Are You A Woman Building A Career As A Clinical Researcher? Use These 5 Tips!

Are You A Woman Building A Career As A Clinical Researcher? Use These 5 Tips!

Clinical researcher careers have grown in the last few decades and there are so many opportunities in the sphere. Well, here are five tips to improve your career and get on in the industry.

Tip #1: Network, Network, Network

Make business cards and keep them on you at all times. Learn the boundaries of your comfort zone and step outside of them. Strike up conversations with individuals you do not already know. Establish new connections and swap contact info. Identify women in science groups active in your area and join them. National groups that have local chapters you should look at include WIB, AMWA, and GWIS. Also check out groups that are specific to your one school. For instance, UNC students or grads should check out AMPWIS, WISE, and WInS.

Tip #2: Put In Applications For Grants

Any time you find an opportunity or grant you are actually interested in, apply. Do this even when you might not actually meet all of the stated requirements. Research statistics show that men in our fields put in applications even when that only match 60 percent of the stated requirements, but women wait and apply for only the chances they are believe themselves to be a 100 percent match for. If your application is successful, you will learn what you need along the way, so have some faith in your ability to pick up the skills you need along the way. Applying for more opportunities opens more doors. The worst thing that can happen as a result of an application is an answer of no. However, you might just be surprised how much career success and promotion can be found through these applications, so fire away; the men sure are.

Tip #3: Have A Two-Minute Talk Ready

Always be ready to give a small speech. You need to have a few variations of summaries of your work and research so that you can talk about it when someone asks what you personally study. If you want to be fully prepared, break these variations down by audience, so that you have an elevator speech ready for public citizens, collaborators, and VIPs (think deans, department chairs, division chiefs and the like). Also, look for chances to give formal speeches or talks at conferences, universities, or just inside your department retreats. Giving talks gets your face, name, and resume in the minds of people and helps you communicate how important the scientific work you are doing is.

Tip #4: Take Ownership Of What You Accomplish

Own what you have done, and support any peers you have when they accomplish things. Men rarely have issue reminding or informing others of their accomplishments, and often oversell them. On the other hand, women don’t talk about what they have done, or at least do not do it as much. Own what you have achieved, and have pride in it. If you want your accomplishments to get recognition without coming across as bragging, gather a group of your colleagues together so you all can promote and call out what each of you has done and everyone can promote one another. When any member of the group finishes a project, receives an award, scores a grant, or publishes a paper, have the group do the publicity and promotion so that actual successor does not risk looking like a bragger. Cavendish Professionals blog shows that Sidra Medical and Research Centre are coming to Europe and they will have plenty of opportunities for careers.

Tip #5: Involve Yourself On Each Level

Educate yourself on all the issues, and then find a way to get involved in matters at both the local and national levels. The research and medicine fields both reflect the gender disparities of larger society, and they are unlikely to change unless women do what they can to speak up and transform things.

(**A sponsored post)