post résumés, review state certification requirements, research various school districts, and browse listings of current openings.

http://www.chemsoc.org/gate way/chembyte/careers.htm --Chemsoc, hosted by the U.K.'s Royal Society of Chemistry, features a wealth of chemistry-related jobs in the U.K. as well as an extensive list of links to international employment resources. The site also offers advice on résumé (or curriculum vitae) preparation and interview techniques.

http://www.chemistry.com --Medzilla, as it's called, concentrates on the career needs of the scientist. Thousands of scientific position openings are posted here. Apply for listed openings, contact a headhunter, browse career-oriented articles, or join an online chat group on Medzilla.

http://chemistry.mond.org/jobs --The Chemical & Industry Jobs Database, which is maintained by the London-based Society of Chemical Industry, has a database of chemistry and chemistry-related jobs that it claims is "one of the most extensive and frequently updated on the web." This site also offers an e-mail service that sends notices of all job openings that fit your criteria. In addition, this site offers a guide to online job hunting that lists sources for advice and career resources and has a list of career-related newsgroups.

http://recruit.sciencemag.org --Sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, this site offers visitors access to Science's classified employment ads and advice on career issues. Visitors can also subscribe to Next Wave, a weekly online publication that covers scientific training, career development, and the science job market. Some universities, government agencies, and other organizations have purchased site licenses; see the list of subscribers at http://nextwave. org/misc/info.dtl#sublist. An individual one-year subscription to Science's Next Wave is $19.95. ACS members have free access to Next Wave through ChemCenter's members-only site, http://www. acs.org/register/html/ccplogin.htm.

http://www4.nationalacademies. org/osep/cpc.nsf --Titled "A Career Planning Center for Beginning Scientists & Engineers," this site is maintained by the National Academies and is sponsored by the Sloan Foundation. It has a bulletin board for general advice, a resource center, an advice center where people can request a mentor, links to other career-related sites, and several other useful features.

http://www.usajobs.opm.gov --This site is the U.S. government's official employment site, managed by the Office of Personnel Management. Visitors can browse federal job openings and apply for vacancies through an online form as well as find information on internships with federal offices, salary and benefit information, and outplacement assistance.

http://www.careers.wsj.com --This site has a bit of everything for just about everyone. Published by Dow Jones & Co., the site contains a wealth of information and services, including job listings, discussion of human resources issues, salary information and industry profiles, employment-focused editorial and analysis from Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition editors, and résumé evaluation.

http://www.jobsleuth.com --Infonautics Corp.'s Job Sleuth offers another approach to online job searching: letting the Internet do the work for you. This and a few similar sites use a search engine to cull the web for job listings that fit search parameters given by the user, and then report the findings via e-mail. Generally, these services are free and produce several chemistry-related listings each day.

Usenets, or collections of newsgroups similar to online bulletin boards and discussion groups, are also a good source of information. CareerMosaic (http://www. careermosaic.com/cm/cm36.html) and TCM.com (http://www.tcm.com/job srch/news.html) offer access to large indexes of employment-related newsgroups where participants share search tips and strategies and pass along leads on job openings.

Although they're not geared specifically for scientific careers, large Internet sites such as Yahoo Careers (http://careers.yahoo.com), Excite's classifieds page (http://classifieds.excite.com), CareerPath.com (http://new.career path.com), and monster.com (http://www.monster.com) can boast thousands of listings and a good deal of attention from employers. Keep an eye on monster.com's new project, Monster Talent Market (http://talentmarket. monster.com/). Here, employers bid on users' résumés in a virtual auction.

Books and classified ads in magazines and newspapers still may be your best bet when looking for valuable information. Many printed resources have Internet versions, but in some cases, publishers are discouraged from taking their information online because of the problems associated with managing volumes of web pages. Also, some smaller publishers do not have the ability to post their offerings on the web.

Following is a list of books that may be helpful in finding a job and choosing a career. Most of these titles are available in bookstores or through online booksellers such as Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com) and Barnes & Noble (http://www.barnesandnoble.com).

"What Color is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers," by Richard Nelson Bolles. The 2000 edition is a fresh revision of this how-to guide that contains advice on choosing--and securing--the ideal job. The book has its own web site (http://www.jobhuntersbible.com) where Bolles offers a set of resource picks and employment articles. List price for this book is $16.95.

"Working for Your Uncle," published by Breakthrough Publications. This 2nd edition book, authored by the editors of Federal Jobs Digest, offers readers descriptions of thousands of federal positions and the applications needed to apply for them. Also included is information on the various federal agencies, explanations of practices and terms of hiring, and the contact information for personnel officers. "Working for Your Uncle" is available for $19.95.

"Job Opportunities in Health & Science," published by Peterson's, offers company listings supplied by Hoover's Online (http://www.hoovers.com) that are arranged by state and industry segment. Listings include a description of the company and contact information for its personnel department. The book is available for $18.95. Peterson's publishes several employment-focused books, including "Internships 2000," an annually updated listing of approximately 50,000 internships, and "Job Seeker's Almanac," which is a broader collection of company listings culled from several industries.

"The Directory of Executive Recruiters," published by Kennedy Information LLC. The 28th edition of this reference lists thousands of recruiters arranged by specialty and geography. Known as "The Red Book," it sells for $44.95.

"Career Renewal: Tools for Scientists and Technical Professionals," by Stephen Rosen and Celia Paul, published by Academic Press, offers good advice for all job seekers, whether looking for a first job or looking to switch careers. The book was reviewed in C&EN by ACS career specialist Corinne A. Marasco (C&EN, April 6, 1998, page 72). It sells for $24.95.

"Alternative Careers in Science: Leaving the Ivory Tower," edited by Cynthia Robbins-Roth. Twenty-three scientists who work in "alternative careers"--such as technical writing, venture capital, patents, and research funding--contributed chapters. This book is available for $29.95.

"Directory of American Research and Technology: Organizations Active in Product Development for Business," published by R. R. Bowker. This is an annually updated directory of nongovernment facilities active in commercially relevant basic and applied research. Each listing gives contact information, the number of employees who hold doctorates and what areas those degrees are in, the amount the company spends on R&D annually, a statement of the facility's major R&D activity, and other useful information. The reference costs $359.95 but is often available in libraries. For ordering information, contact R. R. Bowker, 121 Chanlon Rd., New Providence, NJ 07974; phone (888) 269-5372, e-mail: info@bowker.com.

"Research Centers Directory," published by Gale Research, lists research-focused nonprofit organizations. Each entry includes contact information, web page, research budget, type of research, type and number of staff at the facility, and other details. This two-volume set costs $565 but is often available in libraries. For ordering information, contact Gale Research Inc., 835 Penobscot Bldg., Detroit, MI 48226-4094; phone (800) 877-4253.

"Occupational Outlook Handbook,"published by the Department of Labor. This annually updated reference describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects for several occupations. The handbook is free on the Internet (http://stats.bls.gov/ocohome.htm). Hardbound ($46), paperbound ($44), and CD-ROM ($28) can be ordered from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Publications Sales Center, P.O. Box 2145, Chicago, IL.

ACS publishes a selection of books that can be useful when looking for a new job or making a career change. The following titles, as well as others published by ACS, can be ordered through the Office of Society Services, phone (800) 227-5558, e-mail: help@acs.org.

"Current Trends in Chemical Technology, Business, and Employment"provides information on technology, business, economic, R&D, and hiring trends in industry, government, and academe. It is free.

"ACS Directory of Graduate Research" is a biennial listing of master's- and Ph.D.-degree-granting departments of chemistry and allied fields in the U.S. and Canada, with names of faculty, their research interests, and lists of their recent publications. The 1997 print edition costs $65, but a new edition is expected soon. A fully searchable Internet version is available by subscription.

"Chemical Sciences Graduate School Finder" lists schools in the U.S. and Canada that grant advanced degrees in the chemical sciences. Included in the listing is information on a school's student body, admission information, financial aid, faculty and their research concentrations, and the institution's research facilities. The 1997-98 print edition costs $64.95.

Even though it is easy to post a job vacancy notice on the Internet, many employers prefer to use print to carry their announcements. Classified advertisements are published in many magazines, including C&EN (see page 86 for details on placing an ad); Chemical Engineer-ing Progress, published by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (see http://www.aiche.org/careerservices/jobs/available.asp); and The Chemist, published by the American Institute of Chemists, phone (703) 836-2090.

Don't forget to check newspapers for listings. Employers will often use newspaper classified ads in order to recruit candidates from a desired geographical area.

As noted under Internet-based resources above, ACS Career Services offers a variety of employment services to ACS members and student affiliates. Of special interest are the Internet-based Professional Data Bank and ACS Job Bank. For more information on the services listed here, contact ACS Career Services, 1155--16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036; phone (800) 227-5558 ext. 4432, e-mail: career@acs.org, Internet at http://www.acs.org/careers.html. Products listed below can be ordered through the ACS Office of Society Services, phone (800) 227-5558, e-mail: help@acs.org.

Brochures. "Professional Employment Guidelines," "The Chemist's Code of Conduct," "Coping with Job Loss," "Tips on Résumé Preparation," and "What a B.S. Chemist Should Consider Before Accepting a Position" are just a few of the brochures Career Services offers. Many are posted on the web site.

Salary Information. ACS publishes annual volumes of survey data about the chemical profession and the salaries paid to its members. "Salaries '99" (available soon) reports on members' salaries by degree, type of employer, and experience. C&EN published a special report on the results of the 1999 survey in the Aug. 2 issue, page 28. The full survey report, which costs $150 for the print edition, also offers data on employment status and demographic characteristics.

"Starting Salaries 1998," available for $29.95, contains the results of a survey of new graduates in chemistry and chemical engineering. C&EN published a special report on the results of the 1998 survey in the March 1 issue, page 14.

Employment Clearinghouses. Operating at national and regional ACS meetings, this service gives job applicants an opportunity to interview with employer representatives. ACS national meeting registration fees can be waived for unemployed members who register as job applicants at the clearinghouse.

ACS local sections. Several ACS local sections provide job assistance and career development programs. For details, contact your local section or Robert Rich of ACS Career Services, phone (202) 872-6076, e-mail: r_rich@acs.org.

Career Guidance Program. ACS Career Services offers several services to its members, including career consulting, where consultants provide assistance with job search strategies and other employment issues; mock interview sessions, where chemists attending national meetings can videotape a practice interview and receive feedback from ACS personnel on ways to improve their interview skills; and ChemCareer Connections, a moderated Internet career forum where visitors pose and discuss questions related to career development in the chemical sciences.

Workshops, presentations, and videos. Presentations are offered at national and regional meetings on conducting an effective job search and on strategies for successful job transition both within and outside chemistry. On request, workshops also are offered at local section meetings, colleges and universities, and industrial work sites. Videos on how to conduct a job search, make a career transition, prepare a résumé, and interview for a job are available; contact Career Services for detailed information.

One of the best ways to determine if a career is a good choice is to experience it through an internship, co-op, or similar program. In addition, on-the-job experience is advantageous when looking for permanent placement. The ACS Experiential Programs in Chemistry (EPiC) collects and distributes information on internships, co-ops, summer jobs, study/work abroad, and service-learning opportunities. The 2000 "Directory of Experience Opportunities" is free to ACS student affiliates and $10 to all others. To order a copy of the directory, contact the Office of Society Services and ask for product No. CLC40. The 1999 directory is available free on the Internet (http://center.acs.org/applications/epic/epicmain.cfm). Additional information about EPiC can be requested through e-mail (epic@acs.org).

This ACS office offers two brochures on career planning. For students planning to go to graduate school, "Planning for Graduate Work in Chemistry: Suggestions for the Student Considering Advanced Study" includes information on choosing a graduate school, how and when to apply, and financial support. For undergraduate students looking for a career in industry, "Planning a Career in Industry" is available. The full text of both brochures can be found on the Internet (http://www.acs.org/education/cpt/publications.html).

Chemical & Engineering News
Copyright © 1999 American Chemical Society